Official Denon AH-C700 Comparisons/Impressions

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan

Hmmm... They don't feel too long on my Shure E2Gs, but they definitely killed the highs and muddied the bass when on my C700s. I think I will sacrifice the large set and see if it helps. Thanks HA.

Do you plan to audition the AKG IP2 canal phones when they are released? Full Compass already has them listed on their site at $79.99 with a 1-2 month lead-time. MSRP is $119.99 according to FC's site.

I never had my daughter try the E2c, and I don't recall if the tips stick out past the sound nozzle of the E2c. I myself never had a problem with the sound of the orange foamies on either the E2c or the C700.

I have considered the SA6 and the Klipsch, but the problem is I really don't need any more IEM. Th eprice of the AKG looks attractive but after so much disappointment with all kinds of other IEM, I am sticking with my Denon and custom shell IEMs (2 pair of Livewires) until the Westone 3 come out. I got to demo them at Westone in September and they blew away the SE530 I had with me.

I bought the Triple.fi 10 Pro in December and they didn't meet my lofty expectations after having heard the Westone 3 first (poor fit and a funny midbass coloration that made them sound like a small acoustic suspension bookshelf speaker).

[jrbdmb]

After living with the Senn CX300s for about a year, I finally decided that it was time for an upgrade, and the current deal on the C751s was too good to pass up.

After listening to them to a few hours, I am generally pleased with the sound, esp. the nice tight bass compared to the boom-boom of the CX300s. My only concern is the midrange/treble. These are certainly more forward than the CX300s, and remind me a bit of the HD595s; they sound great on most vocals / classical / jazz.

However, on some songs the C751s are just *too* forward and become irritating. I esp. notice this on older material which tends to be more mid-rangey to begin with; I remember switching to an old Dave Clark Five song (circa 1964) on my IPod Classic and thinking "damn, this sounds crappy".

So, will the sound signature of these change significantly and I use them a bit more, or am a just finding out that better IEMs reveal a poorly balanced recording more than the IEMs I used before?

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by jrbdmb

So, will the sound signature of these change significantly and I use them a bit more, or am a just finding out that better IEMs reveal a poorly balanced recording more than the IEMs I used before?

All Dynamic headphones require "burn in". Some more then others. My Denons peaked around 50 hours. They will always be forward though.

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by jrbdmb

So, will the sound signature of these change significantly and I use them a bit more, or am a just finding out that better IEMs reveal a poorly balanced recording more than the IEMs I used before?

They don't like poor recordings (although that's not specific to the Denons), but I can promise you the midrange and treble will 'smooth' themselves out. Leave them playing overnight at slighter louder than listening levels, and continue doing that for a few days - and although the midrange will still be forward, it won't sound so harsh. I didn't believe in burn in at all, until I got my C751s and compared them to my well-used C700s. Well, there was a really noticeable difference. The C751s had the same sound signature, but seemed much harsher in all the frequencies. I was a bit worried about it at first because I didn't know why they should sound so different.

But after 20 hours or so, they started to settle in, until they became indistinguishable from the C700s. Give them more time, it really helps.

[Mr_Tasty]

If there is anything that bears repeating from this ginormous thread its that the C700's need atleast 100-200 hours of usage time to completely reach thier peak sound sig. The sound smoothen's out and tightens up across the entire spectrum after burn in.

[tstarn06]

Guess why that's why I sold my C700s, never got to the 100-hour burn-in stage, as to me, they also seemed harsh in the mids. In fact, I picked up a pair of 551s and after 24 hours of white noise, they too seem way too harsh on voices/mids. Right now, I am doing to comparison with the new head-direct canalphones, the RE2s, directly against the Denons, and while the Denons are a little more sparkly, they again are irritating during the vocals, especially compared to the RE2s, which have a much smoother, warm mid signature. I will post on the comparison, since they are about the same price (MSRP).

Is the problem with Denons that they require a lot of burn in compared to other similar phones? If so, I guess I will give the 551s a lot more time to burn in.

[cn11]

Originally Posted by tstarn06

Guess why that's why I sold my C700s, never got to the 100-hour burn-in stage, as to me, they also seemed harsh in the mids. In fact, I picked up a pair of 551s and after 24 hours of white noise, they too seem way too harsh on voices/mids. Right now, I am doing to comparison with the new head-direct canalphones, the RE2s, directly against the Denons, and while the Denons are a little more sparkly, they again are irritating during the vocals, especially compared to the RE2s, which have a much smoother, warm mid signature. I will post on the comparison, since they are about the same price (MSRP).

Is the problem with Denons that they require a lot of burn in compared to other similar phones? If so, I guess I will give the 551s a lot more time to burn in.

Hey Tom,
I have been listening to my C551's almost exclusively the last couple days, and they are calming down to my ears. I really like them, especially for $65. The bass punch is very nice, especially being used to a somewhat more lean bass from the SA6. To me it was the treble that seemed harsh at first, but it is definitely getting a bit more mellow with time. After the smooth, lush, & refined mids/treble of the SA6 though nothing will seem refined! The mids actually seemed more recessed and constricted (the best way I can describe it) in comparison to the SA6, so I edged up the mid band on my Vibez's EQ a couple ticks... and that did the trick for the mids. The treble was what I found somewhat problematic but it is improving with time.

I look forward to your comparison to the Head-direct RE2. Keep us posted.

-Cheers.

[dura]

But even after extrensive playing in, the treble will never be smooth.

[tstarn06]

Good points (about using EQ) and settling in. To do my comparison with the RE2, I'm using the Zune80, so no EQ, which is good I think in doing a comparison.

Listening right now, and they seem less harsh, but a lot seems to depend on the track/recording, which is always the case of course.

I do like their clear, clean sound, and the bass is definitely there. Need more time for the comparison with the RE2s. Didn't mean to hijack this thread.

Originally Posted by cn11

Hey Tom,
I have been listening to my C551's almost exclusively the last couple days, and they are calming down to my ears. I really like them, especially for $65. The bass punch is very nice, especially being used to a somewhat more lean bass from the SA6. To me it was the treble that seemed harsh at first, but it is definitely getting a bit more mellow with time. After the smooth, lush, & refined mids/treble of the SA6 though nothing will seem refined! The mids actually seemed more recessed and constricted (the best way I can describe it) in comparison to the SA6, so I edged up the mid band on my Vibez's EQ a couple ticks... and that did the trick for the mids. The treble was what I found somewhat problematic but it is improving with time.

I look forward to your comparison to the Head-direct RE2. Keep us posted.

-Cheers.

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by tstarn06

Good points (about using EQ) and settling in. To do my comparison with the RE2, I'm using the Zune80, so no EQ, which is good I think in doing a comparison.

Listening right now, and they seem less harsh, but a lot seems to depend on the track/recording, which is always the case of course.

I do like their clear, clean sound, and the bass is definitely there. Need more time for the comparison with the RE2s. Didn't mean to hijack this thread.

Tom, it's not hijacking in the slightest. It's still Denon related
Plus the C700s and C551 are so similar in sound it's really not that easy to pick out which is which. I told cn11 that the only real difference (to me) is that the bass and treble seem to be slightly 'reversed' on the C551s, which is great for anyone who wants more bass and less treble. Having reclaimed the C551s from the other half (temporarily), I was amazed how much they sounded like my C700s. He listens to his all the time so they've had plenty of burn in. And the price is unreal considering the Sennheiser CX300s are within the same price range.