New noise-cancelling cans from Denon

The Gadget Show  Thursday 30 September 2010

Denon's latest luxury headphones: yours for £250

Denon needs little introduction in high-end audio circles, and its latest creation – the gorgeously sculpted AH-NC800 noise-cancelling headphones – should sound all the right notes with well-heeled audiophiles everywhere.

The AH-NC800s arrive in a luxury case, but its your comfort they’re designed for, not their own. Denon claims their shape is the result of precise modelling of the human head. Which is rather clever considering that’s what they’ll be wrapped around most of the time.

Its noise-cancelling credentials come courtesy of twin microphones, situated on the outside and inside of the cans, sampling and neutralising ambient noise with a claimed 99 per cent efficiency.

The speaker drivers themselves are top-quality 42mm units, which are fed via detachable OFC cables and gold-plated plugs. Also on board is Denon’s restoration technology for compressed audio, while you should manage around 40 hours’ worth of noise cancellation from a single AAA battery.

It all adds up to uncompromising headphone hardware that should sound every bit as good as they feel sat comfortably around your head. With that in mind, the £250 price tag is just about what we’d expect, and you’ll be able to give them a whirl for yourself sometime during October.