At the heart of the new Denon AH-D7200 is the 50mm FreeEdge driver diaphragm, which is made from a nano-fiber material chosen for its rigidity and low mass. This delivers an accurate pistonic motion without distortion, and is also self-damping to cancel out unwanted resonances within the diaphragm. It’s mounted in a soft, compliant surround, making it easier for it to move in response to the music signal without flexing or distorting, for the purest possible sound.
The ‘motor’ driving this diaphragm uses CCAW (copper coated aluminum wire) to keep the voice-coil as light as possible, plus extremely strong (more than 1 Tesla) neodymium magnets to increase the linearity and the speed of response. All of this means the total energy of the driver system is directed into delivering music to the listener’s ears, thanks to this unique design developed by Denon’s headphone engineers, and made possible by advanced Japanese-made materials.
Connecting these drive units to the amplifier powering the headphones is an ultra-high-quality 7N (99.99999% pure) oxygen-free copper cable, made in Japan to Denon’s specification, for the best possible signal transmission. It’s terminated with a durable machine-cut metal plug with a copper trim-ring. 7N copper is also used for the internal wiring of the headphones. A ‘floating jack’ design is used for the connections between the cable and the headphone earcups. This prevents the transmission of mechanical noise from the cable to the ears, while the detachable design means the user can experiment with aftermarket cables if required.
The driver is only part of a headphone’s audio system. The AH-D7200 drive-units are mounted on vibration-reducing engineering resin baffles, again reducing distortion. These are fitted into housings made from natural walnut, the dense wood being self-damping and shaped to reduce internal resonances and reflections. In addition, the use of walnut gives the headphones a warmer, more ‘speaker-like’ sound.
As well as being tuned for the best possible sound, the AH-D7200 has also been designed for extreme comfort. The earcups are suspended on ergonomically curved diecast aluminium hangers, while the headband is finished in real sheepskin leather. Within the ear-cushions, trimmed with artificial leather chosen for its supreme softness and durability, memory foam allows the best fit to the user’s ears. It’s all part of a design engineered for maximum enjoyment over long listening sessions, from the light weight (385g excluding cable) to a fit and side-pressure optimised for the widest possible range of head sizes and shapes.
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