Denon AH-D7000 Ultra Reference Over-Ear Headphones

The Denon AH-D7000 looks and feels like the Rolls Royce of headphones, withexquisite build quality and old-world craftsmanship.

The earcups’ gloss-lacquered, real mahogany wood looks magnificent, but it isn’t just for show. The wood is the same type used to craft fine guitars—and its internal carving enhances the headphone's tonal balance.

Experience musical fidelity as you’ve never heard before with Denon’s AH-D7000 Ultra Reference over-ear headphones. Combining old world craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technologies, the AH-D7000 re-defines the ultimate in headphone listening. The large diameter (50mm, 1.97”) free edge Microfiber diaphragms provide extended frequency response, from the lowest bass notes all the way up to 45 kHz, to provide the ultimate listening experience with advanced high resolution audio formats such as SACD. High strength Neodymium magnets provide high efficiency and freedom from motor structure non-linearity. The elegant housings are crafted from real Mahogany wood, with intricate internal carving to enhance the natural tonal balance, and are finished in an elegant soft satin piano gloss. The lightweight tangle-free cable features reference grade 7N OFC (7 Nines – 99.99999% Oxygen Free Copper) wiring, and is finished with an elastomer-coated cloth sheathing. A luxurious storage case is provided.

Design
The D7000s give an even higher level of luxury than their D5000 brothers -- if that's possible -- with glossy varnished mahogany enclosures, golden lettering than doesn't wear off over time, and larger, softer leather earcups. They're also a little more snug than the last version, clinging to the head better.

Although unchanged internally, cabling has been improved. The D7000's Elastomer cable is less prone to tangling and more resistant to being repeatedly packed away and unpacked. Good news, because our in-house D5000 cabling is looking battered these days.

Of course one of the main selling points of the D5000s was the use of real wood to house the drivers. This appears largely unchanged here -- they  exhibit the same natural warmth that the wood provided in the previous model.

What hasn't changed much to look at is the padded leather headband, which still extends delicately on ball bearings. We found them extremely comfortable, with looser clasp to the skull than the HD 650s, but more so than the D5000s. They're one of the most comfortable pairs of headphones we've ever used for hours of perpetual listening, beating the Audio Technica, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic models we've become so fond of over the years.

Features
Inside these lightweight enclosures are microfibre diaphragms, and behind them a 50mm Neodymium magnet. Denon claims the D7000s feature more powerful circuitry than before, enhancing the magnetic power of the drive unit by just over 10 per cent.

Many other specifications remain largely unchanged. The cans can handle a 1,800mW maximum input, respond to frequencies between 5Hz-45kHz, feature 3m of 7N-OFC cabling, and offer a very low impedance of 25ohms. But they have a slightly increased sensitivity of 108dB/mW, however, compared to the D5000's 106dB/mW, helping to yield a marginally louder output.

What's interesting about these headphones is their impedance, or the amount of power required by an amplifier to drive them. Such a low impedance means they're more easily handled by portable players such as iPods, whereas more power-hungry cans really should be used with a headphone amplifier of some kind.