[evolutionx]

Mine is getting better after 50 hrs as well.  the original veil to the sound seems to be cleared.    It sounded like a baby IE8 to me, not as bassy and dynamic but benefit more from using with a headphone amp though.

 

[esaleris]

Are we still talking about the B&W C5s or the Monster Copper Pros mentioned above?
 
Quote:

I'm on about 50 hours burn in at the moment and I can say there's a massive difference already. 

 

 

[ednaz]

I've had mine since Saturday, and if they're going to get better after burn in, I might grin myself to death.  Been listening to some 256k and 320k AAC and MP3 on both iPod and Zune since Saturday, and I find them really engaging and musical.  I listen to a pretty wide range of music, everything except opera, basically, and so far they've been good across the board.  Lots of detail, much more expansive than I'd expect from in-ear (although they're not so in-ear... they do protrude oddly.)
 
I do find they're a little more bass-y than I'm used to, as a long time Etymotic user, but in that way they remind me of my Ultrasone 780s.  Pretty strong parallel, actually - I think the 780s are way fun listening, musically engaging, a bit bass-y, and maybe not the most accurate headphones around, but they remind me of how music sounds when you're in the middle playing, as opposed to out front listening.  (Used to make living of a sort playing in all kinds of music forms.)  The first thing that went through my head when I cued up Herbie Hancock's "The River" on the C5s was exactly that - the sound was like I was inside the group, not listening from the front.
 
Used them on a flight last night, and they seal noise out reasonably well - not at Ety 4 levels of seal, but good enough to let the music shine through without dialing the volume up to 11, and intricate jazz sounded intricate.  Listened to some binaural on them last night also, and they were way more engaging with binaural recordings (music and spoken word) than any other headphones I have, so maybe B&W was going for a sound or a certain character.
 
Two things I've listened to on them really stood out as "wow, I don't remember this sounding this good" were: Anonymous 4 doing some 14th century vocal polyphony, and The Black Eyed Peas.  Not sure what it says about the C5 sound signature, but I don't think you can find two poles farther apart in music, and the C5s opened up new things in the music.
 
This weekend I'll have some time with them plugged into my HD library, which I'm looking forward to.

 

[tinyman392]

I'm just curious, but has any one figured how to use their tacoshell case correctly?  I know the two holes in the case are for the earbuds, but how the heck do you wrap the cable so it'll fit correctly?  That's what's throwing me off   If anyone has any input, let me know, even after reviewing the darn thing, I still can't for the life of me figure that one out. 
 
I am also going to say this, the C5s are good.  At the same time, Beats are good to; just not for their price.  When I say the C5s are good, they are good, but not where they need to be at the price range.  Really overprice.  I honestly believe right now that an IEM like the Brainwavz M4s have a pinch better SQ then the C5s.  C5s are good, but way too overpriced. 

 

[y3llowassassin]

hmm. does anyone know what the street value for these are?

 

[tinyman392]

LOL, these are practically new, so there is no street value yet...  Buy MSRP at the moment...  You won't find much below that

 

[y3llowassassin]

well i asked for the street value for an approximate at how much i should sell mine if i were to sell mine. lol

 

[hungarianhc]

Hi All,
 
I know this is an old thread... I have been a happy owner of the Bowers and Wilkins C5s for a couple years now, and it turns out... I recently lost them on an airplane. Darn. So... I need some new headphones.  I liked the C5s, but here are some of the issues I had...
 
- they didn't sit very flat in my ears so it was tough to sleep on an airplane w/ them
- the cord would tangle and get wound up
- the fit was nice and snug, but over time, it eventually fatigued my ear
 
My price range is $200 to $300, but I'd go higher if there were an ultra compelling reason to do so. Thanks!

 

[DrSheep]

  Hi All,
 
I know this is an old thread... I have been a happy owner of the Bowers and Wilkins C5s for a couple years now, and it turns out... I recently lost them on an airplane. Darn. So... I need some new headphones.  I liked the C5s, but here are some of the issues I had...
 
- they didn't sit very flat in my ears so it was tough to sleep on an airplane w/ them
- the cord would tangle and get wound up
- the fit was nice and snug, but over time, it eventually fatigued my ear
 
My price range is $200 to $300, but I'd go higher if there were an ultra compelling reason to do so. Thanks!

 
Try the Sleek Audio SA7, it is a little more than $300  $250 and sounds a bit different, but it is just as bright with good bass.  All parts are custom configable and replaceable.  Recommend use with Comply Foam Tips.

 

[sammyb]

I have had a terrible experience with my B&W C5's. They sound great - but only when they work! I bought a pair in Feb 2012. Between then and now I have had 3 pairs go bad. The first (original) one went bad in Dec 2012. The local retailer gave me a new pair which went bad in July 2013. This replacement pair went bad in Dec 2013. It is now with the local dealer. All of these replacements were under warranty. My issue however is that my warranty gets over in this month (Feb 2014) and given the past history it is a virtual certainty that this new replacement pair I get will also go bad. And unfortunately I wont have any warranty on it. I have brought this up with the local retailer and the company's customer support. Both of them have not given me any answer other than sending me the link to their customer service website. I posted on the B&W facebook page and my post was deleted within seconds! (they subsequently sent me the link to the customer service form). When I filled out the customer service form and sent it, the response was to go the local dealer (who I am already spoken with). I am very disappointed with how B&W has handled my issue. While I appreciate them giving me replacement headphones, I will be left high and dry once my warranty gets over.
 
So to anyone considering a pair of C5s please do your research on quality. These are expensive ear phones which I think should last more than 2 years - and now I feel like I paid a hefty amount to basically rent them for 2 years!
 
Bowers & Wilkins, please listen to what your consumers are saying rather than sending us in circles.

 

[62ohm]

  I have had a terrible experience with my B&W C5's. They sound great - but only when they work! I bought a pair in Feb 2012. Between then and now I have had 3 pairs go bad. The first (original) one went bad in Dec 2012. The local retailer gave me a new pair which went bad in July 2013. This replacement pair went bad in Dec 2013. It is now with the local dealer. All of these replacements were under warranty. My issue however is that my warranty gets over in this month (Feb 2014) and given the past history it is a virtual certainty that this new replacement pair I get will also go bad. And unfortunately I wont have any warranty on it. I have brought this up with the local retailer and the company's customer support. Both of them have not given me any answer other than sending me the link to their customer service website. I posted on the B&W facebook page and my post was deleted within seconds! (they subsequently sent me the link to the customer service form). When I filled out the customer service form and sent it, the response was to go the local dealer (who I am already spoken with). I am very disappointed with how B&W has handled my issue. While I appreciate them giving me replacement headphones, I will be left high and dry once my warranty gets over.
 
So to anyone considering a pair of C5s please do your research on quality. These are expensive ear phones which I think should last more than 2 years - and now I feel like I paid a hefty amount to basically rent them for 2 years!
 
Bowers & Wilkins, please listen to what your consumers are saying rather than sending us in circles.

 
I've had mine for 9 months now. I put then in my bag/pocket when I'm not using them without the included carrying pouch. They got squeezed by my laptop in my bag or my phone in my pocket. In essence, I'm not treating them properly at all. Till this date, they still work fine with no problem at all.
 
If anything, my critic for them would be for their harsh upper highs and overemphasized bass. But then again, I can use the secure loop to actually put some distance between them and my ears, that way the bass becomes much less punchy.
 
If I'm going into details though, the mids are a bit recessed, the soundstage is quite wide for its class but the imaging is all over the place. Worst of all, is the decay. But I'm being nitpicking; for its price, I don't think it's a bad earphone at all. It's far from perfect, but I'm not regretting them.

 

[jeremy205100]

Please delete

 

[m8te]

I've had some problems with mine, on my second pair now.
 
For some reason unknown by me, the cable has started to go green on this pair, not on the outside which I maybe able to understand with rubbing on my cloths/jeans, cleaning them with a alcohol wipe has had no affect. Looks like the inside of the cable. Really strange. They are outside of the 2 year warranty as well now. Anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[DrSheep]

No idea, but I can let you have my very lightly used pair if you want.

 

[jeremy205100]

I had a cabling issue with mine too. I still had 3 months left in the warranty so I got a replacement. I would try contacting them and asking if they'll give you one. On the apple store website it has a 3 star review because everyone has one earbud stop working due to cabling defects. So it seems like it's a well known issue. I am interested in knowing how they respond so please keep us updated.