Unboxing
The first thing that got me excited about these headphones was the packaging. The unboxing experience was similar to unpacking an Apple computer. It’s not like these were shipped in solid-gold containers, but the whole feel and experience led me to anticipate and look forward to hearing these headphones. Snug-fitting heavy-duty cardboard boxes open up to a pair of headphones nestled in the folds of bronze silk-like fabric.
The Goods in the Box
The AH-D600s come with two cables. One is a 3-meter long, thick cable with a threaded exterior – it screams: “I’m the audiophile cable!”. The other is a much thinner and shorter cable with in-line microphone and buttons meant to interface with Apple mobile devices.
The headphone cables split and plug into the bottom of each headpiece. The mobile device cable has the microphone/control fob on the left side cable. This is not a big issue, but the left-side location is a deviation from Apple and many other headphone/earbud cable configurations that have this fob on the right.
There’s a gold-plated 1/8” to ¼” adapter as well as a fabric zipper carrying case with the Denon logo emblazoned on the side. The carrying case comes with a metal karabiner if you feel the need to attach it to something.
Look and Feel
The finish on these headphones is quite nice. The soft leather headband and ear cups with white stitching along with the unblemished, brushed solid surfaces look impressive. Although most of the solid material is plastic, it would be hard to try and break the AH-D600s.
The headphones are sturdy and feel solid. They’re actually a bit heavier than I expected – 365 grams – and the weight did start to become an issue over long periods of listening. The ear cups and headband were comfortable when placed on my head.
The AH-D600s stretch quite wide and the band does not exert a lot of inward rebound force. They didn’t feel like they’d fall off, but overall, I felt that the headphones should be hugging my head a bit tighter.
The entire headphone is fixed. You can not collapse them to a smaller form factor, nor swivel the earpieces to lay them flat.
Although Denon intends these headphones to be used at home and on the go, I will freely admit that I would be hard-pressed to wear these in public. The ear-pieces are amusingly large. They are not at all conducive to sports nor are they going to help you remain unnoticed in public spaces.
Sound
I quite enjoyed listening to the AH-D600s. Denon’s spec sheet states:
“Featuring Denon’s 50mm Free Edge Nano Fiber driver to provide the performance of a box loudspeaker from a headphone and tuned to a flat EQ, these headphones deliver the best performance no matter what type of music you’re listening to.”
I wouldn’t consider these headphones to have a flat frequency response, but they’re a lot closer to being that than a pair of Beats.
These headphones are tuned to enjoy listening to music. I wouldn’t use them to mix or critically listen to audio, but I did like what I heard from the AH-D600s.
The sound was full and rich – very pleasant to listen to at a wide variety of volume levels. The bass was right on the money for my taste. It held the foundation of all genres without being overpowering or hyped. The highs were a touch muted, but as a result didn’t come across as harsh when pushed hard.
A nit-pick, but the only thing I could complain about was the upper-mids that could be a bit more present for my taste. I felt that the presence of female vocals could have been given a bit more support in this area.
Getting Appy
Denon has created a free music app that lets you create playlists and listen to radio stations through the TuneIn internet radio service. The app also lets you create and save custom EQ curves.
Final Thoughts
These headphones aren’t exactly cheap. They’re definitely a few steps up from what you get with any Apple mobile device although, as I mentioned above, I don’t think I’d wear these as my everyday on-the-go headphones in public.
I’d have liked the AH-D600s to be a bit lighter, a bit more snug on the head and not so big!
That being said, my nit-picks are minor. These headphones sound very good and are pleasant to listen to.
