It’s a rule of high-end headphones that open-back designs always outperform sealed designs. But Denon, the Japanese high-end audio conglomerate, has just broken the rules.
The terminology refers to the outside casing of the headphones. Open designs have (doh!) openings so that the sound waves from the speaker drivers (the devices that make the sound) can radiate outward. In sealed designs the back is solid and sound waves stay inside. The sealed design, which broadcast and audio engineers favor, is why their slang for headphones is “cans” -- which is what a sealed phone resembles.
While closed architecture means you don’t disturb the person next to you and external noise is reduced, it also usually means that what you hear sounds muffled because the drivers are working with a confined volume of air.
Denon’s D2000/D5000/D7000 series of audiophile headphones magically avoid that. It’s not magic, of course, but solid design and quality components. But one has to guess exactly how they did it because Denon resisted the temptation to hype its product cutesy brand names for its design or technobabble bragging on its marketing materials.
The result in any case is a pair of headphones that have a spacious, three dimensional sound. You experience the audio as if you are listening in a roomy environment with the performers and instruments placed around you. (Excellent “soundstage” in audio jargon.) Listening to headphones sometimes can be tiring because you sense the sound blasting into each year with little in the middle.
Denons are strong in the midrange and highs, with a solid but not obtrusive bass. If your tastes run to the harder forms of rock and you want all bass, all the time, look elsewhere. Classical and jazz sound vibrant while rock and pop are crisp. As with all high end headphones, you will hear the difference between top-rate and mediocre audio engineering work on recording and between audiophile and lower quality recording technologies. Hint: low-quality MP3 will sound horrible.
While the headphones are large in size, they are lightweight and comfortable. Most wearers will particularly like the fact that the Denons put relatively little pressure on the side of your head; none of that vice-clamp-like grip that many large headphones have. If there is a downside, it’s that despite the closed back, the Denons do not seem to block out as much external noise as one might like. I’m guessing that’s the downside of the soft pressure and soft padding on the earcups.
The other downside is the effect on your wallet. The three models are priced at outrageous ($1,000), expensive ($600 list but available for less than $500), and pricey ($300). Not something for an impulse buy. But the if you are a serious music lover, you will love the Denon sound.
