KEF Mu7 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Charcoal Grey
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KEF Mu7 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, Charcoal Grey
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
The British hi-fi titan has been busy flexing its luxuriously top-spec audio muscles these last few years with some wonderful speakers, like the effortlessly clean LSXII set, and while it might not be the household name that your grandparents would know about, it's still one of the most sought-after audio-makers around. This new lunge for relevancy has promise with the release of the mid-specced Mu7, but do KEF's ANC-powered headphones have any staying power? We've been testing them out to see how competitive they really are. History in the making KEF has done well with the battery life on the Mu7s. You get up to 40 hours' listening out of them on a full charge, which is plenty and up there with the best in its category.
For the price, there are definitely a few missing bells and whistles — no carry case, no wear sensors for auto-pausing music, no transparency mode, and unless KEF neglected to mention it, no mobile app with adjustment for EQ, controls, or ANC settings. Still, KEF’s reputation rests more on sound quality than on its ability to offer every single feature, so we’ll resist passing judgment until we hear these new headphones in action. The KEF Mu7 Wireless Headphones feature a lightweight, graceful design. The ear cups are made of plastic, while the joints connecting the headphones to the headband and the headband itself are made of aluminium, guaranteeing a very slim and lightweight construction with maximum stability. However, a couple of the features we’ve come to expect from premium wireless headphones like the KEFs are missing.
And in our opinion, the result is a distinctive-looking pair of over-ears. The headphones have a liquid metal vibe and feel about them. The teardrop shape of the earcups looks refined and sophisticated, while the smooth surfaces are nice to the touch. The result was not quite as hoped: the electronics of the Mu7 only moderately dampen external noise. The overall sound signature is neutral-warm and very comfortable to listen to for long sessions. The dynamics are pretty good as well as you can clearly differentiate the highs and lows, but again, not as good as other wired Hi-Fi headphones that are cheaper.
I get the strong impression reviewers and consumer alike have become so used to the bass-heavy (or at least bass-front) and feature laden offerings that seem to have saturated the market that we have come to expect a very specific basket of things from headphones and have actually forgotten how to look - and listen - a little deeper. Obviously, too, appreciation is in the ear of the beholder. Do I like my KEFs? Yes. Might someone else? No. That's up to them. But for what it's worth, in my opinion, they are better than this review suggests.Could I ask. But if you push the volume control towards full steam, they clearly gain in assertiveness, the basses are also a bit oppressive and the sound becomes livelier. The bottom half headband is made of the same material and the ear cups are on hinges which means they aren't too tight on the ears, working nicely with the contours of my head. The top half of the heaband and the inner part of the cups are coated in a soft faux leather. Couple this with a balanced, high-end audio experience and impressive - but not quite class beating - ANC and what you have is a real noise-canceling headphone contender that deserves to turn heads away from the likes of Sony and Apple. Of course, all elements of the headphones are designed according to ergonomic principles to ensure maximum wearing comfort. This is also helped by the fact that the padding of the ear cups uses a breathable cover and memory foam. This is intended to achieve an optimal acoustic seal with minimal pressure on the ears. The top of the headband is also very softly padded, a fact that should not go unnoticed.
How long does the Mu3 battery last?
So in relative terms the KEF push rather than punch, and don’t create quite the sense of momentum or rhythmic positivity that other, more assertive, designs can achieve. And when you realise the Mu7 aren’t the most dynamic headphones around when it comes to putting appreciable distance between ‘quite quiet’ and ‘extremely loud’ is concerned, it becomes apparent the KEF can sound slightly undemonstrative and matter-of-fact when compared to their most capable price-appropriate rivals. Coupled with the extremely soft ear cushions, this sound characteristic ensures that you can still listen to KEF's headphones in a relaxed manner, even over longer distances. This is exciting because many users consider an app to be mandatory, and indeed many headphone models offer a variety of possibilities with the help of corresponding apps, especially with regard to personalisation. They got the deep rumbling of the ICE well under control, but overall the driving noise was still easy to hear despite the combination of passive and active insulation.
Even with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on and a wireless connection established, a single charge of the 1100mAh lithium-ion battery provides a battery life that is entirely enough at a solid 40 hours. The Mu7 can continue to play for another eight hours after just requiring a charge for a total of fifteen minutes through USB-C. In addition, in contrast to the data provided by quite a few of KEF’s competitors, all of KEF’s are entirely credible. KEF Mu7 review: Price and Availability It can be hard for headphones to stand out, so KEF once again worked with designer Ross Lovegrove on the Mu7 to make it look better on the shelf. You can see his influence on past KEF products like the Muon floor-standing speakers, the Muo wireless speakers, and the Mu3 wireless earbuds. You can also see it right away in the Mu7. They are also heavier than the Sonys (309g vs around 250g), and they feel it. You’re a bit more aware of their presence on your head but they’re not an uncomfortable fit by any stretch. Which means that aside from the aluminium earcups, the rest of the KEF are unremarkable where design is concerned. Faux-leather covered memory foam forms the earpads, and there’s more of the material covering the central part of the headband. The rest of the headband, the arms and the yokes are aluminium too, and the earcups fold flat to allow the KEF-branded sem-rigid carry case to be of manageable size. Provided you achieve a good seal, the level of passive noise isolation on offer is decent. While finding them pretty comfortable for a brief stroll, we are a little less convinced of their comfort during longer listening sessions. The Sony WF-1000XM3 are a slightly bulkier design but feel much less intrusive, as do the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.Their sound is clear and unexcited up to medium volumes, and the right atmosphere only comes about when you let them get loud. ANC is works really well and exceeded my expectations coming from the really good ANCs that are offered by competitors, but still not that great. Such products and review copies are often collected at the end of a year, for example, and sold at a company flea market, with the proceeds being donated to charitable causes.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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