I have a 5.1 system compromised of Kef Cesta 2’s on the front, Kef Cresta 1’s as the rears and a Kef Cresta Centre speaker. A Rel Strata Mark II handles the bass. Had this speaker set up 25 years now.
I bought LSX and Kube 10b a few years back and have been a fan since. Consider upgrading to LS60. Have many Sonos speakers but KEF network speakers are on another level.
Ended up buying them. Literally had them 2 months and used no more than a dozen times. Impressed with the sound but the arm snapped from a simple adjustment and had to be returned. I believe many people are reporting this same issue, shame, I won't be asking for replacements.
I have the XM3 and XM5 headphones and I’ve had no problems with the padding on the XM5’s. There is ever so slightly less padding than the XM3 but when wearing them I cannot tell the difference comfort wise. I can actually wear them for longer than the XM3, which sounds counterintuitive, maybe it’s because the XM5 have slightly bigger ear cups. Regardless, I can wear them for hours before I notice heat building up.
I love my XM5. Great customisable balanced sound, they’re so comfortable and lightweight, transparency and connectivity is awesome. The case is not THAT big. I actually began listening to music much more now, and I love it. My AirPods Pro 2 sound more artificial and annoyingly bright. And AirPods Max cost too much, especially in EU - it’s almost 700 usd here. I really want to try the Focals though 🙄 one day
How do you rate these against the B&W PX7 S2? Now I have the wear sensor behaving itself on them they are the best headphones i’ve ever owned (even the airpods max) but always like a comparison
How would you compare these to the Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2? Also if you ever get your hands on the master and dynamic mg20 gaming headsets, these are very underrated for a daily pair of headphones, i actually alternate those with my px7 s2, Sennheiser momentum 4s, and my Yamaha E700, and my Ashdowns OV-1s.
You should review the Jabra Evolve 2 85. I have the AirPods Max, but I do love the jabra because they sound reasonably good …but are amazing for calls. Infinitely better than anyone else. So I often wear them while working.
Curious... from my understanding Bluetooth cannot support a lossess/hi-res audio stream, therefore you can only hear hi-fi sounds when wired, so I do wonder how much the soundscape could be impacted if you actually listened to a higher quality file whilst corded?
hi!! incredibly helpful and just what i was looking for! i’m a bit confused with the term “offensive”/“non-offensive”, i’ve been googling it but cannot find anything where it’s explained. i’m seriously considering buying the mu7s and i feel like offensiveness is a key term. thank you!!😁
for some context, i am currently using a broken pair of pxc 550s. i recently purchased the new momentum 4s but immediately returned them due to the disappointing noise cancelling and sound quality. (broken pxc 550 >>>> brand new momentum 4)
Been waiting for more people to find these and review them. Also, any chance you're going to check out the AKG Y600NCs? They went on sale and imo are the absolute deal in this ANC world at its price right now.
Hi Mark. ANC isn't something I care too much for as I'd be mainly listening at home when working or for the odd walk or hike. I won't use for calls either, it's solely about the sound for me of the music. Where do you think I'd be best placed? I'm leaning big time towards the MU7 right now, but would love your advice.
@@MarkEllisReviews thanks Mark. I'm mainly into classic 60s/70s rock and blues music. I'm not too fussed on big features etc. Would you still say the KEFs over the xm4 for example solely on sound?
Thank you for this review, Mark! You just pointed out the two reasons why I won't be buying the KEF headphones - although I am a big fan of the company... No ANC and the size of the case. Sad flaws indeed!
Hmmm...strange today I had a chance to test drive the Mu7, but their Noise cancellation is absolute rubbish? I tried with busy car noises, wind, fans, and even baby noises...my gosh forget Sony level, even Bathys, yes I know much more expensive, still better. Considering bathys has the worst anc among the luxury headphones...mu7 is bad. Their sound is ok not great. Personally I would rather get Bower Px7 s2 over this. Way better ANC and sound for even better price since the PX8 released.
Still got some KEF Coda 7's from the 90's. Not the highest end but they still work perfectly with surprisingly good clarity and bass. Don't use them as much as I did but see no need to get rid.
This is probably an entirely unintended consequence, but after listening to your last three reviews of headphones, I've ordered AirPods Max at the best price I could find. :-)
I just got this headphones and I just don’t know what to do, should I return them or take them for real? The sound experience is not to my liking but at the same time I just use them for around two hours.😭😭😭😭 Help me
I got a one-off open box set of xm5's amazons overstock site for $120 (i think the site made a mistake i didn't believe it was legit until I got them) and I can confirm they are not worth anything close to their retail price. Amazing feature set but sound is meh. I have the 1more Sonoflow and they are better than the sonys in sound, comfort, and battery life and can be bought for $80 to $100 (and they fold into a small case). Would be interested in the Kef if I can score them for cheap....
I have to say after a couple days use, the sounds got warmer and more enjoyable. They felt rather tinny on some tracks out the box, which after a couple of days am not hearing anymore.
3:04 Breaking In a headphone or speaker is overrated. It can change the sound slightly, but will never make you like a product, that you didn't like before.
@@ashleymadison9380 Well... yes, for me, the Sony XM4s are the best consumer noise-cancelling headphones I've used. You will, therefore, have to explain my 'bias', buddy.
@@MarkEllisReviews Well first off, I am entitled to my opinion, and I have shared it. However, in my opinion., you seem to be WANTING to love these from the start, or at least that is how it comes across to me. Then you end with If you are a huge KEF fan (clearly you are), you are going to love there. You start by saying when you first heard them, they didn't seem very exciting. Then you go on to criticize other headphone for having a fake, exciting sound. Then you say the KEF's have a very "hi fi sound", a proper high fi sound. So, you didn't like them because they didn't have the exciting sound of other brands, but you love them because they didn't have the exciting sound of other brands? Are you saying that the KEF's went from a boring, unexciting sound that you didn't like to a detailed balance pleasing sound simply from breaking them in? From the review, it sounds like you really didn't like these headphones at first, but you spent hours convincing yourself to like them because you supposed to like them because they are "HiFi" from KEF. I mean you gotta make up your mind. Are you wanting an accurate pair of "monitors" that give you the closest thing to what the producer/engineer put out, or do you want something that is going to give you what the "Beats" and "Bose" crowd wants? Two very different things. I fell like you criticized the headphone in the beginning because they were boring, unexciting (read accurate), and in the end you loved them because they were indeed uncolored boring and more accurate. Bottom line, the XM4's are the king for ACN, and features . I couldn't live without them on the train, but the 7506's will always be my choice for mixing, when I can't use my GENELEC studio monitors. Even more important, you got engagement from your video, and that feeds the algorithm :-)
@@ashleymadison9380 I see this so much in comments sections for headphone reviews. You’ve clearly been triggered by my suggestion that most consumer headphones have a coloured sound. Let me clarify a few things: 1) That wasn’t a criticism of such headphones. They have a place and I enjoy using them. 2) I did indeed grow to love the Mu7 sound for entirely different reasons (a concept that appears to have bothered you so much, you’ve repeated it about three times). 3) Headphones that are tuned for mass market have a place - the mass market. 4) Headphones like the Mu7 have a place; people who enjoy less EQ’d cans. And, in this case, staunch fans of said brand. 5) Neither place is a bad place to be. 6) As a headphone reviewer, my role is to provide buying guidance for these different subsections of the market. I wouldn’t want someone to buy a pair of Mu7 when they would actually feel shortchanged by them. 7) As a headphone reviewer, my job isn’t to ‘make up my mind’ and pick a pair of headphones for myself. The comments I receive on headphone reviews FASCINATE me. There is so much brand loyalty, which is absolutely fine, but it so often spills over into comments where the author clearly struggles to accept opinions that differ to their own. Yours is one such comment, and I’d kindly refer you to your first paragraph. Live by that motto, respect that it applies to everyone else, and you’ll get on just fine 👍