Denon AH-GC20 headphone review

In today's Denon AH-GC20 review find out how good the new product is, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the model. These oversized headphones from Denon with noise canceling (ANC) function will be useful both on the road and on the road, and on noisy working days in the office.

Kit and characteristics

Denon AH-GC20 video review

AH-GC20 Design and Construction Overview

Already at the very beginning of the review, the headphones look very nice. It is immediately clear that the manufacturer has carefully approached the details: the material is pleasant to the touch, the cups are made of good plastic, the headband is comfortable and soft, and the ear pads in the ears are not felt at all.

And it's not just that the AH-GC20 continues the Globe Cruiser series - this suggests that the model is aimed at travelers and businessmen who have to spend a lot of time on the road. Superior comfort, battery life, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) - every detail is here to make sure you are as comfortable as possible on the long journey.

It's worth noting that the connection above the cups is similar to the Parrot Zik. Phillip Stark was the author of this design and it is not clear why the company implemented this design in the Denon AH-GC20.

But what's the difference if it still looks top! There is another question about the headphone cups. The plastic part is soft and tactilely pleasant, but it wears out a little, so it's not clear what will happen to the headphones with longer use.

The AH-GC20 did not reveal any more problems in the review - the headphones are pleasant, comfortable, and the assembly is professional. There are markings on the rim, so it is convenient to adjust the length for each side. The channels are spelled out in large letters. I liked the fact that the cup can bend in 3 directions - thanks to this, the headphones fit perfectly on the head.

On the right earpiece there is a control unit: volume control, a joystick for turning on and off music, plus it can be moved in any direction, and if you press it, the music will pause or start playing.

With the AH-GC20, developers have dispensed with touch controls!

To activate the noise canceling (ANC) function - a small switch with an indicator light.The headphones are hybrids, so you can work with them both via Bluetooth and via a cable - there is a microUSB, a 3.5 mm jack. MiniJack is here without any problems. Fortunately, the purchase includes a complete set of necessary accessories.

On the Denon AH-GC20, the ear cups completely cover the ears, the ear cups are compressed, and the inner padding creates high-quality passive noise isolation. In fact, all controls are in one place, you can adjust them with just one finger, and you quickly get used to the location of the buttons.

AH-GC20 review: headphone material

The company claims that the bezel is made of genuine leather, and the cups are supported by an alloy of lightweight aluminum.

The interior of the ear cushions is compressed during use, which directly affects the listening of music. As mentioned earlier, Denon AH-GC20 in terms of comfort of use in the TOP among large wireless headphones.

Headphones AH-GC20: features of work

When you install the Denon Travel App for iOS, your phone will immediately warn you that the app is slowing down the system. An equalizer is also provided, but you will have to pay 149 rubles for it - it looks like the manufacturer is trying to pull every penny out of your pocket, which is of course a minus.

After all, the user can find an alternative with an excellent equalizer, for example the same Bang & Olufsen. TuneIn radio does not look interesting, as well as travel applications - they are simply not interesting.

During the review of the AH-GC20, it turned out that it is impossible to update the headphone software via the app - an obvious drawback!

The earbuds now have the ability to work with 2 devices, the connection was easy to both phones. When the audio cable is plugged in, the AH-GC20s are disabled, but the noise canceling function remains active. The operating time in this mode is about 30 hours. Isn't it a great result?

Interestingly, with the wire, the music in the headphones sounded much better!

And of course, activating and deactivating noise canceling (ANC) also affects the sound quality. The last feature of the AH-GC20 is its excellent range. Thanks to Bluetooth Class 1, you can easily walk around the office or home without worrying about the interruption of the connection - the walls are not an obstacle for this.

The Clear Voice Capture function (DSP version) made it possible to transfer the sound of voice and speech even better - this is confirmed by the official Denon website. For oversized wireless headphones, this is a huge plus, without you they will hear even in a noisy place. Please note! The AH-GC20 lacks voice alerts and various fancy features. Moreover, headphones without a sensor are a real old school.

Noise suppression

The noise reduction system is introduced, which is activated by a special button, the ANC level is not adjustable. The functionality of the function was tested in different circumstances: in a restaurant, subway, with the TV turned on.

The AH-GC20 works perfectly, especially thanks to high-quality ear pads - isolation from almost any extraneous sound: the speech of someone standing next to you is not heard at all, piercing noises do not seem to merge so, everything is muffled in an airplane or subway.

Denon AH-GC20 battery life

Immediately, we note that the headphones turn off if you put them on charge - there is no way to listen to music and watch movies at this moment. According to the manufacturer, the battery life is about 20 hours. Only now no one said whether noise reduction was used. Most likely, it was said about working in standard mode without ANC. In fact, it turned out to be something like this - at 80% volume, the AH-GC20 lasted 19 hours.

Charging took about 3 hours.

AH-GC20 Sound Review

There are some complaints about the sound quality of the Denon AH-GC20! Despite the manufacturer's claims of high-quality, professional sound tuning and perfect sound, the headphones did not justify themselves.

To get a good sound, you have to work hard - experiment with different playback options (with / without a cable, with the noise canceling function activated or deactivated). There are also differences when working with different devices and smartphones - AH-GC20 have aptX, so the song sounds better with Samsung than in the player on Apple.

For good sound on your Iphone, listen to high quality MP3s, digitize and expand your library. Music will be one level higher! For comparison, you can take two identical tracks: one from iTunes, and the second digitized by you. Note the difference right away!

The cups are designed to give you a 3D experience without additional EQ adjustments. When we reviewed the Denon AH-GC20, the vocals in the tracks sounded quite clear. There are errors, but these are hardly noticeable trifles.

Outcome

The price of the headphones is quite high and costs 20,000 rubles. Therefore, we propose to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the model:

Summing up, I will say that the Denon AH-GC20 is good in its performance, it can be safely recommended. But you should definitely consider your competitors. The company itself should resolve the issue with the application: it needs to be updated and maintained, for modern headphones this is extremely important!