Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on What Hi-Fi?
Denon has launched a new PerL range of wireless earbuds. Standing for “Personalised Listening”, the PerL earbuds hope to stand out from a fiercely competitive market by using parent company Masimo’s patented “Adaptive Acoustic Technology” (AAT), which allows users to create a personal audio profile for a unique listening experience.
The new PerL range consists of two models, the premium Denon PerL Pro and the Denon PerL.
According to Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo: “The era of one-sound-fits-all is over. PerL automatically figures out the optimal sound for each individual to cater to your unique ears… With the launch of PerL, we are transcending the listening experience (and) we can’t wait to have our customers join us in this new paradigm.”
Using Masimo’s expertise in medical technology solutions, the AAT feature is designed to automatically measure your hearing, to create a profile perfectly tuned to you by measuring faint otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). These OAEs are analysed to determine how sensitive a person’s ears are to given frequencies, with the AI-powered Denon PerL app then adapting the sound accordingly to provide a more bespoke hearing profile.
In terms of audio quality, Denon claims “a streaming experience similar to listening to a CD”. To that end, the PerL Pro provides support for Qualcomm AptX Lossless audio and also spatial audio courtesy of Dirac Virtuo. The Pro also support Bluetooth 5.3, adding aptX Adaptive, aptX Classic, AAC and SBC to the aforementioned Lossless codec.
The cheaper, standard PerL model also features implementation of AAT, with Bluetooth 5.0 supporting the AAC, SBC and standard aptX codecs, but with no support for spatial audio. There’s no two-way multipoint connectivity for the base PerL model, either, but this is a feature offered by the more premium PerL Pro counterpart.
Battery life for the PerL Pro is eight hours on a single charge, with a total of 32 hours with the charging case via a USB-A to USB-C connection. Quick charge provides an hour of playback from a five-minute boost. By comparison, the standard model offers six hours of battery life on the earbuds, totalling 24 hours with the charging case. A ten-minute charge, meanwhile, gives an hour of playback.
Both models offer ANC, with a transparent “social mode” which lets in some exterior sound for better environmental awareness. The PerL Pro boasts eight microphones in contrast to the standard PerL model’s four for upgraded noise cancelling, automatically adjusting the level of cancellation according to the amount of environmental noise.
The Denon PerL Pro and PerL will cost $349 and $199, respectively.
A limited number of these wireless earbuds are currently available for purchase at Denon.com in the US only. The models will arrive in the UK in autumn, and we expect a full global launch rolling out “later this year”.
About the Author
Harry McKerrell is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi?. He studied law and history at university before working as a freelance journalist covering TV and gaming for numerous platforms both online and in print. When not at work he can be found playing hockey, practising the piano or forcing himself to go long-distance running.
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