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The Kygo Life A11/800 offer everything you need from a pair of headphones in 2020. There's active noise cancellation that's enabled via a physical button or through the Kygo app (more on that in a bit), the option to listen to the headphones in a wired capacity for when battery life is at a premium, a proximity sensor so they pause the moment you take them off, voice command support, and NFC pairing for users with compatible devices.
There’s an air of consolidation about the Xenon’s feature set. It’s less comprehensive than the Kygo A11/800, which is a welcome relief considering the inconsistent nature of those headphones. Yes, it’s possible to find models that offer deeper bass and a more detailed mid-range elsewhere, but I found the Xenon to be a solid pair of cans. The differences between it and the A11/800 are small, but they add up to make the Xenon the best-sounding pair of headphones in the Kygo range so far. You should buy the Kygo Xenon if… In terms of comfort and staying put, the E7/1000 certainly do the job. The ear wings sit snug to ensure a sturdy fit, and neither the silicone nor foam tips proved uncomfortable through runs and gym sessions. These earbuds are built for workouts – and based on our experience, they’re up to the task. Kygo E7/1000 performance – Good, but room for improvementKygo talks up the waterproof rating here, with the earbuds coming with an IPX7 certification. That means they can be submerged into water up to 1m deep. Accidentally drop your E7/1000 in a puddle on a run, and they should survive. Go for a swim with them in your ears, probably not so much. This rating more signifies that they’ll survive sweat and splashes of water. Regardless of your views on the app, the Kygo Life A11/800 sound great, look pretty good, and offer plenty of convenient features. What more could you want from a pair of wireless headphones in 2020? Both the A11/800 and E7/1000 sounded okay, but there was certainly room for improvement. The Xenon display a similar character to the A11/800, but are less brash and more distinguished tonally. Dynamically, the Xenon are a bit so-so, but an improvement over the A11 nonetheless. Kygo lists the Xenon’s frequency range as 20Hz-22KHz, which is more palatable than the A11/800’s 15Hz-22KHz.
When it comes to comfort, the Kygo range absolutely gets this right. The headband offers the right amount of cushion for your head, while the memory foam earpads feel soft around the ear. These cans can become a little warm at times, but outside of the Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NC 700, the Xenons are one of the more comfortable headphones I’ve worn recently. As a pair of sporty wireless earbuds, the Kygo E7/1000 deliver on the design front. They look good, are comfortable to wear and do feel able to survive getting sweaty. Sadly, the’r decent design isn’t matched on audio front. Maybe we’re reading too much into it. Maybe they just thought it was a cool name. Kygo Xenon price and availability Kygo’s range of headphones won’t leave you wanting when it comes to distinctive design. Yes, while the Xenon’s basic design is like any other over-ear model – a set of ear cups attached by a headband – they do stand out from the crowd when it comes to aesthetics. There’s no wear sensor technology, no Ambient mode, no touch panel; and the headphones don’t appear compatible with the Kygo Sound app, so you don’t get the (rather needless) customisation options either.In terms of what you can expect in terms of sound quality, we’d say the E7/1000 are pretty good – but there’s certainly room for improvement. They display decent power and some nice warm bass, but these earbuds aren’t so impressive in the mid-range and treble departments. Understandably, given how well the A11/800 performed, the Xenon strips a few features from its specs. That does mean if you want fancy smarts, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The only downside here, is that slight hissing when noise cancellation is activated and no sound is being played, but that's an issue that occurs with many noise-cancelling headphones and mostly comes down to the sensitivity of your ears. It only occurs when nothing else is playing, so you shouldn't come across it too often. Final verdict
Active noise cancellation is divided up according to a few different options. There's 'full' noise cancellation, an awareness mode which cancels out 50% of all ambient sounds while still allowing you to hear people's voices, plus an ambient mode, which lets everything through for when you need to be aware of your surroundings.In reality, audiophiles will wish they could manipulate the equalizer in a traditional way, but if you don't know much about individual settings, presets could be a simpler solution.
For the most part, everything works rather brilliantly too. The moment you open the box, everything feels intelligently designed. Lift up the lid of the box and you're presented with straightforward pairing instructions, which genuinely take seconds to work through. That level of intuitiveness continues as you use the headphones. It all just works in a way that's akin to Apple-style design at its best – simple yet effective. The only other redeeming feature of the E7/1000 are the small indicator lights, which sit in close proximity to the microphones. Those lights will essentially tell you when the buds are successfully paired to your phone; when they’re in call mode; or, are successfully charging inside of their case. So, how do they sound? Featuring 10mm drivers, Kygo says that the Xcellence provide a "naturally deep and balanced sound", which can be fine-tuned via the X by Kygo app.
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Active noise cancelling and features such as HearThrough are missing in action here. If you want to drown out some of that ambient noise, then the Comply foam tips do a pretty admirable job, while at the same time giving you the most enjoyable sound quality. However, as we’ve mentioned, it’s by no means exceptional.
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