SoundMAGIC PL-30 Review #1

[pros1n]

Hi, well, you may or may not know me but this is my first review on the SoundMAGIC PL-30.
I purposely put 1 in front because samueljesusfreak will love to post his own review of the SoundMAGIC PL-30.

If your interested in purchasing these earphones, here are safe links to where you can get them:
Free International shipping/Cheap/Fastest/: http://www.focalprice.com/Genuine_So...074B_6414.html
Free International shipping/Cheapest/Slow/Bonus Fiio E3: http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.p...roducts_id=258

Basic specs:
Type: Stereo Ear Plug
Driver Unit: 9mm
Sensitivity:102+/-3dB/mW at 1KHz
Impedance: 12∩
frequency Response: 20Hz~22KHz
Rated Power:2mW
Max Power: 20mW
Plug: Gold plated 3.5mm headphone jack
Weight: 10g
Driver: Dynamic

Accessory List:
Earphones
Winder
Handy Bag
2X L,M,S Ear tips, 1 pair of foamy and a pair of double Flange tips.
Earphone guider (not sure how to say it)
Warranty Card
Manual

Build Quality/Design:
When I first plucked the earphones out of the box, I've noticed that the exterior design on my black soundmagics were quite sturdy. It is covered up with rubber and a metal ring around them. The bass knob is one of the things where the quality isn't so great. It feels as if when turned, it will snap off easily. They seem to have a well built cable though.

The cables were meant for an over the ear design, which really caught my attention into buying them. Over the ear design makes it almost a non microphonic earphone. Left and right is indicated by blue for left and red for right.Come to a think of it, the over ear design isn't "built" that way. I find using the earphone cable guider to be useful.

Sound Quality: *UPDATED*
The SoundMAGIC is not to be commented right out of the box. This IEM needs a good 72 hour burn-in to be really judged at. When I first opened the SoundMAGICs and listened to them, they were on par with my jvc air cushions, but with some burn-in, I find the mids are not recessed like the jvc air cushions are and the highs were a lot more refined. JVC air cushions had more boomy bass than the SoundMAGICs where warm bass was found. Comparing these earphones to my knowledge and experiences from my Marshmallows, Air Cushions and my CX300, I find that my other earphones aren't even close to be on par with the SoundMAGIC PL-30. When I went to my friend's house and listened to his almighty SHURE SE530s I found that my SoundMAGICS had about the same level of mids and bass, but not as much highs. From my perspectives, I find the SoundMAGICs a very comfortable, and a somewhat high quality earphone.

May 10, 09: After 2 months of experience, I have noticed that the soft silicon layers are slowly peeling off leaving the bare plastic underneath the layers, but I can still live with it. For the sound quality, the bass is very warm and smooth. Much improved mids, and good highs. The earphones delivered details that I have never realized before! Will be reordering a Fiio amp in the next week or 2.

June 2, 09: Received the FiiO amp and I must say that it really does not do much. It gives it more juice and texture, but not so much that it makes you go "Wow!" It's more of a "That's alright" amp. When you flick on the bass switch, you will hear a fuller and warmer sound. In conclusion, the amp doesn't really help it unless you need it for other devices that can't drive 12Ohm IEMs (I highly doubt that your MP3 player can not drive this.)
Pros:
- Bliss mids and acceptable highs
- Well packed with accessories (2X L,M,S tips)
- Foam tips and double flange tips comes in handy
- Bass knob
- Extremely comfortable (better than JVC Air Cushion's comfort level)
- 1 year warranty
- Over the ear design
- Good and durable case for my Clip and earphones. (Can be a con)
- No microphonics with over the ear design

Cons:
- Built quality is not at top notch.
- Bass knob feels easy to break
- Even with bass knob, bass is not as boomy like my other IEMs. (Maybe I've experienced too much bass driven earphones. Who knows.)

Bottom Line:
SoundMAGICs are not to be impressed by without any burn-in. After many hours of burn-in, it has almost come to a conclusion with warm Bass, textured midrange and rounded highs. For $20, it truly is a budget-fi. Just don't expect it to be the best.

Tips: Burning-in the earphones with pink noise is highly recommended. It should nicely balance out your earphones/headphones in a matter of time. Here's a pretty good place to download the pink noise: http://www.audiocheck.net/testtones_pinknoise.php Just Click on the circle with green surroundings and it will automatically let you download the file.

Pictures:
This was taken before I listened to it.