Chris, did you find, like me, that the reversed foam tips result in more sibilance?

OK, so I had a chance to try out the Denons on a flight today, and they were much better than I expected. Of course they didn't fully block out the engine noise, but they blocked about 70%, a screaming child and the general drone you get on every flight. I did have to crank up the volume 5 notches from 17 to 22 (out of 30) but still, they did better than I thought

For the past 45 minutes or so, I've been queuing up various songs of various genres and listening to them twice - once with the M5s and once with C700s. My source is my 5.5g iMod mated to the Corda Move. On the M5s I put on a fresh set of large Shure black olives to ensure optimum seal and on the 700s I have medium black silicone sleeves. I wear all my IEMs and canalphones with the cord routed over the top and behind my ears.

One other thing - I haven't kept up with this thread so I really don't know what people have been saying about the Denons. I bought the Denon's C350 as soon as they came out. They were decent. A bit better than real Senn CX300s but not by a lot. I've always been curious about the C700s and saw Honus' pair on the FS board so I snatched them up for a listen.

I find the C700s to be a very musical and enjoyable canalphone. It has a warm sound sig due to its mid-presence. Nice soundstage and - surprisingly - quite a bit of isolation (for a canalphone). I found that there was nothing to get used to with the Denons, meaning - they sounded pretty damn good without having to let my ears adjust to their signature.

As for comparing the Atrio to the Denon:

Bass - just about identical. I don't consider myself a basshead but I do prefer an elevated but clear bass presence. Both of these have exactly that. There is a subtle added depth with the Denons and I'm thinking it might be due to the ported design.

Mids - biggest difference between the two. The Denons have quite the presence of mids. Not over-powering mind you but it definitely gives a perceived warmth to the music. Jump to the M5s and you could easily tag them as "recessed mids". I've never really considered this to be with the Atrios and felt they were more balanced than anything. I can easily see most people preferring the sound of the Denons due to their mid-presence.

Highs - identical. Both have slightly rolled off highs but what is there is nicely detailed and non-sibilant inducing. I've read a couple of posts about sibilance with the M5s. Personally, I have not experienced this but I don't listen to much sibilant inducing music. I am very sensitive to treble so naturally most of the music I listen to have more bass, mids and low high presentation. I find Jack Johnson's voice can sometimes induce sibilance but I heard none with both 'phones.

Soundstage - Denons offer more. Not a huge difference mind you but with some of the songs I listened to, the 700s definitely offered more expanse and breadth in sound.

As far as canalphones go, I've owned CX300, Vibes, C350K and JBL 220. The C700Ks are definitely the best canalphones I've heard. I consider them definitely on par with the M5s.

Quote:



I'm not surprised at your findings. I find the C700s to offer quite a respectable level of isolation especially considering they're canalphones. Congrats on being able to drown out the insanity!

Warrior,

Thanks for the neat comparison. I'd like to know few more things: about the bass, do you think that the Denon are as "wet" as the M5?
My main complaints with the M5 were recessed mids (compared to the Etymotic), and the Denon are probably solved it; and something wrong with the imaging of instruments: with the Etymotic, I could know exactly where a sound came from, each instrument is precisely placed in the "soundstage" space. With the M5 this was less clear, and the instrument was not as exactly placed as with the Etys. I don't know how to explain it better than this, but I AB-ed the ER4 and M5 some times and I found this clear difference. Can you test how the Denon behave in this regard?

Quote:



Tony,
Not really sibilant to me, I perceived it as just a little more detail. It's pretty minor whatever it is though.

Quote:



Thanks for the comparison... I may have to try a pair. Cursed Head-Fi non-ending path of upgrades.... The appearance is certainly nicer than the Atrio. I wonder what other tip options there are. Also a case would be nice.

In this article the reviewer states that the Denon is behind the Shure E420 and UE Super.Fi 5 pro in bass quality...Warrior? ...agree?

http://crunchgear.com/2007/04/05/den...ones-hands-on/

Great review warrior. I was curious about the comparison with the M5s too as I knew they got good reviews, (especially for bass) but I'd heard about the slightly recessed mids. Now you've confirmed the mids could be considered recessed in comparison with the Denons, I know I made the right choice. Remind me - are the M5s the 'pig ugly' ones???
Quote:



Yes, that was an unexpected bonus. As far as isolation goes, they kind of sit between a canalphone and an iem. One of my main concerns initially was how much leakage there would be, so it was nice to find out it was minimal.

Re: Highs - they don't sound rolled off to me at all, but of course, this is from someone who still gets confused between recessed and rolled off, no matter how many times it's explained to me

The treble (to me) sounds extremely clear and detailed in every way, in fact, all of my music sounds slightly 'fresher', as if it's been remastered in some way. I've never heard this kind of treble detail before, it has the prettiest twinkle in the history of sound. . .

Ahhh will I buy the Denon C700 or the upcoming q-JAYS..?!?!

Quote:



You sure know how to trasmit enthusiasm.

Quote:



A case? Did you say a case?

Seriously though, I am going to ring Denon again tomorrow. Surprisingly (not) I'm still waiting for them to get back to me from 2 weeks ago. If they see the kind of interest this thread has generated about their newbie headphone, do you think they'd give a damn and start making some replacement tips??? Or are they known not to give a crap?

I know I keep going on about it, but I haven't found any other tips that don't knock out the bass. And another thing - those filters, what happens when they get clogged up? How do we clean them? Answers on a postcard immediately

Suggestion: apply a thin layer of nylon gauze between the tip and the filter. Have it hold by the tip itself, and your filters wil last longer. I have been usign this trick with my Etys, and now with the Altec.

Quote:



I will certainly concentrate on instrument placement during my next listening session and will post back (will probably be later tonight). In the meantime - I need a bit more clarification on what you mean by "wet" in regards to bass. I really don't understand.

Quote:



I can't comment on the comparison. I had a pair of the older model E4 and the bass in the Denons certainly surpass those. I'm not a Shure fan and don't feel they are very musical sounding. Detailed, yes - but I prefer warmth and musical presentation over hyper detail. IMO, unless you were a major basshead, I think the C700's bass is terrific. If you like the M5's bass, you will definitely like the C700's bass. Maybe even a scootch more.

Quote:



Heh, that's what I was hoping to hear. The bass is probably my favorite aspect of the M5, and what I feel so many of the other IEM/earphones miss out on. Thanks again Warrior.