[thatsdileep]

Thanks for the feedback. Any experience with the B&W C5 S2s? How do they stack up against the 750s and are they durable?

 

[joelk2]

Thanks for the feedback. Any experience with the B&W C5 S2s? How do they stack up against the 750s and are they durable?

I don't sorry no

 

[mark2410]

  Hi Mark,
Thanks for the great review. I'm looking for IEMs in a reasonable price range (180-200$) without breaking my bank. I owned a pair of Shure SE 215s with an inline remote cable for last 4 years. While I did enjoy the clarity and clean sound from SE215s I always thought they were lacking the dynamic low end punch...low on bass. Unfortunately I lost that pair recently on a train. 

To tell more about myself and preferences, I'm not an audiophile but I do enjoy good quality music. I listen to different genres hip hop, techno, digital/electronic, fusion, melodies, and list goes on... Mostly modern music.

So I've done quite a bit of search on the web and came up with couple of options which could fit my bill.
 -  Bowers and Wilkins C5 Series2 ($180)
 -  RHA MA750i ($130).
 
Both these have a inline mic/remote which is a must for me as I intend to use them on my iPhone 6plus. I've read some user experiences online with C5s having issues with the durability/build quality. A few people have complained they broke down (one of the earphone dies) after a few months of use. Although they are covered for 2yrs under warranty I would like to have something which can last 3-4 yrs at least without breaking down.

I haven't heard or auditioned either one of those IEMs mentioned above, so thought you could help me. Also pls feel free to recommend any other options which you think will suit my described needs/preferences/budget.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or feedback.

hey, well i think you have a problem first off. "While I did enjoy the clarity and clean sound from SE215s I always thought they were lacking the dynamic low end punch...low on bass."
 
 
the 215s arent particularly clear, and if you find them lacking in bass then you are after a bit of a bass monster.  the two that spring to mind are the Wooduo2 and the RHA T10.  the Wooduo are way cheaper but the T10 are literally built like tanks.  given you seem quite highly keen on durability you cannot go wrog with the T10 or the MA750 as both are absolutely solid.  though in terms of bass i fear the 750 wont be bassy enough for you.  given your budget seems to go high enough id suggest looking wore into the T10 than to the 750 if i was you.

 

[thatsdileep]

 
hey, well i think you have a problem first off. "While I did enjoy the clarity and clean sound from SE215s I always thought they were lacking the dynamic low end punch...low on bass."
 
 
the 215s arent particularly clear, and if you find them lacking in bass then you are after a bit of a bass monster.  the two that spring to mind are the Wooduo2 and the RHA T10.  the Wooduo are way cheaper but the T10 are literally built like tanks.  given you seem quite highly keen on durability you cannot go wrog with the T10 or the MA750 as both are absolutely solid.  though in terms of bass i fear the 750 wont be bassy enough for you.  given your budget seems to go high enough id suggest looking wore into the T10 than to the 750 if i was you.

Thanks for the reply and greatly appreciate your suggestions. As I'm not an audiophile may be my description of the 215s were not appropriate...in 215s the vocals are very upfront and clean....I liked it for sometime but after few months I started feeling bored with them. I want the sound to be more lively and fun. I will try and finalize between T10i and 750i. I'm still trying to see if I can get to listen to both. But to get a demo here in India is next to impossible and the return policies are not that customer friendly either. Still searching the market. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Meanwhile any experience with B&W C5 S2?

 

[mark2410]

 
Thanks for the reply and greatly appreciate your suggestions. As I'm not an audiophile may be my description of the 215s were not appropriate...in 215s the vocals are very upfront and clean....I liked it for sometime but after few months I started feeling bored with them. I want the sound to be more lively and fun. I will try and finalize between T10i and 750i. I'm still trying to see if I can get to listen to both. But to get a demo here in India is next to impossible and the return policies are not that customer friendly either. Still searching the market. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Meanwhile any experience with B&W C5 S2?

nope not heard the b&w.
 
also its not so much that your description was inappropriate, its more that it was coming form a very "consumer" perspective.  by that i mean that consumer focused stuff tends be hugely bass heavy and lack clarity.  so to you more used to non audio peeps stuff the 215 as a pretty reasonably quality product to you sounds very clear compared to what you have heard.  if you compare it to things like the 750 then the 215 is a very warm, rich, bassy earphone.

 

[thatsdileep]

  nope not heard the b&w.
 
also its not so much that your description was inappropriate, its more that it was coming form a very "consumer" perspective.  by that i mean that consumer focused stuff tends be hugely bass heavy and lack clarity.  so to you more used to non audio peeps stuff the 215 as a pretty reasonably quality product to you sounds very clear compared to what you have heard.  if you compare it to things like the 750 then the 215 is a very warm, rich, bassy earphone.

Agreed...I'm more from a consumer side of things rather than audiophile side. Thanks for your responses Mark.

 

[mark2410]

 
Agreed...I'm more from a consumer side of things rather than audiophile side. Thanks for your responses Mark.

your welcome, its what here is for, to help.

 

[oThatsEric]

Im thinking of getting these as my new daily use on the bus, walking etc, was wondering if you had any gripes with these in regards to mobility/daily use. Thanks!

 

[voxie]

Hi oThats, have been using the MA - 750's for the past four weeks with no issues, well one or two.... cable a little too long. some leakage. These gripes are negated by its build and sq. To me they will suit your needs as they are built like tanks and are darn good looking imo.

 

[mark2410]

  Im thinking of getting these as my new daily use on the bus, walking etc, was wondering if you had any gripes with these in regards to mobility/daily use. Thanks!

nope, they pretty good for the job, though they not the most isolating so if you commute in a super noisy environment like the Tube then maybe i would look towards a BA IEM.

 

[ianmedium]

I purchased a pair of the non-remote ones yesterday though my local store has stopped selling them as he had a lot of returns due to the cable issue though after reading much here I found out this does not seem to be an issue with the non remote version.

I wanted something to take the place of my Etymotic ER4S's for out and about use in coffee shops and such but having a great many expensive headphones as you can see in my signature I wanted to see what one can get at lower price points and kept reading the reviews of this one so thought I would give them a try.

Luckily my local store has all their equipment on demo so I tried these, the Shure se215's and something else hand made in China but I can't recall what they are called and their sound was just as forgettable!

The Shures to my ears sounded veiled and less refined than I was looking for ( my experience in going from less costly headphones/IEM's to the more expensive ones on the whole is that the more expensive ones remove veils from the presentation).

Then I plugged these in and went through some of my favourites tracks and was in all honesty astonished at what I was hearing.

To be honest I was not expecting much but what I got had me using my debit card in double quick time!

Firstly, no veils, just a clear window onto the performance. Then the bass, very refined, no bloat but nice and deep which gives what I think good bass is all about, an underpinning and feeling to the music.

The bass is much more refined than my FAD Heaven S's and make my JVC HA-FX500's laughable!

My tastes have changed in musical presentation over the years.
I now prefer a warmer signature to analytical but I don't want to miss out on high end shimmer and sparkle either and these give me both, especially listening now after having them burn in overnight which has opened up the sound stage, tightened the bass and refined the treble even more.

What I was looking for was a cross between the detail of my ER4S's, Bass of the Heaven S's and creamy treble of my T5P's and soundstage of my FAD Piano Forte IX's and honestly I have that in these!

Frankly, I am scratching my head wondering why I have spent so much on headphones as I have when I could have saved a bundle and just purchased these!

Also, they seem to handle all the genres of music I love with aplomb. My main interest is in classical and these excell with all aspects from intimate to full scale choral and symphonies.

In fact, one of my favourites peices that is so hard for headphones to convey authentically is Verdi's Requiem Mass and in particular my favourite transcription conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini.

There is a beauty and subtly to this recording that is rarely conveyed well with headphones. The best in my experience thus far have been my T5P's though still not perfect as they lack a little weight that I know is in the performance as I have heard this on a Wilson/Nagra set up so know what is there!

From the quietest moments in the first part where the choir sings in hushed tones supported by the strings of the orchestra to the gradual build up of massed voices and orchestra not an ounce of detail or feeling is lost.

It really is quite magnificent and to get this from IEM's that cost so little is nothing short of miraculous I feel.

On this recording when the massed voices rise in volume often the subtle texture is lost and all one gets is an homogenous noise of voices but with these there is no break up, no blurring ( a bain in my experience of multi-driver IEM's).
One is presented with a wide soundstage that belies its all in my head and within that soundstage every part of the choir is easily defined in their location. Not only that but beautifully layered in depth and height also.

Then we go on to the sublime Janos Starkers wonderful Bach transcriptions. I have been fortune to hear Meastro Starker perform live so know what his cello sounds like and these RHA's reproduce the sound in all truth the best I have heard so far out of all my headphones and IEM's and remember what I have as a comparison!

His cello sounds rich and vibrant in real life, full of roundness and space and this is faithfully reproduced by the MA750's, far better than my LCD2's which were my previous headphone benchmark for this instrument.

So I am sure many must be wondering have I gone mad! I have all these lovely headphones and yet these humble and beautifully built RHA's seem to best all of them!

I am not going mad but rather have jumped off the hyperbole bandwagon that we all get caught up on here.

Frankly, you could probably get a bit more detail ( though I am hard pressed to figure out how) and bass resolution by spending more but in the real world I have to save having experience in the higher end that is a bit of a red herring!

What is more important to me is how the emotion and texture of musical performances is portrayed and I truly cannot think of anything in my current collection or other IEM's and headphones I have heard in the elevated price bands that in real world terms do anything significantly more than these wonderful IEM's do!

A note on build, all I can say is the metalwork is equal to my Final Audio Design Piano Forte's in terms of finish and easily beats the PF's in cable quality!

I loved the presentation and all the ear tip options and have found for my ear shape the large dual flange to be the perfect balance in terms of sound ( just wish they had a spare set of those like they have with the other styles!

Some have reported that the over the ear configuration is not spectacle friendly. I do not find this so!

These are the most comfortable IEM's I have worn thus far and one simply forgets they are in the ear! Also, the isolation is almost to my Etymotic standards!

So, a hearty recommendation on these and a note to say if you are looking for IEM's that cost a great deal more you would do well to give these a listen and save all that money to buy music instead!

My system is the AK120 in combination with the Glove Audio A1. Music files are either ripped lossless from CD using Xact or various high resolution files from HD tracks or High Defintion Tape Transfers and a smattering of DSD files.

Headphones owned by me and used for comparison are Audeze LCD2, Beyerdynamic T5P/ DT1350, Final Audio Design Heaven S/ Piano Forte IX, JVC HA-FX500, Etymotic ER4S and Stax SR001 MK2.

 

[mark2410]

so you like them then.

 

[voxie]

Hi guys, hope all is well. Purchased the 750's about 3 months ago. Overall very happy with SQ. Only prob is that the spring is starting to uncoil on the jack. Just wondering is this a common problem and if so what are the end results, ie will situation compromise the cable? Thanks in advance,

 

[mark2410]

  Hi guys, hope all is well. Purchased the 750's about 3 months ago. Overall very happy with SQ. Only prob is that the spring is starting to uncoil on the jack. Just wondering is this a common problem and if so what are the end results, ie will situation compromise the cable? Thanks in advance,

oh, not heard of that happening to anyone else (not that ive heard anyway) did you have it bent all the time?

 

[voxie]

Hi, No i did'nt have them in a bent position. Just normal day to day use. May contact RHA to see if they can help. Thanks for responding.