[windowsrookie]

The reason it is thick is because it supports 65W charging. Apple did the same with the USB-C cables that shipped with the pre-MagSafe MacBooks. It was a thicker cable that supported 100w charging but was only USB 2.0.

[dijit]

Can you help me understand why that would be a reason to compromise the comfort of the cable that is supplied for a device which charges at 5w?

Or, why Apple manages the same in half the footprint?

Or, why someone would expect that a cable that came with a pair of headphones actually charges things at over 65w?

[Retr0id]

Like most things in the audiophile world, it's more about aesthetics than anything else. A big cable looks like it means business.

[dijit]

I think that's being a bit uncharitable to B&W specifically; they're one of the few headphone companies where the engineering does back up the price. The cable is the odd one out.

[Retr0id]

I don't have an informed opinion of B&W either way, but are you sure it's not an instance of Gell-Mann amnesia?