The field of noise-cancelling true wireless earphones is so crowded that it makes it difficult for new models to stand out unless they really bring something new to the table. Denon’s $159 AH-C830NCW earphones deliver a refreshingly accurate sound signature with robust lows and pleasing highs, as well as sufficient active noise cancellation (ANC) for the price, but nothing about them is particularely noteworthy. And without a companion app, there’s no way to tweak the sound signature or customize the on-ear control layout. For less than $200, our favorite models in this category include the $129.99 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earphones, which offer greater customizability, and the $179.99 Jabra Elite 7 Active earbuds, which have a fully waterproof build that’s better for exercise.
A Sleek, Stem-Style Design
Available in black or white, the AH-C830NCW earpieces use a glossy material and sport a vertical Denon logo on the side of their stems. The earpieces are lightweight and fit securely—they ship with three pairs of silicone eartips in small, medium, and large sizes.
Internally, 0.4-inch oval dynamic drivers deliver the audio. The earphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and supports the AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX.
The outer panel of each earpiece is sensitive to touch. Tap the right earpiece once to control playback, twice to navigate one track forward, and three times to move one backward. The right earpiece also handles call management—tap twice to answer or end a call. With a single tap on the left earpiece, you can switch between ANC On, Ambient, and All Off modes. The only thing that’s missing is a way to summon your phone’s voice assistant—we’ll let the absence of volume controls slide since so few models include them.
An IPX4 rating is more or less par for the course with ANC in-ears, but not very impressive. The earpieces can handle light splashes and should be fine for sweaty workouts or light rain. However, you shouldn’t rinse the earpieces off under a faucet or submerge them. And the IPX4 rating doesn’t apply to the charging case, so make sure to fully dry the earpieces before you dock them for charging.
The lunchbox-like charging case has a flip-top lid, and the stems of the earpieces sink into the charging docks. A status LED sits on the front of the case, while the back panel houses a USB-C port, as well as a button for pairing and resetting.
Denon estimates the earpieces can last between 4.8 and 6 hours on battery depending on your use of ANC and volume. The case holds an additional 14 to 18 hours of charge.
What we miss most here is an app—in the absence of one, you’re stuck with the default control array and sound signature. Beyond that, you can’t easily download firmware updates or make changes to the ANC preferences.
Average Active Noise Cancellation
The AH-C830NCW earphones offer decent noise cancellation for the price. The ANC circuitry is effective against powerful low-frequency rumble like you hear on an airplane, but we noticed some high-frequency hiss in this testing scenario. A recording of a busy restaurant with dishes clanging and boisterous conversation challenged the earphones—they noticeably dialed back lows and mids, but didn’t cut back the high-mids and highs.
This performance is typical of similarly priced competitors, but to Denon’s credit, we didn’t notice obvious changes to the sound signature when we turned on any of the ANC modes, which is a plus. In any case, it’s easy to switch between the three ANC modes, and the transparent listening mode works reliably when you need to hear your surroundings.
Controlled, Detailed Audio
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones are capable of powerful low-frequency response. At top, unwise listening levels, the lows don’t distort, and, at more moderate levels, the highs balance well with the full and robust bass.
We listened to Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, to better evaluate the sound signature. The drums on this track are often overly thunderous on bass-forward earphones, but here, they get an ideal amount of low-frequency boosting—not much, but just enough to provide a little extra thump. Callahan’s baritone vocals receive a pleasant mix of low-mid richness and high-mid crispness, while the acoustic strums sound bright and full of detail. The sculpting here at least veers in the direction of accuracy; other pairs more obviously emphasize the lows and highs. An app with an EQ would be useful if you prefer a bit more or less low-frequency boost than the default, however.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain some of its punchiness, but we notice the vinyl crackle and hiss a bit more in the mix than usual, which means that the high-mids and highs don’t receive equal attention. The drum loop also gets a little bit of extra low-frequency thump, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across with enough power to capture their depth. The earphones deliver serious sub-bass when it’s in the mix, but when it’s not a driving force (like the drums in the previous track), you hear very little in the way of additional bass depth. The vocals on this track sound clear, but we notice a hint of additional sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound crisp and bright, with solid low-frequency anchoring that never veers into heavily boosted territory. Thus, the lower-register instrumentation mostly stays in its supporting role and the focus remains on the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals. The earphones demonstrate good balance, though again, an EQ would be helpful if you feel like the high-mids and highs could use some further tuning.
The mic sounds average. We understood every word from a recording in the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, but as is typical, some Bluetooth audio artifacts detract from the quality. Nonetheless, the signal is strong enough and you shouldn’t have any issues being heard clearly calls.
An Average Entrant With Accurate Audio
Because the Denon AH-C830NCW earphones deliver accuracy-focused audio, plenty of listeners won’t mind the lack of an app with an EQ. But if you do want to make changes (no matter how minor or significant), you simply can’t with these earbuds. Otherwise, the ANC performance is about average for the price, as is the IPX4 water-resistance rating. Unfortunately, none of these aspects are enough to distinguish these perfectly good earphones in a saturated market. If you’re looking to spend a bit more or less, the aforementioned Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro ($129.99) and Jabra Elite 7 Active ($179.99) offer stronger selling points, including customizable audio performance and an exercise-friendly build.
