Review by Stephen Goode, of Hifi Gear
Having had the pleasure of looking at the stylish, modern-design of the KEF M500 headphones, I jumped at the chance to take them in to our in-store demonstration room and truly get to know them.
The sturdy, yet sleek, steel framing is consoling and with the combination of soft-synthetic, leather-look, memory-foam ear-pads, creates a listening experience that looks as good as it feels. To test how these headphones paired up sonically against other headphones at this price range, I listened to a few songs and wrote down my thoughts.
I began assessing the M500s while listening to Gabrielle Aplin & Bastille's 'Dreams' cover (originally performed by Fleetwood Mac), from her EP 'Panic Cord'. This is a good song to demonstrate, in my opinion - as the song comprises a number of different elements; a multitude of pad sounds, delicate guitar/piano melodies, soft and intense vocal ranges and deep amounts of bass - the song generally makes heavy use of many frequency ranges. The M500s had no trouble bringing all of these elements together and each orchestral harmony was easily pin-pointed behind the intense (and beautifully loud!) chorus and bridge respectively. The headphones were able to create a truly beautiful representation of Bastille's softer voice and the delicate amount of reverb it had been tempered with – it also did the same for Gabrielle Aplin's section of the verse.
Next, I played Rise Against's 'Make It Stop (September's Children)', to see how KEF's headphones handled heavier music. Again, I was immediately impressed with the vocal response of the child orchestra singing for the intro. The voices were recreated with such clarity, you could almost count how many voices there were. Behind these voices, a tremolo-effected guitar aided in creating the eerie atmosphere Rise Against was trying to bring across. The KEF M500s did not compromise or manipulate this and the atmosphere was brought across well. However, I did find that once the chorus had dropped, the M500s lacked the initial 'oomph' to carry the heavier guitar elements the whole way (although, after plugging in one of AudioQuests' Dragonflys - I found this problem to be almost entirely eradicated).
Afterwards, I listened to Skrillex's 'Kyoto', from the Bangarang EP. Similarly to before, all elements are clearly audible with particular attention to the vocal elements within the song. The M500s handled all aspects of this song to a level I was impressed with and at no point did I think 'these synths are a little blurry', or any similar criticism, despite how much was going on within the song arrangement. Everything was detailed, crisp and clear.
Finally, to test the stereo-field/sound-stage of the headphones, I listened to Papa Roach's 'Blood Brothers', from their debut album 'Infest'. The song begins with a nasty guitar riff from the left side, with a two-note bass-line to the centre, and short pick-scrapes to the right before eventually becoming more and more central before the main drop of the song. Again, I thought the M500s lacked the initial ‘oomf’ to carry these heavier guitar moments on their own through my iPhone, but with the help of the Dragonfly dac - were definitely pushed up a level.
KEF's M500 headphones really stack up high against others in their price-range. While some over-ear headphones in the £200 to £300 price range do sound a little better, heavier rock elements are handled with a slightly more advanced detail through Sennheiser’s Momentum model, than with KEF’s M500’s - but vocal clarity and bass detail from the M500’s are unbeaten, in my opinion. I have yet to find another pair of headphones in this price-range that can beat or even match the level of comfort the M500's provide - not to mention how stylishly modern they look. I found these to shine more-so with pop/hip-hop/electronic genres than with heavier rock songs, but all in all, these are a fantastic pair of headphones across all aspects of their design, both in comfort, sound and style and a definite recommendation from myself.
