Stavinsky’s The Rite of Spring as played by the Royal Liverpool Philarmonic orchestra shows a calmer, more delicate side to the little buds. My final test comes in the form of Mac Miller’s “2009.” This is a sonically diverse composition that relies on tiny details and deep, sharp bass. Many earbuds struggle with these. Denon’s tuning has absolutely nailed it — highlighting tiny details like the reverb on Mac’s voice while keeping potential composition-spoiling sections like the 808 bass from distorting the entire thing. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 27th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.)

Most of my streaming was done through Apple Music and Spotify, and to get this type of sound quality over Bluetooth 5.0 via AAC is impressive. SBC is the other supported codec, while aptX, aptX HD, and LDAC are unsupported for enabling the best audio quality over Bluetooth. I put Denon’s ANC up against the very best: The Apple AirPods Pro, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, and Sony WF-1000XM4, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference. The Denons produce a very slight hiss when you’re not listening to music, and there’s not much in the way of external sounds to cancel, but otherwise, they do an excellent job of keeping things nice and quiet.Rhythms are expressed organically – even rhythms as gimpy as those on display during this recording. The dynamics of the tune – the broad pile-ons and the finer harmonic variations – are given proper articulation, too. The Denon manage to create a wide, deep soundstage and position individual instruments on it with absolute certainty, and do so without making any element of the recording sound remote or estranged. There’s convincing unity to the way the Denon present the song, a harmoniousness that’s by no means a given in wireless earbuds at any price. However, every pro is negated by a con: superb audio quality vs. poor comfort levels. Useful Bluetooth support vs. mediocre battery life. Reliable touch controls vs. poorly integrated digital assistant support. You get the picture. No app also means you will have to make do with the default setup for touch controls. This isn’t the end of the world as the controls cover most bases but some level of customisation would certainly be welcome.

Overall, calling on the Denon Noise Cancelling Earbuds is very good. External sounds are largely cancelled, and your voice will sound full, not thin and tinny, like it can with some earbuds. There were the occasional wobbles, as can happen with any earbuds, but I don’t think your callers will be bothered by it.Denon claims up to 4.8 hours per charge and 19 hours in total when you include the charging case and you’ve got ANC turned on. When ANC is off, this goes up to six and 24 hours respectively. That’s about the same as the AirPods Pro, which is to say, not bad — enough for a full day — but nothing impressive by today’s standards. I couldn’t fully test these claims because the wear sensors can’t be defeated, but based on the remaining battery life visible in my Google Pixel 5’s control center, it looks pretty accurate. You get an audible low-battery warning from the earbuds, but there’s no fast-charge option for topping up a nearly dead battery. Our take Mid-bass is nice and fat, while the mids are perfectly balanced. You couldn’t want for more, in all honesty, and I think that’s high praise indeed. 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 The AH-C830NCW greatest strength is the way it delivers music. Respectable ANC and call quality also make it a serviceable pair of wireless earbuds for brand enthusiasts, or anyone seeking relatively affordable AirPods alternatives. The AH-C830NCW doesn’t come with a full suite of controls (there is no on-board function for volume, for example). During my early testing, I thought that these Denon earbuds didn't include digital assistance support. However, it turns out the feature is supported but just rather poorly executed.