Denon in turn gives in to the sirens of True Wireless headphones. If its notoriety is well established in the audiophile world, it is a risky bet to come up against the market leaders. But the Japanese is not only banking on his name to conquer the esgourdes.

Denon in turn gives in to the sirens of True Wireless headphones. If its notoriety is well established in the audiophile world, it is a risky bet to come up against the market leaders. But the Japanese is not only banking on his name to conquer the esgourdes.

The Denon brand rings in the ears of audiophiles like a reference. Vinyl turntables, CD players, tuners, audio amplifiers, home cinema amplifiers, headphones, wireless speakers… Japanese has been part of the decor of lovers of good sound at home for over a hundred years. Now owned by the American company Masimo, initially specialized in medical monitoring devices but which also owns great brands in the audio world such as Marrantz, Bowers & Wilkins, and Boston Acoustics, Denon escapes from the show to accompany you everywhere thanks to its new True Wireless headphones, the PerL Pro, also available in a cheaper version, PerL (in short) priced 150 euros less. And if their shape, quite atypical in the current landscape of wireless headphones, reminds you of something, that’s normal. Last spring, Masimo bought the Australian company Nura, to whom we owe the NuraTrue Pro headphones, which are just like two drops of water. And the resemblance is not limited to design. Denon’s PerL Pro also takes advantage of acoustic customization technologies developed by Nura and those developed by Masimo for the medical field. This is where all their strength lies. A strong brand, Denon intends to rely on its notoriety and its prestigious image to shine a good spotlight on this new way of adapting sound to everyone’s ears. We were able to test the Denon PerL Pro for several days. Here is our verdict.

Denon PerL Pro: a generous design that does not suit everyone

In the field of True Wireless headphones, there are generally two types of design. The most common is the stem model, like the one inaugurated by Apple with its AirPods and taken up by a very large number of manufacturers. It leaves a more or less long rod protruding from the ear allowing you to control several functions. The other is the button type model like Google’s Pixel Buds Pro or Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. Here, the shape of the earpiece is usually round or ovoid. No rod protrudes and controls are carried out on a tactile surface. For its PerL Pro, Denon opted for a variation of the button model. Here the headphones look like small flat badges, just 2.5 cm in diameter. They are therefore clearly visible once nestled in the ears with the clearly visible brand printed on the tactile surface.

To keep them in place despite their imposing size, they hide a small silicone fin to wedge them into the shell. A design which will therefore not necessarily suit those who have small ears. Additionally, they don’t slip on as easily as traditional earbuds or earbuds. For our part, we had to pull on the earlobe to wedge them into the ear canal and adjust them comfortably to the hollow of the concha.

Once in place, they are quickly forgotten and do not present any particular discomfort. Note that Denon provides wings of two different sizes as well as four pairs of tips to find the model best suited to the ear canal. The headphones benefit from IPX4 certification to resist sweat and splashes but no more.

For the storage and charging case, no aesthetic effort has been made. This takes a rectangular shape with strongly rounded edges. The plastic feels a little cheap (a bit like the Bose QC Earbuds II) and the cover doesn’t exude solidity. Dressed all in black, the case has three LEDs on the front to indicate the charge level of each earphone as well as that of the case. The rear reveals a single USB-C port for charging and does not have any pairing button as is generally the case.

Denon PerL Pro: audio rendering for each ear

After downloading the app, you need to pair the headphones. Without a pairing button on the case and precise instructions, the operation is not very intuitive. It actually takes place after pressing one of the headphones after placing them in the ears. This is quite unusual and confusing.

The app then provides some advice for choosing the right tips and correctly seating the headphones in the earphones before starting the audio customization phase. A delicate and important operation since the analysis carried out will determine the quality of the audio rendering of the PerL Pro.

This is where ATT or Adaptive Acoustic Technology comes into play, developed by Masimo to initially take stock of the user’s hearing. The headphones will measure the user’s otoacoustic emissions (OAE). These are faint sounds coming from the cochlea in the inner ear. They are emitted when a sound is picked up. The operation, not very pleasant but relatively short, therefore consists of sending various sounds into the ear, at different frequencies.

The microphones integrated into the headphones then pick up the EOA. The analysis then makes it possible to define a unique profile corresponding to hearing sensitivity. And the result is quite spectacular. Many manufacturers such as Bose, Sony or Oppo also allow a hearing analysis to be carried out but it is not as thorough and as effective. Without this analysis and customization phase, the sound produced by the PerL Pro is just passable. It is only once the profile is established that they reveal their full potential.

Denon PerL Pro: present but discreet active noise reduction

While with almost all other manufacturers, active noise reduction (RBA) represents the main workhorse, this is not what is highlighted at Denon. The PerL Pro do have an RBA system but it is limited to the strict minimum: either the function is active, or it is the Transparency mode, called Social at Denon, which allows surrounding sounds to be captured through the microphones earphones. There are no other settings for the RBA. For example, it is not possible to simply cut it to be satisfied with the passive insulation induced by the tips in the ear canal. But after all, this is more than enough. The RBA is quite effective for low frequencies such as engine noise, hum, etc. On the other hand, it struggles to attenuate the voices. We are therefore quite far from the insulation offered by Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 or the Bose QC Earbuds II. However, the headphones develop enough sound power to cover up annoying sounds. But be careful not to keep the volume too high for too long so as not to damage your hearing.

Denon PerL Pro: impeccable audio quality

The analysis of the user’s hearing which leads to the creation of a personalized profile takes on its full meaning once the music is started. The result is quite astonishing. It is possible to switch to so-called mode Neutral to apply the default settings of the headphones, and therefore without customization, to see the gain. It’s quite astonishing, whatever the musical style chosen and, above all, the sound level chosen. At high volume, the PerL Pro doesn’t let up. The sound remains powerful and very rich in detail. Each instrument finds its space and we surprise ourselves by unearthing some previously unnoticed sounds even if we know the pieces by heart. The bass is present but not exaggerated unless you ask for it. Indeed, thanks to Dirac Virtuo technology, the app offers a mode Immersion symbolized by a gauge ranging from -3 to +3. The higher the slider goes, the deeper and more impactful the bass becomes, until it causes real sensations of vibration in the ears without them becoming unbearable… provided you don’t push the slider to the maximum. On certain tracks with a lot of bass, such as electro tracks for example, even if the low frequencies are not saturated, listening can become uncomfortable over time. Use in moderation therefore (your ears will thank you). It’s quite astonishing. Especially since the PerL Pro also offer very effective spatialized sound. The soundstage expands brilliantly even on stereo files that aren’t optimized for spatial audio. Each instrument occupies its rightful space and remains clearly audible. Here again, the mode Immersion can do its job to accentuate the bass a little more. A success. The PerL Pro succeed here in surpassing what Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 offer.

The app also has a small 5-band equalizer to adjust, just in case, the 400 Hz, 1, 2.2, 5 and 10 Khz bands. The bass is therefore excluded (the mode Immersion is here for that). Finally, the PerL Pro are compatible with the aptX Lossless Bluetooth codec to further improve quality (with compatible smartphones) since this codec reduces data compression. A difference to the ear that the most informed listeners will really be able to perceive.

Denon PerL Pro: clean audio calls, nothing more

In communication the PerL Pro are doing quite well. Audio call quality does not suffer from overzealous active noise reduction. The exchanges remain clear and not choppy as is often the case on other True Wireless headphones. However, we did not observe particularly exceptional performance at this level either on the side of the wearer of the headphones or that of the interlocutor. Conversations remain clearly audible without reaching crystal-clear quality.

Denon PerL Pro: decent battery life

For its PerL Pro, Denon announces a listening time of eight hours. For our part, with the volume pushed to 50% and with active noise reduction, we achieved a little over six hours of battery life. Endurance which remains correct but nothing more, especially in this price bracket. The case for its part offers four additional charges.

Denon PerL Pro: should you go for Denon’s high-end headphones?

With the PerL Pro, the legendary brand Denon has created remarkable True Wireless headphones. The sound quality is good. We appreciate the rendering and the personalization applied to each earphone according to the hearing of each user. A system that goes far beyond what the competition offers. The sound is very enveloping and turning the volume very high (from time to time) does not cause saturation or unpleasant distortion. When in operation, the mode Immersion Dirac Virtuo also offers beautiful sensations to feel the music and its good vibrations. However, we deplore the rather imposing format of these headphones which will not be suitable for all ear sizes. Finally, the asking price, 350 euros all the same, propels them among the most expensive True Wireless headphones on the market. For slightly less well-stocked wallets, we can turn to the Denon PerLs priced at 200 euros which also benefit from personalized sound and active noise reduction but ignore spatial sound and display lower autonomy both in terms of headphones than the charging case.