Premium headphones

I’m an on-ear/over-ear headphone guy. To me, the size and weight has always been a price worth paying for the far higher quality and sound isolation they deliver when compared to consumer-grade in-ear headphones.

I’ve tried numerous in-ear headphones, and none have ever felt remotely comparable to me – until now. Trinity is a brand new British company founded by former lead designer at Rockjaw, specifically to create high-quality in-ear monitors (IEMs) at an affordable price. The Delta is the high-end model, at $135/£90, and it takes rather an unusual approach … 
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When I put together my premium headphone gift guide, a commentator suggested that there was one more pair that deserved to make the list: the $399 Master & Dynamic MH40. The visual design had initially led me to assume these were semi-open cans – and thus not ideal for mobile use – but I found this wasn’t the case, and decided to give them a try.

I should say I’m a hard sell with headphones. I may not venture into four-figure professional headphone territory, but I’m prepared to spend a decent chunk of change on something with well above average sound, and my beloved Bowers & Wilkins P5s were the result of much research and listening time. They match superb sound with extremely sleek looks and great comfort. P5s are, for me, the standard against which all other premium headphones get judged, so you’ll understand me drawing comparisons between the two.

The MH40 is aimed at the same market. A similar price, broadly similar looks, same foldable design, same embedded controls and mic for use with phone calls as well as music. The question was: how would they compare … ?

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