[Beagle]

Peter, my local dealer said the P7 will be released in October and will be $399.99.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Peter, my local dealer said the P7 will be released in October and will be $399.99.

 
Excellent. Thanks Dave!
 
I guess the Apple Store would be a good place to pick them up? I know Future Shop carries the P5, so good chance they'll carry the P7 too. I think I might take one for the team here and pick up a pair to add to my list.

 

[starfly]

I took the M500 on a commute with me this morning (subway and train) and it definitely doesn't block out noise that well. But the standard for me is the SE530 IEM, which isolates really well (with the right tips) and I suppose it's a bit unfair to compare an on-ear to an IEM in terms of isolation
 
That said, through the ambient noise the music still sounded beautiful

 

[RandomNumber]

  I took the M500 on a commute with me this morning (subway and train) and it definitely doesn't block out noise that well. But the standard for me is the SE530 IEM, which isolates really well (with the right tips) and I suppose it's a bit unfair to compare an on-ear to an IEM in terms of isolation
 
That said, through the ambient noise the music still sounded beautiful

 
I agree  
 
the M500 seems to blend in with the background noise, it is as if the ambient noise is part of the music.
 
I know I dont make any sense, this is how I feel.

 

[GREQ]

Looks like the P7 came out quicker in Europe. My local dealer said LAST WEEK they would have them in THIS WEEK, I just didn't go and check yet.
 

  I can wear the Momentum all around my ears, I've got a great fit. And while the Momentum on it's own is a great headphone in my opinion, the KEF does offer a clearly better audio performance. It just comes down to where your references are, what sound you think is the best. I think STAX makes the best sounding headphones on this earth, and that's the benchmark for me. 

My reference headphone is the HE-500, but I still feel there was a strange hollow honkiness to some vocals on the M500 (which was extremely noticeable when auditioning with Muse's album The 2nd Law). 
Maybe the M500 is a less forgiving headphone than the Momentum, but I'm inclined to believe this isn't necessarily the case, as I've been singing in various choirs for about 17 years and have a fairly good idea of how a voice should sound, and the HE-500 (and a few others) doesn't exhibit the same hollow sounding vocals to the same recording.

 

[starfly]

  Looks like the P7 came out quicker in Europe. My local dealer said LAST WEEK they would have them in THIS WEEK, I just didn't go and check yet.
 
My reference headphone is the HE-500, but I still feel there was a strange hollow honkiness to some vocals on the M500 (which was extremely noticeable when auditioning with Muse's album The 2nd Law). 
Maybe the M500 is a less forgiving headphone than the Momentum, but I'm inclined to believe this isn't necessarily the case, as I've been singing in various choirs for about 17 years and have a fairly good idea of how a voice should sound, and the HE-500 (and a few others) doesn't exhibit the same hollow sounding vocals to the same recording.

 
I'm still not fully sold on the vocals yet, however my ears are becoming more and more used to the KEF sound. The mids *are* fantastic though, an acoustic guitar almost sounds like someone is sitting in front of me playing that guitar. It has quite an airy sound overall, the KEF, which is why I think I'm starting to like it more and more. For instance, the song 'Cowboy Junkies - Renmin Park' just sounds very very good (it's also a well recorded song, so that certainly helps). The acoustic guitar on that song along with the singer's voice sounds very well. The imaging is great and there is a sense of depth, like I can place the instruments in a 3D space (okay, maybe not, but it sort of sounds like that). Perhaps the M500 is a less forgiving headphone than say the Momentum, so a bad recording will not sound so great through it.

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

   The imaging is great and there is a sense of depth, like I can place the instruments in a 3D space

 
It does have a uniquely expansive quality to the soundstage. Especially for an on-ear.

 

[starfly]

So I feel like after a bit of burning in (about 8 hours now) the treble has mellowed out a little bit and it's not as harsh as it was when I first listened to it. This being the M500 I'm talking about. It's still quite present though
 
The Momentums, well, as good as they sound, they are simply not comfortable enough on my ears. So while they do isolate better, after only a few minutes I start to notice them on my ears a little bit too much, distracting me from my listening pleasure. So they wouldn't be suitable for extended listening, the main purpose why I bought these headphones. I'm most likely going to return them, but tonight I'll give them a shot with a bit of actual extended listening, still want to give either headphone a fair chance (and on some tracks the Momentum does sound a bit better to my ears).
 
Also, since today I don't really like the sound of my SE530's anymore, they suddenly sound a bit closed and muddied compared to the M500 

 Guess at some point I'm gonna have to get a different pair of IEMs that are more detailed and refined than the SE530 in terms of sound and have a wider soundstage. Now I know what I've been missing all these years (been using the SE530 exclusively for about 4 years now...)
 
Ouch to my wallet...

 

[uelover]

  So I feel like after a bit of burning in (about 8 hours now) the treble has mellowed out a little bit and it's not as harsh as it was when I first listened to it. This being the M500 I'm talking about. It's still quite present though
 
The Momentums, well, as good as they sound, they are simply not comfortable enough on my ears. So while they do isolate better, after only a few minutes I start to notice them on my ears a little bit too much, distracting me from my listening pleasure. So they wouldn't be suitable for extended listening, the main purpose why I bought these headphones. I'm most likely going to return them, but tonight I'll give them a shot with a bit of actual extended listening, still want to give either headphone a fair chance (and on some tracks the Momentum does sound a bit better to my ears).
 
Also, since today I don't really like the sound of my SE530's anymore, they suddenly sound a bit closed and muddied compared to the M500 

 Guess at some point I'm gonna have to get a different pair of IEMs that are more detailed and refined than the SE530 in terms of sound and have a wider soundstage. Now I know what I've been missing all these years (been using the SE530 exclusively for about 4 years now...)
 
Ouch to my wallet...

 
A good fit is the main key to getting good sound from the Momentum. I got a very comfortable fit on it and it is circumaural to me. The reason why I sold it is because it is not portable at all. The big travelling case does not help either.
 
I gave the M500 another 30mins listen today. It just lack the clarity and dynamics to my ears. It has got very strong boomy bass and muddy sound. I love its look, comfort and portability. But at the end of the day, this headphone is not something I will use to listen to my songs. 

 

[Trunks159]

Do you have a large head? A light clamp is crucial to the kef's sound quality.

 

[starfly]

   
A good fit is the main key to getting good sound from the Momentum. I got a very comfortable fit on it and it is circumaural to me. The reason why I sold it is because it is not portable at all. The big travelling case does not help either.
 
I gave the M500 another 30mins listen today. It just lack the clarity and dynamics to my ears. It has got very strong boomy bass and muddy sound. I love its look, comfort and portability. But at the end of the day, this headphone is not something I will use to listen to my songs. 

 
Hmm, that's interesting you found the bass boomy on the M500 and that you think it lacks clarity. I don't find it boomy at all. There certainly is a good quantity of bass, but I think it's also a well-defined qualitative bass, not boomy. But I guess it also depends on the genre of music being listened to. It certainly has a somewhat stronger presence than the Momentum. And in terms of clarity, I find them very revealing in terms of detail. They do seem to reveal more detail than the Momentum (but that could just be because the upper mids to highs are a bit more forward in the M500 sound signature vs. the Momentum).
 
Honestly, tonight I've been giving the Momentum a closer listen and I feel like the burn-in has opened them up a bit in terms of sound. It doesn't sound as muffled as how I was describing them yesterday. And when I fidget around for a while until I have a proper fit they aren't as uncomfortable (I really do have to mess around with the fit each time I put them on). And it really depends on the recording which one sounds better.
 
I was listening to the song Johnny Cash - Hurt and I noticed a distinct difference between the M500 and the Momentum. On the M500 the vocals were a bit too forward and in my face, the would slightly drown out the guitar, whereas on the Momentum the vocals were more in balance with the guitar. So the song sounde more harmonious on the Momentum. I did find the quality of the guitar to sound better on the M500 (a bit more detailed and gorgeous sounding), but the overall presentation was more balanced on the Momentum on that specific track.
 
Anyway, I think the burn-in has made the difference between the two less night and day as when I initially listened to them yesterday. Still think the M500 is more comfortable, but the Momentums I can apparently make quite comfortable by really fidgetting around a bit with the fit. I guess the listening continues

 

[Lan647]

   
A good fit is the main key to getting good sound from the Momentum. I got a very comfortable fit on it and it is circumaural to me. The reason why I sold it is because it is not portable at all. The big travelling case does not help either.
 
I gave the M500 another 30mins listen today. It just lack the clarity and dynamics to my ears. It has got very strong boomy bass and muddy sound. I love its look, comfort and portability. But at the end of the day, this headphone is not something I will use to listen to my songs. 

 
This doesn't make sense to me at all. The KEF has undeniably superior clarity and bass. The Momentum clearly has boomier bass and muddier sound. So I'm not sure what's wrong here, either you've tried a faulty M500 or couldn't get a good fit.

 

[GREQ]

 

   
A good fit is the main key to getting good sound from the Momentum. I got a very comfortable fit on it and it is circumaural to me. The reason why I sold it is because it is not portable at all. The big travelling case does not help either.
 
I gave the M500 another 30mins listen today. It just lack the clarity and dynamics to my ears. It has got very strong boomy bass and muddy sound. I love its look, comfort and portability. But at the end of the day, this headphone is not something I will use to listen to my songs. 

 
This doesn't make sense to me at all. The KEF has undeniably superior clarity and bass. The Momentum clearly has boomier bass and muddier sound. So I'm not sure what's wrong here, either you've tried a faulty M500 or couldn't get a good fit.

It's subtle - not undeniable. 
If it was a comparison with a $15 headphone, it would be undeniable. 
 
I agree on the bass; it is more textured, but the clarity overall between the two is very similar.
The rolled off treble on the Momentum doesn't mean it has less clarity than the more trebly M500. They're both excellent at detail retrieval. 

 

[Trunks159]

It's subtle - not undeniable. 
If it was a comparison with a $15 headphone, it would be undeniable. 

I agree on the bass; it is more textured, but the clarity overall between the two is very similar.
The rolled off treble on the Momentum doesn't mean it has less clarity than the more trebly M500. They're both excellent at detail retrieval. 

Yes, it's subtle. Loosening the clamp improves the sound tromendously.

 

[Beagle]

   
Excellent. Thanks Dave!
 
I guess the Apple Store would be a good place to pick them up? I know Future Shop carries the P5, so good chance they'll carry the P7 too. I think I might take one for the team here and pick up a pair to add to my list.

 
 
I would think that the Apple Store would be the first stop for them, although my dealer in Ottawa (AudioShop) was the first to get the P5 when they came out. Future Shop came in 3rd.