KEF M500 Headphones - Giving A Thoroughly Enjoyable Listening Experience

You can’t have failed to notice that over-ear headphones have made a big comeback of late, and the number of new models seems to grow on a daily basis. With the number of hi-fi headphone wearers steadily on the rise, KEF is among one of many brands to join the burgeoning market, and the M500s represent the UK speaker maker’s first pair of over-ear headphones.

KEF M500 headphones

KEF has over 50 years in the hi-fi business, and is well known for its unconventional speaker designs and engineering. It’s perhaps a little surprising then, that it has taken until now to join the headphone market, but better late than never, and it has no doubt been spending the time fine-tuning its first pair of cans to fit with its considerable hi-fi heritage.

Hinge and bracket

Unpacking the M500s from their carton reveals that the brand’s design ethos has most definitely been applied, as they are a lightweight and exceedingly stylish pair of cans that look sumptuous and are very comfortable to wear.

The elegant brushed-aluminum frame incorporates what KEF calls the Smart Hinge, which cleverly rotates on two axis to make the M500s adaptable to different-sized (and shaped) heads. The sophisticated multi-angle hinge also allows you to fold each earpiece up into the headband, reducing the M500’s size by around half and making them extremely portable, which scores additional plus points over many rivals in the $375 price bracket. A protective carrying case is provided, along with gold-plated flight and 6.3mm stereo jack adapters, and there are also interchangeable 1.3m-long cables – one with an in-line Apple remote and microphone, and one without. Both cables are flat and pleasingly tangle-free.

KEF has over 50 years in the hi-fi business

The M500s are a closed-back design with memory foam applied to the headband and earpads, and have breathable and sweat-resistant covers for maximum comfort. Beneath the ear pads sits the 40mm neodymium speaker driver, painstakingly tuned by KEF’s audio engineers, so it’s with high expectations that I place the M500s on my ears for my first listen.

From the outset I am impressed, and the KEFs go about producing music in a very enjoyable way. The frequency response feels well extended with a punchy and dynamic bass, and a nicely detailed treble that has a surprising sense of openness and sparkle to all tracks for a closed-back design. As well as being easy on your own ears the KEFs are easy on your neighbors, too.

Annoying sound leakage is kept to a minimum, thanks to the closed-back design and makes the M500s suitable for travel on public transport with no need to worry about upsetting your fellow travelers.

Up close and personal

Peter Gabriel’s Red Rain sounds great. The expansive soundstage places vocals and instruments exactly where you expect to hear them, and the M500s successfully manage to create plenty of atmosphere as the hi-hat evokes the sound of rain, and the track is nicely presented. Move on to something more challenging like Fire starter by the Prodigy, and the M500s demonstrate their forte for a heavier musical side and an impressive ability to handle more propulsive and energetic beats. Bass levels are deep without being overwhelming and the M500s deliver a performance that’s undeniably engaging and hard to fault, even if the track isn’t really to my usual musical taste.

The M500s successfully manage to create plenty of atmosphere as the hi-hat evokes the sound of rain, and the track is nicely presented

Energetic beats are lapped up by the KEFs, demonstrating spectacular timing skills with any hip-hop, rap or dance genres I care to play. Hard to produce female vocals on more mellow tunes fare well too, and Joni Mitchell’s River is expressive with her voice sat convincingly in the mix. The track conjures all the atmosphere of an intimate jazz club on the KEFs with a tangible placement of instruments across the soundstage and Joni’s voice anchored firmly to its central position. If there have to be criticisms, then only a slight lack of upper mid clarity affecting openness on some vocals, and a slightly over wide stereo presentation of instruments mixed to the extreme left or right channels affect an otherwise great performance.

The KEF M500s give a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. They have a penchant for fast beats, but can also handle more sedate musical tastes. They ooze style and their foldable design only adds to their impressive flexibility.

Details

·         Price: $402.18

·         Website: www.kef.com

·         Our verdict: 5/5