Technology and Design

Denon claims that the AH-NC732 cancels outside noise by 99%! Referred to as “active” cancellation because it has microphones in each ear cup and the circuitry processes the ambient noise out of phase thereby canceling the unwanted sounds.

I’m impressed that a single AAA battery does all this work. I can say I’ve spent hours and hours and still the battery works just fine. Denon claims you’ll get 40 hours out of each battery.

There are a couple of important issues that set the Denon’s apart from other noise-canceling headphones. Firstly they can be used with or without the cancellation active and suffice it to say, the sound is very different, more on that later.

Secondly, Denon incorporates a proprietary design referred to as Acoustic Optimizer technology. Found on many of their headphones, this feature is essentially ports on the outer ear cup equalizing internal pressure producing better bass, cleaner fidelity and tone, hopefully.

The AH-NC732 are very lightweight weighing 146 grams (approximately 5.1 ounces) including cables and battery! The ear cups are 3” high by 2 ½” across with the battery and switch built into the right ear.

Beautifully crafted and sturdy despite their light weight and delicate design, the 732’s hinge in a couple of places for comfort. The upper band adjusts for head size and the ear cups pivot flat for storage. All black except for a shiny sliver band around the Denon logo on each ear piece.

The ear cushion is made of “low-repulsion” urethane and clad in very soft leather – very comfortable actually.

The attachment cord is detachable again best for storage, while an extension cord is provided and compatible with iPhone/iTouch with no additional adapters required.

Each ear cup is loaded with a 40mm driver with Neodymium magnets expected to deliver between 5-28,000 Hz.