Reviews for Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones

I love the sound and fit of the C5. Very comfortable and the sound quality is awesome. The problems for me are that the right side stopped working after 2 months. They were covered under warranty so I sent them back and got them fixed. Now the left side intermittently stops working and the volume up button on the inline control turns the volume down. What I am also unhappy about is that because I currently live outside of the US and bought them in the US, I get charged a $25 fee to return them even though they do not have to leave the country where I live to get fixed/replaced. So now I have had to spend an extra $50 because of their manufacturing problems. I take very good care of these because I loved the sound so much and I shouldn't have to spend the extra money because of their problems. It's unfortunate because the sound is so good when they work properly but I would not recommend these because if these issues.

The sound is amazing but not right out of the box. I bought a pair of Comply replacement tips and voila, like a whole different sound with added bass. The problem with the B&W tips is they don't form a seal in your ear so you don't get the rich bass. The Comply tips fixes this and keeps it in your ear. Despite the goofy loop, the right earbud would never stay in place.

Now the reason I bumped it from 4 stars to 3. Doesn't seem to be compatible with the iPhone 5. When I'm plugged in and have them in my pants, the sound occasionally cuts in and out and produces static. Super bummed about this since I really like these earphones. I tested on another iPhone 5 and an iPod touch. The other iPhone produces the same static while the iPod does not.

That said, if you're an iPhone 5 owner, beware. I also know it's not part of Apple's "Compatible Products" list. I had these before the iPhone 5 came out and didn't expect earphone compatibility issues. Gotta find some decent replacements.

Probably got the cleanest bass sound but the design factor of the tips make it the most uncomfortable in-ear headphones to use.

The pros:

The C5 offer excellent sound, especially mid- to low range. Deep bass is reproduced with convincing control and authority, so much so that I frequently find myself pulling out one of the plugs to check if I accidentally left the subwoofers on. Vocals are also treated with usual B&W signature excellence. That being said, expect the usual B&W coloration; i.e. not neutral sound, but warm and a bit woolly and with a slight lack of treble clarity and detail.

Aesthetically, the C5 are things of beauty. From the jet black cylindrical design to the silver "grille" at the back, they look very nice indeed. Some users are complaining that the buds are too heavy, but for me this hasn’t been a problem during workouts.

The cons:

There are a few points that potential buyers need to know about. The cable is very stiff and easy to break. I work at a Hi Fi dealership, and we’ve had unusually many C5s returned due to cable breakage. I’m on my second pair now after only two months, and despite being very careful I’m likely to move on to my third before summer.

The carrying case is a joke. Although very stylish, it’s far too small, especially considering the stiff cable. B&W have attempted to rectify this by removing the integrated plug holder in later versions, but this hasn’t helped much considering the case is still the same overall size.

The remote is also a bit of a blunder. It’s cylindrical and only works if pushed in a very specific way. It’s difficult to use without looking, and impossible if you ever wear gloves. There is also a lot of noise when using the hands free function.

Conclusion: Great sound, but troubled by some very poor design choices.

After someone had stole my Bose Earbuds i decided that i loved to listen to music allot and that it was a good excuse to get an even better pair. I was wrong! I got home and tried the headphones out and rite away a realized a lack of base. The headphones fit wonderfully and hits the high note perfectly, but when it comes to the lows and base the earbuds don't perform. I even left the headphones on for around 40 hours, on a low volume, to try and somewhat break them in but still no luck. I am going to return them today and once again go back to the good old Bose!

The sound quality really surprised me, it has great lows.
But after about 5 days they were just really hurting my ears.

I bought these mostly due to the hype about BW. While the highs are ok, there is little to no bass and the lows are insufficient. Whether it's bass from a rap song or drums from a rock song, the headphones provide a very hollow sound. My beats outperform these headphones 3x over, and I was trying to get away from the whole Monster bandwagon...