Group Test: Hi-fi headphones

Let's make things clear from the outset: these are not the headphones to buy if you're aiming to plug them into a bog-standard MP3 player and jump on the bus for the daily commute.

Oh no. These are hi-fi headphones for the true audiophile. Someone who not only loves music to the nth degree, but also loves the cocooning, intimate sensation that only truly great headphones can provide.

There is something secretive and compelling about listening to superb music through the solace of headphones - a smugness that only you are privy to such a bravura musical performance. And these four test candidates celebrate this fact to the ultimate level, eschewing piffling factors like cost in favour of striving for absolute sonic perfection.

As such, this test isn't about price, it's about pitching the very best against the very best in premium test conditions to see just how much we can discern between such elite technologies. Or indeed, if any one of them is truly better than its rivals.

Overview Price: £950 More info: Audio-Technica Transducer: Closed-back dynamic Frequency Response: 5-45,000Hz Impedance: 40ohms Weight: 340g Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 Supplied in their own red satin lined carry case, Japanese electronic specialist Audio-Technica's understated and classy ATH-W5000 headphones sport closed-back wooden enclosures, with Audio-Technica opting for acoustically tuned striped ebony over Denon's mahogany. With muted tones and simple black mounts the W5000 could be forgiven for looking ordinary at first glance but a quick inspection reveals a set of headphones designed and hand-built purely for the listening experience. They feel extremely solid with top quality components throughout, from the 53mm neodymium magnets in the transducers to the soft leather earcups. One of the best features is Audio-Technica's patented Wing Support contraption, which eliminates the need for varying length headbands by fitting to any head on a pair of padded wings. It gives the effect of the headphones floating above your head and is supremely comfortable, even over very long periods. Sound is consistently detailed and extremely delicate, perfect for the high-end where treble is bright and accessible, and the midrange, which cracks with punch and crispness. Complete realism and neutrality makes them remarkably open sounding. We did find the bottom end a little too delicate at times though, despite the 'bass extending' Double Air Damping System. Where we often wanted a brain-melting dose of deep Denon bass we instead merely felt a light brain basting. If it's clarity, transparency and unrivalled detailing you love in your music though, Audio-Technica has what you need.

Verdict Plus points Beautifully detailed, transparent, super-bright high-end, comfortable Minus points Weaker bass presence than some, current dodgy exchange rate makes them very expensive, no 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor

Overview Price: £800 More info: Denon Transducer: Closed-back dynamic Frequency Response: 5-45,000Hz Impedance: 25ohms Weight: 370g

As you'd expect from Denon, no part of the D7000's design has been left to chance, and it shows in the extraordinary build quality and finish. The natural grade mahogany is the same as that used to build high-end guitars because of its acoustic qualities and the finishing is taken from pianos.

Like good speaker systems, the Denons (and all the headphones in this test for that matter) need running in to mature the sound properly. But after 30 hours of play and only the slightest change in colouration we found them utterly beguiling.

A beautifully developed high-end means clean, clear trebles while the bottom-end has been wrestled under control to remain tight and urgent without being domineering. In fact the entire soundstage is rendered with almost clinical accuracy.

Rather than feeling soulless though, the sensation is of bountiful power in reserve but with detail and openness that continually surprises with every note considering their closed-back nature.

Switching from CD to vinyl, the Denons felt just as comfortable with the analogue recording. Such is their precision that they spare no rod over poor sound recordings, and some of our seventies ambient rock didn't come up well.

A little fatigue did set in after particularly long sessions, as the enclosures are quite sizeable and the headband snug, but it's a pitiful gripe in the face of such a stellar sonic performance.