Official Denon AH-C700 Comparisons/Impressions - Page 90

this is why a chosen sound signature is so important, like i think the C751is a great IEM but if you wanted something balance and neutral for classical listening, well you dont want the C751. like you dont want a landrover for city driving and parking and you dont want a ferrari for trips to tesco

Quick Denon C700/C710 comparison:

So Denon has finally come out with new Dynamic earphones! It’s time for the fans of the Denon sound to rejoice. I’ve been A/B’ing the C700 with the new C710 for over a week now, and it’s safe to say that the new phone surpasses the already good C700 in every way. For a cheaper price too. I’m wondering if there has been some advance in technology with these drivers in Asia because the current crop of dynamics is so good it’s scary. As an aside, I find the Victor FX500 in this ‘scary good’ category as well. Both the C710 and the FX500 handily trump the IE8, making it seem congested, plastic-sounding, and not as extended on the high or low ends. Amazing when you consider the league that the IE8 has been regarded in.

Sound characteristics:

AH-C700
+ Crisp, detailed, extended treble
+ Smooth, fluid, no harshess
+Relatively extended, controlled bass
+ Decent soundstage


AH-C710
+ Equally extended, crisp and detailed treble
+ Smooth, fluid as well, perhaps a hair ‘brighter’ (they were a little harsh in the top end out of the box, but that has settled down with burn in)
+ Hugely extended, yet tight and controlled bass (surpass the IE8 and Atrio handily, and is only matched by the FX500)
+ Fantastic stage (almost the equal of the IE8 for sheer width, but falls short by a little in comparison to the FX500 with its unbelievable combination of resolution with staging)

For build, both the C700 and C710 have the typical Denon toughness thanks to the aluminium housing. The C710’s cable is thinner, and some may criticize it for being ‘tangle prone’ but it still has a soft rubber-like coating which helps it spring out of its coiled up storage. I actually like the thinner guage because this makes them supremely comfortable to wear cable over the ear, which you couldn’t do with the C700. This helps the C710 stay in place much more securely, and improves isolation. Isolation is much better than with the FX500 or IE8, and I think is better than the C700 (although I haven’t done my ‘noisy café’ test with the C700 side by side with the C710).
It’s also nice that this offering from Denon actually came with ACCESSORIES! They come with the typical three sizes of silicone tips, as well as a set of Comply. I immediately stuck on my Sony Hybrid larges though and haven’t looked back. They’re a great match with these Denons as I suspected they would be.

Overall thoughts:

It’s great to be happy with a Denon phone again! And I find it unbelievable what value is offered with this new model. The C700’s sound recessed and not nearly as dynamic in comparison, with the whole sonic picture seeming to be placed much further toward the back of your head. The C710's by contrast seem to be much more enveloping. They take everything the 700’s did well to the next level. They keep that trademark Denon treble detail and sparkle, and now throw in proper mids, better staging, and phenomenal bass to boot. They have that same dry, neutral sound, but with the added low end and mids. They’re a worthy replacement/upgrade to the C700 indeed.

A pic of the current rig:

Thanks for the impressions, cn11! I'm a bit wary of giving the C710 a go myself, considering you find them brighter than the C700 -- having detected some initial harshness -- and I find my C700 already too harsh with sibilants (a far cry from the "smooth, fluid, no harshness" classification you give them). Incidentally, I find the same to be true of my Denon AH-D1000 headphones, so it could simply be a case of the Denon signature sound not completely agreeing with my ears. I'm personally on the lookout for more Monster Turbine Pro news...

epithetless-
No worries! I full realize how users hear things very differently with the same products quite often. For example, despite all the furor about the Phonak PFE's, I stated how I heard them differently than just about every user in that thread- I know that was a case of me just not jiving with their sound sig... but that's a whole other story.

Yeah, it is funny how we've come full circle back to the same brands/gear, down to the very tips used. I'm also finding the EX tips the best to this point.... although I am thinking of ordering some of those Koss tips to see what the fuss is all about.

hmmm do you both think the denon and sony go together so well because the denons are cold and the sony warm?

I no longer have the C710 b/c I just sold them but C710's highly dependent on source youre playing with. I could never tame the harsh treble to my liking on X1061 but on my computer there was no trace of harshness in treble. It sounded superb with great clarity and bass freq. So if you are heavily equiped with amp and stuff, I think this can will definitely do the job.

MadDog-
I don't hear them as very harsh anymore with the X1060. I would have said so straight out of the box, but I think they've calmed down quite a bit. My FX500's have harsher highs than the Denons.

I guess sometimes tips/earphone shape/ear canal all conspire in a negative way to give a different sound sig than others hear things. I had the same issues with the Westone 3. I'd read reports that the tri-flange tip trimmed down to two sections, and with the center tube trimmed a bit too, would solve the harshness problems... but unfortunately I can't ever use tri-flanges because of where the inward bend of my ear canal happens- too short of a distance to use the long flange tips. So I was S.O.L. with those....

Edit- Sorry, I just noticed you said you didn't have the harshness problem when used out of your computer.

Mark-
I'd say you're right about that... but I'd just call the Sony superbly mellow and natural (not overly warm). And yeah, it does go quite nicely with the C710's very clean/neutral sound signature. It's a great pairing, a lot like the X/FX500. They both make you realize how the IE8 is not quite as strong a match with the Sony (although you don't realize what you're missing until you hear the Denon & Victor with the X).

This I absolutely agree! My ear's very sensitive to treble and that's the reason why I find it harsh and you don't...To me I wouldn't say Denon's harsh as in real piercing harsh but wasn't too comfortable with it.

My next target's ck100 or um3x or both...if you see me selling these, you would know I am done testing them.

no i can imagin the warm IE8 with the x (i find sony stuff very warm) as being excessively warm. plus i like cold anyway

Mark-
Totally understand. I think you'd really like the new Denons then..

interesting reading