Solid sound, thin features: Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds review

As far as audio kit goes, Denon is a headline brand that's used to producing some of the best headphones out there. I've personally owned Denon products, most notably amplifiers, on and off for decades. The company has never failed to impress me with their attention to detail, well-thought-out controls and solid performance. As established and revered as a brand can get, I was expecting the same from the Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds. But I may have set my expectations a little too high, even for Denon.

Before I continue, I suppose the best caveat to keep in mind is: These are by no means 'bad headphones'. In fact, they're perfectly good wireless earbuds in many respects. The drivers inside are a decent size, they deliver excellent clarity when it comes to mids, highs and voice calls. Bass is there - just not enough of it for my taste; but even so it's not totally underwhelming either. The sound profile definitely suits pop over rock. Noise cancelling is decent enough. They're lightweight, comfortable, pair easily and have responsive controls.

So, what's the problem? To be fair to Denon, in terms of the frequency range and soundscape, I'll be the first to admit that it's just a matter of taste. Depending on your preference, these will either sound well-balanced or they'll sound too biased towards the mid-highs. Either way, they're fine in terms of actual sound quality.

However, for me, there are some glaring omissions that are frankly baffling at this price point. Firstly, there are no EQ presets and no companion app to allow for any tweaking. So if, like me, you'd prefer a bit more bass, you're stuck. Secondly, perhaps the most counter-intuitive choice I've seen for touch control earbuds is the complete lack of touch volume controls. So, although you can skip tracks, play and pause with a quick gesture, changing the volume using them is a no-go. Astounding, especially considering these Denons cost over £130.

Verdict: Excellent Denon build quality with above average sound, but very thin on features.

What's good?

Like the earbuds themselves, the case has a premium feel without being too heavy. Unlike many wireless earbud brands, the case isn't an anonymous pebble-style affair with rounded corners - the kind I've dropped more than a few times. This Denon charging case will stand up nicely on your desk.

The earbuds are lovely and light. As someone who can find in-ear devices a bit of a pain over long periods, I really appreciate the easy fit. They also came with a couple of sizes of extra silicone tips for different fitting options. Although clearly not designed for sport, they did stay put under a reasonable range of motion at the gym; except, understandably, for running.

Pairing the Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds was trouble-free, and also quick. Going out of the considerable Bluetooth range disconnected me, but coming back into range made for super-fast reconnection. There are twin microphones on these too. I found that taking calls with these was one of the best phone experiences I've had with wireless earbuds. Not only was the incoming voice very clear and free from distortions associated with poor Bluetooth, but my voice had plenty of volume. The sound profile of these earbuds is very well suited to vocals. Touch controls are also very responsive without being too sensitive. It's very easy to play, pause and skip back and forth.

What's okay?

As I mentioned earlier, there's really nothing wrong with the sound of the Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds. It's good. It's well-balanced. It's just not to my taste. After the Denon brand itself, one of the main reasons for considering these earbuds would be ANC - a feature that wireless over-ear headphones tend to do best. The noise cancelling of these is controlled by touch controls on the left earbud. One slight frustration here is that the instructions don't tell you which sound indicates which ANC setting you've selected; A series of chirps in your ear will tell you the setting has changed. It cycles between off, ANC, and ANC + ambient noise. That said, I did find that ANC worked well, and was better at blocking noise at the higher end of the spectrum than mids or lows.

Any negatives?

As I write I am looking at the Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds next to some unbranded but similar headphones I found in my stocking last Christmas. For some reason, they've become my daily drivers when I just need to grab something that does everything adequately. But considering they cost over £100 less than the Denons, I had to stop for a moment and ask myself how that was even possible. The answers are actually pretty simple. Firstly, the sound from the unbranded ones is a little skewed towards the bass end - which I prefer. But the Denon earbuds don't have any built-in EQ settings, and there's that missing companion app that other headphone brands often give you to allow for EQ tweaks. Yes, you can alter the EQ on your devices to try to compensate, but if you use various speakers and headphones that's going to cause problems.

Secondly, the lack of a companion app. This signals a massive issue for me: the lack of touch control for volume. I actually read the manual three times, and Googled for half an hour, just to make sure I hadn't missed something. My super-cheapo earbuds let me turn the volume up and down, plus the usual playback functions. They'll even let me turn them off with a long press, which is great peace of mind if you're at the end of your battery life. The Denons have none of that, and there won't be any customising of the controls without a companion app.

I can only imagine that this pair of Denon earbuds is aimed at people who are within constant reach of their phone's volume controls - or those who don't mind reaching for their Apple Watch. Gym-goers will find this frustrating (and again, these are not sports headphones), but so will dog walkers, computer users and anyone who doesn't feel like reaching for their player just to tune the volume.

Final verdict

I would say that there's not enough here for the price tag, certainly in terms of flexibility of control and EQ settings. If you can find these when and if they drop well below £100, and if you're a fan of the Denon sound and build, you absolutely should. But if it's more control you're after, consider your options.

More items to consider:

How the Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds were tested

The Denon AH-C830NCW Wireless Earbuds were received in April and tested for 7 days in May 2023. They were worn while working from a home office, out walking in town and countryside, at the gym, and in shops to test ANC. They were also tested with voice calls, internet radio, and music played via Spotify Premium from a mobile device.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best. He specialises in audiovisual, computing, and gadgets. He also writes for Yours.

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