Customer Reviews

Denon AH-C452K In-Ear Hybrid Headphone

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought these headphones to replace my old ones (Sennheiser CX300). My CX300s were durable and I had them for a solid 3 years. I don't consider myself a hardcore audiophile, but I do believe I know my fair share about in-ear headphones. I have used the Shure E2C, the Bose TriPort, and the V-Moda Bass Freq headphones in the past few years. Not only is the Denon AH-C452K the best out of this bunch, it is LEAPS AND BOUNDS ahead of the competition. I guess Denon just never advertised these headphones that well, which is a shame considering the impeccable quality. In this review, I am going to compare the Denon's to the aforementioned headphones.
The bass response is not tinny at all in the Denons. It is actually very smooth and tight. The acoustic optimizer really makes the lows powerful yet sharp. It does feel like little subs in each ear...it's sweet!
Shure E2C: The Denon is much better in this department. The one thing I noticed about the E2's is that the bass is not nearly as powerful as in these. The Shure's lows are just as smooth, but these headphones truly bring that extra thump.
Bose Triport: bass is mediocre is both power and smoothness.
V-Moda Bass Freqs: known as a bass heavy unit. they DO have more power than the Denons, but it is really not smooth at all. Personally, I thought the Bass Freqs bass was too powerful, in that it disallowed the listener to hear the details of a song.

As far as mids and highs go, this is where Shure has been known as the industry leader, and Denon really stepped it up in this department. I heard details and little snares in drums I hadn't heard on my desktop 5.1 system. It was amazing. I'd go as far as to say the highs and mids rival those of Shure. It is so much better than the Tri-Port and Bass Freqs in this department, I'm not even going to waste my time elaborating. Basically the mids and highs are crisp and SOO clear. I thought I had on a pair of Shures.

Miscellaneous:
This is really the only region where the Denons "falter". All in all, I think the Denon's are the best value headphones on the market, bar none.
Sound quality, bass response, etc. It is the consummate "total package". If I had to choose one complaint though, it would have to be with the pathetic size of the headphone cable. Yeah, they give you an extension cable, but it's still kind of annoying. It's just a pet peeve, and it's the only reason I have this unit 4 stars. Like other reviewers have noted, you get used to it after a while, but it's still w/e.
(Note: make sure you use the right size ear mounts. I first used the default medium sized buds, and the sound sounded so tinny with no bass at all. Then I switched to the small buds Denon provided, which were a better fit, and the quality switched from night to day. Especially with these headphones, you have to put them IN your ear and make sure the fit is right to truly experience the magic.)

In summary, The Denon AH C452-K headphones are some of the best headphones around that rival the 300-600 Shures, Etymotics, Bose, etc. Get them, plain and simple. They just suffer from a lack of brand recognition....for now. They really are a diamond in the rough, and for this price range, it's almost unbelievable.

When I first used these headphones, I was at home and plugged into my stereo system. Let me put it this way, when I blasted Superpower by KMFDM, I took them off immediately because I thought the main speakers and sub were still on in the background. Unbelievable, the clarity and bass out of these headphones. I'm still in amazement as to how you can get so much perfection out of such small headphones.

I've tried Shure E2C, Bose TriPort and Sennheiser CX300 before, but none come close to the Denon's. The Shure sounded awful with its highs and zero bass, the Bose was ok, but horrible fit. I thought I liked the Sennheisers, they served me the longest (14 months), but after I got the Denon's, what was I thinking? The highs are much more clear on the Denon's and the bass is just crisp and strong. The CX300 sounds muffed, and just unable to keep with the bass when the volume is past mid.

I can't believe I was hesitant at first to get the Denon's because of lack of reviews online. For this price, you simply get the best set of headphones. Actually, I'm shocked these don't cost $150. Denon has sets in that price range, I can only image their goodness.

As with all online headphone purchases, only buy from reputable places because fakes are everywhere.

I've always been a fan of over-the-ear headphones. My pair recently broke, so time to find another set of headphones. I tried a set of noise canceling headphones, and they worked well, but the fit over my ears made them painful after a few hours. The active noise reduction didn't work all that well.

So I was in search of something "different". I decided based on information I read that in-ear headphones may be a better choice for me both to help reduce outside noise, and gave the best sound quality. I'm not disappointed. The bass rivals even the large subwoofer systems in movie theaters. Highs are clear and crisp, mids are nicely balanced. They're worth every penny of their price. They're really a budget item in their class, since most in-canal phones will lighten your wallet to the tune of more than $200.

---- Pros:


* Powerful bass response. These tiny headphones sound huge.
* Blocks outside nose more effectively than some active noise canceling headphones
* Comfortable. You'll hardly notice they're there while wearing them.

---- Cons:


* Extremely short cord. If you use these at work to plug into your computer, get an extension cable. The extension included adds some length, but not much.

* Can be a bit tricky to get a proper seal, which is important for proper sound response and noise blocking.

* Due to the design of the headphones sounds from bumping the cable will be transmitted to your ears, making them unsuitable for someone wanting headphones for running/jogging. They'll also cause breathing sounds, chewing, coughing, etc to become amplified due to the fact they they're basically ear plugs. These are inherent to the in-ear design, and will happen with any in-ear headphone.

* A fine-mesh screen protects the driver, I suspect in time this will become clogged with earwax and occlude the sound.

---- The bottom line:

An excellent value. Superior bass performance and good noise blocking. Great for the office or a plane trip.

It's not that Denon doesn't make great earphones, these just aren't one of the good ones. I have a pair of AH-C452K, AH-C551K, and AH-C710K. The insides are good, but the case is plastic and and along with the stiff cord, every breath of air, every drag across your shirt or cheek, transmits VERY LOUD SCRAPING sounds into your ears. Spend a few extra bucks for the aluminum versions of the Denon earphones. YOU WON'T REGRET IT!! I now use these for ambient sounds to get me to sleep. I find them worthless if I'm moving in any way, including turning my head or moving in my chair at work. I can't imagine using them while riding a bike, exercising, etc. I am THRILLED with both the AH-C551K and AH-C710K. I plan to use the AH-C710K at work and the AH-C551K at home. The bass on all of them is fantastic, but the bass on the AH-C551K is so powerful that I have to use the equalizer to reduce the bass slightly. As far as I'm concerned, these 2 Denons are easily better than headphones costing up to twice as much, and I've tried Bose, Sony, and others.

After pouring through Amazon reviews I chose these Denon AH-C452k - When I first Received the Denons I really loved everything about them , the fit, comfort and sound were great. For me the length was perfect at 5¡¦2 the reach from waistband to ear was great! They were not heavy or awkward at all. Yesterday the left ear went out tonight the right went out. :*( I ordered them on April 21 started using them on the 23 Today is May 6th. 2 weeks use. They were not expensive but they were the most I ever spent as I was tiring of the cheap earphones falling apart. These lasted less than the 10$ ear buds. I did not use them under extreme conditions; not even working out. I used them cleaning house, driving and sitting at work. The perfect length allowed me to wear the cord under my shirt and clipped to my waistband so they were protected no pulling or dragging like the longer cords always did. I did not save the packaging so I can¡¦t even return them . ¼

Let me start off by saying that my experience with IEMs is somewhat limited.
I own the Phillips SHE-8500 , Altec Lansing UHP336 (rebranded Ultimate Ears Super.F1 3) , and now these Denon AH-C452K. Used a Cowon I7 mp3 player with mp3s ripped VPR. Music types used for testing were funk,jazz,r&b,rock,and classical.

I payed $38 USD for these. Keep in mind whenever I rate a product the price paid plays a factor in how it is rated. The fit of the C452 are really good no twisting and turning what so ever. As many know having a good seal is very important. They are slightly offset which may be why I can get a good fit. The sound of these are pretty good. Not as good as real headphones but good none the less. Bass is clean , mids are strong and highs don't kill the ears. The comfort is real good also. Since the reason have been looking at IEMs in the first place is for air travel this is a good thing. When I first got these the bass seemed bigger but then let them burn in for 36 hours. The bass was still big after but was cleaner and cleaned up everything else also. There are some negatives about these however. The cord is very short but they have an extension cord that will make it longer. The short cord is fine if you wear the player around you neck or on your arm. Anywhere where else it is too short. The extension will take care of that problem though. Another problem is the cord sound is really bad. So if you plan on running with these every time the cord hits your chest you will hear it. Below are a few comparisons. Would get more detailed but this is long winded enough as it is.


SEALABILITY: (made up word meaning ability to get a good seal)

8500- Able to get a good seal but took some effort by twisting and turning.

UHP336- could not get a good seal at all for some reason

C452- got a good seal without any twisting and turning just plugged them in.

SOUND

8500- very bassy and I mean very very bassy drowned out the mids and highs. Pretty bad when Keiko Matsui has a lot of bass.

UHP336- can't really say because never got a good seal to tell about the sound quality

C452- a lot of bass but clean and does not over power the highs and mids.

Edit: ok took these on flight with me and they did well to block out most of the engine noise. still a recommend. Not sureif they are worth that $69.99 price they are at now tho. But if they drop again snatch them up.

The Denon 452s are probably the deepest loudest hardest hitting sub bass phones I've ever heard (my experience is limited). They sounded good right out of the box. The mids and highs opened up after about a week of listening to them. Over all I love these very much. These phones are balanced but with an emphasis on the bass. The bass and mids are solid, accurate, and tight with crazy bass extension. The highs take a back seat to the powerful bass but they sound good (could use a bit of extension on the high side). I can listen to these for hours on end without ever feeling fatigued. I'm using an iPhone 3G with these phones and together all of my music has come alive again.

I've heard these side by side with the Creative ep-630. The Denons are a whole level better in every way. More accurate lower bass, better mids, and brighter highs. Against my favorite Sennheiser PX-100s the Denons have more bass and are more efficient but the Sennheisers have highs with a bit more extension and details. Both the Denon and Sennheisers have very easy to listen to highs that won't wear you out.

If you still want more bass try an amp with these. I have a little Fiio E3 amp and as soon as I turned these on I was floored. It was like I had my own portable club complete with 15" subs. It really was hard to believe so much impact from such little buggers. Everything opened up, a very fun listen.

These are easy to insert and remove. They are very light and small. They do an avg job of blocking out sound but like every in ear phone they transmit noise through the cables.

Overall if you feel no sound system is complete without a subwoofer then you may want to consider these. I find myself using them for everything now.

First let me say that I have the denon c350 earbuds, i dropped one of the buds in hot tea and it stopped working.

These sound much better than the 350's, i can hear things much clearer. The treble, bass balance is great.

Why not 5 stars?
1. The cable is short but comes with an extension. What is the point, seriously? Just make it longer and lose the extension.

I really enjoyed the Denon C452 headphones as far as sound quality, but there are a lot of other things that weren't too great. I owned the Maximo iMetal 590's, these Denon C452's and the Sennheiser cx-380, and as far as sound, i like these the best.
Pros:
1) Good sound quality (good deep bass, nice highs, great vocals)
2) Gold plated earphone jack
3) Lightweight

Cons:
1)Construction Quality (It didnt even last a month. I tried to return it to Amazon, but since I didnt try to return it right away, I was 5 days outside of the 30-day return window, so now I'm stuck with these useless earphones.
2) Short Cord. The cord is too short to keep your mp3 player in your pants pocket, but its too long to keep in your shirt pocket or armband. The cord extension is way too long and even if you keep the mp3 player in your pocket, the cord will sag to your knees.
3) Skinny cord. (maybe thats why it broke).
4) It doesnt provide too much noise isolation. When I was on the plane, the noise isolation was almost non-existent.

I think this product is defective, and it would be nice if Amazon would refund my money. Denon's website provided very little information for returns, and you have to pay for shipping yourself.

I liked the product and it sounded good, but I wouldnt buy it again, just because it broke too easily.

I have owned these for 6 to 8 months. I think you are hard pressed to find a better sounding canalbud style earphone for the money. I think the included cable clip is a very helpful touch. The comfort when wearing them is good but I have switched to Shure Olive foam tips on them for a better seal and a more secure fit when moving around. The sound overall is a little on the warm side. The bass is extended and full if a little muddy sometimes. The midrange is clear as are the highs but I would say the overall frequency response on these is somewhat downward sloping. I also used Jays Q-Jays for quite awhile. The Q-Jays had similar overall tonal balance but were just more clear with less mud in the bass and more detail in the mids and highs. They cost twice as much and aren't physically durable. If you are looking for a relatively affordable canalbud pair of earphones I don't think you can do any better than these.