Denon AH-C351

Tour

As per usual, there really isn’t much to say about in-ear headphones. The headphones feature an asymmetric Y form factor, meaning the bulk of the cord hangs from the left ear bud, allowing you to easily sling the right bud around the back of your neck.

The ear buds are glossy black with white branding down the back, and the nozzles are covered with a metal mesh. The buds have a plastic leader that encases the cord for about a quarter inch, but no flexible cord guard. After the neck split, there’s a little more than a foot of cord before the plug. There’s also an extension cord included, which brings the total cord length up to about 52 inches (about 4 feet, 4 inches).

In The Box

Inside the AH-C351’s packaging, you’ll find some fancy foam cutouts that hold various goodies in place. Among such treasures are: the AH-C351s themselves, two additional sizes of sleeves, an extension cable, and a carrying pouch.

Durability (7.00)

For a pair of in-ear headphones, the AH-C351s seem solid. Like all in-ear headphones, the cord is fairly thin. While it feels solid, there still isn’t a lot of insulation protecting your wires. The flex point toward the plug aren’t all that great: they’re really loose. Though they’ll do a fine enough job, the loose fit could let sand or other hard particles in, which could hasten wear and tear. Also, while the ear buds have a plastic leader protecting the cord, it doesn’t end in a flexible shield. This isn’t ideal, because the plastic provides a hard edge that the cord can easily bend at. The neck split seems sturdy, and shouldn’t rip, even if both ear buds are pulled forcefully in opposite directions. If it won’t break the cord itself, then it probably won’t affect the neck split. Again, while none of the issues mentioned here will outright disintegrate your headphones, they’re all things that can reduce the total lifetime of your headphones.

One other thing small issue to keep in mind involves the sleeves. Though they’re not so loose they fly off your headphones at arbitrary intervals, they do have a weaker grip on the nozzle than we’d like. If you’re straightening out your cord after shoving it in your pocket, make sure a stray length doesn’t get behind the sleeve and pop it off. Sleeves are very hard to find once they’ve escaped.

Aesthetics (6.00)

Like virtually all in-ear headphones, aesthetics is largely limited to the color of the cord and the back of the ear bud. Denon seems to know this, because the back of the ear buds have a sheen that’s absent from the sides. These headphones look as clean and sharp as they can, given how much you can actually see. Also, the black coloration is preferable for those who don’t want to wear the current mainstream uniform.