Apologies that this post is all very subjective, but when considering tactile feel and perceived quality I think the whole topic is ultimately a subjective one. I just received a pair of “B” stock Denon AH-D7200 headphones (at £330 with shipping I couldn’t resist, they appear to be brand new), I won’t talk about SQ or anything but just looking at them and feeling them, and wearing them I can’t help thinking that these represent the way to build headphones. The metal looking bits are actually metal, all the moving parts move with a lovely well-oiled and weighted feel and with no creaks or graininess, the pads are beautifully soft and supple, the wood ear cups have a terrific finish and the cable (no, I don’t believe cable voodoo) has a lovely feel (unfortunately it’s also a bit microphonic but that’s another argument and can be managed). I am of a view that if something is expensive (and the SRP of these was expensive) it is always nice if the product feels expensive with a premium and luxury build and feel. This is something the Japanese manufacturers seem to do very well as the higher end Sony and Audio Technica headphones generally come with a suitably premium feel and build. One of the things I love about my Sony MDR Z7 headphones is that the build and materials is superb and shames many more expensive headphones. I know none of this affects sound quality, but it does affect “feel good” factor of headphones, and because we wear headphones nice tactile feel can be important for whether we enjoy wearing them.