KEF makes a pint-sized addition to earphones

Normally known for large speakers, KEF is getting into smaller gadgets, too. With seen a headphone or two from the company, and now it will have a new earphone coming, also.

A new entry has arrived for the English sound brand KEF, as its “M” range — we think that’s an “M” for “mobile” — gets another entry, and this one is for people who like the brand but may not be willing to fork out for large on-ear or even over-ear cans.

To that end, KEF has built the M100, a pair of tiny in-earphones reliant on 10mm neodymium drivers with a suspension ring of high-density foam to cut back on distortion and handle low sounds with ease.

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According to KEF, this element of design should control airflow in the tiny space go the M100 earphones and provide bass that doesn’t crackle of blow out.

Design looks to be pretty standard, though to make things a little premium, you’ll find an aluminium casing that has been diamond cut with a bevelled edge.

As for product compatibility, they’re earphones so they’ll work with anything provided it has a 3.5mm jack to plug in headphones for, but if you have an iPhone or iPad — or anything made by Apple in the past few years that is compatible with Apple’s MFi or “Made for iPhone” system — the three button remote on the cord will get you pausing, playing, and controlling volume without needing to reach for the phone.

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From what we can tell, these tips are a little smaller than KEF’s M200, which we checked out mid-last year, something we hope has been refined due to the massive size the M200s offered which tends to hurt the ear over time.

The sound quality was top notch, that said, but the size was a bit of a pain, so if the M100 manage to keep the sound but get the size down, the company may have a winner.

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We’ll find out soon enough, that said, and you can too, with the KEF M100 in specialist stores for a recommended retail price of $239.

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