Listen to female vocals with KEF's first wireless earphone "Mu3". Hebirote's song was played with the cleanest voice of all time

KEF released wireless earphones "Mu3" (¥26,400, tax included) in February this year. It is the first wireless earphone of the same brand, and it is attracting attention because it is equipped with an active noise canceling function. This time, I was able to cover the listening model of Mu3 for about a month, so I would like to deliver that impression.

First of all, KEF is a British audio brand that celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, and has a lineup of attractive audio equipment such as high-fidelity speakers, wireless speakers, and headphones.

Mu3 is one of them, and it seems to embody the commitment to "manufacture the highest quality products that sound exactly as the artist intended."

● Bluetooth wireless earphone with noise canceling function KEFMu3 ¥ 26,400 (tax included)

●Driver unit: 8.2mm dynamic type ●Playback frequency band: 20Hz - 20kHz ●Impedance: 16Ω ●Corresponding codec: SBC, AAC ●Playback time: 9 hours (main unit), 15 hours (when using charging case) ●Dimensions / Mass: W24.5 x H17.5 x D26.3mm/5.8g (earphone), W33.5 x H62 x D52mm/46.8g (charging case)

The best feature is probably the curvilinear form by Mr. Ross Lovegrove, who designed the brand's top-end speaker "MUON" and Bluetooth speaker "MUO". Both the main body and the case are finished in a beautiful metallic finish.

The earphone body adopts a compact design based on ergonomics. When I actually put them on, they fit my ears well, and they didn't fall off even when I used them while commuting. By the way, it comes with four eartips, large/medium/small/short, so it should be easy to choose the size that suits your ears.

On that point, it is better to fix the Mu3 as firmly as possible not only to prevent it from falling, but also in terms of sound, so please be careful when choosing ear tips (the reason will be explained later).

The installed driver is a full range of 8.2mm. It has been tuned by the company's engineering team for a cohesive sound with rich midrange, detailed bass and crisp highs.

Bluetooth codec supports SBC (48kHz/16bit, 342kbps) and AAC (48kHz/24bit, 320kbps). Also, since the player and the earphone L/R are connected directly, there is no delay between the left and right.

The point is that Mu3 is equipped with specially tuned ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) technology. There are three modes: "ANC ON" that blocks external noise, "Ambient" that picks up external sounds with the built-in microphone and plays them at a level that does not interfere with music, and "ANC OFF", which can be switched with the switch on the left earphone. is possible.

First, take out the Mu3 that arrived at the editorial department. When you open the monotone box, Mu3 is placed in the center. When you pick up the charging case placed in the center, it is heavier than you think. The actual weight is 58.4g (earphone 5.8g x 2 + case 46.8g), which is not much different from a typical wireless earphone, but it seems to be heavy due to the small size or the metal finish. It's gone.

Earphone body that fits in it also gives an impression of being full of contents. Physical buttons are provided on the back of the body with a curvilinear design. By pressing here, you can switch the ANC mode mentioned above, adjust the volume, and operate the call when receiving a call.

When you take the earphones out of the charging case, they automatically switch to Bluetooth standby, so pair them with your iPhone. Since I am listening in this state this time, the codec is AAC.

First of all, when I listened to some female vocals with ANC on, I could hear the voices of Erykah Badu and Ricky Lee Jones very beautifully. I feel like I'm singing in a quiet studio with good S/N, probably because of the noise canceling effect. Both have young voices and tend to organize their soundstages cleanly. Erykah Badu's "Rimshot" has a slightly understated bass.

The soundtrack of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Mutter's "Across the Universe" have the same impression, and the direction of "We Will Rock You" is refreshing. The aim is to reproduce the gradation properly and reproduce a well-balanced sound without being greedy about the volume of the bass.

Because of this sound creation, the Mu3 may seem weak in bass when the eartips are loose. In order to avoid this, please select eartips that fit your ears and listen with the headphones properly sealed. This is the reason why I wrote earlier that I want you to be careful when choosing eartips.

So I played Meiya's "How Crazy Are You?" Meiya's voice is nicely arranged and gorgeous, and her hard tone is pleasant to her ears. Personally, I love Meiya's voice and have listened to it countless times, but I think it's the purest and cleanest reproduction.

So, I played Olivia Newton-John, The Carpenters, and Carole King (all 44.1kHz/16-bit sources ripped from CDs). The fine nuances of each voice and instrument are reproduced naturally and accurately. If you mainly listen to female vocals, please experience the sound of Mu3 once.

Next, I checked the effect of noise canceling, but the sound did not change significantly when turned on or off. Engine noise is suppressed in buses and trains, and you can feel the effect, but it's wonderful that you don't feel uncomfortable even if you turn on ANC. There is no impression that the ears are pressed.

There is also that, I think that Mu30 can be used with ANC always on. Ambient mode also has no unpleasant changes, so if you're in an environment with little external noise, you can choose this.

(Interview and text: Tetsuya Izumi)

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KEF releases complete wireless earphone "Mu3" with noise canceling function. Designed by Ross Lovegrove, who worked on the super-dreadnought speaker "MUON"! -Stereo Sound ONLINE

KEF has released a completely wireless earphone "Mu3 Noise Canceling Wireless Earphone". The price is ¥26,400 (tax included). The company, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, pursues quality that can reproduce sound "just as the artist intended", and with the ambition and passion of "making all music fans into music connoisseurs", has produced numerous soundtracks. We have been creating products, but this time, we will introduce a completely wireless earphone to the market as a product that allows you to enjoy such feelings anytime, anywhere. Mu3 is a product equipped with an active noise canceling function, 8.