[Artmuzz]

I am currently using Sony EX500 IEMs and I want to upgrade to better sounding IEMs. I am looking for phones with large soundstage, rich detailed tight bass, good detail mids and good detailed highs. I have ordered the Sony XBA-H1 after reading reviews but I have been looking at B&W C5 phones which are reported to have a large soundstage, great bass and good mids and highs but they are £50 more. Which of those two IEMs would members recommend? My source gear is an iPhone 5S. Please advise.

 

[62ohm]

I have never heard the Sony XBA-H1, so I can't comment on that, but I have the B&W C5.
 
The C5 has quite large soundstage for a simple earphones. They are quite good on revealing details, with addictive mids. I'd say it's a mids-centric earphones. The bass is quite tight, but at times can feel a bit bloated. Thankfully, you can set the distance you want these to sit from your eardrums using the some sort of mount it has for comfort purposes. Set it very close to your eardrums, and the bass feels very punchy, and a bit bloated, good if you're a basshead. Set it a bit farther and the bass would feel tighter and less punchy, which is what I usually do.
 
My complaint with it is the highs can feel harsh with some recordings, and probably not first class in terms of transparency. Do note that I do not realize these flaws before I got myself my full-sized cans.

 

[Artmuzz]

I have never heard the Sony XBA-H1, so I can't comment on that, but I have the B&W C5.

The C5 has quite large soundstage for a simple earphones. They are quite good on revealing details, with addictive mids. I'd say it's a mids-centric earphones. The bass is quite tight, but at times can feel a bit bloated. Thankfully, you can set the distance you want these to sit from your eardrums using the some sort of mount it has for comfort purposes. Set it very close to your eardrums, and the bass feels very punchy, and a bit bloated, good if you're a basshead. Set it a bit farther and the bass would feel tighter and less punchy, which is what I usually do.

My complaint with it is the highs can feel harsh with some recordings, and probably not first class in terms of transparency. Do note that I do not realize these flaws before I got myself my full-sized cans.

How robust are the C5 IEMs? I remember spending a lot of money on Panasonic IEMs and the left speaker failed within a few months of usage.

 

[62ohm]

I've been using it for about 8 months now, on the go I just put in in my bag. They got squished by my laptop, and I don't even use the small included traveling pouch meant to protect them lol. And up to this point, no problem at all (apart from the little exoskeleton thing became a bit soft, probably because they receive a lot of weight in my bag).

 

[crosscourt]

i accidentally bought a pair of H1 without realizing that it doesn't have a mic/remote on it ...

 

[Artmuzz]

I went ahead and bought the B&W C5 IEMs. The packaging is very nice but it was a pain taking the phones out of the packaging. So far I am quite happy with them.

The bass is very good and so are the mids but I find the treble a bit on the harsh side as mentioned on here. The soundstage is good but I feel there was no difference between the soundstage on my Sony EX500 IEMs and my new B&W C5. Maybe I need to listen and compare.

The only problem I have from them is that when I insert the plug into my iPhone 5s it looks slightly to one side as if the plug on my C5 is ever so slightly bent.

 

[62ohm]

I went ahead and bought the B&W C5 IEMs. The packaging is very nice but it was a pain taking the phones out of the packaging. So far I am quite happy with them.

The bass is very good and so are the mids but I find the treble a bit on the harsh side as mentioned on here. The soundstage is good but I feel there was no difference between the soundstage on my Sony EX500 IEMs and my new B&W C5. Maybe I need to listen and compare.

The only problem I have from them is that when I insert the plug into my iPhone 5s it looks slightly to one side as if the plug on my C5 is ever so slightly bent.

 
Congratulations on your purchase mate, I'm sure they won't disappoint. But it seems that you've got a faulty product, try contacting B&W to confirm and if necessary, switch them.

 

[Artmuzz]

It's strange because when I unplug the C5 phones and look at the plug it doesn't look bent yet when I put them into my iPhone 5s they look slightly out of line with the iPhone. It doesn't appear to affect the sound quality though but am I being paranoid in thinking that this very slight bend on the plug is affecting soundstage? As the soundstage on the B&W C5 sounds the same as the soundstage on my Sony EX500 phones which were half the price.

 

[Artmuzz]

Ok, I plugged my B&W C5 phones into my iPad Air and for some strange reason they don't look bent. So it must be the design of the iPhone 5S earphone socket that gives the slight bend appearance to my C5 IEMs. Strange.
 
Looks like I am not the only one with that problem.
 
 
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1479297

 

[62ohm]

  Ok, I plugged my B&W C5 phones into my iPad Air and for some strange reason they don't look bent. So it must be the design of the iPhone 5S earphone socket that gives the slight bend appearance to my C5 IEMs. Strange.
 
Looks like I am not the only one with that problem.
 
 
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1479297

 
Does the soundstage width differ from your iPhone5S to the iPad?

 

[Artmuzz]

   
Does the soundstage width differ from your iPhone5S to the iPad?

 
I don't really have music on my iPad Air to test but I connected my B&W phones to my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with the scoobycontrol patch which uses the wolfson DAC and my B&W C5 phones sound have a more live meaty feeling to them. The B&W C5 phone plug doesn't look bent either on the Galaxy Note 2.

 

[62ohm]

   
I don't really have music on my iPad Air to test but I connected my B&W phones to my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with the scoobycontrol patch which uses the wolfson DAC and my B&W C5 phones sound have a more live meaty feeling to them.

 
There's the FiiO E18 amp/dac for Android if you're intrigued, and it supports the Galaxy Note 2.
 
Overall, how do you find the B&W C5, if I may ask? Do you like them?

 

[Artmuzz]

   
There's the FiiO E18 amp/dac for Android if you're intrigued, and it supports the Galaxy Note 2.
 
Overall, how do you find the B&W C5, if I may ask? Do you like them?

Cool I will look into it. 
 
The B&W C5 IEMs are very good. The sound quality is very hi-fi and I love the bass and mids on it. I cannot understand a lot of the reviews that said the bass was too much because I find the bass just right. My only criticism is that the highs can be harsh like you said before. The stereo crosstalk on those phones are also very good and instrument separation is good too. They more or less have the same signature as my Sony EX500 IEMs but the C5 sounds more richer especially the bass.

 

[62ohm]

  Cool I will look into it. 
 
The B&W C5 IEMs are very good. The sound quality is very hi-fi and I love the bass and mids on it. I cannot understand a lot of the reviews that said the bass was too much because I find the bass just right. My only criticism is that the highs can be harsh like you said before. The stereo crosstalk on those phones are also very good and instrument separation is good too. They more or less have the same signature as my Sony EX500 IEMs but the C5 sounds more richer especially the bass.

 
Good to hear you like them. Regarding the bass, to me they are a bit too much but I can reduce them by increasing their distance to my ears as mentioned in my previous post. Enjoy your new pair of earphones mate!

 

[RojasTKD]

sorry for resurrecting an old thread... I was looking for a comparison between these two earphone. This is the only thread dealing with both, but turned into a B&W thread as it seems no one had experience with both. I bought the B&W C5 series 2 at full retail. A few days later I ran into some referb XBA-H1a and bought those two. So can give a comparison. I'll try to be straight and two the point.
 
I should state I'm not a true audiophile nor do I have a command of the audiophile vocabulary, but I do enjoy nice sound and have owned/own few very well regarded headphones including the original Phonak Audeo PFE (sold), Klipsch X10 (lost *sad face*), and Shure SE530 (needing re-cabling, soon!).
 
The C5 series 2 is definitely the earphone with the most bass. It is very emphasized and powerful, mostly in a good way. I did enjoy it though it times it was a but too much and could occasionally overwhelm the rest of the music and vocals. Most of the time is was very enjoyable though. Admittedly I do like bass, though I wouldn't consider myself a bass head, I do like a tasteful bump in bass. I was fairly happy with the C5. The highs and mids sounded good to me also (more on that later).
 
Then I got the XBA-H1 and the bass seems a bit weak, until I played some test songs that I know have some heavy bass. It seems that the XBA-H1 dose offer good bass but more accurate bass, it has much less of a bass bump. It's there and sounds really good, it's just not overemphasized nearly as much. On the down side it not as satisfying as the crazy powerful bass that the C5s offer (though it is very satisfying on it own), but it is more realistic and doesn't have the issue of overpowering the rest of the music like the C5 can at times. The treble and mids I found much superior. The C5 S2 started to sound veiled in comparison. I could also hear the instrument separation much better. Little sounds here and there where much more distinctive to me. Vocals seem more forward, clearer and satisfying. The XBA-H1 just seem an overall better sounding earphone and more enjoyable to listen to (for me at least). Honestly I didn't like listening to the C5 S2 as much anymore (except for the fantastic bass, even if it can be a bit too much at times).
 
In the end I decided to return the C5 series 2, as I couldn't justify the price for something I knew I wasn't going to use as often. They where returned to Best Buy today.  I was not willing to sacrifice everything else for s bit more bass. The XBA-H1 provides plenty of good bass and is more than enough to satisfy me especially considering the total package.
 
Of course everyone's taste varies but for me the XBA-H1 is the superior earphone if a value a more balanced sound. If bass is priority number one perhaps the  C5 Series 2 may be something you will really enjoy.
 
I'm very glad I got the XBA-H1. They are fantastic in there price range.