Calvin's Lifestyle: Denon AH-D400 Review

Denon AH-D400 Urban Raver

Specifications :

Type : Over-Ear Headphones with Integrated Amplifier

Weight : 310 grams

Driver Size : 50mm

Driver Type : Dynamic

Impedance : 64 0Hms (power on)

Sensitivity : 115 dB/mW

Maximum Power Input : 1300mW

Frequency Response : 5~37,000Hz

Ear Cups : Molded Plastic

Ear Hanger : Glass Fiber Reinforced Mold

Headband : Adjustable Slider, covered in Protein Leather

EarPads : Cable Connection L/R Earcup

Battery Type : Li-Polymer Rechargeable

Battery Lifespan : 12hours

Accessories Included : 3 foot long audio cable, ¼” gold plated audio jack, Carrying Pouch, Detachable Karabiner (for carrying case)

Control & Communication Specifications : Denon patent-pending Illuminated control wheel for control of Apple iPod, iPhone and iPad Integrated Microphone (on ear cup)

(+) Plus

Light weight
Nice and trendy design
Illuminating LED ring on the headphone is cool
Built-in amplifier
Built-in rechargeable battery via USB to Micro USB cable
Great bass and sound quality (Very great BASS)
Great for Trance, Rock, and quite fun with Modern Pop
Detachable cable
Premium packaging and accessories
Very comfortable and soft ear cups

(-) Minus

Very plastic but still solid
Not very nice with acoustic music, too bassy
Inline-control for volume is only for iOS devices
Noise isolation is not very good

Unboxing

Denon AH-D400 unboxing

Well, after my lovely Denon AH-C300, now I have got my hands on this Denon AH-D400 which has been discontinued by the manufacturer as there's a newer version available Denon AH-D401. Lovely package straight out from Amazon box. The delivery just took less than 2 weeks and 5 days earlier than expected to arrive Singapore. Seriously, amazing service from the seller and definitely will back for more when there's another sales. A great plus for the packaging as you can see in the picture above. The headphone is being safely package to minimize the possibility of being damage in the delivery process.

Denon AH-D400

As you can expected from Denon, the packaging never fails to amaze me. Solid sturdy hard cover box to protect and keep the headphone. This is just exactly the same packaging I received from the Denon AH-C300. Another thumbs up for the packaging effort. It makes the product feels very premium. Denon gives me the best unboxing experience for these range of price.

Denon AH-D400 sit nicely in the box

This is the first time I bought such expensive headphone after I bought Denon AH-C300, IEM. Love this unboxing experience to max. I know there's a lot more other premium packaging for other premium headphones but I bet you can't get this kind of high quality packaging for this kind of price. Please note that the material underneath the headphone is not silk but it still feels very nice there. Well, that's the main item sitting on top, the Denon AH-D400 headphone.

All the remaining items underneath the headphone inside the box

Below the the headphone inside the box, you will get some user manuals and etc. Another two boxes containing a 3 foot long audio cable, ¼” gold plated audio jack, USB to Micro USB cable, carrying pouch and a karabiner. The pouch is pretty nice but could be better and for the karabiner, compared to my AH-C300, this one feels a little bit more plasticky and smaller. But it is still nice of them to include this to be attached with the carrying pouch.

Carrying pouch and karabiner

USB to Micro USB cable, 3 foot long audio cable, ¼” gold plated audio jack

Design

The design of the headphone is pretty trendy and the dark color makes it even much cooler. However, the knobs on both sides of the headphone might be a little too outstanding and it makes it looks a little bulky. By bulky I mean, it is not very big in size but just look as if. The headphone size is okay in my opinion, not too big nor too small, just right. As for the weight is it quite light and it feels good wearing it for long hours. Another highlight here is the illuminating LED ring on both sides of the headphone. The LED ring definitely makes the headphone looks much cooler. It can be turned off and on but a single click on the button on the left side of the headphone. As on the right side, single click on the button to play or pause, double click for next song, and triple click for previous. The knob on the right can be turned to adjust the volume. However, it only works on iOS device.

Denon AH-D400 (Front)

Denon AH-D400 (Side)

Denon AH-D400 BLue LED Ring

Denon AH-D400 Red LED Ring (During charging)

Fit

As mentioned earlier, it is light-weight and suitable to wear for long hours. The ear cups are very soft and comfortable. Besides, the ear cups are big enough to cover up your whole ears and it is not the typical round or oval shape but pentagonal that fits your ears nicely. As for the headband on the top, it's not as soft as the ear cups and not enough padding on it. The headband can be extended and it feels quite solid inside.

Soft and comfortable ear cups

Nice stitches on the headband but not very soft

Expandable headband to adjust for comfortability

Build Quality

The build quality is just like it's little brother Denon AH-C300, a bit plasticky but very solid. I guess it can lasts for quite some time before it broke down tho. As it is made of plastic, fingerprints can be all over the headphone after awhile. The ear cups are as mentioned earlier, very soft and comfortable, memory foam made. The part where the headband can be expand is made of metal and very solid.

Plasticky built but very solid

Audio Performance

The Denon AH-D400 is not label as "A Bone-Jarring, Brutally-Powerful Bass Experience" for nothing. The bass produced by the headphone is seriously very powerful and very suitable for bass-head, just like me. With the 50mm dual dynamic drivers equipped, the volume and bass is very good. In addition, the built-in amplifier not only adding in volume, it makes songs clearer and the bass much punchier. The sound of background instruments are clearer and the atmospheric sounds better and wider. Music such as trance and rock become much more fun with the bass produced by the Denon AH-D400.

Compared to my AH-C300, this is like a big brother. Both almost the same, produce great bass and great sound quality. But I would prefer AH-C300 more as the bass is punchier and the volume produced more.

Denon AH-D400 produces great bass and fun

Conclusion

Well, let's wrap it up. Overall, the Denon AH-D400 is almost the same as AH-C300 but with much clearer sound while AH-C300 has much punchier bass. The Denon AH-D400 is a great and fun headphone to listen to but definitely not for purist because of the enhanced bass. As for bass-head, remember to check this out because the bass is really awesome. I am not very sure to compare this with the V-Moda Crossfade M-100 that is also well-known for bass but this is definitely better than Beats Studio that I owned. Both price and sound performance is better. However, for the build quality, it is a little bit of let down but it can be forgiven as the sound performance is great. It is a recommended headphone for bass-head and you can get this for a good price over at Amazon now as this headphone has discontinued by the manufacturer because of a newer version released.