KEF Mu7 Wireless Headphones Feature Distinctive British Sound

It took me a while to get my hands on a pair of KEF Mu7 headphones. Somehow, this pair of wireless ANC headphones had slipped under my review radar, but I thought I’d take a look at them. Having recently been blown away by Cambridge Audio’s Melomania P100 headphones, I wondered how the Hi-Res Mu7 would compare.

KEF is one of the oldest traditional British loudspeaker brands, with roots dating back to a time when the UK was a world leader in audio technology. Founded in Kent, England in 1961, KEF has gone on to build a reputation for making amazing loudspeakers. Now the brand is thriving and has even opened stunning showrooms around the world.

Like other speaker brands, such as B+W, KEF entered the headphone space with the launch of the Mu7 a year or so ago. These wireless Bluetooth headphones were designed by Ross Lovegrove, a designer who has collaborated with KEF on products such as the Muon floorstanding speakers and KEF’s first wireless earbuds, the Mu3.

As you would expect from a KEF product, the build quality of the Mu7 headphones is impeccable. The Lovegrove design features beautiful teardrop-shaped ear cups. The generously padded ear cushions are covered in soft synthetic leather and filled with memory foam. The ear cups can be rotated 90 degrees so they can be stored flat in their zippered hard case. The headphone yoke doesn’t fold in on itself, which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion and means less chance of frame squeaking.

The comfort level of the Mu7 is excellent. The clamping pressure isn’t quite as gentle as the Sony WH-1000XM5 but they are secure to wear. Weighing in at 309g, the Mu7 don’t feel too heavy, thanks to the padded headband and adjustable arms that keep them comfortable and secure. The ear pads seem to absorb any sweat and keep listeners’ ears cool. Finally, there’s a choice of silver or charcoal grey.

It’s fair to say that the Mu7 aren’t exactly feature-packed, but most of the stuff you need is there. First of all, the Mu7 is built around a Qualcomm chipset that supports SBC, AAC, and aptX HD. There’s no support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound Platform with the new aptX Lossless codec.

The Mu7 is great for listening to high-res files on Android and can be used with iOS thanks to its AAC support. However, if you want Snapdragon Sound support, there are some great headphones available now, such as the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 and Cambridge Audio’s Melomania P100.

Inside each earbud are custom 40mm drivers. The built-in battery provides up to 40 hours of playback time on a single charge. While that’s not exactly “best in class,” it’s good enough for a long return flight. The use of Bluetooth 5.1 also means you get multipoint connectivity support, allowing two devices to be connected at the same time so you can listen to music from one device while taking phone calls from, say, your company smartphone.

Since the Mu7 headphones use Qualcomm technology, you also get cVc noise-canceling microphone technology, which means quieter, clearer speech when making phone calls or participating in video conferences.

The microphones built into the earcups are also used to sample audio for the active noise cancellation functions. Pressing the ANC button turns the feature on and off, with most unwanted sounds being adequately filtered out. The Smart ANC function adapts to the level of external noise as you move around and does a great job. Is it as good as Bose or Sony ANC? Well, not quite as good but not bad at all.

Oddly enough, there’s no listening or transparency mode, but that’s not a problem for me as I rarely use it, but for someone who wants to be aware of their surroundings while running or working out, it could be a problem. One useful feature I liked was the auto-pause function when you lift the earbud. It’s handy when someone is talking to you; just lift the earbud and the music will pause.

All of the Mu7’s controls are located on the right earcup. There’s a power switch and a Bluetooth pairing button for connecting to a smartphone or audio player. There’s also an ANC button to turn noise cancellation on and off, as well as a USB-C charging and data port.

You can use the USB port to charge the Mu7’s rechargeable battery, as well as connect the headphones to a computer via a USB data cable so you can experience a high-resolution wired connection. For traditional connections, there’s a 3.5mm AUX jack that takes a cable that can connect the headphones to a high-resolution audio system or digital audio player.

Next, we move to the surface of the right earbud. There’s a recessed, touch-sensitive surface arranged in a cross shape. The touchpad lets you scroll forward to the next track or scroll back to repeat the last track. You can pause and play music with a single touch, and raise or lower the volume levels. It works well and is one of the few touch controls on headphones that I’ve enjoyed using.

One major downside to the Mu7 is the lack of a smartphone app to customize things like the equalizer and controls. There’s also no way to update the firmware. It’s a strange omission, and a well-designed app could add value to a pair of wireless headphones. I think KEF got it wrong here.

Now for the most important part of the review: How do the KEF Mu7 headphones sound? KEF makes some great headphones and their 60+ years of audio expertise can definitely be heard in these headphones. The sound is powerful and well-defined. If these headphones were human, they would have six parts. To test the Mu7, I streamed from TIDAL using aptX HD over Bluetooth.

Rhiannon Giddens is always a great artist to test headphones with. Her clear voice is capable of giving any driver a proper workout. The track “At The Purchaser’s Option” from Giddens’ album The road to freedom The album is off to a good start. The Mu7s handle the intro drums with authenticity. It’s an exciting sound, although the overall presentation of the track seemed a bit indifferent. That’s not necessarily a criticism, but these aren’t headphones that will slap you around the ears and give you a headache, but they have enough power and precision to produce a convincing soundstage, although it’s not particularly spacious.

There’s plenty of bass on offer with the Mu7s but things never get out of hand. The sound is restrained in places, and has plenty of forward definition in the midrange that plays vocals well. It can get a bit muddy in the crossover between the bass and the low midranges but it depends on the source. If you feed the KEF Mu7 a well-recorded track and play it on a good source, you’ll be rewarded with a good sound. If you like the distinctive KEF sound, you’ll know what I mean.

The verdict: The ANC wireless headphone market is fierce right now. It’s a competitive space, largely due to Qualcomm’s great chips and the help they provide audio companies when designing headphones and earbuds. As a result, there are plenty of affordable headphones out there. KEF has never been a cheap brand, but it has a loyal following. If you like KEF’s sound and appreciate Ross Lovegrove’s style, you’ll appreciate the Mu7. There are a few omissions, like a transparency mode and the lack of an app, but if you can get past that, these comfortable, clean-sounding headphones are worth a listen, even if they’re a little pricey.

Pricing and Availability: the How Mo7 The wireless ANC headphones are available now for $399.99 / £349 / €399.

Technical Specifications:

• Drivers: 40mm.
• Maximum output power: 15mW.
• Bluetooth version: 5.1.
• Codecs: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD
• Bluetooth Strength: Class 2.
• Bluetooth range: 10m.
• Battery: 1100 mAh.
• Battery life: 40 hours (BT + ANC on).
• Fast charging: 15 minutes = 8 hours.
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 199 x 153 x 89 mm.
• Weight: 309g.