The AirPods Pro 2 are beset from all sides by more and more attackers each week. There are the likes of Sony with its line of noise canceling buds, Sennheiser with some excellent offerings, and then the countless more budget offerings you can pick up. Now entering the fray is experienced audio manufacturer Denon, which is releasing some very interesting looking, and sounding, earbuds that look to dethrone Apple and its AirPods.
The PerL series of earbuds will feature two different models; the PerL Pro, and the PerL (presumably not for professionals). They both feature Active noise canceling and feature a snazzy new design that looks to make them stand out amongst a sea of similar-looking earbuds.
But there's more to it than just that.
Personalization is in the name
The PerLs' strange name mixes two different words together; In its press release, Denon points out 'Personalized Listening experience' as the source of the name. Slightly contrived though that may sound, the headphones themselves show you exactly where this personalization is going to come from.
Denon says that the PerL series "PerL—use proprietary Masimo technology to measure faint otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), which are produced by the inner ear in the presence of a range of tones played to assess each person’s unique response to sound." That's a lot of words, but in essence, the headphones will measure the intricacies of your ear to really dial in the sound quality so that they sound good to you.
Where most earphones use a kind of one fits all method to sound profiles, this is a cool step up that sets the PerL series apart – along with their funky new design. The case looks as you might expect, but the buds themselves have a kind of plate that sits on the outside of your ear, with all the controls on board. They look cool, and while they may be divisive, it's another thing that sets them apart.
The PerL Pro have some extra features on board as well, such as lossless support and Spatial Audio using Dirac Virtuo's model, as well as more battery life than the less expensive Denon PerL.
The two models are available in small quantities now from Denon.com, the Pro model costing $349/€349 /£249, and the non-Pro model costing $199/€199/£189. The full release will come a little later this year We can't wait to get our hands on them, and we'll be sure to let you know what we think when we have them in our ears. Of course, if you'd rather have a pair of AirPods, then make you're checking out the best AirPods Prime Day deals.
