I tested Denon's even cheaper AirPods Pro rivals and while the ANC is very effective, they fall short in a few key areas

Denon AH-C840NCW: Two-minute review

Sometimes when testing some of the best earbuds (and sets that don't make it into that group), it feels like products can easily be broken down into three categories: buds trying to rival AirPods, buds trying to rival the AirPods Pro, and buds which are clearly doing their own thing. The Denon AH-C840NCW can easily be filed into the middle category.

These are the siblings to the Denon AH-C500W, buds listed straight in the former category, but the set you're reading about here come with a key difference: these buds come with silicon ear tips, and noise cancellation to boot. That’s what gets them bumped from the first category to the second.

Denon is a high-end audio company based in Japan that has made a respectable name for itself with home audio, AV systems and speakers, and while it’s also no stranger to personal audio (like headphones and earbuds – see also the PerL Pro), this clearly also isn’t its bread-and-butter diet. Case in point: the AH-C840NCW are perfectly fine earbuds that certainly are a viable option given Apple’s expensive earbuds… but they don’t quite match all the other AirPods Pro alternatives on the market.

The Denon AH-C840NCW hark a lot closer to Apple’s options than most rivals, and that’s most obvious in the design department. There’s no denying that these are doppelgangers – Denongangers if you will – and there’s nothing wrong with that. Denon has aped the well-respected build and these lightweight buds are easy on the ear, even if the tips let the side down a bit.

In audio quality too, these buds are inoffensive. The audio mix is fairly neutral-sounding, skewing slightly towards bass but otherwise offering an easy-to-like (though hard to truly love) quality to songs.

So far, so AirPods Pro, and that isn’t necessarily a flaw – the buds undercut Apple’s premium buds by a meaty margin. But Denon isn’t the only company trying to offer prospective earbuds buyers a Pro option on a non-Pro budget, with so many alternatives at this price point that my word count forbids me from listing even a fraction of them.

It’s the feature set that lets the AH-C840NCW down. Despite some impressive active noise cancellation there’s an overall dearth of extra functionality, and a few stumbles within what’s actually there. This is the area that most often than not defines the best earbuds you can buy, and so I struggle to find a unique selling point for the Denon.

I generally enjoyed listening to the Denon AH-C840NCW during my testing, but that’s not the same as recommending them to buy with your own money. Their myriad rivals typically have a lot more to offer, so they’re only worth buying if you’re looking for buds that match the AirPods Pro exactly, instead of beating them in any way.

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Price and release date

• Unveiled and released in April 2025
• Costs £149 (roughly $200, AU$300)

The Denon AH-C840NCW were announced in released in April, alongside the AH-C500W which are similar but slightly cheaper and miss ANC.

You can buy the AH-C840NCW for £149 (around $200, AU$300) so they’re mid-ranged in price. I couldn’t find them on sale in Australia or the US, but Denon does offer earbuds in those countries (especially in the US, which saw the AH-C500W and AH-C830NCW) so a launch in those regions is possible.

Judging at least by the UK price, that’s about an 8% price hike on the last-gen model but a 50% higher price than the non-ANC siblings.

I have to point out that, writing three months after the buds’ release, it’s pretty easy to find them discounted. Not by a huge amount, but by 10%-15% depending on which color you want, which is still worth bearing in mind.

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Specs

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Features

• Solid noise cancellation
• 7-hour battery life with ANC on
• Relative lack of extra features

Unlike their siblings, the Denon AH-C840NCW offer ANC, which I think is what the ‘NC’ in the name refers to. I wasn’t expecting much – why would the company skip ANC on that other product if it had anything worthwhile up its sleeves – but was pleasantly surprised by what this model offered.

The AH-C840NCW’s noise cancellation is meaty, wiping out annoying background noises without a trace. The app also offers you a Transparency mode which seemed to work slightly differently from others: instead of scanning for important noises to filter in to your ears (such as voices and important, twig-snapping-in-the-woods treble sounds), I got the impression it was just a weaker ANC. I could be wrong about this, but things felt quieter in Denon’s Transparency mode than in equivalents I’ve tested.

Talking about the app, it’s simply called 'Headphones', but you can find it in the Play Store or App Store by searching Denon’s name. As well as changing ANC modes, it lets you customize the touch controls, monitor the buds’ connections (multi-point pairing allows for two concurrent pairs), turn on LE Audio, change the wear detect to only apply for one earbud and monitor battery levels.

Finally, there’s an equalizer, which is only a 5-band one and doesn’t offer presets. If you’re used to customizing your own earbuds' sound, you might find this one just a little restrictive.

Battery life hits 7 hours with ANC turned on or 10 hours with it off, figures which can go up to 24 or 35 respectively when you factor in the case. The battery life is ever so slightly above average and my own testing roughly matched Denon’s stats provided.

This might be one of the shortest ‘Features’ sections I’ve ever written in a review, because the Denon don’t offer much in the way of useful features beyond the basics. That’s a shame because it’s in the feature set that (headphone) boys become (headphone) men, and with rivals offering plenty of extra modes and functions, it affects the competitiveness of the AH-C840NCW.

• Features score: 3.5/5

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Design

• Small pebble carry case
• AirPods Pro lookalikes
• Sensitive touch controls

By referring to the Denon AH-C840NCW as ‘AirPods Pro lookalikes’, I’ve probably conjured certain images of stem-toting earbuds with silicon tips and slight tilts. This description doesn’t necessarily denote AirPods – the world of wireless earbuds is much more varied than that, with buds of different shapes and sizes – but in this case it’s totally right. You’ve seen the pictures, you knew where this sentence was going.

The buds weigh 5.1g so they’re nice and light, and as that description suggests, they’re made up fo a stem that says ‘Denon’, a round body and a tip which protrudes at a slight angle. You can buy the buds in black or white (which also applies to the case) but the design is identical.

Hidden somewhere is a touch control, which you can customize in the app to change volume, play or pause music, and so on. I say ‘somewhere’ because I never quite figured out where to tap to trigger it – usually tapping the top of the stem worked but occasionally I’d accidentally press it while readjusting the buds in my ear, when my fingers were nowhere near the top.

On that topic, I did have to readjust the buds quite frequently in my ear; never when sitting around at home, but when running with the buds (ill advised; these aren’t running earbuds), when walking with them, or when working out at the gym (sit ups is the ultimate fit test!). I even tested different tip sizes in the box (there are four, not counting the ones on the buds by default) and this didn’t help – I’m going to point the finger at the material used in the tip, for not offering enough friction.

If you’re not going on walks and constantly having to readjust the earbuds, they’re pleasant to wear, with the light build ensuring you never get earache from long periods of listening. The buds also have an IPX4 rating which protects them from splashes of water, but not a serious drenching.

Equally lightweight and portable is the AH-C840NCW’s case, which is nice and small at 58 x 21.3 x 25.4mm and light at 54g. Something bijou like this is easy to slip into trouser pockets without it bulging out, or hide it on your desk when you’re charging it up via its USB-C port.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Sound quality

• Single 12mm driver
• Ever-so-slightly warm audio profile
• Max volume is too low

Denon has fit the AH-C840NCW with a 12mm driver. That’s the same piece of kit that its sibling saw but with the eartips ensuring surrounding sound doesn’t leak in, the buds sound a lot better.

The AH-C840NCW have a gently warm sound profile that emphasizes bass just a little, but it's so slight that it won’t put off people who prefer a more neutral sound. Bass is scooping and well-defined, but treble is also is also crystal-clear and sharp.

I’d have liked to see a more pronounced, expansive and layered soundstage, as the buds seemed to lose instruments and harmonies that weren’t prominent, but they’re fairly detailed where it counts in vocals, drums and keys.

The maximum volume isn’t too high though. It’s fine for everyday listening when you’re at home or in an office, but if I wanted to hear music well over traffic, or get some extra oomph for an energetic song on a run, I found myself continually pressing my phone’s volume up button – and it didn't really help.

• Sound quality: 4/5

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Value

• Decent value compared to AirPods...
• ...not so much compared to other rivals

Compared to the Apple AirPods Pro, I’m willing to say that the Denon AH-C840NCW offer decent value for money. They undercut the big name buds without cutting down on the quality too much.

However, when you consider some of the other options on the market at this price, you realize you could still be getting a lot more for your money. Rivals within a similar $/£/AU$ range offer hardier designs, wider feature sets or better audio quality, and usually a combination of all three.

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Denon AH-C840NCW?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Denon AH-C840NCW review: Also consider

OnePlus Buds 4

A very recent competitor, the OnePlus Buds 4 have the best noise cancellation I’ve tested in earbuds at this price point. They sell at the same price as the Denon and offer a much more bass-heavy sound profile.

See our full OnePlus Buds 4 review

Skullcandy Method 360

Another bassy option is the Skullcandy Method 360. Ignore the ludicrous case size; these have solid in-ear design, a fun and funky sound profile and a long-lasting battery. Again, these go for roughly the same price as the Denon. Our review is incoming… 

Nothing Ear

Finally – and yes, for the same price as the AH-C840NCW, although they’re a bit older and more prone to price cuts – we’ve got Nothing’s most recent top-end earbuds. These have a really impressive feature set and I loved the sound profile, but be warned for an awful battery life.

See our full Nothing Ear review

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How I tested the Denon AH-C840NCW

• Tested for two weeks
• Tested at home, in the office, working out and on walks

My testing period for the AH-C840NCW earbuds was two weeks long, and it came straight after I wrote the Denon AH-C500W review, so I got to test the siblings back-to-back.

I paired the Denon with my Android smartphone for the whole testing period and tested apps like Spotify, YouTube, Netflix and certain games. Testing was done at home, around my neighborhood (on runs and on walks), on public transport, at my office and at the gym.

I've been reviewing audio products for TechRadar for years now, including products made by many of Denon's rivals and all three competitors mentioned above.

• First reviewed in July 2025

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee