While Beats opened up the headphone market for lovers of massive bass response, companies like Bowers & Wilkins have carved out a niche in the headphone realm for users looking for luxury. Relative newcomer Master & Dynamic use fine leathers and a plethora of unique accessories, including a desktop stand for your headphones, to entice you to get the MH40. But beyond its looks and comfortable feel, it's the MH40's superb audio performance that makes it worth the $399 price. Every aspect is luxurious, including its sound signature, earning it our Editors' Choice award.

Design

The visual design of the MH40 is striking, with luxurious materials and a sturdy frame. The headphones are offered in three styles: black leather with black metal, black leather with gunmetal-colored metal, and brown leather with silver metal. The lambskin circumaural (over-the-ear) earpads are exceptionally comfortable, and the headband is well cushioned so, despite its healthy weight, the MH40 doesn't become uncomfortable over long listening periods.

Demarcated numbers and notches allow for precise adjustment of each earcup, and the earcups also fold down flat for easy stowing in the included canvas tote bag. Two detachable cables are included, one with a three-button remote control and microphone for mobile devices. Each have woven cloth surfaces and can attach to either earcup.

The MH40 includes a mighty array of accessories, the most unique of which is a heavily weighted desktop stand that lets you display the headphones like the design piece they are. The MH40 also comes with a circular, leather hard case just for the cables. It's nicer than most cases for earphones, along with a 1/4-inch headphone jack adapter.

One caveat: Some (though very little) sound can escape at higher volumes through the semi-open outside panels of the earcups.

Performance

On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the MH40 delivers excellent low-frequency response that's thick, rich, and clean. At top, unsafe listening levels, the MH40 does not distort on this challenging track, and the high-mid and high frequency response helps balance out the intensity of the bass.

Bill Callahan's "Drover" gives us a better idea of what the MH40 does with a track that mostly lacks deep bass. Callahan's baritone vocals sound rich, with a nice treble edge in the high-mids that helps them maintain clarity. His vocals are never muddy, as they can be on this track through bass-heavy headphones. The drums also sound natural, with a pleasant low-mid thump that doesn't approach the exaggerated booming that some headphones invent on this track. For this measured approach, the MH40 never sounds thin or overly bright; there's a great balance between lows and highs, and when there is deep bass to reproduce, the MH40 brings it.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop's attack has a sharp treble presence that allows it to slice through this dense mix, along with plenty of low-mid and low-frequency sustain. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the loop are delivered with power, but not in a way that overwhelms the mix; the vocals here are clear and in front of all other elements on the track.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound magnificent through the MH40. The spotlight shines on the high-mids and highs, with the higher register strings, brass, and vocals taking center stage. The lower register strings still have an excellent richness and depth to them, and pop out of the mix at certain moments, adding a greater sense of dimension and dynamics. Bass-heavy headphones will often exaggerate the lower register instrumentation on this track, which can admittedly sound fun, but the MH40 offers a true, natural balance.

If you are looking for a bigger bass sound, the Beats by Dr. Dre Studio should have all the low end you'd hope for in this price range, but you'll be sacrificing balance and accuracy. If you like the idea of the MH40's balance, but are more interested in a lighter weight, on-ear headphone, the Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 ($124.99 at Amazon) doesn't disappoint. Finally, if these headphones are out of your budget, the Sennheiser HD 558 and AKG Y50 ( at Amazon) are both excellent choices available for less than $200 each, with the former focused on balance and the latter bringing a bit more low-end thunder.

For $400, the MH40 had better sound wonderful, but with such luxurious materials and flashy accessories, it would be easy to imagine the audio performance not quite measuring up to the price tier. Instead, the headphones measure up gloriously. It's hard to find anything negative to say about them, except that they're a bit bulkier than some listeners will want, and they're quite expensive. But you get your money's worth, for sure, and the Master & Dynamic MH40 easily earns an Editors' Choice.

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