The One Wireless Speaker You Won’t Ever Want to Hide from View

Master & Dynamic, the three-year-old New York startup, has quickly made an impression among aficionados for its headphones and earbuds. It also has a way with collaborations, including standouts with the Rolling Stones, Bamford Watch Department, and Leica Camera. Now, for its first venture into the world of speakers, Master & Dynamic has enlisted Sir David Adjaye, whose National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in Washington last year. The architect upends the category with the MA770, a striking 35-pound, 16-by-20-inch countertop unit made of concrete composite.

In spirit and price, the $1,800 MA770 belongs in the rarefied class of speakers that includes the $1,990 Devialet Phantom and the $1,399 Naim Mu-so, both of which also demand to be seen as much as heard. The MA770 is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and can be paired with a second one, but the system isn’t part of a mix-and-match constellation of speakers such as those made by Sonos Inc. or Bose Corp. For that reason, Master & Dynamic uses Google Inc.’s popular Chromecast streaming platform instead of a proprietary app—eliminating a frustrating learning curve that can hamper the use of most high-end equipment.