The greatest advantage of on-ear headphones has always been their ability to let you hear what's going around you while listening to music without being blocked off from the world! On-ear headphones are a better choice for those with big earlobes or those who wear earrings that prevents them from comfortably wear over-ear headphones.
Fortunately though, there is a pair of headphones - the Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus - that provides best of both worlds, letting you interchange from on-ear to over-ear and viceversa in just a few seconds via a magnetic clasp system that effectively simplifies the switching process of the earpads.
Having the ability to swap earpad style on-the-go means being able to use the Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus anywhere, in the office or on a commute, without worrying about sound leakage and situational awareness.
The over-ear earpads that come with the MW50 Plus headphones have the same dimensions as the over ear earpads that come with the Master & Dynamic MW60 headphones.
That said, the earpads aren't interchangeable so, the MW60 earpads will not fit on the MW50 Plus because the notches that hold the earpads to the earcups do not align and are smaller than the notches on the MW60 earcups.
Even if you could somehow interchange the MW50 Plus and MW60 earpads, the sound would be compromised because the over ear earpads that come with the MW50 Plus headphones have a small circular opening on the back.
The MW50 Plus headphones have 40mm drivers, while the MW60 headphones have 45mm drivers. The MW50 Plus have the same beryllium coated drivers found in the MW65 headset and MW07 Go true wireless earphones.
While the Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus don't pack the same features as the MW65 headphones (i.e. noise cancellation and native Google voice assistant), the Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus headphones have switchable memory foam earpads covered with soft lambskin.
The padding on the underside of the headband is very thin but, it is lined with soft lambskin, which feels really nice on a bald or skin-shaved head. The lack of thicker padding doesn't cause heat spot on the head, thanks to the low weight (206 grams), making the MW50 Plus the lightest of all Master & Dynamic headphones lineup. Even with the over ear earpads fitted, the MW50 Plus weigh just 240 grams.
The MW50 Plus earcup outer housing is made of anodized aluminium while the drivers are protected externally by a thin aluminium grill mesh engraved with the coordinates of Midtown Manhattan's Grand Central Station (40.7527 degrees north, 73.9773 west). The black ring backing surrounding the grill mesh is made of rubberized hard plastic, which provides a soft surface for the earpads to rest against.
The stock earpads that come with the Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus headphones are true ear cushions without the characteristic donut-style earpads most headphones ship with. The MW50 Plus on-ear pads have a raised "flat dome" design with a 3.7cm squircle diameter and no centre hole so, the earpads sit more comfortably against the ear with very little pressure on the ears cartilage. If you prefer the classic, donut style on ear pads, check out the MH30 on ear headphones.
The MW50 Plus on-ear pads have perforated holes and a 1.5cm deep hollow centre, which prevents heat build up, making them even less sweaty than regular on-ear pads.
The MW50 Plus on-ear earpads measure 5cm wide and 6cm tall with a 1.5cm thick memory foam padding. The rear end of the on-ear earpads integrate lycra material that protects the speaker driver from dirt ingress. Both on-ear earpads weigh 10 grams.
The MW50 Plus over-ear earpads measure 6.3cm tall, 3.5cm wide and 1.5cm deep and have cloth fabric separating the speaker driver.
While the over-ear earpads look visually larger than the on-ear earpads, the over-ear earpads have the same diameter opening on the back that lets the same amount of sound pass through. That said, because of the larger enclosed cavity of the over-ear earpads, you get a deeper bass and better spatial audio reproduction.
Provided that your ears aren't too big, the over-ear earpads are very comfortable, thanks to 2.2cm thick memory foam, which is covered also with soft lambskin. Both over-ear earpads weigh 28 grams.
Detaching and attaching the earpads works well with a good magnetic connection that allows you to easily pull the earpads apart without a fight. The magnetic connection snaps the earpads into place securely, although the over-ear earpads take a little longer to attach as they require pressing down with a bit of force for the earpads to stay in place.
The headband adjusting arm, earcup yoke and the outer perimeter of the driver housing are made of anodized stainless steel.
The yoke can only be tilted up and down very slightly but the earcups do swivel 180 degrees so, the earpads can face flat for safe transportation, which is useful since the MW50 Plus do not come with a hard-shell storage case. Instead, you get a thick canvas fabric zip pouch with an internal pouch to store the audio cables.
In some respects, the MW50 Plus is a fusion between the MH40 Wireless and MW65, integrating the MH40 Wireless characteristic earcup microphone grille mesh and the MW65 smooth sliding headband mechanism. The top of the MW50 Plus headband and outer side of the earcup are covered with thick grain leather, which is sewn together at the top with straight stitching.
The MW50 Plus headphone has similar driver sensitivity (106dB) as the MW60 so, they are both as loud with a surprisingly similar sound. Punchy bass (not bass heavy), clear bright treble and detailed midrange.
Then again, the MW50 Plus on-ear pads are not like any other on-ear earpads since they have a hollow dome design with perforated holes that certainly helps lower frequencies, allowing them to resonate much deeper than regular on-ear earpads.
The MW50 Plus sound good via bluetooth or wired connection, although the volume level is noticeably higher when connecting the MW50 Plus headphone directly to an audio source like a smartphone.
The MW50 Plus speaker drivers do have a 32 ohm impedance rating so, depending on the DAC amplifier inside your phone, you will get less or more fidelity. Hooking up the MW50 Plus to an external DAC amplifier is, definitely, advisable to take the audio sound to its sublime potential.
Once paired to a device, the switching between wired and wireless is seamless. When the audio cable is unplugged from the audio port of a paired device, the MW50 Plus will automatically reconnect the bluetooth connection. The MW50 Plus does not support audio pass through (while charging) in Bluetooth mode but, you can listen to wired audio while the MW50 Plus headphone is charging.
Full charge takes 2.5 hours and it's done via USB-C connection, unlike the MW60, which charges via micro USB connection. You can get a respectable 16 hours playtime when adjusting volume down to 50% and playing audio via the default SBC bluetooth codec.
The MW50 Plus Bluetooth 4.1 chip does support aptX, which reduces video lag but does consume slightly more power than SBC. AptX is not as power hungry as AAC though, which is not supported by the MW50 Plus.
User controls consist of three small mechanical buttons and one "rocking" switch, which activates bluetooth, which supports multipoint pairing, as well as powering off and on the MW50 Plus headphones. The buttons work well, although those with chunky fingers may find them a tad on the small size.
The mini sized buttons on either end have + and - etchings for tactility. The buttons provide full control of the audio playback and incoming calls, which are carried out via two good sounding microphones located on either side of the rubberized 3.5mm audio port that is located on the left earcup.
The microphones do have an omnidirectional pattern but they are noise isolating so, background noise does get reduced substantially. The microphones only work when the MW50 Plus is connected to a calling device via bluetooth so, the headphones will not work in wired mode.
A 1.25 meter long audio cable is included, along with a USB-A to USB-C charging/audio cable. Both cables have Master & Dynamic branding, nylon branding sleeves, metal plugs and reinforced strain reliefs. The 3.5mm connectors are gold-plated. The included leather box weighs 84 grams.
The Master & Dynamic MW50 Plus are a piece of fine workmanship without fancy electronic wizardry that works, sounds and looks top-class. You can buy the Master & Dynamic MW50+ via Amazon.

The idea behind a power bank is that when you are out-and-about, you can recharge your gadgets without needing a wall socket! The overwhelming majority of power banks are limited to USB devices like a smartphone, although there are some power banks like the Maxoak K2, which can also output 30W (12V/2.5A) and 60W (20V/5A) to charge a laptop!
The Maxoak K2 is a behemoth of a powerhouse, way larger (20.7cm long, 13.5cm wide and 3.2cm thick) than your average power bank but, then again, it would be since the Maxoak K2 can store over 30 hours of power. The K2 weighs 1.2 kg too, which is even heavier than some laptops.
The aluminium body of the Maxoak K2 wraps around the front, back and sides of the power bank, while the bottom and top end panels are capped with hard plastic that is rounded off at the corners. Across the sides of the Maxoak K2 powerbank there are glossy bronze plastic strips with printed information.
The top panel contains the functionality, including battery led indicators, DC input, power button, a 20V/5A DC output and a 12V/2.5A DC output. The power button also activates the battery led indicator. The K2 power bank has been programmed to power off automatically after 30 seconds of current load not being detected.
There is also four USB output ports, two of which can output 2.1A, while the other two USB ports can output 1A, which is ideal for charging 5V USB powered devices like a smartphone or, even smaller power banks. The K2 power bank is able to recharge 16 times over, a 4000mAh smartphone and 2 times over, a 60W laptop.
The K2 power bank has a 1000 cycle life, which means you will be able to completely charge it and discharge it 1000 times without losing charge capacity. After 1000 complete charges/discharges though, the K2 power bank will start experiencing issues holding charge, which is an issue all power banks/rechargeable batteries eventually experience.
With 1000 complete charges/discharges, you are probably looking at 3 years, although you can easily extend this number by simply not letting the battery go flat. If you only let the Maxoak K2 battery discharge to 50% and then charge it back up to 100%, it only counts as a 1/2 cycle.
The Maxoak K2 power bank supports simultaneous charging/discharging, which means you can charge devices and recharge the K2 power bank, all at the same without having to wait for the power bank to fully recharge.
In order to recharge the Maxoak K2 50000mAh battery, it requires a 1.5A input within 100V and 240V voltage range. The United Kingdom (UK) operates on a 230V supply voltage, while other places like North America and Hong Kong operate on a 110V and 220V supply voltage respectively.
You won't be able to use an AC 100-240V to DC 12V/1.5A power adapter to recharge the K2 power bank. The included power brink though, it's effectively a 42-watt fast charger, which can recharge the K2 in 7 hours. With this much power going into, the K2 power bank has not problems outputting its total 120-watt power capacity from the DC outputs and USB outputs at the same time.
The power supply that is included with the Maxoak K2  is a branded power brick AC/DC adapter made by KAYO Maxtar (Model Number: XVE-1680250). KAYO Maxtar seem to be a subsidiary company of Maxoak.
The KAYO Maxtar AC power adapter has the same footprint as a regular laptop power adapter and it's also limited to 1.5A, although you won't be able to directly connect the KAYO Maxtar power adapter to a laptop without the K2 power bank. The reason being, the KAYO Maxtar power adapter output has been customized to 16.8V at 2.5A, which is lower output than most laptop charger bricks.
Speaking of laptops, the Maxoak K2 power bank comes with 14 male jack connectors to fit a range of laptop charging ports (Apple laptops not supported). All the jack connectors are dual-sided and have a 5.5 x 2.1mm DC female jack on the rear to plug in the included DC male to male 20 AWG cable, which is rated for a maximum working voltage up to 125V.
The dimensions of the jack connectors are as follows: 6.0 x 1.4mm (Fujitsu), 6.5 x 4.4mm (Sony), 5.5 x 2.5mm (Acer, Asus, IBM, Dell, HP/Compaq, Fujitsu, Toshiba and NEC), 5.5  x 1.7mm (Acer), 4.8 x 1.7mm (HP), 5.0 x 1.0mm (Samsung), 7.4 x 0.6mm (Dell), 7.4 x 5.0mm (HP), 7.4 x 0.6mm (Dell), 7.4 x 5.0mm (Dell), 7.9 x 0.9mm (IBM), 7.9/5.5mm (Lenovo), 3.0 x 1.1mm (Samsung), 4.5 x 3.0mm (HP), 4.5 x 3.0mm (Dell), 4.0 x 1.35mm (Asus), ASUS and 4.0 x 1.7mm (Lenovo). The 4.5 x 3.0mm connector does not work with the Dell XPS 12.
There is also a Lenovo square connector for the ThinkPad Yoga S1, ThinkPad Helix and ThinkPad T431s laptops. This Lenovo square tip connector will not fit any other Lenovo laptop, including the Yoga 3 14, Yoga 900 (20V 3.21A), Yoga 700S, Yoga 3 11, Yoga 13 and One Mix 4 Yoga.
If the included connectors don't fit your laptop, you will need to buy a jack connector in order to be able to use the Maxoak K2 power bank. The included jack connectors will not fit a Surface Pro 3 or Surface Pro 4 since these two laptops require a 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC male connector.
While talking about the Surface Pro 3 and 4 laptops, it's worth pointing out that the Surface Pro 3 and Pro 4 have a stock voltage input of 12V and 15V respectively. That said,  the Surface Pro 3 will accept any voltage supply between 11V and 16V, while the Surface Pro 4 can still operate from a 12V power supply, although charging will be naturally slower.
The KAYO Maxtar power adapter internal circuit has a class 2 rating, just like most laptop chargers; hence the KAYO Maxtar power adapter integrates double insulation that prevents electric shock and fire. The KAYO Maxtar power adapter features at one side a figure 8 female port to plug in the included detachable power cord, as well as a non-detachable cable with a DC barrel plug connector (4.0mm x 1.35mm) at the other end.
As far as safety, The Maxoak K2 power bank comes with a safety warning to remind users to use the correct voltage for the device they intend to power/recharge because you may well damage the device if it doesn't have over-voltage protection. Most devices these days though, have intelligent circuitry that detects voltage automatically to prevent any damage.
Being a 185 watt hours (Wh) power bank, the K2 powerbank is well above the 100Wh passenger airline threshold, meaning you won't be able to take the Maxoak K2 on a plane, not even in checked baggage.
Other accessories included with the K2 power bank are a USB-A to micro USB cable and a neoprene pouch to carry or safely store the Maxoak K2 power bank. Being neoprene (rubber), the pouch provides moderate shock-absorbing protection against bumps.
The neoprene pouch has two pocket compartments. One for the powerbank, which has dual zippers, while the second (front pocket) has a single zipper. The zippers have stocky hard plastic pull tabs and a reverse coil design, which provides some water resistance, although not waterproof like neoprene. You can buy the Maxoak K2 laptop power bank on Amazon.