I've tested dozens of earbuds over the last year - these blow them all out of the water

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

When it comes to audio, I tin beryllium incredibly picky. Like astir audiophiles, I person precise peculiar wants and needs earlier I'll proclaim a brace of headphones a viable option. Because of that, astir earbuds neglect to basal up to my demands. I've had a fewer that were passable but seldom has a brace of wireless earbuds knocked disconnected my metaphorical socks.

At least, each of this was existent until I tried the Denon PerL Pro. 

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If high-quality dependable is what you're looking for successful an earbud, and you person the currency for a $249 pair, these babies are hard to beat. I'd spell truthful acold arsenic to accidental they rival my go-to over-the-ear wired headphones, the V-Moda Crossfade 3.

When I received the Denon PerL Pro earbuds, I was skeptical. I've gone done truthful galore pairs of earbuds (none of which upwind up successful my "headphone rotation list"), and I thin to motion them each disconnected successful favour of my go-to pairs (unless I'm exercising, astatine which constituent I spell for my Mojawa Run Plus bone conducting headphones).

That each changes now.

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No, I won't beryllium utilizing the Denon PerL Pro earbuds for workout due to the fact that these things are excessively costly and excessively bully for sweating. But erstwhile I privation to perceive accurate, rich, and elegant dependable connected the go, these earbuds are precisely what I want.

My experience

I ever justice earbuds (and headphones) without utilizing immoderate app to customize the sound. I privation to perceive the euphony precisely with the manufacturer's default settings, truthful I tin get an thought of what the axenic dependable is from the hardware.

With immoderate earbuds, that results successful an acquisition that isn't astir up to my standards. However, successful the lawsuit of the Denon PerL Pro, the shaper nailed it. As soon arsenic I connected them to my Pixel Pro 8 (which was conscionable a substance of taking them retired of the lawsuit and walking done the automatic transportation punctual connected the phone), I opened Spotify and played my default opus for investigating specified devices: Rush's "Tom Sawyer". 

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Had you been watching me, you would person seen the immense grin connected my face. I had conscionable travel crossed a brace of earbuds that made maine a believer, and it took each of 4 bars of euphony to impressment me. I fto 1 of the top stone songs ever written proceed and, by the clip it came to a close, I was sold.

In lawsuit it isn't clear: the Denon PerL Pro earbuds are genuinely a enactment of art. The dependable is accurate, vibrant, spacious, and hits each the close notes. The bass is perfect, the midrange subtle but sharp, and the highs are spectacular. What is genuinely singular astir these earbuds is that you don't person to usage the app to customize the sound, arsenic it's that good out of the box.

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Although you won't find the bass of the PerL Pro's to beryllium arsenic thunderous arsenic immoderate of the competition, it's acold cleaner and accurate. Out of the box, the EQ connected these earbuds is spot connected for each genre of euphony I tried (prog rock, metal, classical, choral, 80s, rock, shoegaze, and pop). In immoderate instances (such arsenic with Rush's "Moving Pictures" album, the dependable was truthful crisp and agile that I was definite it was coming from my turntable. 

Just note, that arsenic with each brace of earbuds, acceptable is crucial; you privation to get the champion seal imaginable with the receptor tips. I've ever recovered foam receptor tips to beryllium acold superior but person a overmuch shorter lifespan. The silicon tips mightiness not make the champion seal, but they volition past exponentially longer.  

ZDNET's buying advice

The Denon PerL Pro earbuds person not lone raised the barroom for each earbuds, they've acceptable the standard, and each different brace I usage going guardant volition person to basal up to what the Denon PerL Pro earbuds deliver. 

It truly comes down to this: If you person the wealth and are looking for dependable that shouldn't beryllium imaginable with an earbud, the Denon PerL Pro earbuds are the ones to buy. Forget astir thing Apple oregon Google has to connection and bash your ears (and soul) a favour with a brace of earbuds that volition airy up your encephalon wit off-the-charts sound.

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Denon PerL Pro tech specs

• Masimo AAT delivers personalized dependable based connected each individual's otoacoustic emissions, which are produced by the interior ear. A idiosyncratic proceeding illustration is created successful the Denon PerL Headphone app with the assistance of AI.
• Denon Sound Master and Dirac Virtuo assistance to present close and spacious sound.
• Bluetooth calls diagnostic CD-Level clarity, acknowledgment to Qualcomm AptX Lossless
• Eight mics
• Denon Headphones app allows you to customize your acquisition with unsocial audio profiles and fine-tune controls.
• Up to 8 hours of artillery beingness and 3 further charges from the case.
• Customizable interaction controls with 4 customizable interaction inputs connected each earbud.
• IPX4-rated h2o and sweat resistant
• Frequency response: 20 to 40,000 Hz
• Weight: .29 ounces (for each earbud)