Soundmagic E10C In-Ear Isolating Earphones with Mic, High-Performance Sound, Deep Bass, Noise Isolation, Durable Metal Build, Compatible with iPhone, Android, PC,Tablet - Black/Gold

Sound quality is on par with the more expensive headphones and then some. Buy.

SoundMAGIC, the Chinese firm founded in 2005, have had a quick rise to fame producing some amazing quality earphones at low eye catching prices. Having registered their trademark "SoundMAGIC" in 2006, their E10s have come to the attention of many, standing out amongst the other models they make, with recognition and awards flooding from leading independent reviewers of sound and vision acknowledging their achievements...Stuff magazine 5 Stars award, What Hi-Fi best in-ears under £40 for 2011, 2012,2013 and best in-ears under £50 for 2014 consecutively... Guess they like them.Hopefully we agree, the most important points when considering purchasing headphones are below.To start though, let me point out that the difference between the new and old model E10s is the cable design only for which I explain in greater deal below. I do believe the sound is that bit better on the new E10s, as well the build quality too here seems better, though that's my own opinion and perhaps subjective... SoundMAGIC have only confirmed details over the new cable design. So, The Drivers, Housing shells and the build quality generally are identical to the older model.Cost: 5/5No need to go into detail here... What your getting at this price tag is simply too good to ignore.Sound quality: 5/5.Top marks here for both E10 models, Impedance on these are 16 ohms and sensitivity is 100db, the high and low mix here is perfect.Bass is weighty and tight, mids are detailed and clear, treble is clean, crisp and this is truly wonderful to find on IEMs at this price range.Overall they are tremendously well-balanced and clear, the spaciousness they produce is really fantastic. They keep up with the changing pace producing solid, precise leading edges and controlling the different beats and rhythms effortlessly.One minor problem would be at truly high volume levels it does all get a little harsh and sharp, expected maybe, not really an issue and i would advise against such levels of loudness... unless being stone deaf appeals to you in the near future.Build quality: 4.8/5 (for the original E10s 3.9/5).The build quality of the new E10s are amazing, what your getting for this price is astounding, solid and tough from the metal driver house shells to the cable, the metal splitter to the gold plated 3.5mm jack connection, they all come with a premium feel expected from more costly IEMs... Truly amazing value for money.(The order E10s, though just as well made and strong without sounding like a contradiction, did a little poorly in the scoring above due to an uncommon yet known fault mine suffered, the left driver housing on the left side came loose little over a year from purchase, the right side slowly followed. Not a giant issue as re-gluing was easy but annoying and though not a common fault, With only just over a years solid use to that point, for me really isn't good enough.The sound quality they gave throughout this time however never diminished).Accessaries: 4/5Pretty standard really but still quality, a leather synthetic drawstring pouch (some do seem to come with a semi rigid case) that can accommodate your spare tips and IEMs with plenty of space left, which is good as there's plenty of silicone tips to play with here to get the right ear canal fit. There's no mic ability on these (E10M have that ability but on the older cable design) which would of been nice and I would of preferred a hard shell case with a zip, really though, for the price that's paid what more would you want or expect.General feeling and use: 4.9/5I've owned the old E10s and the new tweaked look E10s combined for nearly 3years now and I'm absolutely convinced I made the right decision.There price sat really well with me and I haven't been let down by there quality or durability (older E10s too, up to a point obviously) whether I've been out walking, cycling or traveling they have seen the journey through. They are comfortable to wear with a premium build, easy on the ears and unencumbered (Particularly when you find the perfect fitting silicone ear tips from out of the bunch) and they have the right amount of weight lending to them feeling secure. They look rather inconspicuous, not showy.The new twisted cable design, slightly stiffer then the older model but not annoyingly so, was created to prevent cable tangle and fade and works really well at achieving this, the quality is excellent and feels much more wear resistant then the previous E10 design did.Again, at this price point what more could you want... They look, feel and most importantly sound amazing... I was and still am sold.I would certainly have no hesitation in suggesting the purchase of the new twisted cable design E10s absolutely.As for the older model, they were brilliant till they wasn't, the sound quality remained true and I'm sure my issues suffered with them was just bad luck on my part, but worth considering and remembering as many sites sell these ones but the picture advertised is of the new... Know what your buying.My opinion: the E10s are a truly great all rounder, no other earphones, certainly in this price bracket I've found come close to competing on this level... And they do punch above there weight here.You will not regret it, purchasing these at this price is a no brainer.For sheer quality and sound overall it simply has to be.... Brilliant E10s!

Owned these for 5+ years. The sound quality exceeds their price and has a very neutral response with perhaps a touch more bass.Noise cancellation is next to non-existent but the ear piece itself (not the tips) is a great shape as it's so small it can fit any ear type. The in line buttons are very responsive with a satisfying click.However, the braided/plastic twisted cable has lost its flexibility and over time become brittle and led to it snapping in a few places (see photos). They still work but obviously getting crumblier

First, I'm not a big user of earphones, so bear that in mind with my comments. I'm also a very late adopter of mobile technology. I eventually realised that I needed earphones to make better use of my recently acquired smart phone and I've always thought the 'speakers' on my iPad mini were tinny beyond belief. So I searched for recommendations on the web and these earphones were praised everywhere. Some reviews even suggested you'd have to spend 3-figure sums to get better sound. So I took the plunge.APPEARANCE: They do look good. I know that shouldn't be a major factor, but the packaging, presentation and the 'phones themselves all contributed to a value-for-money feeling. Here they're described as 'silver/black', but there's no silver visible anywhere - they're a gray/black combination. Personally I find it attractive.CONTENT: At this price I think I expected to receive a pair of earphones and nothing else. I was surprised, pleasantly so, to see what else was provided. There's a really tidy hard-shell storage case. It's about 2.5" square - jet-black with a bright red zip closure all the way round the middle. Inside, each half-shell has a mesh net pocket extending full-width and about half-way up its open height. Looks well constructed and very useful.In one of the mesh pockets was a small SoundMAGIC spring-clip, presumably for attaching the earphone cable to a collar or other item of clothing.In the other was a plastic bag with the writing"SoundMAGIC Ear hook Comfortable rubber earhooks for cable back to ear"Through the plastic I could see what turned out to be 6 different pairs of rubber tips for the earphones (different sizes and shapes) and what looked like a small pair of bent plastic rods. I assumed they were the 'earhooks'.Surprise! When I emptied the bag, I got rubber tips, but it turned out the earhooks were actually an image printed on the clear plastic bag. Very strange. I still can't explain this. Nevertheless the different sized tips have provided me with a really comfortable fit, and I don't feel like I need any hooks or clips to keep them in place.SOUND: The earphones themselves are surprisingly, to me, very good indeed. Since I got them I have listened to classical and jazz music, solo instruments and large ensembles, and the 'phones are genuinely very pleasing and satisfying. However, the cable is incredibly noisy! I don't know if this is a characteristic of all earphones of this type or only these. When I move around, or even just turn my head, the cable brushing against my clothes or head generates thumps and rumbles that are incredibly distracting. To get some idea of what I'm talking about and see if your own 'phones have the same issue try this test: pinch the cable at any point really tightly with one hand, using your thumb and one or two forefingers; now, using the other hand, flick the cable with your forefinger above where you've pinched it and again below where you've pinched it. I find these two conditions massively different. The 'below' flick causes no problems - all the cable vibrations and noise get trapped and damped out by my pinched thumb and fingers. But the 'above' flick produces a massive thump in my ears as all the cable noise is transmitted straight to me ears. It's as if the cables were acting as a microphone. It may be, but it's not clear, that this is exactly why the spring-clip is provided - to anchor the cable as close to your head as possible.SUMMARY: Build, appearance, extras, basic sound quality, all seem 'good' verging on the 'excellent'. But until I've resolved this cable noise I can't say this will be my preferred method of listening. I'm happy to persevere because the positive impressions of everything else in this purchase make me feel there has to be a way around it.

I've been going through dozens of different earphones trying to find the absolute best available now that my favourites broke recently.The SoundMAGIC E10C came out near the top of my tests and really offer decent sound. They are however let down by their cheap and thin tips. They come with additional tips of various sizes but they're all cheap and thin and don't hold shape in the ear which means sound is lost and therefore don't sound great.If I cover my ears when wearing them, they sound much better so with some better tips that fit more snuggly in the ear and hold shape I feel that these would be much better.At the price these are at they should have better quality tips. Spending £40 only to need to go out and buy higher-quality tips is pretty crazy. Also, the cable has no shielding or protection so I can see them breaking fairly quickly and getting interference more easily than others.I also got some 1MORE Piston Classic earphones which look very similar to these and are half the price. They also have great audio quality but have better quality tips so I've ranked them higher than these.