Lets get something out of the way
I'm not a feature and benefits guy. I don't care for ANC. A TWS app doesn't do anything for me, I don't care about setting touch controls, awareness mode is useful but I also do not care for talking to people with an earbud in. Just take it out. Are you the worlds laziest person; It's like going for a run with a person wearing a blindfold.
EQ is useful, but every audio player now has a built in eq and although I do occasionally make a tweak hear or there I'd prefer not to have to.
Why do I say all this?
To set expectations, so that when I rate the Denon PerL Pro
5 stars, we have no illusion as to why.
It actually
does need saying these days, but I buy in-ear-musical-devices for the sound they produce.
It's the music..... It's always been the music.
I'm just like you, I want sound quality to be fantastic. I want to be blown away. We've all had that experience and we're all chasing it again and that's how you create an
addiction hobby.
What I've found in throughout this
addiction hobby is that most IEM makers are making a slight tuning variant of the same sound. The tuning, peakiness or smoothness, width and colour of the notes might all change but the presentation of that sound remains largely the same.
"the most honest reproduction of a recording" or something like that. Each IEM/TWS is a slightly improved version of the same vision. a slightly more textured bass, but it's the same kind of bass. A slightly wider stage, but the same stage.
The Denon PerL Pro doesn't do that and that's why the PerL Pro gets 5 stars. It plays by it's own rules and hasn't invited anyone else to play. They make the rules and don't ask for other peoples opinion.
They are the CEO of music.
I mean it when I say I prefer this over most wired earbuds I've owned. The sound presentation is simply more exciting.
Yea it is also probably in the top 3 tws out there for features and I'm sure you're paying for them to some extent. But for this feature hater I think the sound is still worth the asking price.
Sound
The first thing moment of enjoyment comes from the soundstage. It's bigger than almost anything I've experienced. Rivaling the Noble Kublai Khan in depth width and sheer outdoor dancefloor like presentation.
There is no better way to describe it then saying that is like having speakers in your ears. If you've ever been on a festival dancefloor, a bush doof or to a lesser extend a good night club then you can start to picture how the sound comes across.
It's as if you have two huge rigs either side of you blasting bass while the mids and highs sit in between the blasts flying through the air with as much as space as they need.
In fact I've found the more complicated and busy the track the better these perform as more and more sounds fill the space without ever creating a sense of there just being too much in the mix.
This isn't an honest reproduction of sound. It doesn't adhere to a studios concept of how music should be heard. It's the kind of sound that has people on a dancefloor windmilling their arms and jumping from foot to foot. Fist pumping and head banging. if you like to party, these are for you.
3D
These are also one of the first pairs of earbuds that has made a lot of audio talk make sense to me. When I hear people talk about a V or U shape signature I truly have no idea what that means in practice considering the typical V or U shape graph looks nothing like a V or a U but more like a slight dip between two tiny mounds of bass and sparkle.
The stage like 3D nature of the PerL Pro allows you to perfectly visualise a multifaceted sound where you can place big speakers on the side pumping bass out, a singer in the middle of the stage and high's high above it. In a prism like formation that is about as dynamic as it gets.
Against the Noble Fokus Pro the mids don't attack in the same upfront forward way but rather sit in the centre of that prism loud, clear and wonderfully separated with more than they need to be honest but then again, as a soundstage sucker, I don't really believe there is such a thing as too much space.
For You?
In fairness to you, dear reader. If you listen to more chilled out genre or intimate music, honestly these may be wasted on you. They are glorious with things like Electronica, Psytrance, Goa trance, Drum n Bass, Metal and other hardcore genres that get you moving.
A Rebranding?
There is reason to believe these are just a rebranding of the Nura True Pro and by all accounts they are. However there are some significant changes to the PerL Pro that could all have been implemented by a few software updates
OR could have been purposeful fixes before releasing to the public.
First of all I think the sound is largely the same. Every one has stopped talking about the NTP technology and begun using Massimo AAT to describe the hearing test as if it was always a Denon technology. That's neither here nor there because the two biggest issues that stopped the Nura True Pro from hitting 5 stars have been solved.
Most importantly Connectivity: The NTP was unusable outdoors for me. Even If I held my phone 5 cm from my face and the TWS it was an experience of consistent and non stop cutouts on both an android and iphone on every codec at all times. Considering how nice these are to have in your ears while running that was a no go for me. 2 replacements didn't help and eventually I got a refund which I put into this Denon purchase.
Secondly: there was a huge jump in volume from turning ANC on and off. If you had ANC off and wanted to switch it on you genuinely needed to push the volume down a few steps first, lest you blow your hearing molecules away.
Both these have been resolved and I gotta say, I'm in no need of another pair of earbuds wired or wireless.
The only remaining nit pick would be the weird design of not being able to toggle anc/no anc/awareness mode. You can toggle between anc and awareness but if you want neither on you cant assign this to the touch commands and need to go into the app to turn off the option of both anc & awareness mode altogether.
I'm sure this a chip/software thing but would be nice to toggle between the three.
ANC
As someone who has what I recognise as a nonsensical moral imposition to active noise cancellation (It's rude, the worlds noise ain't that bad, passive isolation works well enough 9 x out of ten, it encourages companies to focus on the wrong aspect of their audio device AND it generally ruins the audio making it an oxymoron for consumers who want the best sound AND the best anc (You don't get both so be a big boy and grow up)).
That is all to preface this point.
ANC is fine on these. At first I preferred it but still dislike the whole concept of ANC. I've also found it can muddy the upper bass and lower mids. However the low end feels a bit heavier and more chonky, sitting the immersion mode somewhere between + 1 and +2 at a nice + 1.5 (When ANC on and immersion set at 1).
AAT
I'm still skeptical of hearing test technologies. I think the sound at first is neutered so that after the hearing test the dynamics are added making the music sound better no matter which profile is being used.
Also different eartips give completely different sounds, with some making the music skewed a certain colour vs others which might make them brighter (Like Spintips).
It doesn't matter to me as the music sounds great anyway. Just seems like a convenient way for audio companies to avoid serious sound criticism as (everyone will have a different experience and therefore there is no objectivity to be spoken about).
Once again that doesn't matter as there are no criticisms to be had here.
Denon Purchased Nura specifically for the personalised sound technology so I'm sure it isn't all mumbo jumbo. But how and why it works is beyond me.
Fit
If you have shallow or small ears there is a possibility these wont fit very well. My ears are like golden monkey ears, everything small and everything large fits in them. So consider that before purchasing these. Just look at those beautiful ears.
Comparisons
Nura True Pro
These are the Nura True Pro in every way only more reliable with outdoor connectivity as well as improved volume control when swapping between ANC and ANC off. There are no other serious comparisons to make here.
Check my
Nura True Pro Review for more in depth details on Mids, Bass etc.
Noble Fokus Pro
I got the Fokus Pro pretty recently actually when the Nura True Pro failed me. They are pretty great at what they do. Mids have a stronger more forward attack but sit within a tighter stage. It never feels congested but it also never feels like a dancefloor.
The Fokus Pro I would say are one of the best at playing the best version of that sound that everyone is trying to get in the TWS space but doesn't hold up to the Denon.
The PerL Pro is more unique, has a bigger stage, better bass presentation, more features, better separation and a more engaging overall sound presentation.
IMR BC 2023
I want to compare these to a wired IEM to prove a point. The IMR BC 2023 is probably the most classically balanced IEM I own. They are maybe the best version of that sound everyone is trying to reach that I've heard. I like them, but they don't 'wow' me purely because 'the best version of that sound everyone is trying to reach' isn't
the most exciting sound it's just a balanced one. Balance is great, nothing wrong with balance. But balance doesn't = more fun.
The PerL Pro has a waaay wider and deeper stage, equal separation, way more engaging bass with better sub-bass, highs about on par.
The BC 23 extends vocals a bit further and in all honesty does have a more compelling mid range with vocals on the DPP feeling like they roll off a tad sooner.
The Denon though is more 3D in nature, has a more out of head feeling and is near equal in note texture. If you've ever seen those 3D topographical heat maps (image below for your convenience).
The IMR BC plays notes with texture like the image, being able to visualise them just a bit more with their ups and downs. it could be due to codec but it is what it is. That being said, the PerL Pro still has a similar feel, just not to the same extent and despite the difference, it is still more engaging and better built for busy fast chaotic passages.
Tri i3 Pro &
7HZ Timeless
The Denon is better than both of these imo. The Subbass is better along with a soundstage that can't be matched. I do consider the Timeless a cleaner sound than the i3 Pro but I consider the i3 Pro more dynamic, heavier and fun than the Timeless. The Denon is better than both with smoother high end and no harshness, more space for instruments, a better musical presentation stronger bass, cleaner mids.
You name it, I don't think these wired sets have can touch the Denon.
Finale
In short, I would challenge anyone who claims that a $100 chi-fi product "Can easily beat any tws" to put these in their ears and tell me they have ever heard a wired iem present a sound in the same way.
I know this forum and this hobby is riddled with 4 and 5 star reviews on products that probably don't deserve a place in that space. And I know those ratings influence people to purchase products for their
addiction hobby.
So don't buy these. Continue listening to the same variant of the same sound, continue telling yourself that 36 different tuning switch options and filter nozzles are a great way to tailor the sound to your liking.
Continue telling yourself that bluetooth can't compete with the wired earbuds that cost $20 but need a Cayin stack to be driven properly.
I truly don't mind. Because I'm not the one missing out.
Any chances you could compare it with the Devialet Gemini?