Denon has a long history of making headphones, 50 years to be precise. Now, the company has channelled its extensive research into its latest pair of flagship over-ear headphones, the AH-D7200, designed “for the most demanding audiophile”.

Denon says the thought process behind the new model was to create a pair that delivered “uncompromised sound quality” along with “unparalleled comfort” and so went back to the drawing board to come up with new designs and to develop new materials.

Within each real wood ear cup is a 50mm FreeEdge driver diaphragm that’s made from a rigid material, which Denon says helps the D7200 to deliver distortion-free sound and can swat away any interference thanks to its self-damping qualities.

The diaphragm is mounted in a surround that lets it move accurately with whatever song is being played for “the purest possible sound” and is powered by a combination of incredibly strong magnets and extremely light aluminium wire. Denon says the result is a system that focuses on pushing the highest-quality sound straight to your lugholes.

But what use is a great sounding pair of headphones if they’re not comfortable to wear? To make sure you won’t want to take the D7200s off as soon as you’ve put them on, Denon has used sheepskin leather for the headband and synthetic leather coverings on the ear cups. You may wonder why Denon didn’t use real leather instead, but the company says the artificial one used is super-soft and durable and when combined with memory foam creates an ideal barrier to block out external noise.

The Denon AH-D7200 Reference headphones will be available from January for £699.