Denon often impresses us with its headphone and earphone products, and today we're hoping to add another model to a list.
The new C551s, which are available soon, sit in a category populated by Ultimate Ears, Shure and Etymotic. Can these £70 aluminium audio bullets withstand the warfare of the earphone market?
Strengths
Immediately, you see the same effort has gone into these 'phones as went into the C700s. Their bullet-like build, made from a machined aluminium, offers a feel certain to be alien to dedicated fans of Shure 'phones. Despite their heavy-sounding build, they're remarkably lightweight and feel no heavier in the ear than any competitor.
Packed into the box is an excellent zip-fastened carry case, silicon tips in three sizes and a 31-inch extension cable.
Our performance test started with a particularly bass-heavy favourite, 'Yeah Yeah' by Bodyrox. Hearing that powerful kick drum furiously pounding away without difficulty was a great start. The trippy distorted bass on Pendulum's 'Tarantula' was superbly driven by the C551s and vastly more impressive than Shure's SE110s.
Moving onto some Primus and Les Claypool's sometimes-smooth, sometimes-frantic bass lines drove beautifully through these 'phones. Drummer Bryan Mantia's crisp snare had the punchiness you'd expect to hear through good hi-fi speakers and his intricate hi-hat and bell rudiments had the tight, bright flavour so integral to the Primus signature sound. Also, the Octoban-driven intro to Primus's track 'Eleven', allowed us to see perfectly then-Primus drummer Tim Alexander performing live in our head.
Even more complex songs were reproduced convincingly through the C551s, such as Dream Theater's track 'Octavarium', which combines a frantic progressive drum and keyboard tracks, twin guitar solos, string sections, vocals and an underlying and intricate seven-string bass line.
Weaknesses
However, towards the end of 'Octavarium', there are some extremely subtle, barely even audible vocal melodies that most ears would miss. Through the C551s these subtleties were even harder to detect and had slightly blended into the array of crash cymbals used in the song's climactic moments. So while these earphones are stunning compared to the competition, it's still important to remember they are sub-£100 'phones, and it's noticeable most in the high end.
We were sad to see Denon hasn't used the same cabling in the C551s as features on more costly models. The C551 cable tangles. The cable on the C700s never tangled and while it's a rare joy to see, one we think even a £70 pair of 'phones deserved to have. The cable used is still excellent though, but could've been that much more so.
Our final point is not a criticism, but simply an observation: when wearing the C551s for more than 45 minutes or so, the cartilage just above the lobes of our ears, ached uncomfortably -- something that only happened previously with Denon's C700s. Only one of us experienced it, so it's a very, very rare problem. If you're able to we suggest you try a pair out before buying, just to be safe, or at least keep your receipt.
Conclusion
These are absolutely superb earphones and blow almost all the competition out of the water. They're exceptionally clear with smooth, powerful bass and meaty mids. As an all-rounder, these take the gold medal. If you're prepared to sacrifice a bit of bass in favour of extreme high-end accuracy, check out Etymotic's ER-6is, otherwise the C551s will not disappoint.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday
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User reviews3
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dmr 16 July 2008
Good: Build quality, stealth appearance & sound quality
Bad: Daft cabling arrangement, range of fitting options & poor external sound insulation
Comment: Bought to replace my third set of Shure E2Cs (which give great sound performance until they break). My second set of warranty replacements are in the process of dying and I am getting a bit hacked off with Shure. Since the E2Cs have been discontinued I wanted to try something altogether new. Enter the Denons.
I have had these for a couple of weeks and my first impressions are that the sound quality is at least as good as the E2Cs with excellent range and the added bonus of a bit more bass. The overall build quality is excellent with the aluminium housings a particularly nice touch.
As they are quite new and still running in, I would like to indicate my reasons for deducting 3 marks from my rating.
One point is lost immediately due to the silly cabling arrangement. Without the supplied extension the cable is only around 55cm long (ear bud to jack), which for me is too short for any practical use. The extension adds an extra 90cm giving 145cm overall - which I would call a decent length. Unfortunately the connector that joins the two cables adds a significant amount of weight to the set up causing it to swing and drag. This is especially irritating when every contact is transmitted up the cable and resonates in the ear.
The second point is lost due to the poor level of external sound insulation compared to the E2Cs. This may be due to the thin, soft material used for the ear buds but could also be down to my inability to get a decent fit...
The third point is lost because of the small range of fitting options. Only three different sized sets of black rubber buds are supplied (the E2Cs came with nine different fitting options). At this point in time, and after much fiddling (and sore ears as a result) I cannot get a fit which both keeps the buds in place and sufficiently cuts out external noise. I suspect that foam fittings would solve this but I won't find out because Denon don't supply them!
All in all i'm fairly happy, but will reserve full judgement until the earphones have broken in properly and i've decided whether or not the shortcomings become deal-breakers.
joy hunter 16 June 2008
Good: I love how these headphone can handle my basey song on my ipod with out the anoying cracking
Bad: The black paint and denon name is starting to wear off the side of the headphones
Comment: Love them, perfect for anyone who listens to high bass music, makes the music fully enjoyable and they are very loud without every one else hearing what you listening to. Love them, best headphones I've ever had, better than Bose which started to crack due to loud bassy music but these can handle it.
El Greebo 6 February 2008
Good: rich warm bass, good isolation and comfortable to wear
Bad: nothing really
Comment: I've only been listening with them for a little over 3 hours but am convinced that these are the best buds I've ever owned. Listening to the Pixes Doolittle which is a bass driven album, was nothing short of orgasmic, bass was tight and well rounded and although the review from Cnet claimed high end was diminished I couldn't really say that I noticed it that much. Overall seperation and stereo field was good and everything I expected and more from these buds has come to fruitition. Had them on constantly for 3 hours and experienced no discomfort, also could not hear my boss talking at me behind my back so i guess the noise cancelling works pretty well too...lol
The only thing that annoys me is why is the cable from them so short that you have to use an extention to use them in any practical application?? A small thing, but....
Overall = Really pleased with them, highly recomended.
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