Denon D1200

amazon Denon D1200 reviews

Actually, until now, if you have noticed, the few reviews I write always have a small corner for headphones from Japan. Because during the years of working with anime, instrumental or classical music in Japan, I have always been attracted by the sad beauty of Japanese culture and music (Mono-no-aware). Honestly, before, my setup from headphone amp to the two headphones that I use every day only came from 2 brands Audio-Technica and STAX, except for the Chord DAC.

Although quite a few headphones are sent to write reviews, I only choose the products that inspire me to write articles. For the Denon AH-D1200, right after the first try, I had to admit that the impression left was extremely special, causing me to call to buy the headset to review.

Denon AH-D1200 is a headset model hit by the company in the mobile headset market for young people and is the youngest product in its Full-Size headphone line. Regarding the packaging of Denon, there is nothing for me to criticize; the box comes with a cloth bag for the headphones. The cord includes two detachable cords: a 1.2m long smooth wire and a microphone cord with a volume control cluster.

Things are not 100% perfect when the detachable cord uses a 2.5mm connection (similar to Bose, Sony, Audio-Technica), but unlike Sony and ATH, Denon does not have a notch or mechanism to fix it. That in some cases, when turning back and forth, I lost the wire. Another small point is that this headset does not have a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter to be used with the amp; perhaps because of the Portable headset orientation, Denon did not include this adapter.

The D1200 looks luxurious, aristocratic, and with the build quality, it is difficult for any competitor in the same price range to compete directly. Compared to the Beyerdynamic DT series, which has a solid metal look but is a bit monotonous, the ATH-M50x is all plastic and has little design; the ATH-A/AD series looks weird even though I’ve lived with these headphones over the years. The build quality of the D1200 headset is also quite good with a solid aluminum metal body, the earcup is made of hard plastic, but the surface treatment generally does not feel cheap. What perhaps needs to be improved is that the joints of the Headband and earcup are made of plastic, so when folding or adjusting the Headband, it feels a bit stiff and not very smooth.

When worn on the ear, the D1200 feels extremely comfortable, smooth with very good sound insulation, which is generally on par with the Beyer DT770 Pro. However, because the closed back and the earpad are too tight, it is easy to sweat when listening for a long time, so be careful not to damage the earpad.

For me, no matter how beautiful the outside is, it doesn’t matter because, after all, sound quality is the most important. Because when wearing headphones, not many people look in the mirror to see how beautiful they are, but most enjoy the music.

The first impression was that I was very surprised, partly because I did not have too much hope for this headset. Still, when I wore it for the first time, the feeling of nostalgia rushed back when I heard the sound quality is quite old, not following the current market trend, extremely clear and delicate mid and treble bands.

If I delve into the sound quality of each band, I will first talk about the weakest point of this headset, which is the bass band. Japanese headphones all have a common feature that rarely has as thick and powerful bass as American and Chinese headphones (except for a few Sony headphones). And the Denon D1200, when it was first unboxed, the bass was a bit out of control, still a bit stiff despite having a good depth and extension. After burning for about twenty hours, the bass is much softer with neater control. However, suppose you want to listen to jazz, orchestra, contrabass, brass drum. In that case, it’s still lacking in rami ness and decay to feel ‘happy.’ But with the genres of music that I often listen to, such as J. Brahms, Liszt, Ryochi Sakamoto, movie soundtracks. The bass range is responsive enough, not colorful, not too violent, and the clarity and detail of the bass range just right. Still, it doesn’t feel shallow like ATH’s AD series headphones.

Regarding the mid-range, this is probably the strength of the headphones from Japan, but instead of using the sweet, flattering sound familiar to ATH and Sony today, the AH-D1200 chooses a more classic method. The mid-range sound quality of the D1200 is extremely clear with full details, but it is also quite warm and mature and does not have the problem of the MDR-SA5000 headset, which has full details and clarity.

The mid-range of the D1200 is not too colorful but slightly advanced, with a very quiet and warm instrument background in the high-mid range so as not to create a jarring feeling when listening for a long time. At the same time, there is still seamlessness between the low-mid range from male vocalists to sopranos, high-mid instruments. In general, the details and clarity in this mid-range remind me of the ATH-A2000Z headphones, but of course, there will be incomparable points such as space and instrument depth. D1200 shows in the mid-range, it is probably difficult to have an opponent at the price of $200 in terms of detail and clarity.

Finally, the high range, similar to the mid-range, the AD1200 possesses a detailed high range without feeling too bright. That helps the headphones still have some airy and clear layers between the instruments. It can be said that the degree of detachment, the D1200 is very respectable because it is a portable headset. The transient of the sound is also quite clear; if you are used to listening to the instrument, the shaping ability of the D1200 is quite true, not at all colorful. That is hard to see in this price range; maybe only the DT880 can show this.

In terms of soundstage, the Denon AH-D1200 headset is probably not the airiest model today, but it can also get two clear channels. Since this is a Portable headset, I also don’t ask for much; if you want to find headphones with a more airy soundstage, there will be open headphones like ATH-AD or Beyer DT880/990.

In short, the AH-D1200 will suit any music. Those who like to listen to vocals, soft music, gentle symphonies, movie soundtracks thanks to the best mid-range in the price range, even slightly better than the ATH-AD900x.

In summary, the AH-D1200 is a rather surprising product of Denon, when I didn’t have too high of an initial expectation. Still, what the AH-D1200 brings, it has helped people with easy convenience move with luxurious design and very impressive sound quality. The sound quality is impressive for me at a price that listeners can consider extremely affordable.

where can you get a Denon D1200 online

Denon AH-D1200 Over-Ear Premium Headphones with in-Wire Remote and Microphone (Black): Buy it now