Official Denon AH-C700 Comparisons/Impressions

[antonyfirst]

Originally Posted by soozieq

I wasn't reviewing the player. Antony, remind me what 'transparent' means again?

Actally I was defending your review.
What I mean by transparent is that it exposes your source's strenghts and flaws better than other phones, so if you weren't liking the SE310 'cause of the players, you wouldn't have liked the Denon, as well.

[soozieq]

antonyfirst

Actally I was defending your review.

I know you were I was agreeing with you that I wasn't reviewing the player.

What I mean by transparent is that it exposes your source's strenghts and flaws better than other phones, so if you weren't liking the SE310 'cause of the players, you wouldn't have liked the Denon, as well.

Aaaah. . . I see, still so much to learn. I did like the 310s, but the Denons are something else altogether. I'm still surprised I haven't needed to EQ at all. They just seem a great match for my daps, and when you think of the millions of combinations of headphones + daps, it's easy to see why this minefield of testing has to continue until the right combo is found. Antony, do you think you'll ever be done?

[antonyfirst]

Julie (soozieq),

I thought the Etys were the perfect iem for me. Then, the Koss A250 (cans) arrived and beat them in musicality and liveliness. In a certain way this is good, since it means there is room for improvement over the Etymotic. I'm waiting for a pair of modded Altec iM716, and K340. I don't know if I'll ever be done... the discovery of new, special gear is just fun.

[epithetless]

soozieq, would you mind saying a bit more about isolation and microphonics? Is isolation on par with other canalphones like the CX300, or does the ported design of the ATH-C700 reduce it even further? Is music drowned out by the sounds of the trains/planes/buses you mentioned, or do the C700s still afford enough isolation to enjoy each part of the frequency spectrum?

The cord/earpiece design seems to suggest that over-the-ear looping is not really possible (at least not sustainably so) -- Can you in fact loop the cords over your ears without them slipping off? If not, how microphonic do you find them when worn hanging straight down while you're in motion?

Also, my stock question: Do you find them at all harsh or sibilant?

As an aside, I wonder when Denon's newer models will start reaching the masses...Gizmodo said "out in August." I'm with antonyfirst on this one -- the journey is never over.


P.S. Any chance for some in-ear shots so we know how they look in practice? I'm torn between the blacks and the silvers...maybe a pic or two would help settle me.

[antonyfirst]

These C700 have definetely caught my attention.

[soozieq]

soozieq, would you mind saying a bit more about isolation and microphonics? Is isolation on par with other canalphones like the CX300, or does the ported design of the ATH-C700 reduce it even further? Is music drowned out by the sounds of the trains/planes/buses you mentioned, or do the C700s still afford enough isolation to enjoy each part of the frequency spectrum?

Isolation is really good. I haven't used them on the train yet, but I was pointing out that as the leakage is so slight (when tested in a quiet room) - other people on a train/plane/bus wouldn't be able to hear anything 'leaking' from the headphones. I am waiting for UO to come home (unsignificant other ) and I'll get him to check the leakage of the CX300s compared with the 700s. He said he could barely hear anything coming from the 700s and I had them pretty loud for 'testing' purposes, so I'll do the same thing later with the 300s and let you know.

The cord/earpiece design seems to suggest that over-the-ear looping is not really possible (at least not sustainably so) -- Can you in fact loop the cords over your ears without them slipping off? If not, how microphonic do you find them when worn hanging straight down while you're in motion?

I can wear them over my ears if I want and they still stay put. But as the cable is no longer a problem when it hangs down, I prefer to wear them straight down. The cable just stays put. As for microphonics/cord noise, there's nothing! I don't know if it's because of how the cable is constructed or whatever, but there's zilch noise/microphonics at all.

Also, my stock question: Do you find them at all harsh or sibilant?

No and no. Definitely not harsh at all. Sibilant only on certain songs and I think that's something to do with the singer standing too close to the microphone (someone say if I'm wrong?), but I've had several pairs of headphones including the E500, and the same songs produce the same sibilance, so I have to assume it's the singer/microphone thing.

The only concern I can see, is that the filters could get clogged quite easily and I can't see how to clean them. One of the reviewers said he used to stick a pin in his Sony filters when they got clogged, but he didn't really want to do that with an expensive set of headphones. For the moment I'm making sure not to throw them anywhere dusty until I figure out how to clean the nozzles.

Re: pics. I'll try, but I still haven't managed to upload a photo on here yet that was bigger than a small spider (although some kind forum member has been guiding me through it!). Once I figure it out, I'll post some pics.

[Skylab]

I don't suppose Shure tips fit on the Denons? I have come to like the Shure reusable black foamies...

[antonyfirst]

Do you think that treble is overemphasized? It's what I've gathered from some posts. Someone told that treble was painful at high volumes, unlike the Shure E500. But I found the E500 to be recessed in treble, so the Denon could just have the right amount of treble.

[epithetless]

Much obliged for your responses, soozieq! Let me know how the C700s fare in train travel whenever you get a chance to use them there. As for pics, you should be able to use an image-hosting website like ImageShack to upload and host the pics, and then you can use one of their provided forum codes link to them from here.