SoundMagic PL30 and PL50 Review

[LFC_SL]

Saturation. In recent months there has been an explosion of in-ear portable earphones in the £30~£80 price range. The market is saturated. Sennheiser, Sony, Audio-Technica, Denon, Shure, Etymotic, Apple, V-Moda and Ultimate Ears are just some of the better known players in this saturated market

These earphones fall into two camps of what are typically termed as canal phones and IEMs (in ear monitors). The former offerings typically all looking identical and provided with 3 sizes of standardised tips that sit at the entrance of your ear canal. For those who spent a little extra for the latter without wanting to go all out for custom-made monitors used by professionals; you gained greater sound quality, a larger selection of tips which sat deeper in your ear canal offering greater sound isolation

New to the scene is Chinese OEM SoundMagic. Already an OEM supplier to some established brands they are hoping to make a name for themselves

*****

I was contacted by the forum advertiser HiFi Headphones about an opportunity to receive and review earphones from a company called SoundMagic which I was assured would be worth my while

N.B. This is an unofficial forum review based purely on my own opinion. My findings are my own and the review samples will not be retained. Nobody has seen this review before time of publish

*****

Day one and 4hrs+ of listening time through my iPod Nano 4th generation. Day two another couple of hours, this time with my Sandisk Sansa Clip to see whether the earphones can produce the sound afforded by a more superior DAC. For comparison my Westone UM2 and Sennheiser PX100 were at hand

*****

SoundMagic PL30

SoundMagic PL30

Speaker: 9mm dynamic neodymium driver
Impedance: 12ohm +/-15% (@ 1kHz)
Sensitivity: 100dB+/-3dB at 1mW 1K Hz

Frequency Response: 20Hz to 22kHz
Rated Power: 2mW
Max Power: 15mW
Connector: 3.5mm straight plug
Cable Length: 1.2m symmetrical ‘Y’ cable

Package:

1 Soundmagic PL30
Grey flex tips x3 (S, M, L)

Black flex tips x2 (S, L)

Bi-Flange tips x1

Black foam tips x1
1 warranty card

Plastic ear hook pieces
1 carrying pouch

1 cable winder

Warranty: 1 year

*****

SoundMagic PL50

Speaker: 6.4mm balanced armature transducer
Impedance: 55.5ohm +/-15% (@ 1kHz)
Sensitivity: 109 +/-2dB
Frequency Response: 15Hz to 22kHz
Rated Power: 2mW
Max Power: 10mW
Connector: 3.5mm thin right angled plug
Cable Length: 1.2m symmetrical ‘Y’ cable

Package:

1 Soundmagic PL50
Black flex tips x4 (S, M, L, XL)

Black foam tips x3 (S, M, L)

Plastic ear hook pieces
1 warranty card
1 carrying pouch

Warranty: 1 year

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SoundMagic PL30

SoundMagic PL50

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Packaging, Build Quality and Fitting

As you can see from the pictures the packaging is very minimalist and just enough to hold and protect what there is. The PL30 packaging is a little more refined than that of the PL50 with the little pull-out ribbon and tray which I like but I understand that the PL50 packaging is not the final production run, and it and the manual with imperfect grammar will be revised.

I have to say that I am a little confused by the selection of tips that come with both earphones. Not sure why for example the PL30 comes with only one set each of the bi-flange and foam tips. The grey flex tips are missing from the PL50, as are the bi-flanges.

Both come with black foam tips, very similar to the Shure “Olive” tips that are well known. I had a bit of trouble with the set that were pre-inserted on the PL50. They were on so tight that taking them off I managed to damage the tubes! Did not know much about it and just as well the tubes did not break otherwise I would only be bringing you a review for one. Reading around others have found the same issue with a tight fit and foam tips being de-cored and rendered useless. Oddly enough when I tested the S and L sized foam tips they were fine. It’s almost like the pre-inserted pair “shrank in transit”

Apart from that minor mishap I like the minimal packaging, as I hate huge cardboard and plastic monstrosities, which are overkill. The build quality seems quite good. Nice and solid plastic moulding. Did not see anything concerning. The jacks are thin, with the PL50 citing itself to be “iPhone compatible”. I do not have an iPhone to see whether indeed it is fine with the recessed port on the iPhone but hey ho nice to see all angles are being thought of

I have small sized ear canals and managed to get a pretty decent fit with all the small-sized tips on show. One thing I would say is that the inclusion of foamies presents a slight issue because in their nature they insert deeper. If SoundMagic are going in that direction then longer tubes need to be utilised. I found the PL30 with foamies easier to insert. PL50 with foamies and the short chubby tubes required a little fiddling around. Once inserted the PL50 are very low profile. They sit flush against the ear. Which should not be surprising as they are so thin. I love my Westone UM2 for the same quality but the PL50 beats it out in this respect

Both earphones come with optional ear hooks that are simply attached by sliding the cable into the slits. I also found them a little fiddly because they are detachable and so liable to twirl with the cable. Once fitted they added a little security. I can’t say that I find them essential but doing a quick run around the block I do find them to help in that respect. At this point in time I have no idea if they are as equally susceptible to sweat and rain degradation as many other earphones are when not made specifically for sport. It’s an interesting idea and the possibility is there for dedicated ear-hook design and/or one made for sport to be resistant to the elements

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Sound Quality
SoundMagic PL30

Retailing at £30 what kind of sound do you get? I will say this straight off. Since upgrading to IEMs I have never thought much of budget canalphones. I have owned and sold the popular Sennheiser CX300. I regard it as being the best of an average bunch – boomy, flabby bass, weak mids and nonexistent highs. I no longer have the CX300 available for a direct comparison but I will say that the PL30 has set a new benchmark in the attainable sound quality at this price point. It definitely punches above its weight

It has an airy sound which reminds me of the Shure E4C (E4G) I used to own. Vocals and mids shine through. The clarity is surprisingly good. Piano is nice and clear. It cannot escape all the problems prevalent at this price – the soundstage is a little narrow and the sound is not rounded enough. It requires more body behind it

With the foamies there is more presence and you get the best bass response even if it is a touch boomy. The bi-flanges are strange as the sound becomes all echoey and takes on a nasal quality but I required a slightly smaller sized tip so I cannot be sure but it was not for me. The Black tips had a loose fit with the M size being too big. Less echoey but bass light with no presence or excitement. The grey tips were interesting. You sacrificed some of the bass from the foamies but the sound was more intimate. I would say it has the best vocal performance as well

The PL30 has this adjuster on the outside of each earpiece, which adjusts the level of bass. You have two settings; “clear bass” and “deep bass”. I preferred to leave it on clear bass. With the grey tips there was a thicker, deeper bass sound but it seemed to add this sliver of an electronic twang on the edge of notes. Most strange. With the foamies the sound became too boomy for my liking. So a mixed bag. Despite my preference for “clear bass”, one should not be mistaken that the bass is rather weak and subdued – by that I mean in comparison to the sound I know you can attain in portable audio. Once my ears had tuned down from the UM2 and tuned into the signature of the PL30 there is a lot to appreciate. I stand fully by the sentiment that this is the best budget canalphone I have heard. I would not go as far as the best budget headphone as the Sennheiser PX100 still wears that crown but this is not a bad start for the new player in town

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Sound Quality
SoundMagic PL50

SoundMagic’s first balanced armature earphone and its flagship priced at around £50. First off this is not going to be the same review. I was not happy with the fit of any of the tips except the small sized foamies. It has a different tube to the PL30 and so I was not going to be able to try the grey tips. Owing to mine and the experiences of a few people, you need to be careful with these because SoundMagic use a different sized tube, whereas for example people routinely swap Shure, Westone and Comply tips around

There was still a little of the airiness from the PL30 but after that the PL50 does not share many qualities with its younger sibling. No bass adjustment setting or anything else. Choose your tips and that’s it.

The sound is fuller and has more body behind it. Just an altogether rounder sound because there is some substance there holding everything together. You also get the bass missing from the PL30. Everything about it is just better like the bass which is tighter and there is more control. I can detect those vibrations from bass notes. There is more presence and volume when it is intended to fill out the sound like on The Prodigy’s Breathe.

I have listened and listened again and again some more to determine this. The vocals and mids are placed closer to the ear and slightly forward. There is a crisper and smoother sound but because of the placement elements in the background can get lost and a little washy. I feel that the top end carries an edge of tininess and not being fleshed out. So the separation is lacking. The PL50 is definitely a step up from the PL30 as the crispness of piano and vocals come through more prominently but there is room for improvement. All in all though it addresses the primary faults of the PL30 at a strong price point. And that is something worth remembering always. I have read the sound being described as close to the UM2. I’m not sure I would be so lyrical with the description as the UM2 is still a superior IEM but it costs hell of a lot more. £50 is very competitive and you are certainly getting something for your money

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Miscellaneous and Final Thoughts

There is plenty here to build on. The PL30 and PL50 fit seamlessly into a distinct and competitive marketplace. The packaging is great. You get a very nice bag that is rather akin to the zipped bags Shure and Westone give you. That you even get a nice storage bag with the £30 PL30 when typically the most you can expect is a cheap felt drawstring bag is fantastic. I hope that they revise the PL50 packaging as I am told will happen and tweak it a little. And provide a cable winder that was included with the PL30 (not that I think it is important)

There are things that can change. The inclusion of the foamies needs to be re-examined because you do need a longer tube as I said. Given the tips that come with the PL30, the PL50 seems a little light in that department. It’s a real pick ‘n’ mix bag that needs tightening up. Both are strong offerings at the budget end of the market but the opportunity is there to expand with a high-end IEM

So all in all you get low profile earphones in minimal packaging. There is no flash or big name recognition. But the sound pleasantly surprises and there is nothing minimal to be found in that respect

[HiFi Headphones]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review of these two SoundMAGIC earphones. Good photos of the earphones and included accessories also.

We've been trying to get the word out about SoundMAGIC earphones for the last couple of months. You do get a lot for your money and they are well worth considering as an alternative to the usual suspects, e.g. Sennheiser CX300 II, Shure SE110, Klipsch Image S4, etc.

I personally feel the build quality is as good as many of the big name brands. I was pleasantly surprised by how robustly made they are.