Part 6: A Review of the Best Cheap iPod In-Ear Headphones - Denon AH-C360

Now stepping up into the $50 headphones we get some with significantly better sound. The rather recent Denon AH-C360 is a great example of a well thought out, low-cost product.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="198" caption="Notice the angled tips on the AH-C360 ... very comfy!"][/caption] Here's a little in-ear headphone that's got a lot going for it. The first thing you'll notice is that four different sized ear tips come with it ... I think that's a record, nice job Denon. They've also managed to put some ergonomic angles between the earpiece and tip that tends to make the Denon AH-C360 fit more easily and comfortably in your ear than others of this type. The cable is very short on these, but a short extension cord is included in the package, as is a shirt clip and storage case. Denon mentions numerous times in the manual and on their website, that these headphones have special materials and structure to significantly reduce noise from cable vibration using their "Radial Cascade Damper" system. I played around with tapping the cables a bit, and it did seem a little quieter than the other models tested. My suggestion, however, is to run the cables up over the top of your ears and slide the keeper snug up to the back of your neck, this will virtually eliminate all cable noise on any headphone of this type.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="298" caption="Big bass, fairly linear mids, and a sparkly peak in the mid-treble characterize the frequency response of the AH-C360."][/caption]The sound of these headphones is quite good. they have a strong and emphatic bass response that the bass heads will like, but it's also well controlled enough for purists to enjoy. The mid-range is decent and terminates in a fairly strong peak around 8kHz before falling of in the treble; as a consequence these cans are sparkly sounding but not harsh as the peak is too high in frequency for that. Though a bit colored, these cans sound fairly good in this price category. The CX 300-II will get the nod in sound quality at the end of this review, but the great ergonomics of these headphones may make the trade-off worth while if you're going to be using them a lot. Recommended!

Please visit HeadRoom’s website to purchase your Denon AH-C360 with our Best Price Guarantee. On to the Klipsch Image S2------> First page of this review is here.