Denon - PerL Pro

I got the Denon Perl Pro on Black Friday deal, man, it is worth every penny. I am experiencing music like I had never experienced before. I am not an audiophile,  but I enjoy good music. I currently have the AZ 60, 1More Evo, and OnePlus Buds 3 Pro which I bought simultaneously with the DPP. My intention was to try both and return one of them, but I am stuck with both. The two are fantastic pairs of earbuds. The DPP is great for sound, but the OnePlus isn't a slouch neither. I use the Buds 3 Pro at work and DPP at home.  The Buds 3 Pro is incredibly light weight with a seducing case. I sometimes forget they are in my ears. The only downside to the DPP is the weight. They can feel heavy and a bit fatiguing in the ears but they are a bitter sweet, sweet that pill I am happy to swallow. As for other aesthetics, here are my experience  - The design is unique. You either like it or hate it but I like their imposing nature. I would like to have on in flight and make people stear at me - Battery 🔋 is fine - ANC is good. It is good enough for me. I don't buy earbuds because of the ANC. I never liked being completely locked away from my environment. I am not looking for a Bose Ultra Comfort serenity - Transparency is 6/10. The Buds 3 Pro has a better transparency in my experience so far - Fit, I swithed to the in ear wing tips and I have used them in the gym twices and they stayed on my ears.  Finally, I am keeping my DPP for the long haul. They rock misic like a headphone. I am also keeping my Buds 3 Pro for different reasons. They are both exceptionally good. 

I have the Sony XM5 and bought the Perl Pro on sale for £149 last week. I also bought the creative BT-W6 dongle for £49.99 to be able to take advantage of AptX Lossless with them on my S24 Ultra. The Perl Pro with the dongle using Tidal is the most incredible sound I've ever heard. The XM5s are good, but this was just total eargasm. Without the dongle however the sound from the XM5s was a tad bit better than Perl I'd say.

1. Denon Perl Pro 2. Status Between 3ANC 3. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 Based off sound quality. Devialet Gemini II also a worthy mention.

Love my Denon Perl Pro for pure SQ so much so I feel alot of my material isnt good enough. As DD buds for work, calls & such, its below average due to its form & bulk. Have a LG Tonefree FP8 I use as DD. Its decent in ANC, transparency & mic. SQ is ok ie.acceptable but nothing to write home about. Just got in a Roseselsa earfree i5 with factory foamies. A bit spicy in upper mids & ever so slightly bass deficient (in quantity but not quality) but both are easily managed with some EQ'ing. With the foamies, its fit & comfort is leagues above most inears I've used. SQ isnt on par with the DPPs but overall, its good to excellent. ANC is average tho. But the fit & comfort trumps all others & now, its my fav DD. So much so that if I can only have one, I'd choose the Roseselsa i5 > DPPs. Best of all, its only \~$60. IMO ofcos All that said, in your OP stated choices, I'd go Technics if SQ is my prime motivator

Have a buncha TWS buds mainly cos its starting to be a bad ̶a̶d̶d̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ habit but nothing has beaten the Denons...yet. As mentioned by other/s, soundstage, imagine & separation are best of the best. Clarity & transparency are also up there with the best. The only weakness (if one can call it that) is the bass, not in quantity but in quality ie. its not as resolving & as textured as I'd like. But its there & there in spades. IMO ofcos

Only got the DPP's last mth & I agree with everything you wrote about it. Havent tried any of the other so I'll take your word for them. And yes, I was shocked at how good the DPP sound & 1st thing I thought was dang, these buds are as good as a solid midfi fullsize open headphones ala Senn HD600/650 driven by an equivalent balanced amp

I too used to think that BT anything but good atleast in SQ. Hence I gave up on spending money on it & lived with a Jabra h85 fullsize can which is musical if not hifi. And I had & still have some cheap $15 BT neckband earbuds for riding EUCs. That was then & this is now. Then I saw a Denon PerL Pro on a Prime Day deal & said, why not. Its an easy return if it don't float my boat. Well it blew me away. The soundstage, the imaging, the separation, the clarity, the transparency, the details, the sweet vocals & the airy highs that just stop short of sibilance. O & the bass. Everything is so articulate that I can almost zoom in on any instrument & follow it. 1st time ever I thought this is almost, if not as good as a very decent wired fullsize headphone powered with an equivalent amp/dac. Not saying the DPP is the end all & be all but man, I'm impressed. That said, iems/buds are very personal as fit & comfort is everything. Alls I can say is if the stock tips float your boat, try comply foamies. There's others but I havent tried so no idea. Far's inexpensive buds go, for $35-$40, the Soundpeat engine4 SQ is bang for buck but it does not have ANC & its mike isnt anything to write home about. I say start here & maybe you'll see the world in a different light. Goodluck

I just got my Denon Perl Pros today after scouting various threads and seeing they were on sale ($150). After about 2.5 hours, I think the sound quality (after personalization) is better than my Pixel Buds Pro (washing machine, RIP), but the ANC is noticeably worse. If I snap my fingers next to my head, with the Denon it sounds like it's behind a sheet of plywood, but with the Pixel it sounded like someone was snapping in another room, if I heard it at all. It isn't a major dealbreaker because I only use the ANC on planes and when my wife is home while I'm working, but while I'm in the return window, I'm open to advice for what other people would do.

I might suggest a separate column for codecs. I don't think the Denons are very comfortable. They're huge and don't have a ton of tips for the best fit in the ear canal. Do you really think that the Bose have better sound quality than most of your list? Someone else recommended Noble Fokus 5s. 5 drivers (!), personalized sound, all the codecs, aluminum case, yadda yadda. Nearly $500 though. https://nobleaudio.com/products/noble-fokus-rex5 I have no idea if they're good or not, but the specs are impressive. (They should be for the price.)

Good for you for trying but the data is pretty bad I think. For example, there's a significant difference between the Liberty 4, the Liberty 4 NC, and the 4 Pro. And I'm sure the 4NC has been recommended way more than your data show. There's also a big difference between the Denon PerL (listed) and the Perl Pro. The pro is one of the most recommended ~$300 bud here, and it's not registered in your list. Same with Nothing (which I have and I think what you've listed) vs Nothing (a) (which is cheaper but gets recommended way more. Not your fault really because the manufacturers use stupid repetitive model names, and we use abbreviations (az-80 instead of the manufacturer name, or super abbreviations like L4NC).

I don't own any of those models, but I hang around here (probably too much). I think the Sennheiser, Technics and Sony are going to be the top of the list for pure sound quality. There are some reports of really good sound quality from the Jabra. The Bose are OK, but they're better known for their amazing ANC more than their accurate sound. I think the others are probably in the next tier down (though others will probably disagree). I own the Denon PerL Pros, which I think have pretty amazing sound quality, though I don't think they're super comfortable, because they're so big. I also don't like their app. I also own the Nothing Ear (2024)s, which have really good sound quality (though not quite as amazing as my Denon's), great controls & app, and okay ANC. Once you get into the >$150 space, it really starts to depend on personal preference, I think. Others might be able to give you their take. But you can also check out other unbiased reviews. I like SoundGuys, because they at least purport to have some objective testing. (They don't really like the Denon's, though, so what do they know!) SoundGuys Sennheiser: [https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-momentum-true-wireless-4-review-111429/](https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-momentum-true-wireless-4-review-111429/) Technics: [https://www.soundguys.com/panasonic-technics-eah-az80-review-122799/](https://www.soundguys.com/panasonic-technics-eah-az80-review-122799/) Sony: [https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wf-1000xm5-review-95465/](https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wf-1000xm5-review-95465/) Bose: [https://www.soundguys.com/bose-quietcomfort-earbuds-ii-review-78**772/**](https://www.soundguys.com/bose-quietcomfort-earbuds-ii-review-78772/) Denon: [https://www.soundguys.com/denon-perl-pro-review-107641/](https://www.soundguys.com/denon-perl-pro-review-107641/) (I don't think they used custom settings when they were doing the sound quality test... it was all out of the box, which makes no sense whatsoever.) Nothing: [https://www.soundguys.com/nothing-ear-review-114404/](https://www.soundguys.com/nothing-ear-review-114404/) Jabra: [https://www.soundguys.com/jabra-elite-8-active-gen-2-review-118807/](https://www.soundguys.com/jabra-elite-8-active-gen-2-review-118807/)

\>Nothing Ear 2s Note that the Nothing Ear 2s are *older* than the "Nothing Ear" (2024) model. If you're in that price range, go for the newer model. I have the Nothing Ear (2024), and the Perl Pros. The Perls are bigger and bulkier. They fit amazingly in my left ear but not in my right, despite me trying nearly every tip and wing they provide. I haven't tried running in them yet, but I'm going to expect that they will be more likely to fall out. But I think their sound quality is a step above the Nothing's, especially when streaming Atmos content from Apple with a hires Bluetooth Codec (so only only certain Android phones). (Oh, also, the PerL Pros are more neutrally tuned. You can turn up the bass on them, but if you do it too much it will start to bleed. So if you're a basshead, I wouldn't choose the PerLs. I've *heard* that the AZ80s and the 1000S compete with the PerL in sound quality, but I haven't tried them yet myself. I understand that Bose leads the way in noise cancellation, but if you don't care about that, then the Bose has the least desirable sound quality.

I have and had Perl Pro, AZ80, Elite 10. I also wanted to try MTW4 but i have the momentum 4 headphones. For some reason whenever i want to do critical listening i always reach for my az80s.

I can help answer. The denon pearl pro are the best sounding in that list, and also now on sale for $150. I had the sony wh-1000xm5 and returned them. The bass rolled over into the mids too much and instrument separation was terrible. I had momemtum 2 and 3s, had two pairs or 2, and one pair of the 3, all had the same battery failure. I'm sure the momemtum 4 sound good but I'm not wasting my time or money again on sennheiser. So far the denon are the best sounding earbuds I've listened to. The closest thing I've found that sounds like my open back headphones

Since the price got knocked down to $150, I would go with the denon perl pro. I returned my Sony wf-1000xm5. I don't know how anyone thinks they sound the "best." The bass distorts the mids, and instrument separation is terrible. There is a clear night and day difference in sound quality between the perl pro and the sonys. I own a few high-end open back planars and fancy amps, and the denon come the closest to matching their sound technicality. I havent heard the bower and Wilkins pi8, as I wouldnt shell out that kind of money on earbuds as most eventually have battery issues in one bud. But my suggestion would be get the denon for now at $150. Keep the remaining $250 Wait and save up the $150 again and then try something like the pi8 or the upcoming az100s. See if the extra money is really worth the cost.

1000% agree. For the price point at $150, it's almost too good to be true. There are better sounding than the pearls, but then we are talking $500 and up range

Sorry i shouldn't of said "idk how anyone thinks they are the best" Sound is subjective, but most agree that some headphones have better technicalities than others. If you can, return the sonys and give the pearl pros a try. Even watching movies is a lot better. They also support aptx loseless if your device supports that.

Denon PerL Pros. They go loud without the sound breaking up. Having said that, you will irreversibly damage your hearing if you play crazy loud music. It's not worth it.

I'm into my audio and really like the PerL Pros. Sound is up there with decent IEMs. The audio calibration and spacial mode are amazing. I find them pretty comfortable. Better than the buds with a stalk sticking out of them.

1. AZ80 My personal favourite for sound, it's very balanced but when you select the dynamic preset, they really comes to life with amazing bass whilst not muddying up the mids. LDAC allows for really good quality. ANC is good, the fit and comfort is good, the case size is good. I don't personally use transparency or call that often. 2. (Potentially) Gemini II I haven't tried these but people I trust say these sound better than the AZ80. 3. Denon PerL Pro A lot of people rank these number 1. I really like the sound on these, its got a really nice dynamic sound but there's a bit of a white noise that made me rank them lower. But that's a personal thing. You may find these no. 1. Fit and comfort wasn't that great for me because of the size, but that's subjective. 4. Status Between 3ANC Very good punchy sound, the tripple driver setup works really well. I found the comfort to be amazing too. ANC wasn't the best but still okay. I for some reason preferred the AZ80s sound overall so I went with those, but I would have been happy with these as my daily too. 5. Momentum 4 I was most excited for these, as I have the Momentum 4 over ear cans. I have their wired open back headphones too, so I'm a bit of a sennheiser fanboy. But these didn't impress me as much as the others. The sound quality is amazing, specially the vocals and its pretty dynamic. But even after the sound personalisation, I just couldn't get it to be as punchy is I'd like it to be. ANC was good but the case was also too big to comfortably fit in my pocket. 6. Nothing Ear Yet to try but heard a lot of good reviews, specially for the price

I currently have the AZ80 and Momentum 4, Liberty 3 pro, Linkbuds S Had PerL pro, Elite 10, Status 3anc, Pi7 S2 Tried a friends Nothings Ear (2024) and they have insane amount of bass compared to the rest! AZ80 with superbass preset gives me some mega clean bass. Momentum 4 can be personalised to give you a decent bass, not as bassy as momentum 3. Liberty 3 pro has more bass amount than both above, the subbass rumble is impressive. PerL pro and 3anc has slamming bass.

Pi7 s2 sounds great, on par with momentums for me. AZ80 and PerL Pro felt more dynamic and clear to my ears. Lack of EQ and comfort issues made me return them. I'm a b&w fan as iove my PX8, I expected these to be better. They should have improved the drivers from pi7 to pi7 s2 to be more competitive. Don't get me wrong, they're among the top.

If you get dizzy or nauseous from active noise canceling, as do I, then you need to make sure that whatever earbuds you get can turn off anc completely (both listening to music and making phone calls). Many great earbuds don't do that for some reason. Take a look at my post and comment history or just reply if there are earbuds you're looking at and want to check. I tried out probably 18 different pairs. If you want the best sound, and need anc turned off, the Denon Perl Pro is the best. However, they're pretty heavy and don't stay in super well if you're doing a lot of moving around. While I loved the Denons I ended up going with Master & Dynamic MW09 for the better comfort and fit while still having awesome sound. I do listen to some heavy music and the Denons really did have the best punch and clarity but the MW09 not far behind. Saw recommendations of Oneplus Buds 3, and IMO they didn't sound good at all. Fwiw I'm a former pro sound engineer, turned UX designer.

It was an unfair review. With the Denons you MUST do the sound test and persoalized sound in order for them to sound good. I don't know why Denon did it like that but out of the box they sound like garbage. Then all of a sudden...boom...beautiful sound once you do the test. Sound Guys didn't do the test in order to keep it "fair" with all the other brands, which I get but it's also unfair since the Denons are intended to be used with the sound test. Denon even says so.

See my posts and comments. I have spoken to Master & Dynamic MW09, Denon Perl Pro, Bowers & Wilkins, Beoplay EX, Technics AZ80.... Have not tried the Devialet Gemini II. Best sound quality is the Denon Perl Pro. Most people who know sound agree. But, many also say the Devialet are even better. Problem for me is I can't use ANC because it makes me sick and you can’t turn off ANC on the Gemini II, so I never bothered to try them. Note that I ended up going with the MW09 because it ranked second in sound quality but had other features that made it worthwhile like battery life, comfort, etc.

I own the Perlo pro and Az80 the Perl pro are bassier and definitely louder, but Az80 instrumental and voice separation is amazing Perl pro sound good but when I try both the az80 brings out some amazing details that I'd never noticed before on the perls I'm using both the Az80 voice and midrange shines I love both though

Denon perl pros have amazing sound quality and 8hr battery life

I have tried a lot of premium earbuds, but for sound quality, the denon perl pro is insanely good, kinda lacks in anc and the case feels flimsy, but i cannot fault the sound. Ive literally never heard an earbud sound this good, out of the box it sounds terrible but after the ear canal mapping its legitimately on another level. This is coming from someone who has tried Gemini 2 ,momentum 4s, xm4/xm5 etc

I got some Denon Pearl Pro last week and they are out of control on sound quality.  Comfort you gotta find the right ear plug, but after 4-5 hours I need a break. I’ve yet to feel that wasn’t the case with ear buds. Look up a review on YouTube. They have a hearing test and adjust the frequencies and balance based on the results. I thought it was a gimmick but best quality I have had for the price ($200) but got mine $140 on eBay. 

Can you tell me what EQ you did to your Pearl Pro? My MTW4 feels much clearer and deeper sounding, my Pearl Pro has a wider sound stage and more bass but they kind of sound little bit muddy, less crisp and deep.

Would you give preference to the MTW4 for sound? I bought the Pearl Pro's because so many people have been praising them lately. MTW4 definitely sounds much better for rock and vocal songs, I compared bark at the moon, sweet child of mine, boulevard obd and the voices and guitars sounds much deeper and more crisp. The times I prefere the Pearl Pro's is for some very rave/ bass heavy songs like some boris brechja and the im good blue remix from guetta but I feel overall the MTW4 sounds better. The only thing the MTW4 lacks is that wide sound stage feeling you have on the Pearl Pro and the ease of volume increase as I almost max the volume on the MTW4. When turning of immersion do you set it to -3 or can you actually disable it completely?

Ive just got the Denon Perl Pro. Although they sound fantastic there are 2 issues for me. Battery life is not quite as advertised, my buds were showing red on the case just after 4h of usage however this is a minor issue. The big issue is that the ANC seems to have a problem on the right earbud, a static noise developed on the 2nd day of owning them and I am not the only one with these issues. I would steer clear from them unless you don’t mind returning until you find a pair that works well. Although this issue with the static noise has been known for years it seems like the manufacturer completely ignored it which is highly frustrating, tells me that they don’t really value their customer experience. I am still thinking what to do with my pair, will probably end up returning but not sure if I should try to get another pair because I really loved the sound of them. Just wanted to add that if you are listening to music the static is almost unnoticeable however since I like to listed to podcasts it drives me nuts to hear the static noise on my right ear all the time.

It goes away if I turn off the ANC but I would like to have it on especially since I use them in noisy environments.

They sound amazing. Some people complained about the fit but I just finished a 5h session with them and was fine. If yours don’t suffer from the static noise you will be fine. Be mindful that I am not talking about the slight static that you can hear on both buds with anc on, I believe that is common on all anc earbuds, Im talking about one of the buds developing a louder static noise than the other.

Battery on the buds lasted 5h and still had a bit of juice but were getting depleted. The case I am not sure but it’s already showing red light after 1.5 full charges of the buds. I must say that the anc issue seems to be intermittent. Sometimes it happens and then it stops just to come back on again later, it is weird but hasn’t happened much today definitely not as bad as yesterday, will see how it keeps up.

Yes, that is correct as music overpowers the static. However I did read some reviews that some users experienced it getting louder overtime and I don’t really want to take that risk.

Stay away from B&W. All models have trash call quality. Crazy disappointing. Denon Pro Pearl are a big upgrade vs B&W. Good earbuds going for $150 these days. No complaints on my conference calls now.

I run Denon Perl Pros and have been listening to stuff that is in that wheelhouse. See: Major Crimes by Health and tell me if that fits your mold. I did get nausea from the Denon ANC but I wasn't worried about that feature so I've turned it off. The app will run a profile on your ears and tailor the EQ to your hearing range, then you can use the immersion slider. Bass is very strong but pleasing, feels really nice to listen to. Starboy by The Weeknd was a treat just because Im particularly fond of that bass line. Battery life is decent. I'm using them for 5-6 hours throughout the day with periodic trips back into the case and it took about a day and a half for the case to need charging, but they have wireless charging so you can make it fairly convenient to keep it topped off. It charges very fast which balances things out nicely.

I touched on that around the middle of my comment. It's strong but very pleasing. I'll add it scales well with volume in my opinion, it was still crystal clear at the edge of comfort for me. Your mileage may vary.

I'm afraid I don't know. I only recently got the Perl Pros and before that I was using old ass Galaxy Buds and this was my first step into something nicer. I can offer my thoughts on this specific model, but I don't have any experience with the others. I've seen technics recommended in the same comment as Perl Pros and they were on my radar, but a buddy of mine has some Denon sound stuff and vouched for the quality of the brand, and the current $150 price is a good value.

The best sounding earbuds are the Denon Perl Pros. I also own the Gemini 2, BW Pi8 and MTW 4. So far the best sounding has been the Denons the problem with them is there size and fit. Just below the Denons in sound quality are the Pi8 and Gemini 2. There are distinct differences you can hear in sound from each of these earbuds.

Yes the Denons have better sound quality. The Gemini has good sound quality but it is a more neutral sound with very accurate bass. You get that and more with the Denons.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a fix for the size and fit. Denon would have to literally redesign the earbud to make it much smaller with the comfort level of the Gemini 2 or the Pi8.

Better sound - Devialet Gemini ii, B&W Pi8, Denon PerL pro, Noble Audio Rex5

The Denon PerL pro aren’t much more on sale at the minute. They have a brilliant personalisation feature that reads the shape of your ear and adjusts the sound to suit. They are a bit odd looking and big but I never had a problem with comfort and are a definite step up on sound quality

Devialet Gemini ii closely followed by Bowers and Wilkins Pi8. Denon PerL Pro are great too but I personally couldn’t live with the size of them, they are ridiculous

I have a pair of Denon PerL Pro, and I think the sound is elegant, and controlled, and just a joy every time I use them. However, I've tried a pair of Technics AZ80, and I think those are just a tiny little bit better.

I have a pair of PerL Pro, and I love the sound, but as I said in several comments on this sub, the AZ80, which I've tested for a couple of hours, sound a little, little bit better. Not by much though.

what's up with that? Good engineering can make a beast single dynamic driver while a bad one even with multiple drivers. Sure a planar tweeter and a dynamic driver is generally preferred if done well but the driver isn't a limiting factor here, just look at the denon perl pros, same thing.

just to let you know, not all dynamic drivers are the same and the engineering (materials, size, shape etc) sure does the difference. Modern DD are really good, easier and cheaper to manufacture than multiple drivers. You also have to keep in mind the energy usage and the challenges regarding multiple drivers in tws earbuds. Just get the best one that meets your taste without bothering too much on this topic. Just to let you know the denon perl pros (single DD) sounded better in every way than my old Oppo Enco X2 (dual driver setup).

All 3 pairs of sennheiser tw3 left ear bud went out they sent the tw4 as replacement under warranty, 3 months later same issue. I gave up on sennheiser and got some denon perl pros. So far very happy with my choice.

Love my perl pros.

Just got my perl pro today, love them so far. They practically clip into my ear. The sound is great too

Vile just got them and they are so bad. Why would you recommend this scam product 😂 now ima have to return them tomorrow on my lunch break 💀 fu lol

I have trust issues from yall. The pear are vile 😭

I dont use Masimo and i have a post about correcting the eq using the poweramp EQ app. I recommend it, masimo wasnt consistent or that good for me. I personally dont judge buds by out of the box sound signature at all since it can be fixed with eq, just dynamics, accuracy, and bandwidth. Im happy with the perl pro's with alza crystal 2 tws tips (not sure if these even matter tbh), aptX lossless, and the poweramp eq settings I listed in my post

Easy! The Denon perL pros!!

I would always go for a dedicated TWS like the Denon Perl Pro, Technics AZ80, or Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, with the Creative BT-W5 before any of the “gaming earbuds.” Of your list, I’ve either owned or tested many of these and the VR P10 is the best bang for your buck of all of them. The additional dongle feature works very well; I have one for all of my devices, and switching is easy. Sony’s buds do work well with their platform (and the Portal), but they are simply too pricey for the quality of the tuning and feature set. The only other option I would consider is Steelseries, just given the access to a very wide database of EQ profiles; you’ll likely find one that works for you, and Steelseries has done a genuinely decent job at emulating a parametric EQ in their Sonar app.

The best buds are the iFi Go Pods with a pair of dedicated IEMs. I'm running them with the Theiaudio Hype 4 For traditional earbuds, my personal ranking list: Technics AZ80 > Denon Perl Pro > Sennheiser Momentum TW 4 (w/ Sound Personalization) > Sony Linkbuds S > AirPods Pro 2 > Sony XM5 > Galaxy Buds2 Pro > Beats Studio Buds+/Beats Fit Pro > Powerbeats Pro I end up daily driving the Momentum 4s most days, just given their ANC/Transparency is competitive with other sets, and the app is fairly solid. Sound quality alone, toss up between the AZ80 and Perl Pro.

I had to experiment with tips. I also turn off Immersion for most of my listening (except movie watching). Would recommend giving Divinus Velvet wide bore, or Dunu S&S a try; run AAT each time you change tips as well, as that will change the correction. Then in the EQ I adjust mids and treble to add more energy to taste and actually scale back the bass -1-2db if it’s needed. The best approach with the Perl Pros is to use both AAT as a corrective parametric EQ and then use multiband for fine tuning to preferences. Edit: to be fair, I still run the MTW4 most of the time. It still sounds excellent, especially with metal, hip hop, EDM and other genres that work well with a more V-shaped tuning.

Good clarification. I have Immersion set to +0, so technically at baseline. If I had to guess, Immersion is just a simple low shelf filter, so at 0 it should have no impact on the frequency response. I do think the Perl Pros have a more clear and detailed tuning, with better staging and slightly better imaging to my ear, but I have the same sentiment as you. While there are aspects of the tuning that are objectively better, I still prefer the sound, the warmth and the energy, of the MTW4. It just has more of a soul, to put it bluntly. That said, if I’m watching movies, it’s the Perl Pros with Immersion on, almost every time.

This is marketing and brand reach doing what it does best. There are plenty of brands doing great things in the market that aren't getting a lot of attention. JLAB's Epic Lab earbuds were fantastic; JBL, Moondrop, Nothing Ear, SoundPeats, numerous other brands tested very well against the top of my list, which consisted of the Denon Perl Pro, Technics AZ80, Sennheiser True Wireless Momentum 4, Sony XM5, AirPods Pro, B&W Pi7 S2 and Pi8. I have the AZ100s on the way, and I'm sure they'll occupy one of those top spots. It's important to note, however, that many of these brands do not need to push as many units to remain successful. At the economies of scale companies like Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose are operating at, the investment into their production, distribution, customer service, and operations pipelines is immense. They are likely expecting to sell tens of thousands of units, to the thousands that other brands need to turn a profit. And while you may see those more prolific brands everywhere, don't forget the communities of people on social media platforms that regularly market and recommend the opposing brands. They're not as common, but that's to be expected and will remain that way by nature. In other words, while the popular brands may be ubiquitous, that is by design. It doesn't mean opposing manufacturers are on a downward trajectory. This was the assumption when Jabra cancelled its TWS ANC lineup, and that may have been part of the decision, but Jabra had other, more profitable interests and chose to constrain their business goals around those interests because there was more opportunity there. As someone that's tested dozens of ANC earbuds (and has a wide ranging collection of dedicated, wired IEMs), I have very few biases when it comes to competing brands. If it works well, I'll use the thing. I have no qualms recommending a pair of Soundcore VR P10s, right alongside top-tier TWS sets if I think it fits the individual's use case. Recently, I took a long flight overseas and left all the other major TWS brands behind and took a cheap pair of PortaPros and a $20 pair of Aliexpress stem-style earbuds with me. Everyone else on the plane was wearing AirPods.

I would have to agree I’ve tried all of them and the Denon Perl pros are on a whole different level as far as sound quality

Well, I own the XM4 and although they were great that then on or on a much higher level. They have some really interesting features that can help you dial in the sound. They have a lot more volume. They have this really cool gain feature where if you’re listening to audio that seems heavily muted, you can increase the gain to make it more listenable. The noise canceling is pretty good and the fit in my ear is really good, but the sound is very lively. I felt like by comparison, the Sony’s were dull and less dimensional if that makes sense? Overall, the denon sound really really good for wireless earbuds

I have the opposite experience, tried both the Denon and B&W, heard SO MUCH good here on Reddit about the Denon, I wanted them to be good. My first focus is sound quality, the rest is optional. And when I tried them it was a total let down, not great but not bad, that's all. The sound is lacking detail. Maybe good for the price, but that's it. I wasn't expecting anything with the B&W, but I was astonished by the sound, especially about the global restitution and the details. Bass is good, treble is smooth and not hard at all like people are saying. I also tried the Hifiman which for me had the best overall sound, but they had issues with Bluetooth while walking, impossible to use when moving. So I kept the B&W. If that helps anyone, I use at home the Dan Clark E3 with preamp and amp.

I agree with the Pi8's, except, and this is big for me, they couldn't hang with my Denon PerL Pro's when it counts. OUTPUT. They can get as loud as the Denon, maybe a smidge louder, but they can't handle it. Maybe it was my pair? But they had a popping noise, aka clipping, when driven too loud. The Denon's suffer from no such thing, and have the second best sounding quality "subjective" because what they lack in the mid-range Vs. the Pi8's, they make up for in the sub bass. The highs are smooth with no harshness, and no clipping! (Disclaimer: The Pi8's only get as loud using the retransmission case. They don't get as loud when connected directly to the source. Which is another criticism of mine.) Since you don't have them on your list of tested buds, maybe you should order a pair when they are on sale for $150-$200.

I use Wavelet and use the Denon PerL Pro profile set to 25% to help with the mids. Or use the buit-in android sound profile and enable Adapt Sound set to 30 to 50 year old. But I think the Wavelet method is better.

Just make sure you run Masimo aat before you judge them too quickly. Run it three times and pick the best profile to your taste. (I try to get it close to a perfect circle.) Enable high-gain mode after. FYI: Don't use immersion mode as that reduces output. Only set it at 1 if you need more bass, otherwise: Use Wavelet instead of the built-in EQ. Enable Auto EQ and search for the Denon PerL Pro EQ profile. Adjust to 25% to help bring out the mids. I disable Spatial audio and ANC for best SQ. Since I'm on android, I turn off Volume-Limiter. Set Bluetooth MAP 1.2 and AVRCP 1.3 for best connection.

Denon PerL Pro's when they're on sale for $150-180. 😌

The Denon PerL Pro's are the best sounding buds under $200 when they're on sale. Even better than the OPBP3's.

Maybe I'm biased, but I recently bought the Denon PerL Pro's on sale for $185. They best my OPBP2's in nearly everything, better bass, output, clearity, codec support, etc. I find their personalised ear test to be better too, plus it supports aptx lossless. Even the regular aptx is better than the aac on the OPBP2's if you have a Samsung device.

I love my Denon PerL Pro's . Big step up over the One Plus Buds Pro 2's I have. Big bold sound, and I like that I can crank up the high frequency through the app without distortions or hurting my ears.

Do they destort more in the high freq or low freq at its loudest? I like the Denon's because they don't seem to destort, especially when I EQ them to add a bit of sparkle to the top end.

You will see only few or none responses about Perl Pro, because it's price range make it in the prestige category with B&W PI7 S2, B&o Beoplay, Noble Fokus Mystique, Deviolet Gemini 2. What I can say is , among my collection, B&W Pi7, Status Between 3ANC, Beyerdynamic Free Byrd, Senn's MTW3, the Perl Pro has the best after tuned sound quality.

Thumbs up for a great analysis and to a Perl Pro fellow. I went from AirPods Pro 2 to MTW3, then Free Byrd, Status Between 3anc and Pro, Perl Pro, Svanar Wireless, Gemini 2. And had Jlab epic lab, Jabra 85t, 7 elite and 10 elite, MTW4, Sony XM5, Cambridge m100 briefly. Perl Pro is the most comprehensively all around with emphasis of sound quality and stage presence.

It’s on par on many aspects and cheaper, Perl Pro still has the edge on personalization, wider and deep low frequency stage and volume

The Denon Perl Pros have amazing sound quality, I use them at the gym and the ANC is decent enough

Fit is definitely a per person thing. My perl pros feel incredibly secure and I can wear them all day

I am surprised to see you rank the AZ80 quality so low, I have never used them but was debating between those and the perl pros because of all the reviews. In the end I went with the perl because people talked about the bass and I am extremely happy with that choice.

It's nice to not have to mess with equalizer on the perl pros thanks to the technology it has too. Thanks for the reviews

Easily to most debated topic in bluetooth right now ....Denon vs pi8s vs Az80...for me the pi8s have no equal in sound and comfort for me. However the Denon perl Pro are just under them and with their new price of $149..it is easily the best choice of them all now if you can take advantage of the price deduction now. But at their orginal price of $350...the Az80 at $280 was the best purchase. The Az80, while 3rd in sound, has the sound that is still amazing in timbre and at the cost to performance ratio,  represented a better value when all were new. Overall I still don't believe any bluetooth earphone is worth more than $300, let alone the overpriced cost of $399 for the PI8. I regret buying them still today becauee they don't live up to the cost-performance over the denon or az80. They have battery issues and the features work at a basic level at best. But again if all you asking is who is the top and best in sound regardless of margin of advantage it had over the other, the PI8 are it. Just be ready to spend the money and get issues with the battery life and charging sync consistency( You can find you earbuds only at 80% aftrt having them charging in the csse for 2 days) .  For those interested: Sound= 1. pi8:10 2. Denon perl Pro: 9.7 3. AZ80: 8.8  My overall score though with features, cost, and performance trust as of today 1. Denon perl Pro $149 2. AZ80 $260 3. PI8 $399

I wanted to like the Denons, but, those damn things just wont stay in my ears, regardless of the 6 or so different tips I tried, so I tried the PI8's and low and behold, mind boggling sound, and they stay put in my ears.. AZ 80's are solid, premium buds, but sound wise, the B&W PI8 and the Denons pearl pros definitely sound better

you have to tweak the Denon's sound and then they will blow you away; their OOB soundstage is poor

very few, if any premium buds, play great out of the box, so if you dont tweak them, you are missing out on alot of their premium sounds

Plenty of negative here. I have several true wireless, NuraTrue Pro (now Denon), Samsung Buds2 Pro, Sony WF-1000XM4, LG Tone T-90Q, and a few others. The Status Between 3ANC beat them all. So much so I have a black and bone pair.

Bose ultra has good bass. Before i had the denon perl pro the bass on that thing was insane the best i’ve ever heard i loved them so much. Unfortunately i send them back because the mids & treble were lacking no matter what i did with eq.

Denon perl pro best sound quality on the market right now for wireless

Sound quality, definitely yes. Other things like noise cancelling, mic, transparency probably not

Thank you for the great review. Just curious, how do they compare to the Denon PerL pro?

Thank you so much for your detailed response. I agree with you, the Denon PerL Pro sound is amazing. The fit needs to be improved.

Denons might take a few tries making a profile that actually sounds good though. Mine have been boomy and dark. I also haven’t put a ton of effort into them, so I went back to my 3ANC and app2 for commute. I do have a pi8 coming tomorrow though! App2 actually really sound great with spinfit superfines (1025). I didn’t care for them when I first got them, but I think over the year and a half I’ve had them updates have made them sound better.

Bose QC ultra or Denon Perl Pro. The Denon's fit better with the larger wings tips but the ANC on the Bose is top notch and the fit is still pretty good.

Never had an issue with mine and while the ANC on the Bose is better, it’s very good on the DPP. Drown out the gym music which is all I need. But any device can have issues. Just my experience.

The cracking on the Bose were fixed in the last firmware update they put out. As for the Denon’s, yea they’re big but once they’re in, they don’t stick out. For me they really lock in which is great.

The Bose QC Ultra buds were my number one for the gym until I tried the Denon Perl Pro with the wing tips. They sound better and they really lock into your ear. I use the Bose now for airplane travel.

If bass and sound is a huge concern get the Denon Perl Pro

Denon perl pro any static when not using

Denon perl pro

Try offing the anc see if the static still there

Btw battery only last 4 hour? Plus case!?

so confirm when listen to music cant really hear just potcast?

This subreddit has turned into a sheep pen. You cant have different opinions than others. I once said I prefer Nothing ear compared to Denon Perl Pro (I have both) and being downvoted too.

Denon perl pro if you like more bass and depth to your music

I agree! Denon kicks ass!

Denon Perl Pro. Best in the segment in terms of sound quality.

I find their sound quality so digital/artificial compared to my denon perl pros. The denons can blast music like floor speakers. I might return the buds 3 pros to either get a used Px7 S2E or save a bit more for a AZ 100

DPP is nowhere close to having the best ANC

Out of these 4? Galaxy Buds if you have a Samsung phone. Otherwise either B&W Pi8s, Denon Perl Pro or Nothing Ear(2024).

I use Sennheiser MTW4 and Denon Perl Pro's for all my WFH meetings for their amazing static free ANC capabilities.

Denon Perl Pro's are pretty amazing with my phone/Ally but the MTW4's paired with a proper up to date BT adapter is chef's kiss. I got the BT-W6 that came out few months ago to experience the Momentum's aptX Lossless quality.

Perl Pro & MTW4 will give you the best sound quality.

As another commenter mentioned, iphone doesn't support aptx; it only natively supports 256kbps AAC. That said, you can get something like the creative bt-w5 and use it with the iPhone. I do that with Denon Perl Pros that I got for $150 around black Friday, and this combo is absolutely incredible. I use them with apple music which has a ton of lossless music, and I couldn't be happier.

When tuned to your ears, the Denon Perl Pro have no equal for sound stage and dynamic range. ANC isn't what it could be.(like my Sony 1000XMF or Liberty Pro 4 which are both excellent)

Dennons have dropped to 149. To me that makes them a no-brainer. Best earbuds I've ever owned and I find them incredibly comfortable.

I've had all the ones mentioned here for the last few weeks (ok, not the Technics 100, only the 80) If they fit your ears and you can live with the design, the Denon are the best. Anc is okay here, but the sound is so much better than the others after calibration that I was very surprised. Bowers & Wilkins have the problem that you either like them... Or you don't. There's zero customization. In terms of sound, the Sennheiser Momentum would be number 2 for me. Sony may have the best anc, but I honestly found them underwhelming in terms of sound.

I also have small ears 😅 The bass can be adjusted extremely well. There is an "immersion mode" slider in the app. You can use it to make very good adjustments. The bass itself is extremely precise and crisp.

For me, the Denon are my choice number 1

I have no problems with nausea. The Anc is fine, but not perfect. Sony is a tick better, you have to be honest. I don't listen to this type of music, so I can't give a 100% answer, but as I said. The bass is extremely good. Powerful and if you like it, you can also adjust it completely over the top without it distorting. The battery life is like most. After 7-8 hours you have to recharge the parts, the case is sufficient for 3-4 charging cycles

They're good and in my ranking they're also in second place. Only the Denon Perl Pro are slightly better after calibration via the app. I especially like the case and the look, it just has something classy about it

Noble Rex5 I had the Pi8 to see which one I like better, Pi8 went back as they are just simply not in the same class. Recently got the Denon Perl Pro for working out and honestly I wouldn't pay the extra money for the Pi8 compared to these for the 130 dollars off woot.

Status audio 3ANC look no further. OnePlus buds pro are very good too. Sony xm5 are okay but lacked the bass I wanted. Denon perl pro also sound very good too but bulky. 3anc are just my fave. I got a few people to make the switch to them and they love them. They also got a status eq app too. This is all for audio quality. I never used nc at all. I know airpods had best transparency mode though

I just got the Denon PerL Pro and I agree the sound is amazing and also about the fit, even with the biggest ear tip and wings they provide, have you found anyway to improve this?

Yes, BW Pi8, Technics EAH-AZ80E or Denon PerL Pro would be my alternative choice.

Audio quality and sound wise — Aviot TE-ZX1 / PNK, or Noble FoKus Pro, Prestige, or the new REX5. PerL Pro's are a gem *__if__* you are lucky enough to get a good fit, and tune the personalised sound profile in a vacuum/airtight space - I found doing it in my car worked perfectly for an accurate, most neutral to my ear tuning.

MTW4 has crap sound quality. Technics AZ80 and Perl Pro are the best currently. Except Noble Fokus Rex5 just came out and I’ll report back how those sound.

I bought the Perl Pro, the sound on these is next level. I put my AirPods Max on after these and the APM sounded trash in comparison. But they weren’t the most comfy and did run into connectivity issues. After hearing how good the Technics AZ80 were I bought them to try. Much more comfortable, smaller, more reliable, better build quality, basically better at everything bar sound but even that is fantastic on them. Returned the Perl Pro. I should have been happy, the Technics do everything I want in an earbud. But they didn’t set my world on fire like the Denons did. If I had never heard the Denons I might have been more than happy with the Technics. But everytime I put them in my ears I just think, you’re just not the Denons. In the end I ordered them again in the Black Friday sales and am selling the Technics. I know, I’m crazy. I’m giving up a more comfortable, more reliable, better made all rounder earbuds with excellent sound quality for another earbud that is worse in all categories. Except sound. Man that sound is like a drug

have teh rex5's on order with my current fav being teh beoplay ex for wireless ear buds if sound quality is the most important. I would choose those over any on your list if sound quality is what you want. The active noise cancelation is terrible on them though.Not a fan at all of the denon perl pro. I will update comment when my nobile audio rex5 show up. I have yet to have any wireless earbud come close to a mid tier IEM though(again in terms of sound quality). Really like the hype 4's for bang for the buck. Sony xm5 are trash in terms of sound quality for their price.

It’s blasphemy to say Bose sounds better. It’s just bloated and muddy, especially their flagship QC Ultra earbuds that are just a buggy mess. But the B&W Pi8 do sound better, even the Denon Perl Pro. But Bose is the only one that competes with Sony in terms of ANC. The Momentum True Wireless 4 have ok ANC, the Perl Pro’s ANC is subpar (even at their $150 sale price), and the Pi8’s ANC is only slight better than that.

I thought the DPP sounded overall better than the XM5 after taking the hearing test a couple of times. But the thing that kills me with the DPP is their lack of ANC. It’s on par with $40 Soundcore earbuds and, for their price, that’s unacceptable to me. If I can hear outside noise, I’m taken out of the music. I also wasn’t a fan of their large disc. Leaning up against a seat, a plane wall, or even laying down was uncomfortable.

They WERE the best. Along with the Denon Pearl Pro. That all changed recently with the Bowers and Wilkins Pi8's just released. Unmatched. But the Sennys are just below. I am a Senny only guy and will probably get the Bowers when they go on sale.

I would give Cambridge melomania M100 a HM at least. $119, and I’ve heard they are better than Technics AZ80 As for the best - I haven’t tried many earbuds, so I can’t do comparisons. I own the Denon Perl’s, and I’ve loved them for a little more than a year. I haven’t felt a need to upgrade since I got them

Throwing the Denon PerL Pro out there. Incredible soundstage and bass for earbuds but the ANC is lacking.

For general everyday use Airpod pro 2gen. For music and movies Perl Pros. But the software and hardware still have the same exact issues the Nura model Perls are based on had, Denon doesn't give a shit unfortunately. Zero software updates in 1 year of ownership. For everyday commuting and gym the unusual shape is a detriment. B&O EXs are outdated, they need a model refresh to compete. Jabra no longer make products for consumers, replacements and repair options will dry up soon. My personal next purchase will be AZ80 or 100, depending on what deal I can get when the time comes for my next trip to e-earphone in tokyo. Honorable mentions are nothing ear 3, oneplus buds pro 2 (bass thumpy) and anker liberty 4 nc (the nc model has better anc than the newer pro 4.)

Because the Denon PerL Pro still exist. Haven’t heard anything better (yet).

APP are neutral mediocre at best. I have all those and more, the Sony XM5 and Bose can sound better if you have a musical ear with some training. Bose Ultra Immersive mode is newbie to sound mode, they sound impressive for pop but do not stand up to critical listening. The Denon Perl Pro is actually the best sounding if you Can get the calibration correct. It’s not for beginners who think APP are the best you can get lol.

I just got the AZ100s and I've only had them for a few hours, but they're fantastic. I would say the Denon Perl Pro, Pi8, Devialet Gemini 2, and BeoPlay EX still have a slight edge in terms of sound quality, but the AZ100 sound pretty fantastic and aren't that far behind, at least in LDAC (which is all I've tested). The AZ100 are better all-arounders than any of those, although I have no real complaints about the Devialet and Denon. My initial impression is that they've dethroned my beloved Sennheiser MTW4 for best sound in the $300-ish range, but I need to spend some more time with them to know for sure. I preferred the MTW4 over the AZ80 but so far I think the AZ100 has them both beat.

I think they're recommended less for the same reason fewer people recommend Ferraris than Hondas: because fewer people have them. Also, they're not as common to find in stores: you need to learn about them through word-of-mouth or research. I think in general these earbuds *do* sound "better" than flagship mainstream buds, but at this level "better" translates to maybe a 3-5% improvement. (Of course I'm being very subjective and unscientific here, and the numbers 3-5% don't correspond to any concrete measurement in my context, I'm just illustrating a point). For most people, your music listening experience isn't going to be drastically different listening on these vs. Sony/Technics/Jabra/Sennheiser/etc. Honestly, it won't even be *drastically* different than listening on cheap JLab earbuds. You'll still hear all the parts and you'll still enjoy your music. But stepping up from a cheap set to a more premium set tends to give you small improvements like (for example) more clarity, more punchy bass, a more balanced and/or pleasing frequency response, better separation between instruments, a faster transient response translating into slightly more detail (you'll hear breaths and fingers scratching along guitar strings and other subtle details that may add richness and life to the sound). It's a bit like putting on a set of glasses that make your vision slightly better: you could see fine before, but now everything's a bit sharper and richer, and you didn't realize how much subtle detail and clarity you were missing before. I think for most people, the improvement you get from upgrading to a premium mainstream set of earbuds like the Sennheiser/Technics/Jabra/Maybe-Sony is more than enough, and $250-300 USD seems to be about the highest the average customer is willing to fork over for the highest tier of "mainstream" buds. I think the next tier of $350-500 earbuds give you the same type of improvements, just a tiny bit more. They're for people who want (and can afford) to seek that extra 3-5% improvement. If you want the absolute best sound and can afford it, you may as well get them, although you may find that the extra 3-5% is very subjective and personal. From reviews I've read, most of these "extra-premium" earbuds have some deficiencies in features or controls or something else. Sometimes it's a genuine deficiency and sometimes it's a "for this price it should be better" kind of thing. I haven't heard many complaints about the Devialet Gemini 2s *except* for the price, and I get the impression that these would be a unanimous favorite if they were $300. I actually find my Denon Perl Pros to be pretty solid in terms of their controls and feature set, and their sound is incredibly good, although I'm not a huge fan of their huge size and shape. I do consider them to be noticeably better sounding than my Sennheiser/Jabra/Technics, but once again I'm talking about very small, incremental improvements: if my Denons were lost I'd miss them but I wouldn't feel like I could never enjoy music the same way again.

I snagged a pair (used, never a problem for me), for $117, on Amazon.

My top Picks are 1. Technics AZ80 2. Bowers and Wilkins Pi8 3. Denon Perl Pro

Not for me  already sent back two pairs. Sound is awesome. But they are anything BUT reliable. At least in my experience ;(

Denon perl pro or technics AZ80.

Recently, I was testing tws earbuds, and the best picks are (;tldr) Technics AZ80, Denon Perl Pro or Devialet Gemini II. More detailed read: (remember, with headphones everyting is individual and based only on my own impressions, YMMV) Sony WF-1000XM5 – comfortable, excellent ANC, but the sound is very weak, with huge bass bleed into the mids; everything is muffled, and nothing has changed at Sony. I honestly don't understand what people see in the XM line. Bang & Olufsen EX – ANC is poor, almost as if it weren't there, despite the positive reviews online. I'm disappointed with the sound. They probably would have been fine a few years ago, but now there are cheaper and better headphones on the market. The price includes the B&O tax. Nothing Ear (2) 2024 – Big surprise. Cheap price, sounds better than Sony or B&O, they doesn't resonate when walking, ANC is okay (70% of Sony's), comfortable, great app, good connectivity, looks great. The sound is slightly V-shaped, but it doesn't lack clarity, brilliance, and balance. Galaxy Buds Pro - Harman tuning, overall disappointed with them. I expected a lot more for the money with AKG and Samsung's background. ANC is okay, the sound is very dry and clear, but they are comfortable. They are the kind of AirPods for Samsung users who will be satisfied with a fairly boring sound, but otherwise not much. Perfect for audiobooks and podcasts. Sennheiser Momentum TWS4 – I had a lot of faith in them, but I'm disappointed. Weak ANC, not great tuning, but above all, they sit very strangely in the ear, and I've tried many aftermarket earpieces. The sound is nothing special; even "Nothing" is much better. Technics AZ80 - Fantastic!! I wouldn’t hesitate to call them “audiophile TWS headphones.” The ANC is decent; they are comfortable, don’t resonate when walking or running, the app is very detailed, and the sound is simply brilliant. They play the entire spectrum of details, and they are fun. A great buy with a mature sound, almost like wired headphones, and they have a great soundstage. Given the LDAC, these are the best. Denon Perl Pro - My favorites in the sound department, but they are far from "the best" in everything else. They look crazy, but in fact, they are comfortable; you just have these sorts of plates on your ears ("in front of your ears"). But the sound is uncompromisingly perfect. The whole spectrum of details; they are fun, musical, and they have excellent technology for custom tuning with regard to hearing defects and the shape of the ear. It is phenomenal and it really works. It's not that strict neutral hi-fi, but rather a fun hi-fi that gets you moving and has body. Buts? Cheap charging box, they don't suit everyone (short stems), ANC is weak, passthrough is bad, but you'll forgive them everything once you start listening to them. They have such an effect that when you start playing songs on shuffle from a selection of your 1000 favorite tracks, a song you've already heard a hundred times and you don't really enjoy it anymore, you'll let it play because it will simply be fun again through these. Devialet Gemini II—I'll refer to the Denon Perl Pro as they have a lot in common. It's actually really hard to choose between them. If the Denon Perl Pro are a 9.5/10 to me sonically, then these are a 9/10 (the 10/10 goes to Technics if you don't listen purely to EDM and want that juicy low end). They are actually great, dense, tunable, fun, with a lot of details. They are diminished a bit by codecs, and that's a shame, but in the end, it doesn't matter to a lot of people. The reason they are not 10 out of 10 is purely because the Perl Pro simply has a little extra "magic" and they lack the clarity of Technics. With Perl Pros, I don't know if it's the technology compensating for age, hearing quality, and ear shape, but Denon's have mojo; these are "just great." But I was just talking about sound for now. Where the Denon's ANC is 5/10, the Devialet's are, without exaggeration, at the level of the best on the market. Plus, they add technology to deal with impact sounds and wind, and both work perfectly. And without negative pressure or unpleasant feelings. For me, Devialet simply has the TOP ANC on the market at the level of Sony, Bose, or Apple. The same goes for passthrough; it's like you don't have headphones on, really cool. Furthermore, the build quality is great, they're "small," they're comfortable to wear, there are numerous settings in the app, and they're easy to control - Geminis can justify its high price. I would get Technics if you can and want to use the LDAC codec and play your music at high bitrates. Also, they are not that bass-heavy; they sound almost analytical but fun nonetheless with an excellent soundstage. The Perl Pros are just magical, but they have their quirks. The Devialets are the "whole frickin' package" minus the codecs, so they will be absolutely fine with Spotify but they lack the magic of the Perl Pros or the sound quality of Technics. Edit: grammar

Denon’s are heavily not talked about here and i dont know why. They should be as they are better than most of what people recommend, but the price is steep. They usually go on sale though

I’ve got the Pi7 s2’s, the WF-1000XM5s, AirPods Pro (latest), and the Denon Perl Pro - and they all have their pros and cons. The Denon Perl Pro are the sleeper though, they look bizarre, but once you run the tuning program they sound as good if not better than the others. Haven’t tried the Pi8’s yet, but love my Px8’s.

Same for me, they sound amazing and fit well (for comparison, I can't keep the Sony XM5's in my ears without them falling out regardless of the tips). I just wish the DPP's didn't look like I had gauges in my ears.

I bought some and they sound very good. I wish more cell phones had apt x lossless.

Denon PerL Pro for Sound Quality 💯 Dunno how they compare for calls. Dunno how stylish they are or aren't. Just know they deliver on music listening experience.

Not on your list but I love my Denon Perl Pro and they're on a crazy sale right now on Amazon. They are a bit larger than the others though and, based the options listed, I'd go with the AZ80 or Momentums.

Just ordered. I’ll give em a shot. If you think they really do outperform the Pi8, it’s at least worth try 👍🏼

Good feedback, my Perl Pros are being delivered tomorrow and looking forward to a head to head comparison. Many have suggested these, and I’m all for it! Thanks for your feedback! 👍🏼

SON OF A BITCH! These are fn fantastic headphones. Damnit, looks like I’m not done yet. Bravo recommendation. Perl Pro’s are LEGIT! I’ll test all the features I’m checking out this week, but the music quality is absurd!

In terms of music and bass control, absolutely. Transparency, calls, voice isolation, the AZ-100 is still far better. Music though, Denon wins big time. May even be better than the B&W but that’s what I’m working on currently.

Big Denon Perl Pro fan.

Don't get the Denon PerL Pros. The regular ones sound just as good to 99% of people. The only real difference is the material the drivers are made out of. You can save $100+ with the regular. If you want the biggest bang for the money - Soundpeats Capsule Pro3. Shockingly good sound with ANC, far below the others

Denon Perl Pro has a perfect sound. The best of the ear buds around that price range. Second up is the jabra elite 10 (gen2).

I daily the beoplay ex and love the sound the anc and the ip57 rating. Have a premium feel and look. I also have the denon perl pro, the jabra elite 10, mtw3, and many more and those are my daily for all things except work which I use Bose ultra open.

I just added the Devialet Gemini 2 so. Devialet Gemini 2 Beoplay ex Denon perl pro Nothing 2024 Jabra elite 10 Based on sound quality alone.

Denon Perl Pro period. Any kind of lossless music is 10x better with them. Devialet sony bose and sennheiser cant compare Dpp has the clarity of mtw4, the bass lf gemini 2 and accurate voice like bose

I had the denon and sent them back because no matter what I tried I could not get a good fit on my right ear and I kept failing the sound setup mode/fit test. Had them for a really good price but just could not get it to work for me - plus they look like you've got dinner plates in your ears!

The Denon's sound very good but not as good as either of my B&Ws earbuds. When listening to either the Pi7s2 or Pi8 and then switching to the Denons I notice how horrible the vocals really are in the Denon's. If I judge an earbuds sound quality by how well it produces bass the Dennon's do well but so do the Pi7s2s. For overall sound quality I chose the Pi8's.

Had to go and do a back to back comparison between my Denon Perl Pros and the B&W Pi8's again. Just as I suspected, the Pi8's were brighter and the vocals were much better sounding, however the bass wasn't as powerful. The vocals on the Denon's were muted which gave the music a hollow sound which I do not like. The bass was very good but overall the Pi8's sound superior in my ears.

I have both the XM5 and DPP, the XM5 doesn't come close to the DPP. The DPP engulfs and consumes my entire head with sound, XM5 sounds like a conventional earbud playing music into your ears.

Thanks for this honest and well thought through review. The fact that you agree with my own experience of the DPP may have swayed my positive opinion. As far as fit goes I agree it takes a bit of time (and hassle) to find the right combination of tips and wings (and I am dreading having find/buy replacements) but once you do they are great. Mine feel comfortable all the time never feel like they are going to fall out. Sound quality goes without saying…it’s the best by far. Thanks

I thought it would be worth sharing my experience with these earbuds, considering how this sub helped me find these headphones in the first place. I’ve had plenty of wired monitor headphones in the past, have a 7.2.2 atmos system in the house, and have previously owned Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 and Sony WF-1000XM4. Last time around the Senn TW2 connectivity was poor (especially when active like running or biking) so as much as I love Sennheiser sound quality and stage, I was reflectant to try them again. The Sony XM4s were fine previously but were too small of a soundstage without the clarity I was looking for from a headphone so I didn’t try Sony because I wasn’t necessarily looking for that warm consumer sound. I also had to set a limit of how many headphones to go back and forth with. For my use case, I only use one pair of earbuds when I’m out of the house, work, gym, biking and occasionally at home as well. For myself audio quality and the fit is the highest priority. The differences in ANC are negligible to me to prioritize over other things, and transparency mode is also similar.  Anyways if I’m really having a conversation I’ll take the headphones out. So here’s the rankings. Audio Quality Denon : 9 Bower pi8 : 8 Bower pi7: 6.5 Technics: 6.5 Denon is the best with a wide 3d sound stage, deep bass, it really does it all. You will find details in a song you didn’t notice previously, and  most people will be surprised trying these headphones because their sound is close to wired. Honestly the pi8 were really good , balanced and very clear. Not too far behind the denons. There just wasn’t a wow factor of a wide soundstage that my previous senheissers even had, but their volume is insanely loud. The Bowers pi7 are a less clear , less powerful, less refined pi8, not bad for their price which can be less than 200 nowadays, but not audiophile at all imo at this point. The Technics sound good, lots of clarity for sure, but the sound didn’t have the depth of the other headphones.   Going back and forth they always sounded tinny vs any of the others, I am also shocked how people love these and the focus only seems to be clarity.  Maybe good for movies/ I ruled out the technics and pi7 because the sound quality wasn’t there. Fit: Pi8: 9 Denon: 7 The pi8 are light and feel great. Basically a clone of AirPods or galaxy buds, smart to have such an ergonomic design. The denons are unique, and likely initially uncomforable and big. Definitely need to tinker with all the damn eartips and wingtips, but I was able to find a good fit (not great). Initially they did irritate one of my ears, but over time I have gotten used to it. But I can’t pretend they are close to comfort of the pi8. Verdict: I went with the denons. The pi8 seem like the jack of all trades, but master of none. While their sound quality is honestly close to the denons, the denons really are special with their spacial audio and customization. It really is a joke 400 dollar pi8s don’t have Spatial Audio. As much as I wanted to convince myself the pi8s are the well rounded package especially because of the carefree airpod fit, I would always find myself going back to denons because they sound like over ear wired headphones. The fit will definitely not be for everyone. No way I was going to try the geminis after the pi8s were already too pricey imo, especially being happy with the denons for 230.  Pi8s are 400 or technics for 300 should be a crime. Good luck, ill see you all back here in 2-4 years lol (fingers crossed)

Definitely worth a try, they had the denons for 230, let us know what you think. I don’t know if you’ll think the pi8s are worth it if they re still 400, but the fit and total package might be better for you.

Not really a big ANC guy, so didn’t give much focus in comparison. I will say the denons are good not great and definitely allow for louder sounds.

Well those brilliant guys at soundguys use Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores to give sound scores where I used my ears and compared them to other earbuds I kept hearing about from this sub. I can’t give an opinion on their algorithm . And those guys gave the COMFORT of these denons an 8.8, so feel free to listen their review, but I think you’re right, something doesn’t add up.

I do kind of agree with you, I think just using the personalized sound, vocals don’t shine as much. When you use personalized sound and the EQ, that’s where they blow out the pi8 in my opinion. I personally do like having options to change the sound as everyone’s preferences are unique, maybe someone loves these out of box lol but I didn’t, but I think these allow someone to find their perfect preference with the depth of spacial audio.

Denons were prob a 5/6 on comfort when I first got them, so I almost stopped using them and went to very comfortable pi8s. But the sound kept pulling me back to try the denons. I think they go kind of deeper into the ear than other earbuds, which provides a great seal and sound, but causes pressure. Eventually I used the larger tip on one ear and it helped to be not so deep, and my ears got used to them. I think the comfort for me personally will max at 7.5 where’s the pi8 feel weightless and comfy. For some, the denons feel great but I’m not suprised you couldn’t tolerate the fit.

Devialet Gemini 2 and the denon perl pro are the loudest I’ve come across.

I just recently got the Denon Perl Pro, huge vouch for them - incredible!!!!

I just got the Pi8's and I'm returning the Perl Pro's just for the design alone. I do think the Perl Pro sounds a little better in terms of sound quality and it's because of the sound personalization technology. The Pi8 sound is very close to it, I do think they sound more rich but I feel like I was hearing a few more sounds with the Perl Pro's.

I own/have owned about a dozen mid to high end TWS buds over the last 4-5ish years. Here's my list: - Nothing Ear (2024) - OnePlus Buds Pro 3 - Denon PerL Pro - Devialet Gemini 2 - Sennheiser Momentum TW 4 - Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro (old but gold)

Loved my Pi7, and the Pi8 are massive improved. I’m thrilled with them. Alternate between these and my Perl Pros. Clarity, spaciousness, instrument separation and soul of both is just wonderful.

I have both. I can’t decide which I love more. The instrument, musicality, expressiveness and clarity of both is absolutely amazing. I’ve tested everything, and these two are at the top of my list. Beoplay Ex at the bottom :)

I havent got yet pi8 but i have got DPP and pi7s2 previously owned . Denon perl pro is not sounding like tws . Its different , it sounds like wired IEM exactly , so powerful, detailed, spacious, boddied. Loudly.. denon is also not comfy its the worst design earbud i have owned so far (22 earbuds i experienced ) fitting big issue, and painful ear chamber and canal paining after 20/min max anyway in term of sound quality denon is gonna be 10 times better than pi8 but only sound quality. Ifni need to list my top 5 earbuds it woiod be; 1- noble audio fokus pro, mystique (or prestige) 2- denon perl pro 3- final audio ze8000 mk2 4- status 3anc between 5- bower wilkins earbuds PS: i owned sony xm5 , beoplay ex, airpods pro2 , beats fit pro, bose qc ultra… many many more u can ask me specific comparisons between any of these if u want. Anything i will answer honestly . All i can yell you is: there is still not made perfect earbuds;) im still hunting ans couldnt find and never gonna be found i guess.

I never had an issue with the fit with Perl Pro...they look big but that s only.the outside .They also have winged tips so they are both very comfy and secure... I use mine with the foam tips included and without the wingtip for max passive isolation

It is true that sound quality is subjective everyone is going to give a completely different answer than what you'd hope, so I'm going to try and be as concise and honest as possible. One of my main hobbies is trying and returning earbuds on Amazon, so that I can do my best to help other people find the pair that best suits their needs. It's been close to 200 at this point, I'm sure. So here's an unpopular take, which many may disagree with, and I'm still trying to understand why i seem to be the odd one out. I've tried the status between 3, and the original beteeen pro that I ordered through kickstarter, and I'd put them in the same category as the nuraloop, which i also ordered through kickstarter in 2016. Sadly, the denon perl pro sound pretty much the same to me, which is, dynamic, but completely muddy, and as if a thick theater curtain hides the detail from you in all three pairs. They should all be worth less than 80 dollars for the way they sound, imho. I was very unimpressed. The momentum true wireless 4 have very delicate drivers that are incredibly sensitive to changes in eq, making them distort and crackle on aptx, and I didn't find them to sound that much better than my old galaxy buds 2 Pro, tbh. Similar sound signature. I've tried all of noble Audio's wireless earbuds, and I'd put them in the same category as raycons. Overhyped, oversold, unimpressive sounding, consumer targeted garbage that looks really cool. Sadly, my 20 dollar soundcore a20i sounded miles ahead of the Noble fokus prestige, which are supposed to be the "pinnacle" of true wireless. I don't understand why people like them at all, and I hope their iems sound better. The beoplay ex were very impressive for what they were, but were incredibly uncomfortable due to the plastic seam which held them together. I have yet to try the pi8. The master&dynamic mw08 sport were amazing earbuds, but only after an eq was applied, and then they did the same thing the mtw4 did, crackle and distort due to weak speaker drivers, but they were the best and most realistic I'd ever heard, so maybe put the new mw09 at the top as well? Not sure. The devialet gemini 2 seem to get both positive and negative reviews, so it may be a gamble, haven't heard them myself tbh. Svanar wireless are another I haven't tried, but seem legit. Possibly beyerdynamic's new pair. I would say the mtw4, xm5, az80, and buds 3 pro would probably satisfy most people generally, but I've heard so many earbuds that were impressive and downright atrocious sounding that I'd put those three in the category of "good enough", not something like the prestige category. Comparing those to the beoplay ex would be like comparing caviar to boba, its just not the same. Anyways, at this point I'm rambling and probably not that helpful, sorry. Good luck with your search!

Dennon Perl Pro. So realistic sounding. I have run the profile over and over in different environments and used the equalizer to get the right tuning. They are now amazing.

Yes the Perl Pros. Massive discounts. Sound is excellent when personalised.

how is everybody so positive about the Perl Pro's... i just got them because of everybody telling them they are great. But they suck soooooo hard. The sound quality is so much worse than my old TW2's from sennheiser. The soundstage is crap, the high end sounds cheap. The low end sounds too punchy, mostly cheap earbuds do this. A good earbud is crystal clear linear sound with extreme wide soundstage. This is soooooo crap.

Hard to beat those 4nc in this particular question. With eq, they have massive bass. They have some of the most solid anc. They have ldac and good tuning for audio quality. If your more of a Harman curve person, try to Galaxy buds 2 pro and buds fe. If that doesn't do ya, go straight to the perl pro. If that doesn't do ya, grab a fiio wireless kit and start trying iems