A good pair of wireless earphones is a must-have these days, whether you use it on your daily commute to work, at the gym, or during a long-haul flight. But finding a pair that looks and feels great as well as delivers excellent sound quality is no easy feat. That’s why, when we found out that Louis Vuitton has again partnered with New York City-based, award-winning audio brand Master & Dynamic to release an updated collection of the Horizon earphones that were first introduced last year, we immediately jumped on the opportunity to test them out.
First of all, let’s talk looks. The earphones are available in five acetate colors: bright red, pristine white, jet black, or pink and neon yellow—and they are housed in a super-sleek, stainless steel charging case sporting a sturdy sapphire glass lid and a ceramic base, inspired by the shape of the Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon smartwatch. This being Louis Vuitton, of course, the attention to detail is superb—the earphones arrive in an elegant leather case with the company’s name embossed on top of it. Each earphone features the French house’s iconic LV logo or signature flower monogram.
And since we are talking about design, we also have to commend Master & Dynamic for creating a product that truly fits like a glove and is extremely comfortable to wear. The silicone ear tips (of which you are provided five different sizes) together with the small fit wings form a tight seal with your ear canal, which not only ensures maximum sound quality but it also means you don’t have to worry about the earphones falling out of your ears during a run, for example, or a high-intensity workout.
Next up—sound quality. If we have to sum it up in one word, it would definitely be “unrivaled,” which shouldn’t be surprising, given Master & Dynamic’s commitment to constantly perfecting the acoustics of their products. The Horizon earphones include both noise-canceling and ambient listening modes that enable you to limit environmental noise and completely immerse yourself into your listening experience or to tune into your surroundings for added awareness. And it’s all done with the click of a multi-purpose button.
Thanks to the improved battery life, you can now enjoy ten hours of listening time (versus 3.5 with the first generation of Horizon earphones) and with the additional two charges in the case you end up with a total of 30 hours, which is, let’s face it, quite impressive.
It’s super easy and fast to pair the earphones with a device—it literally took us seconds to do it. They offer a connectivity range of about 30 meters (or about 98 feet) and we were able to take crystal clear phone calls away from our iPhone in different spots of a multi-level home. Another great feature is that the left and right earphones can be used independently, and that includes taking calls since both earphones have two microphones each. We also appreciate that the music automatically pauses, if you take out one of the earphones—a really useful feature if you’re in the middle of listening to a podcast.
We are pretty sure we will be bidding adieu to our old pair of earphones and upgrading to this Louis Vuitton x Master&Dynamic set for the foreseeable future. It’s the perfect combination of form, function, and—of course—fashion.
Louis Vuitton Horizon Wireless Earphones
To buy: $1,090, louisvuitton.com
