Denon Perl Pro: Magic in Your Ears

Hello all,

Despite owning numerous high-end wired IEMs and headsets ranging from $500 to $4,000 and owning Sennheiser Momentum TW2 and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EQ and EX, I rarely write reviews about earbuds. but I felt DPPs granted an exception.

After losing my beloved pair of Beoplay EX recently, I considered replacing them but then heard about the Denon Perl Pros on Reddit.

Initially, I was hesitant to buy them despite the glowing reviews. I had two main reservations:

1.  The earbuds were reported to be quite large (with comparisons to Princess Leia’s hairstyle).
2.  Some users mentioned a hissing sound from the left or right earbud.

I received the Denon Perl Pros today and all I can say is WOW! I don’t usually make such enthusiastic exclamations, as acoustics and sound quality are very personal, and high cost doesn’t always guarantee satisfaction. However, the Denon Perl Pros are a true exception—I am thoroughly impressed.

Firstly, the comfort level isn’t as bad as some reviewers claimed. They fit very comfortably in my ears. Compared to my other more expensive earbuds and IEMs, they provide the best seal and healthy suction.

Now, let’s talk about the sound quality. In short, these are among the best-sounding earbuds I’ve ever heard. They can easily compete with my go-to pair, the $1,400 Campfire Andromeda. The soundstage is expansive and immersive, making you feel surrounded by instruments. Remarkably, despite only having a single 10mm dynamic driver, the DPPs offer a near-holographic effect with their V-shaped sound signature.

The instrument separation is excellent, with plenty of air between different instruments. Vocals are forward and don’t bleed into the instruments or background tracks. The more detail you seek, the more you find—even with Spotify’s 320kbps tracks, which are not lossless.

The volume can go quite high-I strongly recommend enabling high gain mode then lowering volume to find the right spot. High gain mode compensates for frequencies lost when listening with lower volumes, in situations with less power to the driver.

How do they compete with $1,000+ earbuds on the market? The secret lies in their superior implementation of Massimo Adaptive Technology. This technology measures your ear canal’s response to different frequencies and compensates where needed. Initially, I worried this was a gimmick, but it’s a game changer. DPPs allow you to have three different profiles. To squeeze out the most out of these, I suggest you doing the calibration three times and save them to each profile. Then do some A-B testing between profiles to find the best for your ears. I always use EQ to finetune the sound but after the calibration, I disabled all previous EQ I had. I don’t think I need to change EQ anymore. This sounds like EQ specific to your ears.

Frankly, I don’t understand why the DPPs haven’t garnered the same attention as other, more expensive earbuds. These are fantastic, comparable to the thrill I felt when first listening to the Audeze LCD3, but in a wireless earbud form. Yet, I haven’t seen many YouTube reviews about them.

Do they have any cons? The implementation of the spatial audio isn’t very good but the more I give it a try the more I like it. I still prefer it disabled. Immersion mode adds more oomph in lower and lower mid frequencies. Depending on the genre you listen to, it can be good or bad. There’s some recess in 10K+ bands, so you might want to tweak a little to open up more in top range. At this point, I’m nitpicking to find any flaws, but DPPs are just that good.

In conclusion, I’m incredibly happy with my new DPPs. I got them for around $270 on Amazon, and for the quality they offer, they’re a steal. These can truly alter your perception of music especially if you’re not already used to high end iems.

Since there aren’t many reviews or impressions about these earbuds, I wanted to share my personal experience. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.