Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones

I bought these at the airport about 2 weeks ago, after owning a pair of beats tour. The C5's are not as stylish as the beats although there very high quality-made, sound is great! Great base response and very high detailed sound. What bothered me though is the case, the cable and fit. Case overall is good but the zipper kept getting stuck in the crack and eventually bent, the cable is not tangle free and the fit in the ear is not that great. Overall great sound and stylish look... Buy Beats, thats my opinion.

27 of 40 people found this useful

This product obviously has great, clean, technical sound. Some of the best I've heard. I wanted to comment on the comfort factor, however, since most other reviews speak badly of them. I feel like only those people with some kind of complaint are more likely to leave negative reviews, so here I go. I bought mine 3 days ago, and I put them on leaving the Apple store--got home 45 minutes later after making some stops and still had them on. My ears weren't sore at all. I understand what some people say, but that's because they shove them too deep in their ear to make them "noise canceling" and the sharp metal outer piece gouges their ear. First, the product never claims to be "noise canceling," though it does a reasonably good job blocking out most noise. They are supposed to sit in your outer ear canal with the APPROPRIATELY sized rubber ear piece so the fit is snug. If you use an undersized ear piece and cram them into the ear, yeah of course it's uncomfortable, but then again you are trying to make them something they're not--noise canceling (by cramming them into your ear to be noise canceling). I love mine. I have warn them every day for hours since I bought them and they are great. Sound is wonderful, especially classical, vocal/choral, and jazz. I highly recommend them.

16 of 18 people found this useful

I purchased these about 2 months ago, as I got sick of having to listen to music on the stock apple earbuds when I was working out. I have owned their more expensive counterpart, the P5, for a little more than a year now. Additionally, I have been familiar with B&W's Hi-Fi components for several years.

Build quality was clearly of high concern when these headphones were being planned. They are quite beefy in your hands when compared to other in ear models. They feel very sturdy and well made, although I wouldn't suggest you be terribly rough with them. The cable seems sturdy, and the remote/mic works very well for me. The included case is all but useless. Yeah it looks cool, but I'd love to see someone who could open it with one hand. I constantly find myself wrapping the cord around one hand only to notice I can't get the case open with my other hand. Then, after you miracle the case open and somehow manage to cram everything into the cramped space inside, you have to fight to get it closed. It almost goes without saying that I very seldom employ the case for storage of the C5.

If you are a truly picky audiophile, you will probably want to skip on these. The sound is not at all natural, but is instead heavily colored in typical B&W fashion. For the most part, the C5 sound remarkably similar to the P5. The highs are crisp but ever so slightly rolled off, yet not to the point that I feel it detracts from the music. The mids are pretty rich, but unlike with the P5 mids can often be overshadowed by the ample amounts of bass these headphones put out. At first the lows were so overpowering I was almost considering returning them to the Apple store and looking elsewhere. After a few days of listening though, they mellowed out and tightened up enough for my liking. Luckily for me, I primarily listen to Rap and other bass-oriented music when I work out. The C5 are decent enough for other genres, such as classical and jazz, but I usually find myself switching to their big brother when I'm relaxing and listening to more refined genres of music. The P5 definitely have a more balanced sound in my opinion.

The comfort factor, from my understanding, is on a completely individual basis. Personally, I find them extremely secure and comfortable. Having them fall out is virtually a non-issue for me. I would highly suggest, should you make the purchase, that you give them a few days to figure out if they will work for you or not. Long listening sessions with the C5 are, if anything, more comfortable to me than extended use of the P5.

In summary, I think the majority of listeners will be more than pleased with these. Definitely make sure to try them out thoroughly, as the sound changes for the better with use. If you're looking for a pair of headphones to listen to jazz or classical primarily, and you can afford the extra ~$120, I would strongly suggest auditioning the P5 as they are better suited to such genres.On a slightly unrelated note, do yourself a favor and don't go near the Beats line. It's very cheaply made for the money they charge, and what you get is an all out aural assault of muddy/boomy/flabby bass. Unless you like that. Whatever, it's not my money you're spending.

14 of 14 people found this useful

These are spectacular headphones. The sound stage, separation and detail are phenomenal. I have had Klipsch, Bose, Schure, Audio-Technica, Bang-Olfsun, Etymotic, etc and these are in line with the best. The Etymotic ER-4 were my previous favorite for sound stage, but they had serious issues with noise from the cord. These don't have that and the detail is incredible. I had to play around with the ear pieces to see which one worked best. The largest ones fit my ears best and produced the best bass. In-ear phones are all about fit, so if they don't work for you, that's a deciding factor, but if they fit good you will be astounded. I only gave a 4 out of 5 because they do get a bit uncomfortable after using for a while.

15 of 16 people found this useful

Headphone junky here... I carry 4 different headphone setups with me in my briefcase. Not sure why, just an idiosyncracy. Anyhow, I had read the reviews, both good and bad, on the C5's. I though I would take the plunge and did an impulse purchase while visiting the Apple store this week. Initial setup was OK but not mind blowing. Got home and got the proper size buds installed.

My mind is blown! These are exceptional! Best I've ever owned!
- deep, tight base
- sound stage is more like a over ear full headphone than a bud system. Very large sound stage
- very low distortion.
- very stable in your ear and comfortable
- I'm still pinching myself to make sure that this is the same old iPhone setup and music collection that never sounded nearly this good.

Great tight bass and dynamic range.

Whole different world of sound! I'm blown away!

14 of 16 people found this useful

There are not many Bowers & Wilkins products you can get into for under $200... these guys make $60,000 speakers and execute the best products. I am not a big fan of ear buds, but they do have their purpose when my P5's just do not work. For everyone that thinks these do not have Bass they did not make sure the C5's have an appropriate fitting eartip for their ears. The cable on these is stiffer than most making them tangle-free! I travel a lot and pull these out of my carry on (not in their case) and they are never knotted up. The cushioned loops curl around my ear holding them in place is perfect and they tend to be balanced toward your ears. Great for all different types of music with incredibly open, detailed and natural performance. Very happy with my C5's!

13 of 14 people found this useful

I love music...absolutely love music. And it's important to be able to listen to music in a considerable audio performance. And my experience with prior headphones were great... klipsch, bose, shure, beats. But to be able to have had other headphones and hearing these....amazing, just amazing. I'm sure others have their opinion...which is better. But I can only speak for myself.

I feel klipsch are the best "in ear" headphones priced reasonable...they sound great and it has comfortable feel. And, my klipsch headphones broke...which was unfortunate. But I took the time to research products out there. And when I checked out reviews for these headphones...most reviewers seemed impress. The only thing I was skeptical over was the price.

And so, I went for it...and I had thoughts of if these C5's didn't impress me. I had no problems at all taking them back and getting the klipsch. But I tell you....it's definitely NOT going back. Just the quality you hear out of them, and how they are crafted. I would say these fit more perfectly than my klipsch. But then again... my opinion. But I definitely recommend them to music lovers such as myself

16 of 20 people found this useful

When I first received these headphones I wasn't that impressed. After playing with them and adjusting them to my ears, they are proving to be one of the best set of phones I have ever purchased. It has style, Its unique and the craftsmanship is bar none. This one is a keeper a must have if you are a true audiophile.

12 of 12 people found this useful

People associate B&W with ultra-expensive bespoke hifi speakers but I think there's an important point missed in looking at the price alone. This is a company that offers great value. At whatever price point you get a product at the top of its game and everything from the cheapest C5s to the 802N's I used to own (to even pricier Nautilus diamond gear) has outstanding sound. I don't believe B&W ever stick a premium price tag on something just because they can get away with it, they offer incredible value and their high end speakers are works of art. Audiophiles love them because they are THAT GOOD. So what can you expect from the cheapest in the family. The C5s are a bit more bassy than the P5s (I own both) but less so than Dre/Diddy Beats. They're very stable in your ears, extremely comfortable and the microporous filter seems to provide a detailed sound stage for an in-ear phone. On the bad side, they should offer more options for the ear plugs and I'd appreciate a bigger case than the one supplied which is a bit too snug in my opinion. Small upsets for a great set of IEMs that get better with repeated listening. If you buy these make sure they're sitting snuggly in your ear and use a bit of grease to take off the ear plugs as they're very tight fitting against the tungten head of the phones. Happy listening.

11 of 11 people found this useful