KEF Muo Bluetooth Speaker: Portable Hi-Fi

Impressive audio, with tight, controlled bass. Beautifully made aluminum body. 24-hour battery. USB-C audio makes it a large hi-res table talker too. IP67 rating. Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Adaptive and Auracast support.

Minimal app controls. Auracast compatibility remains limited. No Wi-Fi.

The archetypal KEF Muo launched backmost successful 2015 and felt similar a turning constituent successful portable hi-fi. Serious, decorator Bluetooth speakers from a respected hi-fi marque were uncommon backmost then—with lone a fewer brands similar Bang & Olufsen and Loewe funny successful combining beauteous and portable. These aboriginal designs were inactive fixed the side-eye by astir accepted audio. At the clip I was impressed by the dependable of the archetypal Muo and horrified by the price.

Fast-forward to 2025 and the portable talker scenery is astir unrecognisable: There are superb portable speakers from the likes of JBL, and Ultimate Ears astatine a fraction of the cost, positive countless inexpensive options that inactive impress.

Coming successful astatine $100 much costly than WIRED’s favourite Bluetooth speaker, the JBL Flip 7, the caller KEF Muo had its enactment chopped out, but aft surviving with it for a month, I’m starting to admit wherever the other concern goes.

Flawless Looks

The Muo’s aluminum chassis is simply a flawless, curved triangular prism. The join-free tubing is impressively machined, and the grille design—inspired by the totemic $225,000 KEF Muon speakers, to springiness you an thought of the precocious extremity of this brand—draws the oculus nicely. Measuring 8.5 × 3.2 × 2.3 inches, and weighing 1.6 lb, it is simply a small heavier than the competition, but has a emblematic Bluetooth talker signifier factor.

This is simply a talker you tin tune to your outfit. I received “Moss Green” and “Orange Moon” samples for review, but there’s besides “Silver Dusk”, “Amber Haze”, “Blue Aura”, “Cocoa Brown” and “Midnight Black”. Given the pricing, I deliberation a lawsuit oregon question container should person been included, but it’s not a woody breaker.

The KEF Muo tin beryllium positioned vertically oregon horizontally, there’s knobbly rubber feet connected the horizontal, and you get removable carrying strap. In truth, I wasn’t afloat blown distant by the design, partially due to the fact that I expect a precocious level of decorativeness connected a premium product, partially due to the fact that there’s immoderate gorgeous alternatives retired there, but mostly due to the fact that it’s astir identical to the original. Back successful 2015 having a decorator similar Ross Lovegrove progressive caught headlines extracurricular hi-fi circles, these days it’s astir de rigueur.

Gone are the original’s clicky buttons, replaced by modern sealed casing and indented controls. This has evidently helped KEF gain the IP67 rating, which means due particulate extortion and the quality to past a speedy dunking. The caller buttons bash instrumentality immoderate pressing, though.

Aesthetically the Muo remains stuck successful 2015, but connectivity is bang up to date. Bluetooth 5.4 is paired with aptX Adaptive for adjacent CD prime streaming (plus AAC and SBC), and determination is Auracast enactment for broadcasting to aggregate compatible speakers, opening things up for multi-room listening. There’s besides Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair for one-press connection.

And erstwhile you privation to debar lossy Bluetooth, the Muo’s USB-C larboard tin besides transportation audio. Plug it into a machine (or portable media player), clasp and property a mates of buttons, and it works arsenic a 24-bit/48 kHz outer talker (depending connected compatibility). There is nary 3.5 mm aux input, but the USB-C integer transportation covers astir usage cases.

In True Wireless Stereo mode (TWS), 2 speakers tin beryllium paired arsenic a near and close stereo set, widening the soundstage. Stereo pairing, similar USB-C, involves a fewer coordinated fastener presses, but remained unchangeable passim my testing.

Battery beingness is great, with up to 24 hours playback connected 1 charge. You tin apical up 3 hours successful conscionable 15 minutes, and it takes 2 hours to afloat charge. It’s up determination with the champion alternatives, and means you’ll seldom request to interest astir it.

Racetrack Driver

At the bosom of the KEF Muo rebuild is simply a caller racetrack-shaped mid/bass operator (2.5 × 5 inches) that has been paired with a 0.74 inch (19mm) tweeter and driven by a full of 40 watts of Class D amplification (30 watts for lows, 10 watts for highs.) The elongated oval signifier (hence wherefore they telephone these “racetrack” drivers) allows for much interior measurement and greater efficiency. Combined with KEF’s ain P-Flex Surround technology—a pleated operation borrowed from their subwoofers that reduces interior aerial pressure—it should get deeper, much controlled bass contempt the tiny enclosure size.

The Muo adjacent drew praise from airdrome security. On a caller trip, my container was singled retired for searching, and the serviceman asked me, “do you person an costly Bluetooth speaker?” He explained that larger aerial volumes amusement up denser connected X-ray. Cheap speakers, helium said, seldom get flagged. It is simply a throwaway anecdote, but it neatly underlines what KEF is chasing here: much usable aerial wrong a tiny enclosure, and the fuller dependable that comes with it.

True to the property release, the Muo’s little frequencies bash person much astir them than I expected, echoing prime hi-fi talker bass, alternatively than the over-tuned dependable of astir portable speakers. It’s deeper and much contiguous but besides nicely controlled. There is heft, but it doesn't swallow the midrange arsenic truthful galore do.

Settling In

On archetypal perceive I was not blown distant by the Muo. Much similar Low-era Bowie, I person yet grown to emotion it. I deliberation the wide prime of Bluetooth speakers has improved truthful overmuch successful caller years, that it’s casual to hide conscionable however atrocious they tin and did dependable successful the past.

KEF urge giving the Muo astatine slightest a 10-hour run-in period, overmuch successful the aforesaid mode you would interruption successful the surrounds connected a superior brace of Hi-Fi speakers. True to their word, and aft a nighttime of moving in, the Muo started to dependable little similar a Bluetooth speaker, and much similar a compact hi-fi component.

Across immoderate bombastic classical, and my accustomed premix of MF Doom, Waxahatchee, and Neil Young utilizing Quobuz and Spotify from iOS devices and a Windows laptop, the Muo remains impressively composed. Definition betwixt bass, mids, and highs gives your euphony the accidental to breathe, portion the equilibrium avoids the hyped low-end tuning that tends to predominate Bluetooth speakers.

Turned up loud, I heard nary evident distortion, and it remained a much comfy perceive astatine measurement than cheaper rivals. That doesn’t mean I deliberation tiny speakers should ever beryllium cranked up to 11, but if you bash importune connected partying with it, you won’t beryllium near wincing.

Stereo pairing is besides genuinely effective. Two Muo speakers widen the stage, sharpen left-right placement, and marque the full happening consciousness person to a tiny hi-fi setup than I expected. It besides highlighted conscionable however important the speaker’s run-in play is to the audio quality. I lone tried pairing my reappraisal samples aft astir a week of solo talker listening, and the quality difference betwixt it and the boxfresh talker was oddly stark.

Stereo pairing is simply a large summation here, but if you are astir to walk $500-plus connected 2 portables chiefly for location listening, you should inquire yourself whether a dedicated two-speaker strategy would service you better.

Fierce Competition

You bash not request to walk $250 to get fantabulous portable dependable today. The JBL Flip 7 is $100 cheaper and remains WIRED’s favourite wide choice, and the Bose SoundLink postulation has immoderate bargains these days. Many alternate designs travel with large batteries, booming bass, party-starting measurement and extended companion apps. But they tin deficiency the aforesaid finesse.

At the premium end, pickings are slimmer, but the caller Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 reeks of decorator charm and audio presence. The $329 Bose SoundLink Max is larger, but comes highly recommended arsenic does the Sonos Roam 2. At $249 I deliberation KEF has deed a spot of a sweetspot. It’s not much much costly than the latest mass-market rubberized enactment speakers, but has premium physique quality, awesome performance, extended future-proof connectivity and Hi-Fi charm.

Run the KEF Muo successful decently and you volition beryllium rewarded with a high-class Bluetooth talker that bridges the spread betwixt luxury plan and affordability. The talker has heft and class, with a flawless aluminium casing, and on-trend colorways.

It’s lacking Wi-Fi, the app is simply a small basal by 2025 standards, and I can’t assistance but consciousness similar a plan refresh mightiness person fixed it caller appeal, but these are insignificant gripes. I volition admit, contempt my worldweariness to it, Ross Lovegrove’s plan inactive stands out.

At $249, it isn’t ‘cheap’ by immoderate means, but if you privation a portable talker that behaves much similar a mini hi-fi constituent alternatively than a excavation enactment bass cannon, the Muo makes a beardown case. With a 24-hour artillery and IP67 it is acceptable for adventure, but it volition beryllium astatine its happiest entertaining you astatine your desk, without fuss oregon clutter.