This year saw an unexpected new Denon release. Denon has been an industry leader in audio technology since its founding in 1910. These days, we know Denon best for their hi-fi receivers and amplifiers, although they impressively cover all corners of the home audio market. Their hi-fi headphones, wireless speakers, subwoofers, and turntables always offer top quality at an affordable price.
Now Denon has announced a new wireless earbud model. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as it's only the second release in their entire earbud line, following their True Wireless in-ear headphones, which boasted an active noise cancelling model. The new earbuds have been dubbed PerL, which stands for Personalised Listening. Following a popular trend in the earbud industry, the PerL earbuds claim to adapt to your ears and provide a personalised listening experience.
Thanks to patented Adaptive Acoustic Technology (AAT) developed by Denon's parent company, Masimo, listeners will be able to create a personal audio profile that is specific to their ears. According to Masimo, AAT is able to automatically profile your hearing by measuring otoacoustic emissions, or OAEs, and determine your sensitivity to various frequencies. These measurements are sent to the Denon PerL app, which uses AI technology to adapt the sound according to your individual sensitivities and create a completely unique hearing profile.
Denon reports that the audio quality provided by the PerLs is "a streaming experience similar to listening to a CD." These headphones also offer active noise cancelling, as well as a "social mode" that allows some outside sound to pass through for more environmental awareness.
There are two models of the new Denon earbuds: the PerL and the premium PerL Pro. Both models offer AAT for personalized listening and ANC, but the Pros have a few added features to justify their higher pricetag.
The standard model supports Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC, SBC, and standard aptX codecs, whereas the Pros can support Qualcomm AptX Lossless audio and spatial audio. The Pro model supports Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX Adaptive, aptX Classic, AAC, and SBC, as well as two-way multipoint connectivity.
As for battery life, the standard PerL model sustains a six-hour battery life on a single charge, and 24 hours of use including the charging case. The earbuds regain an hour of playback in ten minutes of charging. Taking it up a notch, the PerL Pros offer eight hours of battery life, and 32 hours with the charging case. They regain an hour of playback in just five minutes of charging.
The PerL Pros offer one more advantage over the standard model in the noise cancelling feature. The pricier earbuds come with eight microphones, compared to the standard's four, for better noise cancelling capabilities and automatic adjustment to the level of cancellation in response to the amount of noise in the environment.
Denon has already released a limited number of PerL and PerL Pro earbuds in the United States, available for purchase on their website. We're expecting a full global launch sometime later this year, although Denon hasn't revealed an exact date yet.
Image credit: Denon
