The luxury brand pulls off an impressive feat of audio and engineering in the MTB 03 in-ear headphones
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(Image credit: Montblanc)
(Image credit: Montblanc)
T3 Verdict
Reasons to buy+Comfortable and easy to wear+Balanced, detailed and articulate sound+Predictably up-market in design and executionReasons to avoid-Don’t really enjoy rough-and-ready music-ANC effective only up to a point-Unremarkable battery life
Reasons to buy+Comfortable and easy to wear+Balanced, detailed and articulate sound+Predictably up-market in design and execution
Comfortable and easy to wear
Balanced, detailed and articulate sound
Predictably up-market in design and execution
Reasons to avoid-Don’t really enjoy rough-and-ready music-ANC effective only up to a point-Unremarkable battery life
Don’t really enjoy rough-and-ready music
ANC effective only up to a point
Unremarkable battery life
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Montblanc is a compelling and evocative brand, no two ways about it. But almost all of its credibility stems from its 100-plus years of acknowledged expertise where (inevitably luxurious) pens, watches, cufflinks and the like are concerned. Electronics? Not so much.
But back in 2020 the company launched its MB 01 wireless over-ear headphones. They cost £525 in the UK, which back then wasa lot of moneyfor any ofthe best headphonesproducts (even more than now, given how interest rates are going). However, they turned out to be a serious proposition, rather than simply the work of dilettantes that many of us had expected.
And now Montblanc is back with a true wireless in-ear proposition, the MTB 03. Can (expensive) lightning strike twice? Or should the company have stuck to its ever-expanding leather goods portfolio?
Montblanc MTB 03: Price & Availability
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03 dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03 dealsNo price informationCheck AmazonWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03 deals
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price informationCheck Amazon
No price information
No price information
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
The Montblanc MTB 03true wireless in-ear headphonesare on sale now, and in the United Kingdom they cost a not-inconsiderable £345. On its American website, Montblanc is quoting a price of $395. In Australia, meanwhile, the asking price is AU$640.
Montblanc MTB 03 review: Features & What’s New?
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The Montblanc MTB 03 use Bluetooth 5.2 for wireless connection to your source player. There’s compatibility with SBC, AAC and aptX Adaptive codecs, there’s multipoint connectivity (for more than one device connection at once), and there’s a stable 10 metres of wireless range.
There are three mics in each earbud, taking care of telephony, voice-assistant interaction and active noise-cancellation (ANC) - the last of which can be on, off or give a boost to external sounds. When that boost is on it can be set to ‘sports’, ‘office’ or ‘travel’ in an effort to adapt to your circumstances.
Montblanc MTB 03 review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
They may be rather more specific about the sort of music they like (or, more accurately,don’tlike) than many true wireless earbuds, but if you pander to the Montblanc MTB 03 just a little they’re capable of very impressive sound indeed.
Rather like the customers Montblanc is targeting here, the MTB 03 enjoy opulence and tastefulness much more than they do coarseness or incivility. So if you play to their strengths with some expensively and painstakingly recorded music, they are a very pleasant listen indeed.
They’re certainly a full-range proposition. Low-frequency extension is considerable: the MTB 03 can identify and deliver the deepest of deep bass notes without alarms, maintaining their shape and keeping the attack of bass sounds straight-edged and controlled. There’s fine rhythmic expression in evidence as a result, and though the Montblanc hit implacably hard when required they are no sort of blunt instrument. Low-frequency detail and insight is never in doubt.
It’s a similar story throughout the rest of the frequency range, in fact. Detail levels are high across the board, and in the midrange the MTB 03 are able to invest vocalists with all the character and attitude they need to properly express themselves. The tonal balance is unarguably on the ‘lush’ side of neutral no matter how you fiddle with the EQ settings, it’s true - but it’s not so overcooked that it becomes unconvincing or unrealistic.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The impressive powers of detail retrieval translate to a fine facility with identifying and contextualising harmonic variation in smaller-scale recording; the simple amount of ‘grunt’ the MTB 03 seem able to handle means dynamic headroom is considerable. When the orchestra transitions from ‘hushed contemplation’ to ‘full-force shock and awe’ you’ll know all about it.
The ANC isn’t quite as successful as the sound reproduction either, it has to be said. It’s effective up to a point, but it’s really nowhere near bestowing the blanket of silence the likes ofBosecan cover you with. The MTB 03 might look and sound the part when you’re in the Business Class lounge, but once you’re on board the aircraft it drones just as much in First as it does in Economy. And if you’re hoping to banish that drone, the MTB 03 aren’t quite up to the task.
Montblanc MTB 03 review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Well, if you’re Montblanc you go with what you know. Which means premium materials, a sky-high standard of build and finish, and enough branding to let the discerning know what’s what. Oh, and getting in renowned sonic savant Axel Grell to ensure the MTB 03 have some authentic credibility in the audio community.
The aluminium charging case is a tidy 84.5g (perhaps even slightly less if you take Montblanc up on its offer of free personalisation - you can have as many as 13 letters engraved, free of charge, on the front of the case. And in a choice of three fonts, naturally). The earbuds themselves are built from that secret resin formula Montblanc uses for its range of pens, and are equally small, and weigh in at a trim 6g each. Between the choice of four sizes of eartip and some carefully ergonomic design they’re easy to wear for hours at a time.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The familiar, and confident, six-pointed star on each earbud indicates the capacitive touch surface. They’re responsive and reliable - so powering on or off, initiating Bluetooth pairing, ending/answering/rejecting calls, playing and pausing, cycling through your three ANC options, and summoning your source player’s native voice assistant is simple. There’s no touch-control to deal with volume, though, which is always a bit of a weird omission.
There’s also an extremely good-looking but rather brief control app that’s free foriOSandAndroid. ‘MB Sound’ gives an indication of battery life, allows you turn ‘auto power’ on or off (powering down the earbuds if they’ve been out of Bluetooth range for 15 minutes), lets you do the same for ‘proximity sensor’ (pausing music if you take the earbuds out of your ears). It’s where you can check for firmware updates, select from 12 EQ presets or create your own using a five-band equaliser. This is where you select your preferred ‘sound mode’ too - ANC has three settings, ‘live’ mode (which other brands call ‘transparency’ or ‘ambient sound’) has three settings too, and ‘off’ turns out to be called ‘standard’ mode. It’s no ‘SonyHeadphones Connect’ - it doesn’t even have playback or volume controls - but it’s appropriately up-market in its design.
Montblanc MTB 03 review: Verdict
Also consider
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03, Bowers Wilkins PI7 S2 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 dealsLow StockBowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all pricesBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03, Bowers Wilkins PI7 S2 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 dealsLow StockBowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all pricesBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03, Bowers Wilkins PI7 S2 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 dealsLow StockBowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all pricesBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Montblanc MTB 03, Bowers Wilkins PI7 S2 and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 deals
Low StockBowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all pricesBose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all prices
Low StockBowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all prices
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2$299.99$235.99ViewSee all prices
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2
$299.99$235.99View
$299.99$235.99
$235.99
See all prices
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all prices
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2$279$249ViewSee all prices
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2
$279$249View
$279$249
$249
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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