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Denon’s Global Cruiser headphones meet the needs for any traveling audiophile

Parker Hall
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Image used with permission by copyright holder

Home entertainment giant Denon announced an exciting trio of new headphones, aiming to compete with Bose and Sony for customers in search of top tier fidelity, excellent battery life, and fantastic noise-canceling while on the go. Called the Global Cruiser line, the three new models are called the AH-GC25W, the AH-GC25NC, and the AH-GC30.

The GC25W is a wireless headphone model that lacks noise-canceling technology, but makes up for it with a solid 30 hours of wireless listening time on the go. They also feature aptX HD Bluetooth technology, for the absolute best wireless sound you can get.

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The GC25NC nix the wireless functionality from the wireless model, but gain the company’s noise-canceling tech, and a whopping 10 hours more battery life, thanks largely to the fact that there’s no wireless chip to power. The headphones also should be great for making calls, featuring something Denon calls Clear Voice Capture (cVc), which is an advanced algorithm that suppresses noise, adapts equalization, and is designed to provide the clearest vocal quality.

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The GC30 combine the best features of the previous two models, offering up to 20 hours of battery life, the same wireless performance, and the same noise-canceling tech, all in one pair of portable headphones. They also feature a smartphone app, aiming to allow you to adjust noise reduction, equalization, and more on the go.

Between the three, Denon looks to offer a pair of headphones that suits every listener’s needs — from businesspeople who need as much noise-cancelation tech as they can muster, to casual listeners who wouldn’t mind trading in noise-cancelation tech for a simple and great sounding set of wireless headphones. Still, as far as we’re concerned the most exciting models are the GC30 and GC25NC, as we’re eager to see how Denon competes with the similarly priced Sony WH-1000XM3.

“Today’s listeners want the flexibility of really fantastic noise-canceling headphones without sacrificing sound quality they expect from Denon,” Michael Greco, senior global brand director at Sound United, said in a press release. “To deliver that premium experience, the new GC series models were tuned by Denon’s dedicated sound master and use some of our most advanced audio and noise-canceling technologies to provide an amazing listening experience regardless of where you are or the application.”

All three sets of headphones feature beautiful streamlined looks, with large rounded headphone brackets to hold the earcups, and what looks to be a soft leather-wrapped headband and plush earcups. The AH-GC25W, AH-GC25NC, and AH-GC30 models will cost $249, $299, and $399, respectively.

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Parker Hall
Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
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