[starfly]

I just picked up a pair from KEF's website. I sold my APMs and maybe I'll like these more.

Nice. Post your impressions once you've had time to give them a good listen.

 

[angelom]

Hello.

Can somebody PLEASE confirming if the earpads are real leather or not? This is really very important for me because ONLY real leather earpads are good for me (leatherette or artificial leather ALWAYS making my ears hot and/or sweating very quickly). I trying many, many headphones in the past and ONLY genuine leather is good for me.

Thank you!

 

[starfly]

Hello.

Can somebody PLEASE confirming if the earpads are real leather or not? This is really very important for me because ONLY real leather earpads are good for me (leatherette or artificial leather ALWAYS making my ears hot and/or sweating very quickly). I trying many, many headphones in the past and ONLY genuine leather is good for me.

Thank you!

Hard to say for sure, but I'd bet it's fake leather.

Edit: confirmed it's leatherette: https://us.kef.com/products/mu7-ear-cushions

 

[Not so fat head]

Under $400, good job KEF..

 

[starfly]

Listening to these passively, the tuning is essentially the same. And I don't even have to turn these on! Powering them right now through my Motu M4 audio interface. Rocking out to some Tool right now

Comfort is great, wore them for a couple hours straight this morning, no issues. Didn't need to readjust them after I found the sweet spot on my head. Ears do get a bit warm, but that's the case with all closed backs IMO.

I know there are some wireless headphones that only work when powered on with a cord, or worse, they work without being powered on but they sound completely off, requiring built-in DSP to correct for bad tuning (e.g. Sony XM4).

 

[tyk103]

I know there are some wireless headphones that only work when powered on with a cord, or worse, they work without being powered on but they sound completely off, requiring built-in DSP to correct for bad tuning (e.g. Sony XM4).

that was an issue I had with the B&O H95 and for $900, I didnt feel as though they brought a lot to the table over the Apple Airpods Max, esp losing the convenience of continuity within the ecosystem, so I returned them.

Now with the KEFs for $400, I'm willing to compromise a bit more and the fact (based on your reviews) they sound good, good ANCs and works passively….I'm more willing to compromise on the lack of convenience factors that the APMs had.

 

[starfly]

that was an issue I had with the B&O H95 and for $900, I didnt feel as though they brought a lot to the table over the Apple Airpods Max, esp losing the convenience of continuity within the ecosystem, so I returned them.

Now with the KEFs for $400, I'm willing to compromise a bit more and the fact (based on your reviews) they sound good, good ANCs and works passively….I'm more willing to compromise on the lack of convenience factors that the APMs had.

I think for $400, these are great sounding headphones, they're musical and smooth. Definitely not detail monsters, but typically detail monsters do that by artificially boosting certain frequency ranges. The Bathys on the surface sounds more detailed, but they boost the highs a bit. Are there wireless headphones that sound better? Absolutely, but you'll have to cough up more money too.

I have 5909s on the way as well as I want to give these a second chance, found them open box somewhere discounted by $200, which makes them a bit better value. But I still have a feeling I'll probably end up keeping the Mu7 because of the price, comfort, good ANC and good SQ.

I am really curious to see how the Mu7 measures in terms of frequency response, but I don't have any equipment for that to do it myself.

 

[FlyingFungus]

I'm really interested in the KEF now. $600 cdn, a little high though. How do they compare to the B&W Px7 S2?

 

[jijy]

I'm really interested in the KEF now. $600 cdn, a little high though. How do they compare to the B&W Px7 S2?

I have both now, but I'll release my Px7 S2 this weekend.
I'm sorry for my simply comparation... because I use Px7 S2 only few hours.
- Sound: Px7 S2>KEF Mu7
- Comfort: KEF Mu7>Px7 S2
- Volume/Music Control: KEF Mu7(touch pad)>Px7 S2(button)
- Carrying case quality: Px7 S2>KEF Mu7
- App: Px7 S2 (No App of KEF Mu7)
- NC: No testing
- Other function: KEF Mu7 has 3.5mm jack supports High-resolution audio. Px7 S2 has USB-DAC, but no 3.5mm jack.
If your priority is sound more than comfort, I recommend Px7 S2.
I modified about Carrying case because I made mistake. I think Px7 S2 case is more durable and higher quality than Mu7 case.

 

[FlyingFungus]

I have both now, but I'll release my Px7 S2 this weekend.
I'm sorry for my simply comparation... because I use Px7 S2 only few hours.
- Sound: Px7 S2>KEF Mu7
- Comfort: KEF Mu7>Px7 S2
- Volume/Music Control: KEF Mu7(touch pad)>Px7 S2(button)
- Carrying case quality: KEF Mu7>Px7 S2
- App: Px7 S2 (No App of KEF Mu7)
- NC: No testing
- Other function: KEF Mu7 has 3.5mm jack supports High-resolution audio. Px7 S2 has USB-DAC, but no 3.5mm jack.
If your priority is sound more than comfort, I recommend Px7 S2.

This is good info, thanks!

 

[raymanh]

Can anyone here compare these to the Momentum 4?

 

[starfly]

I just did some A/Bing against my reference for sound, my Revel Performa3 F206 speakers (excellent speakers, and measure almost ruler flat in an anechoic chamber). Room EQ applied to these speakers to get a flat-ish in-room response. Only for 10-15 mins though, as I was strapped for time.

Vocals, or at least, male vocals as that's all I was able to test so far, sound just right on the Mu7, and recessed on the Bathys, like it's a layer behind the music. Otherwise the presentation on the Mu7 is smoother and a bit less detailed with for example guitars. The song Pocketful of Stones by David Gilmour has a very nice guitar solo towards the end, and it's very well defined when produced through my speakers, and a bit less so on the Mu7. The Bathys produces this guitar solo pretty close to my speakers as well in terms of resolution and detail.

Will keep posting more impressions over the next week as I continue testing these headphones.

 

[tyk103]

I just did some A/Bing against my reference for sound, my Revel Performa3 F206 speakers (excellent speakers, and measure almost ruler flat in an anechoic chamber). Room EQ applied to these speakers to get a flat-ish in-room response. Only for 10-15 mins though, as I was strapped for time.

Vocals, or at least, male vocals as that's all I was able to test so far, sound just right on the Mu7, and recessed on the Bathys, like it's a layer behind the music. Otherwise the presentation on the Mu7 is smoother and a bit less detailed with for example guitars. The song Pocketful of Stones by David Gilmour has a very nice guitar solo towards the end, and it's very well defined when produced through my speakers, and a bit less so on the Mu7. The Bathys produces this guitar solo pretty close to my speakers as well in terms of resolution and detail.

Will keep posting more impressions over the next week as I continue testing these headphones.

So I guess it's true that the mids are recessed on the Bathys. I'm a fan of the HD6XX and similar-ish sound signature (laid back, lush, warm and solid mids) and I have a feeling that I'm going to like the Mu7 when it arrives tomorrow.

 

[starfly]

So I guess it's true that the mids are recessed on the Bathys. I'm a fan of the HD6XX and similar-ish sound signature (laid back, lush, warm and solid mids) and I have a feeling that I'm going to like the Mu7 when it arrives tomorrow.

Yep, seems that way. When you look at the measurements of the Bathys, you can see a clear relatively large dip around 800-900 Hz.

 

[starfly]

Between the Bathys and Mu7, giving the nod to the Mu7 comfortwise. Somehow the Bathys starts to irritate my left ear fairly quick. Don't have that issues on the Mu7. They're quite comfortable headphones.