Denon PerL Pro Earbuds review: A true wireless tune-up

“Nicely, I’m only a trendy man. After all, I’ve had it in my ear earlier than. ‘Explanation for a lust for all times.” — Iggy Pop

I obtained actually into Iggy Pop in 1996. There was nothing cool about doing this on the time; there was nothing cool about me on the time (although I’d have disagreed on the time). Trainspotting got here out that July and Danny Boyle’s unflinching movie impressed would-be hedonists to decide on life—or not less than stay vicariously by means of the equally kinetic soundtrack, kicked off by Iggy’s “Lust for Life” from 1977’s album of the same name. 

Lower than a 12 months later, in April 1997, Columbia Information reissued Iggy and the Stooges’ uncompromising 1973 proto-punk cornerstone Raw Power with a brand new combine by Iggy—an replace on what he’s described because the “peculiarly English” authentic combine by David Bowie. This unabashedly brutal different, this unrelenting flagellation by digital distortion, was a impolite, revealing have a look at what EQ may actually do to revise and personalize current materials.

So, yeah, I’ve had it within the ear earlier than. Many, many, many occasions. Which I didn’t assume was actually a difficulty … till not too long ago. And, as a contemporary man, I proceed to lust for brand new methods to expertise audio. So once I was launched to the Denon PerL Pro True Wireless Earbuds, which use one thing known as Masimo Adaptive Acoustic Know-how to generate a customized EQ primarily based on the consumer’s inside ear exercise, I used to be intrigued. Would it not make what goes in my head extra in my face, or actually tone issues down? Denon is a widely known identify in AV receivers, so would the corporate’s earbuds (over)emphasize dimensionality? Grabbing an equally audio-obsessed coworker, Brandt Ranj, and two pairs of PerL Execs, I made and exchanged profiles and a playlist to check and distinction whether or not this bespoke tuning function was actually impactful. And what we found from our PerL jams versus was revealing each sonically and personally.

So, what are the Denon PerL Professional True Wi-fi Earbuds?

The PerL Execs are the $349 flagships of the Denon true wireless earbuds lineup and verify all of the containers whereas providing some outside-the-box options. They function multipoint Bluetooth 5.3—not uncommon—however embrace aptX Lossless of their codecs. This rarity delivers 16-bit 44.1kHz high quality when paired with a tool sporting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen. 1 chipset or newer (such because the ASUS ZenFone 10). Having tried the PerL Professional with each iPhone and Android, I can say that aptX Lossless sounds extra crisp and cleanly articulated than AAC and even aptX Adaptive’s theoretical 24/96 transmissions. Nonetheless, it’s not such an enchancment that it is best to go spend $700 or extra on a brand new supply. 

Inside every distinctive 8.6g disc-shaped housing is a 10mm triple-layer titanium diaphragm dynamic driver with a 20 Hz-40 kHz frequency response and ultralow distortion copy. A number of sizes of ear suggestions and “wings” be certain a safe match is feasible. Contact panels on the spherical outer surfaces permit entry to assignable faucet instructions.

Battery lifetime of the Denon PerL Professional earbuds is as much as eight hours, with 24 further hours of energy inside the case, which expenses by way of USB-C or wi-fi Qi pad. They’re IPX4, in order that they’re mildly immune to sweat and light-weight rain. By way of accessible colours, I hope you want matte black. What the Denon PerL Execs lack in aesthetic selection, nevertheless, they greater than make up for in vivid sonics due to their definitive function, which we’ll go into within the subsequent part.

So, what do the Denon PerL Professional True Wi-fi Earbuds sound like?

Straight out of the field, the Denon PerL Professional earbuds have a neutral-ish tuning with a bit extra presence within the lows than highs, making the inventory tuning notably suited to trendy pop, EDM, and hip-hop. It’s flat, however to maintain issues from being too flat, a slider within the app, labeled “Immersion Mode,” lets you enhance or reduce bass, which is taut, textured, and well-extended. 

However the defining issue of those earbuds’ sonic signature is within the identify: Personalized Listening, aka PerL. If you first arrange the Denon PerL Execs, the app prompts you to sit down by means of a brief take a look at. A sequence of tones set off your otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), that are vibrations from the inside ear that permit sensors within the PerL Execs to find out sound distribution and frequency sensitivity within the ear canal. (Ensure you do that course of with correctly sized suggestions and in a quiet setting; attempting it in two areas did end in a perceivable distinction.) This info is then analyzed and used to calibrate your profile. And, imagine me, when you’ve engaged your profile, you’ll put no extra inventory in inventory. Let’s check out how the Masimo Adaptive Acoustic Know-how (AAT) know-how made us extra attuned to what we search for after we hear.

Tony’s impressions

It’s good time journey isn’t a actuality but, as a result of I’d use it to kick my ass. 

Once more, I’m half Iggy Pop acolyte, so I’ve to understand Younger-Me’s joie de vivre, his teenagers and 20s DJing and attending concert events stuffed with uncooked, unprotected audio. But when I confronted him in regards to the injury he’d finally do to our at the moment 47-year-old ears and he tried to downplay it, Now-Me might be like, I obtained the receipts, or not less than the listening to threshold ranges chart. 

For causes utterly unrelated to earbuds, I occurred to guide my first journey to the audiologist in lots of, a few years quickly after I obtained the Denon PerL Execs. And that go to confirmed what the Masimo AAT outcomes already laid naked: Younger-Me’s carefree nature price Now-Me some high finish. I may punch you, me. (And the remainder of youse, put on earplugs.)

The primary time I listened with my customized profile engaged, I questioned if “AAT” simply stood for “Add Extra Treble.” As a result of I obtained lots of it, accompanied by a considered software of higher midrange. The factor was, I wasn’t mad at it. 

In Default mode, songs off of the 2002 album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by Oklahoma oddballs turned competition favorites the Flaming Lips seemed like they have been acting at nightfall, and I needed daybreak. The rubbery bass traces and metronomic backbeat appeared heat and wooly till I toggled on my profile and with it an incredible leap in distinction, although not with out some grain—the equal of making use of Photoshop’s Sharpen function. Brandt’s profile, in the meantime, was markedly bassier and extra diffuse, vocals stifled by a turtleneck of kick drums and synths. It made the Default a shimmering beacon of lite psychedelia as compared.   

Biking again to my profile, it added a breeziness to the reedy timbre of John Prine. It wasn’t disagreeable to listen to his fingerpickin’ in such stark reduction, however a rumination on rising older loses a bit one thing once you don’t really feel the complete power of time passing. Brandt’s profile undoubtedly held extra of the association’s weight, however, once more, parts—this time what feels like a mixture of Fender Rhodes and pedal metal—threatened to engulf the vocals.

Conversely, my profile’s lofty nature put further wind into the sails of “The Ship Song” by Nick Cave & the Dangerous Seeds—a track as stately as it’s threatening to capsize below the load of bare emotion. Chiming tones tacked triumphantly by means of the swelling ballad, with Cave’s calmly unsettled voice on the helm towards a broadened horizon. It’s depth amplified and resilience rewarded. Brandt’s profile, nevertheless, softened the savagery for me. The track’s a devotional about craving and burning, nevertheless it’s not meant to be overly gentle and heat. It’s a warning and celebration of relationships that burn too shiny.

Total, my audio profile injected songs with an airiness and power that bordered on chunk however stopped in need of aggression. Vocals have added presence due to their enhanced acoustic house, whereas bass remained well-positioned no matter rumble. Each the quick transients and thick distortion of guitars in Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” Explosions within the Sky’s “Your Hand In Mind,” and several other different take a look at tracks (notably metallic), reaped the advantages of this speaker-like presentation. Brandt’s profile, which crammed in notches within the subbass/midbass with out compensation within the higher reaches, got here throughout as too congested for my tastes. And, to be clear, these aren’t refined variations or slight preferences. When the PerL Execs promise you personalised listening, it’s actually personalised.

Perhaps time journey is a actuality, not less than for my ears, as a result of they felt rejuvenated.

Brandt’s impressions

The expertise of utilizing the PerL Professional’s personalization options was instructive because it actually allowed me to listen to music by means of one other individual’s ears, so to talk, and the variations in sound have been profound. Some songs, like “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” by the Flaming Lips, have been fully unlistenable on my colleague’s profile as a result of the guitars—that are a welcome background component on my profile—have been cranked as much as 11. In that case, the psychedelic sound results have been drowned out to the purpose that it felt like I used to be listening to a demo relatively than the finished observe. On my profile, the bass was barely boosted, and the track sounded because it ought to. 

This expertise wasn’t common, although, as “Hello In There” by John Prine truly sounded higher to my ears on Tony’s profile. The sparse association benefitted from an enormous enhance of treble. Total, nevertheless, my profile nailed my preferences, whether or not I used to be listening to the crunchy guitar sounds prominently featured all through the 2023 remix of The Beatles’ Revolver or tracks on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts. Switching from both profile to the PerL Professional’s Default EQ—which is what you get out of the field earlier than working your listening to take a look at—made playback sound flat. 

My ears may alter to the Default after a couple of hours of listening, however basically, I preferred sticking with a customized profile. If you happen to’re aware of the music you’re listening to, you’ll undoubtedly run into the occasional observe that sounds unnaturally, unpleasantly sculpted, however these experiences have been few and much between. And, basically, I’d describe the expertise of listening to music on one other individual’s audio profile to be the aural equal of placing on one other individual’s footwear—chances are you’ll even share the identical dimension, however how one individual wears and wears down the heel could make anybody else really feel off-balance. 

The PerL Professional’s eponymous function stands in distinction to the tactic utilized by different headphone makers, who make all of the tuning choices for you. Switching between the PerL Pros, Apple’s 2nd-generation AirPods Professional, and Jabra’s Elite 10 earbuds was an eye- or relatively ear-opening expertise. Whereas my customized listening to profile on Denon’s earbuds sounded good, it didn’t damage the expertise of different earbuds for me. I nonetheless loved the tuning decisions Apple and Jabra made and located music completely listenable. Each earbuds didn’t sound instantly flat just like the non-customized PerL Execs, particularly the AirPods Professional (2nd gen.), which I nonetheless contend supply the most effective out-of-the-box power for most individuals. 

The inventory sound signatures of each Apple and Jabra are tasteful; neither firm went for a budget trick of V-shaped tuning, artificially boosting a few sections of the frequency vary and calling it a day. Each units of earbuds sounded higher proper out of the bundle in comparison with Tony’s profile, however I in the end most popular the sound of my personalised profile on the PerL Execs. At $349, Denon’s earbuds go for $100 or extra above Apple’s and Jabra’s MSRP, however the audio high quality reveals the distinction went into {hardware} and software program that delivers on its guarantees.

Exchanging profiles won’t have let me absolutely stroll in Tony’s sonic footwear for a day, nevertheless it did give me a really feel for what would possibly get his toes tapping. It gave me empathy and deeper perception into how he evaluates audio gear. And, with out a journey to the audiologist of my very own, I walked away with a greater understanding of my very own listening to. The Denon PerL Execs haven’t ruined the expertise of listening to music on totally different earbuds for me, however they’ve made me assume twice about what colours my notion of musicality.

So, who can buy the Denon PerL Professional True Wi-fi Earbuds?

Typically I get actually into lacking 1996. For all of the issues I’d do in a different way (at all times carry earplugs, and undoubtedly put on extra sunscreen), there are 1,000,000 I wouldn’t. And I’m at all times going to like listening to Iggy. However, as a result of Younger-Me wasn’t shiny, my music now must be. The Denon PerL Professional Earbuds put extra of that uncooked energy again into songs and reminiscences considerably dulled by time. And, most significantly, they did it effortlessly.

Perhaps you’ve been to the audiologist or know precisely what you’re looking for, so it’s straightforward so that you can choose from the lots of of non-public audio decisions on the market. Perhaps your listening to remains to be absolutely intact, and also you need gear that may fine-tune that readability. If you happen to’re nonetheless of two minds about what to place in your two ears, the Denon PerL Pro Earbuds supply an incredible different to the one-sound-fits-all method utilized by just about each different headphone firm. Youth fades. Frequency sensitivities change. However, fortunately, so does know-how. Masimo AAT labored as marketed. So, with earbuds that may customise their sound primarily based in your hear and now, getting excited by music can stay a continuing.