It’s not often that we run across an expensive appliance that actually justifies its cost, but the Medify Air MA-50 air purifier (available at Amazon for $324.99) manages to thread that needle. This well-designed air purifier has a much better build quality than its peers and one of the highest particle filtration rates we’ve seen in our tests. While it only had middling results when it came to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), it seemed to disperse aerosols very quickly—exactly the quality you’d want if you’re trying to quarantine someone in your home who has Covid. While the MA-50 doesn’t have all of the smart features or accessibility as other purifiers in this price range, what it does have is a lifetime warranty as long as you keep up with filter changes. If you’re more concerned about dispersing VOCs, we recommend checking out the Winix 5500-2, our highest-rated air purifier.
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About the Medify Air MA-50 air purifier
What we don’t like
Should you buy the Medify Air MA-50 air purifier?
The Medify Air MA-50 air purifier has a boxy design with rounded edges and a large grill on its front and sides. Its control panel is located just above the grill on its front side.
The MA-50 is available in white, silver, and black finishes.
The Medify Air MA-50 in our testing chamber. We found the air purifier was able to remove significantly more particulates from the air compared to other air purifiers.
The Medify Air MA-50’s filter has three stages: a coarse prefilter, an H13 HEPA filter, and an activated carbon layer. The prefilter stops particles like dirt, dust, and pet hair from clogging the filter, while subsequent filtration layers remove ever-smaller particles from the air.
In our testing, we found the MA-50 had the highest particle filtering performance, removing an impressive 71% more particles from the air compared to the average, and about 9% more than the runner-up on this test, the Winix 5500-2.
Where the MA-50 may be the most useful is for quickly dispersing aerosols, especially on higher fan settings. According to a study conducted by a third party, tiny aerosols (5 microns or less) are key to spreading viruses. Not only do particles this size tend to linger in the air for longer, they’re also inhaled directly into the lungs, instead of getting trapped in the nose or throat. Because these particles are so small, only a HEPA filter—like the one found on the MA-50—can remove them. According to this data, the MA-50 should be able to quickly and effectively churn through these aerosols that would otherwise stay airborne and infectious for hours at a time.
While this type of performance was outside of the scope of our own testing, this study’s results do seem promising.
One area where we are truly impressed is with the MA-50’s overall build quality. While most of it is still plastic, it feels much sturdier than many other air purifiers (and even portable air conditioners, which should theoretically be more heavy-duty and robust) we’ve had our hands on for testing.
On other units, many parts—especially filter covers—felt remarkably flimsy, like you might accidentally snap something while removing or replacing them.
Though a minor point, the MA-50s control panel is a nice cap on top of the unit’s overall solid build quality.
It has a tempered glass control panel on the top that provides a much better feel and user experience compared to traditional plastic buttons or touch pads. The controls are intuitive and include a child lock option.
The small display on the front shows the current settings. That robust build quality carries through the rest of the unit.
This is one of those areas where a test result is more disappointing than detrimental to the product, given its focus on aerosols. However, it’s still worth noting.
Despite having a carbon filter, the MA-50 only put up middling results with removing VOCs.
According to our tests, the MA-50 disperses VOCs at a rate that was 33% less than the average, and about a quarter as much as the highest performance we saw.
Given the price of the unit (and the fact that it has a filtration layer specifically aimed at neutralizing VOCs), we are disappointed in this result. If VOCs are one of your primary concerns while shopping for an air purifier, the MA-50 isn’t for you.
The MA-50's hefty price tag may leave you wanting for more features.
The Medify Air MA-50’s MSRP is $449, very much on the pricier side of the air purifier spectrum.
While it does put forth an impressive performance to make the case for its price point, it also lacks some of the extra features you’d typically see on higher-end units, like a remote, air quality sensor, or smart features.
The lack of an air quality sensor means the device lacks an automatic mode that can kick the device on whenever necessary.
Owners seem to really love their Medify Air MA-50s, awarding the purifier an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars across major retailers.
Many of the positive reviews claim the device created a positive outcome for someone who was sick, or that they believe it helped prevent the spread of illness within their home. Many owners are happy with its overall performance, citing some persistent smell had since disappeared, and indicated the filter helped give them peace of mind.
Those who weren’t fans of the MA-50 mostly seem to have received lemons, which should be covered by Medify Air’s warranty.
Medify Air offers a lifetime warranty on the MA-50 as long as you register the device and change your filters as specified.
This is a solid warranty, and goes quite a way to justifying the unit’s price, turning the purchase more into an investment in your home’s continued air quality.
While the MA-50 is definitely one of the more expensive air purifiers we’ve reviewed, we believe it offers some decent value for its price. Not only did this device ace many of our lab-based filtration tests, it seems to specifically excel at dispelling aerosols, which, in the age of Covid, is probably the main reason many consumers are interested in air filtration systems.
The MA-50 did have some disappointing facets, such as a poor performance neutralizing VOCs and fewer smart and accessibility features than its peers, but its excellent warranty goes a long way to making up some of that lost value.
Despite its imperfections, the MA-50 is still one of the best air purifiers we’ve tested, earning the title of Best HEPA filter air purifier.
If you’re still shopping around, we recommend checking out the Winix 5500-2, which also removes a lot of particulates, does a better job of removing VOCs, and has some of the smart features we feel are missing from the MA-50. The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Mark Brezinski is a senior writer with over ten years of experience reviewing consumer tech and home appliances.
Dave Ellerby is Reviewed's Chief Scientist, and has a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester.
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