I have trouble concentrating. I’ve worked from home my entire life, but between the distractions associated with being in a home environment and the sleep deprivation of having a baby, lately, I’ve struggled to do my best each day. A few years ago. But our hearts have health-monitoring gadgets — why not our brains? That’s the promise of the new Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro headphones, which promise to use EEG sensors built into the earcups to help improve your focus by monitoring and making recommendations while you listen to your favorite tunes.
I have to admit, when I first heard about these headphones, I was a little skeptical. I’m a big fan of consumer health-tracking gadgets in general — the Apple Watch was the first to confirm I had atrial fibrillation, which eventually led to an AFib ablation procedure at age 28. But really — your readable headphones brain waves?
Do they work? Well, sort of – and they certainly make a compelling case for technology in general. But I’m not sure it’s ready for prime time yet.
good
The Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro headphones come from a partnership between Master & Dynamic, maker of the MW75 headphones, and Neural, the company behind EEG-based focus-tracking technology.
We’re going to focus mainly on the tech here, but it’s still worth mentioning how the headphones work. I’ve been a fan of Master & Dynamic for quite some time, and these headphones are a good representation of why. are watching Super Cool, overall a unique and premium design. This iteration of the headphones isn’t the most comfortable, though — they’re relatively heavy, and put too much pressure on the top of the head when applying too much clamp force. They sound great, offer good bass response and plenty of clarity in the high end – if you want great sounding headphones, there are probably better options in this price range.
The headphones work with the Master & Dynamic app to adjust audio-related settings, but they also work with the Neural app, which tracks your focus sessions. The app is relatively well-designed, and it’s easy to track your focus when the headphones are properly connected.
During a session, you kind of…go about your day. You might think these are really only useful for work, but you can choose what kind of activities you plan to do during a session, including “work,” “entertainment,” “study,” and more. I mostly used headphones while working.
After a session, you’ll be able to see data across your focus at the time you tracked. It breaks down time based on “quality” focus, including “high,” “medium,” and “low.” You’ll also get information about your best focus, such as how long that time was. Also, when you’re working, you’ll get notifications suggesting you take a break when the headphones think it might help you focus. It is well presented and easy to understand. After each session, you accumulate points called “focus points”.
bad
It’s a good idea in general – but after using these headphones for a while, I’m not sure the technology is still worth the money. The MW75 Neuro headphones cost $700, which is $100 more than the regular MW75 headphones — which are expensive to begin with.
I really don’t think the people who want to spend that money in the first place will get their money’s worth. Here’s the thing — great healthcare technology works in the background, Without You really have to do anything. That’s why using a device like the Apple Watch works so well. You just wear the watch and it tracks all kinds of data, including sleep.
Not so with the MW75 Neuro headphones, where you have to be prepared to wear the headphones for the majority of your day, open an app, select what type of activity you’re doing, start a session, run the app in the background, and end a session when you’re done. At the time of this writing, the headphones also don’t support Bluetooth Multipoint – so you’ll have to use them with your phone, and not with a computer.
If you want to do that, you can notice trends in your data. For example, on days when you sleep poorly, your concentration will be poor. But here’s the problem: When you sleep poorly, you Already Know that your focus is bad, and an app that tells you it’s bad isn’t really helping anything. App provides guidance on taking breaks may Sometimes it helps — but I don’t know many people who work that well. When I’m working on an essay, even if I have trouble concentrating, it’s not helpful to take a break and forget about my thinking.
Additionally, your data cannot be tracked in real time. The display essentially shows what you’re technically tracking, not how your focus is at any given moment. That kind of makes sense — your focus shifts when you’re tracking data in the app, and like I said, great health tech is working in the background. But it’s still good to see how your focus session has been so far.
All of this can be summed up in one sentence: the Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro headphones are heavy, expensive, and not really that useful.
the future
I mean, they’re not really that useful Still. The technology in general is pretty neat and I have a lot of faith in it. Who doesn’t want to monitor their brain health like you monitor your heart health?
Long-term, it seems, is the goal of Neuraphil, which has big plans to use these headphones to monitor medical conditions and better help with things like focus. Even if work-based applications are the end goal, the product can help you avoid burnout and increase productivity by alerting you when you’re better off focusing. Beyond that, it can help with epilepsy, PTSD, sleep disorders, and more. Non-invasive EEGs can have major implications for brain health.
It’s usually a pretty neat idea. After all, the brain is now one of the least observed parts of our body, not to mention perhaps the least understood. And more widespread monitoring can only get better — helping consumers understand their minds better, and companies developing brain-monitoring technology better.
But it’s not there yet. One day, it might—maybe it will help unlock the mysteries of the brain.
Results
The Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro Headphones A great concept, I found them interesting to use – but not really useful. Headphones are generally a little uncomfortable, focus-tracking requires a lot of interaction, and the tracking metrics aren’t really that helpful. But the technology in general is very exciting – and democratizing access to EEG technology would be a good thing. If you’re into playing with technology and have cash to burn, you’ll love what these headphones have to offer here. Expect a first generation experience.
Should I buy the Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro?
No. Widespread EEG access is exciting, but again, it is very expensive and not effective.
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