Okay, I'm answering my own questions here, which is, how does the ATH CK1100is stack up against the B&W C5S2's overall and in sub bass response.
I was able to grab a pair of ATH CKS1100is from the Singapore duty free (shop name is Sprint Cass in terminal 3) during a transit I had there. This is a comparison of the ATH CKS1100is to the B&W C5S2. The experts at Audioholics have mentioned that break in does not require hundreds of hours and that if the sales guy says so, it's just to make you keep the product for an extended period so that your ears get used to it's sound signature over time, and you hopefully begin to like what you hear if you didn't like it already.
I had left the Audio Technica's playing pink noise for a couple of hrs and on random pop and R&B playlists for about 10 hrs before I did the comparison. Both pairs of IEM's were driven using an iPhone 6 Plus only (no external amplification) with no EQ. Pls be mindful that the opinions expressed here are my own. I'm not a sound engineer or an electronics engineer. I love a flat response in the high and mids and a bit of a bump in the sub bass to a level where it does not interfere with the mids and highs.
About the B&W C5s2
The B&W has a notch more sub bass. It's certainly louder (in bass) and clearer than the 1100is and extends slightly lower/deeper. The B&W also has better mid range than the 1100is. The 1100is's mid range sounds slightly nasal compared to the B&W's. The cable on the B&W IMO is also better. It's tangle free, feels slightly better built and if the cable rubs or knocks against anything while the IEMs are in the ear, that noise does not transfer into your ears, which is a big deal to me coz I use my IEMs in public transport a lot. The B&W's controls has volume control as well on top of play pause, skip forwards and backward that the 1100is has. The B&W's loop system also secures the IEM's in your ear. It doesn't necessarily give the IEM's a good seal, but if you are doing sports while wearing them, they wont go anywhere. The loop system is a bit annoying until you get the adjustments right. After that, you wont even notice it's there, locking the IEM to your ear.
About the ATH CK1100is
Where the 1100is is better is the treble detail. It's noticeably crisper than the B&Ws. Some may find this fatiguing though. The 1100is's 3.5mm jack is 90 degrees angled (L shaped). The jack itself feels better built than the B&W's jack. The B&W's silicone tips are slippery (especially if you have the slightest hint of oil or earwax in your canals) and it may not fit/seal properly until you have cleaned your ears. And although the cables don't seem to be made well on the 1100is's. they are detachable, so maybe there will be better aftermarket versions of this cable made in the future.
If you don't know what the B&W C5S2 sounds like, it sounds just like the B&W P7 with less treble detail and less sound stage width and depth
More on Sub bass. Just for reference purposes, I use a Velodyne DD18+ and a Paradigm Seismic 110 sub in my main listening room. If you have listened to the R&B track "Fix" by Nelly, you will know that there's some serious house foundation loosening bass in this track. If you think this track doesn't have serious bass, that's only coz you don't have the right equipment to reproduce the bass.
The B&W C5s2's almost extends down to those levels of bass response (with a proper seal to the ear and a flat EQ) but doesn't go all the way down (untill you mod the EQ to Loudness, then it gets about half way there). The 1100is's does not quite extend down to those frequencies (even with a good seal to the ear, but gets to the B&W's flat response levels of bass when set to Loudness).
I was quite disappointed with the 1100is's sub bass response. Only coz it was advertised to be a bass pair of phones. Don't get me wrong, it does bass pretty well, but it doesn't extend well into sub frequencies. The advertising spec sheet of the 1100is claims that they can respond from 5Hz to 40000Hz, but it doesn't show measurements as to how flat or not flat the response curves are. It obviously rolls off heavily below 25-30Hz which is why I'm not getting the bass response I clearly get from my subs with tracks like Fix by Nelly and even Unfaithfull by Rihanna (another track that I rediscovered with my Velodyne DD18+ monster).
I will keep playing more tunes through the AT's and report back if anything changes over time. Hope this information helps some of you
PS: the silicone tips between the ATH CK1100is, B&W C5S2 and the Sennheiser CX300 are interchangeable. I'm currently using the ATH CK1100 is tips with the B&W CS5s2's because they are slightly larger and less slippery.
cheers!
im driving home today and will update early this week
