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The most recent genuine wireless product to be released by the venerable audio manufacturer Denon is called the AH-C830NCW. These premium headphones improve upon their forerunners’ already excellent sound and call quality by including an active noise cancellation (ANC) feature that is both efficient and effective. Denon went so far as to update the touch controllers so that tap input is now seamless. Denon skipped one checkbox for each one that they selected to mark off their list.
There was a lack of focus on important aspects such as the battery life, comfort, and design of the product. The AH-value C830NCW is further diminished because it is not equipped with standard or contemporary features.
Find out which models scored the highest among the cheap noise-canceling headphones that we evaluated. Check out our recommendations for the headphones with the best sound quality if you’re an audiophile for the highest possible sound standard.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Design and build
True wireless in-ear headphones already have a set design, and Denon isn’t the kind of company to ignore market trends and make a design that will confuse or scare people. When given the choice between a “lozenge shape” or a “dangly stem,” the company chose the latter.
To the company’s credit, though, the AH-C830NCW are a pretty stylish example of this. The earbud’s shape is comfortable, and Denon gives you three sizes of silicone eartips to help you find the right fit. The shiny housing looks good (at least until your fingers dull the shine) and is just slippery enough to make getting the earbuds out of their neat little charging case a bit more of a pain than it would be otherwise.
The stems end at an angle and are topped with a very pretty silver cap. Just about every Denon product you’ll ever use seems to be well-made and, as a result, will last for a long time. You may not get a lot for your money here, but what you do get looks and feels like it should. And the finish can be either black or white. You can buy this earbud from its official website.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Sound quality
Suppose you liked Japanese monitor speakers from the 1970s. In that case, the Denon will take you back to the good old days of hi-fi: It has very clear fine resolution and silvery treble, which almost make it too easy to understand voices and sibilants without sounding harsh. But with some recordings, especially close-ups of women’s voices, this can be too much very quickly.
We heard a contrast between the voices, which had a thin, almost chiseled sound, and the bass, which was very deep. As long as you had the right adapters and put the earbuds in the right way, of course. The bass is deep and strong but doesn’t take over the music. Instead, it fits in well, even with classical music and jazz.
But people who like to listen to electronic beats or rich drum sounds will notice that such fun sounds a bit more academic and studio-like through the Denons: It is noticeably restrained when it comes to kicking and grooving, and its bass authority remains rather subtle, leaving more room for higher frequencies. Which is not bad if you are not a hip-hop kid trying to damage your hearing quickly.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Performance
Many people won’t mind that the Denon AH-C830NCW earphones don’t have an app with an equalizer because the sound quality is so good. But if you want to change something, no matter how small or big, you can’t with these earbuds. Other than that, the ANC performance and IPX4 rating are about average for the price.
Unfortunately, none of these things is enough to make these perfectly good headphones stand out in a market that is already full. If you want to spend a little more or less, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro ($129.99) and Jabra Elite 7 Active ($179.99) have better selling points, such as customizable audio performance and a design that makes it easy to use while working out.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Connectivity
A couple of mics in each earbud help with the active noise cancellation, and another three mics take care of the call quality. Bluetooth 5 is used for wireless connections, and SBC and AAC are supported as codecs. This means that hi-res audio is not supported. A pair of oval full-range dynamic drivers (11mm x 10mm) sends sound to your ears.
The earbuds have a respectable, but not best-in-class, battery life of five hours with noise-canceling on and six hours without it. The case holds four more full charges. There’s no wireless charging support, so the case has to be charged with a USB-C cable.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Noise cancelling
The AH-C830NCW contains four microphones, two of which are used to record your voice when the device is being used for phone calls, and the other two are used for active noise cancellation (ANC) (active noise cancellation).
My experience with the ANC has shown that it does a good job of canceling out low-register droning sounds but has trouble with voices and noises of higher pitches. This is not an unusual occurrence for ANC in general, and I found that the earbuds performed an above-average job at ANC overall without significantly degrading the sound quality as a result of their use.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Battery Life
The charging/carrying case has a USB-C port for charging and a button on the back for setting up Bluetooth, resetting, and checking the battery level. The light that shows how these things work is on the front. When you close the lid, the earbuds charge, and when you open the case, they go into pairing mode on their own.
The top parts of the wireless earbuds are touch-sensitive and can be used to change the ANC mode (on, off, or ambient pass-through), answer or end phone calls, change songs, and so on. We couldn’t find a way to turn up or down the volume, so you’ll have to use your media player for that. Pads come in three sizes (S, M, L). The earbuds came with medium-sized pads, but we switched to the small ones because I found they fit better in my ears.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Price
Many people won’t mind that the Denon AH-C830NCW earphones don’t have an app with an equalizer because the sound quality is so good. But if you want to change something, no matter how small or big, you can’t with these earbuds. Other than that, the ANC performance and IPX4 rating are about average for the price. Unfortunately.
None of these things is enough to make these perfectly good headphones stand out in a market that is already full. If you want to spend a little more or less, the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro ($129.99) and Jabra Elite 7 Active ($179.99) have better selling points, such as customizable audio performance and a design that makes it easy to use while working out.
Denon AH-C830NCW review: Conclusion
The best thing about the AH-C830NCW is how it plays music. It’s a good pair of wireless earbuds for brand fans or anyone looking for a cheaper alternative to AirPods. It has good noise cancellation and call quality.
But every pro is canceled out by a con: great sound quality, but not very comfortable. Bluetooth is useful, but the battery life is only average. Touch controls that work well versus digital assistant support that isn’t well-integrated. You see what we mean.
You might be interested in Denon because of its sound, but Sennheiser’s CX Plus and Beats Fit Pro have better sound and noise cancellation.
Denon AH-C830NCW Ratings