Denon may not be the first name one would think of in the context of high-end headphones, but it has five models on offer at present, plus three in-ear designs. This particular contender is an all-new model and sits one rung down from the range-topping (and more expensive) AH-D5000.

You will know better than us if the price tag on this set of earphones is too high. If you are happy with the earphones that came with your iPod, then the price will probably hit you as quite a whack.

The sound from these Denon earphones is admirably neutral, with no obvious sign of bias towards any part of the audio range

With iPods selling by the skipload and the rest of the world trying their level best to make its successor (Zune, Zen, anyone?), a new market for high-end earphones over £100 has sprung up