The award winning E10 earphones from SoundMAGIC have turned a lot of heads in recent times. With their clean styling, tough construction and incredible price point, find out what we think about these intriguing earphones in our full SoundMAGIC E10 review.
SoundMAGIC have virtually appeared out of nowhere over the last few years and have started producing some amazing quality earphones at a very low price point. The company was founded in 2005, and then registered the SoundMAGIC trademark brand in 2009 – so they are still quite young compared to some of the other better known brands.
Since this review was published, we have reviewed the SoundMAGIC E10S & would recommend that over the original E10. You can jump straight to it here: SoundMAGIC E10S review
Solid Construction
The packaging is simply but nicely presented, with the box being made from high quality materials. Inside everything is well packed and protected – however we did find that one of the silicon ear adaptors had been flattened. This has since partly regained its shape and is usable – but given the number of included adaptors this didn’t present any problems anyway.
The earpieces themselves are machined from a single solid piece of aluminium which then comes anodized in a range of vibrant colours with matching cable for you to choose from. This construction makes the earpieces incredibly tough & helps to provide the speakers with a very solid platform to perform from. Even the junction where the cable splits is given a metal housing ensuring that this often overlooked weak spot is built to withstand rugged daily use.
The provided cable clip will help prevent the earphones from being pulled out when in use and the provided hard case is a handy way to keep them safe and tangle free when you’re not using them.
Custom Fit
The fit of a pair of sound isolating in ear headphones is a critical element in how good they sound. The SoundMagic E10 earphones provide not just your usual 3 sets of ear adaptors (small, medium & large), but an impressive 7 pairs! This range of fitting means that you are pretty much guaranteed to get fantastic, comfortable fit.
This great fit improves sound isolation, meaning that less external noise can be heard while they are inserted in your ear, and it also plays a big part in how they perform.
Audio Quality
Building on the foundation that the solid construction and great fit provide, the quality of sound is really very good indeed. The E10 earphones have a plentiful, rich bottom end with quite a serious weight to it. The treble is light an airy creating a large sense of space. The mids are clear and detailed – although perhaps a little thin sounding. With the mids set like this is helps vocals stand out clearly and gives the overall sound character more of a Hi-Fi feel. The overall balance is very good and they provide plenty of detail. They also pack plenty of volume – perhaps a bit more than other similar in ear headphones from other manufacturers. The audio detail that these provide, is frankly stunning at this price – no other earphones in this price bracket can compete on the same level. I’d suggest taking a look at some of the many 5 star customer reviews on Amazon to see that we are not alone in thinking how good they are.
Award Winning
The E10 earphones from SoundMAGIC have caught the attention of the press as well. The most notable award coming from What Hi-Fi, winning the sound and vision 2012 award for best in-ear headphones under £40. They were also hi-lighted as Stuff magazines best buy earphones of 2013 in their Christmas round up issue. They have caught a lot of interest, and in some cases, surprised a lot of people is just how good they really are. A lot of other manufacturers will be looking at the E10 earphones and working out what they can do to compete with them.
SoundMAGIC E10 Review Conclusion
In case you didn’t get the idea, we think that the SoundMAGIC E10 earphones are good….really very good. The overall finish is very high with all the components coming together in a very nicely styled product. Are only minor comment would be the type of cable that they’ve used – we’d prefer something slightly softer, but that’s quite a harsh criticism. They may not be as pretty as some of the much more expensive sets on the market, but they sound damn near as good. For the price you simply can’t go wrong.
Pros:
- Great sound and audio clarity
- Price
- 7 sets of ear adaptors
- Nice storage case
Cons:
- Mid range lacks a little punch
- The stiff cable can tangle in storage
Review Summary:
Sound - good stereo image, plenty of detail with good bass. Mids could be more natural.
Design - overall design is ok, doesn't have the same attention to detail as some other earphones in the same price bracket.
Quality - ok, cable could be better. Overall construction is very tough - attention to details could be better. Very nice storage case.
Value - while there are other options in this price bracket, they do still provide good value for money.
Listening Notes:
Overall the sound is very good. After listening to many different genres of music we did find that a little EQ* helped make them sound even better:
- Bass: +2
- 400Hz: -1
- 1k: +1
- 2.5k: +2
- 6k: +1
- 16k: -1
These EQ settings smoothed out the more Hi-Fi smiley face frequency curve that the E10 earphones have. Some people may find the bass is fine without any extra boost - but this small addition really helped bring a huge depth to the overall sound.
*Tests done using a Sony Xperia Z and Google Play Music as the audio source. Quoted Eq settings may not suit all devices.
Model | Manufacturer | RRP (£) | Available Colours | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
E10 | SoundMAGIC | 29.99 | 4 |
Just got a pair and I am really happy with them. The thin mid-range is easily compensated for by using an EQ and boosting the 250hz to 1khz range. What really shocks me is when I can now hear details in a song I’ve listened to for even years and never picked up (even though I have owned other high quality headphones and earbuds before).
The level of detail is quite amazing – as it is on many of the earphones in the same price bracket. I still keep hearing new things all the time on tracks that I have listened to dozens of times.
Glad you like them!
I thought these were really tinny; couldn’t get on with them. However once I had the fit sorted it was like someone had flicked a switch, full frequency of sounds from lows to highs really impressive, sound is just superb. I hear things in songs I’ve listened to for years that I’ve never noticed before on a high end hi-fi.
If they don’t sound right, make sure they are jammed in your ears properly. 🙂
Fit is so important – many people overlook it and think that because they fits in their ears, that is good enough.
Its always worth trying all the sizes of adaptors & how you put them in your ears. The difference in audio quality can be huge!
Have to echo what has been said already – the fit is HUGELY important. Experiment with the ear adaptors to find the best fit, and don’t be afraid to place them down your ears as much as possible with gentle persuasion (you will develop your own technique).
You will then experience these headphones as they are meant to be heard!
Bought these earphones for Christmas. Sound quality was good until they broke down few days ago so now I only hear sound on the right side. Will go back to beats since they last much longer…
I am using HTC desire 820 phone . I m quite disappointed with the earphone company has provided. I wanna purchage new headset but I m bit confused between 2 one is SoundMagic es 10 and other one is Jbl synchros e 10. Please suggest me which one would be better for my mobile. You can suggest from any other company within same price range. I prefer earphone with awesome bass and cristal clear sound quality.. Thanks in advance…
Hi, I would suggest looking at the SoundMAGIC E10S over the regular E10 as they have a much better sound overall – including a crisper top end. You should also take a look at the Skullcandy 50/50 2.0 as well as they also have a great crispness to them (they’re also great for gaming).
I haven’t personally tried the JBL’s so I can’t really comment on those.
How to tell if they are original?
Hi,
Every set of SoundMAGIC earphones that I have received, have a sticker on the side of the box.
The sticker tells you to visit the SoundMAGIC website – you then scratch off part of the sticker to reveal a number which you can then enter on their website to validate that they are indeed a genuine product.