It seems like it would be difficult for a company specializing in über-high-end stereo speakers and professional studio monitors to enter the realm of mainstream consumer products. Somehow, though, from the Zeppelin line of iPod docks to the excellent P5 headphones ($299.95, 4.5 stars), and now the superb Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones, B&W always manages to capture the magic of its multi-thousand dollar systems in a much less expensive form. This time, audio excellence is accompanied by the most secure fit you'll find, aside from custom-molded ear monitors, and will cost you $179.95 (list), making it the least-expensive product in the B&W consumer audio lineup. Outfitted with iPhone/iPod/iPad inline controls, there's little to gripe about except nomenclature: the C5 are not "in-ear headphones," they're earphones. Name aside, the C5 easily earns our Editors' Choice for under-$200 earphones.

Design

We've seen some interesting earphone designs, but the C5 takes the cake. First, it's outfitted with a "Micro Porous Filter" system that projects audio outwards, not unlike the superb Grado SR60 ($79, 4 stars)—but that pair is headphones, and an open, outward projecting sound is far more common in that type of product. On earphones, it's rare to see. The person sitting next to you on the train might not love it, but you will; the projection of audio outwards creates a better sense of space and depth than most earphones can provide.

The real design coup here, however, is the "Secure Loop" that attaches to each black-and-silver earpiece. Unspooling inside a few inches of firm plastic coating, the cable forms a customizable, rigid loop that sits against the inner rim of the ear. The Sennheiser CX 680 Sports ($119.95, 4 stars) shares a vaguely similar implementation, but the fit of the C5 is superior. So, while most earphones rely on a strong seal in the ear canal and tucking the cable up and behind the ear for a fit, the C5 combines the seal and the cable loop, eliminating virtually any movement of the earpieces at all. I've never felt an earphone pair this secure that wasn't made from custom molds of my inner ear. That's impressive by itself, and it makes its excellent sound less surprising—earphone manufacturers know that secure and consistent fit is crucial to quality bass response and overall sonic performance. The audio cable, which is less rigid as it descends away from the earpieces, is stronger and sturdier than a typical earphone cable.

Playback, navigation, volume, and phone controls—with a built-in microphone—are situated in a tiny black compartment along the clear-coated silver audio cable. The C5 ships with fewer (four pairs) extra silicon ear tips than most earphones today, but this is likely because it doesn't rely so heavily on the seal in the ear canal for a secure fit. The ear tips do an excellent job of passively reducing ambient noise, acting more or less like earplugs in addition to earphones.

The C5 also ships with two airline adapters for the 3.5mm connector, though, oddly, you won't find a ¼-inch adapter in the box. (Since these can be found easily and cheaply at any Radio Shack, this is more of a minor annoyance than a real problem for anyone wishing to use the C5 with a stereo receiver or component equipment.) A black compact, zip-up carrying case is also included.

Performance

Listening to practically any style of music on the C5 earphones is a pure joy. It is rare to see such high quality below the $200 mark, but B&W has managed to make it happen, and much is certainly due to the secure and consistent fit. The C5 offers a bass response that will be familiar to anyone who's had the pleasure of listening to B&W's on-ear headphones, the P5. There is a certain smoothness with which the bass is presented, whether listening to "The Chairman Dances" by John Adams or booming electro-pop, like the Knife's "Silent Shout." You hear every frequency you should—down to the sub-bass frequencies—but they are reproduced in a way that doesn't muddle the rest of the response.

Often, earphones try to match deep bass with an extra-crisp high-end attack. This can sound good for some modern, bass-heavy mixes, actually, as it does with the iBeats by Dr. Dre from Monster ($119.95, 3 stars). The C5 presents things in a far more flat response manner, however, yet it doesn't start approaching the super-flat accuracy of the Etymotic ER-4PT ($299, 4.5 stars). In other words, where the Etymotic sound is almost clinical (and some of us do prefer the science that goes into super-flat earphones), the C5 adds tiny flourishes of character. It's subtle, though, and the C5 is still one of the most natural-sounding pairs I have heard in this price range.

The Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones are a bargain for the quality you get, but $180 isn't exactly cheap. If you have some money to spend on a quality in-ear pair, but not quite that much, the Shure SE215 ($119, 4 stars) is another recent marvel of incredible value, that sounds much better than its price indicates. As for these $180 earphones from B&W, let's not discuss how much higher I think they could reasonably be priced, and just be happy that earphones this superb are available for less than $200. It's also great to see that some companies are still trying new design ideas—to great success—in a category where "innovation" often just means "more bass." That innovation easily earns B&W our Editors' Choice.

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