This is a Review of SoundMagic E80 in-ear headphones. Available on http://www.miccastore.com/soundmagic-e80-noise-isolating-inear-headphones-p-138.html and for those outside of US on http://penonaudio.com/SoundMAGIC-E80. More info could be found on their original website in this reference: http://www.soundmagic.com.cn/cn/Upload/E80S_B.jpg
When the original SoundMagic E10 was released almost 4 years ago, they shocked everybody with their incredible price/performance ratio. Years later and with a number of rewards under their belt, they still hold their own in sound and build quality when compared to other more expensive IEMs. It looks like guys at SoundMagic haven’t been sitting still and decided to expand their lineup of more fun-tuned IEMs with a new Reference Series. I just had a chance to review their flagship E80 model from this collection, and here is what I found.
There are a lot of similarities in packaging with their original E10. It arrived in the same compact box with a cover image of E80, brief but accurate summary of a sound description and a design bullet points, a detailed tech spec, and a clear display window on the back with headphones showing right through it – a very efficient presentation without any unnecessary magnetic flip cover or larger than needed box.
Unboxing.
Without wasting a square inch of the space, SoundMagic packed the box very efficiently with a foam cutout piece holding E80 IEMs and a spacious hard case holding all the eartips. Though nothing can beat Brainwavz IEM cases, I found SoundMagic square IEM case with pockets on each side to be my 2nd favorite. As a matter of fact, it’s spacious enough to hold comfortably both E10 and E80 where I have both of them now, and red zipper accent makes it stand out with red design of E-series IEMs. Keep in mind, other finish colors might be available soon, but hasn’t been released yet.
In addition to a cable clip, which you may or may not use and I do appreciate it being included separately rather than attached, there is also a plethora of included eartips. You have 3 pairs of silicone S/M/L with narrow bore opening, 3 pairs of silicone S/M/L with wide bore opening, a pair of large double-flange tip, and 3 pairs of genuine Comply Foam eartips in S/M/L. Though other silicone tips are generic, 3 pairs of Comply Foam tips have a $15 value you are getting along with a quality hard shell zippered cases.
Accessories.
As you can see, I already mentioned a few times the value E80 brings to the table in terms of its pricing, accessories, and also a build quality with all metal construction. Everything from slim metal housing of gold plated 270deg headphone plug with a nice rubbery strain relief, to a slim cylindrical metal y-splitter with a great strain relief and a tight rubber chin-slider, and going up to metal barrel shells with a molded cap piece on the back flowing into a strain relief – all this speaks highly of a durable build quality.
I like 270deg angled headphone connectors since they are perfect when used with a phone or a DAP in your pocket. Cable is very similar to E10 with a twisted wire which is shrink-wrapped in a tight rubbery shielding. Cable has some microphonics effect, also a little springy, and yet still soft enough for an easy storage management. I have seen a lot worse stiff wires, so this one is not that bad in comparison.
Earpieces are relatively small with a smooth rounded short barrel shape and rather unique wire attachment on the back. Though I’m more used to a traditional wire connection from the bottom of the shell, SoundMagic wire attachment felt confident. There is a vent at the base of the nozzle, and L/R marking at the bottom of the shell. A small font in white color with a circle around it makes it a bit hard to read which is important considering symmetrical design, so I would like to see a better ID, perhaps making a Left side dot-bump on a strain relief a little bit bigger.
Sound isolation is controlled by eartip selection, and you can get a decent level with a right seal. Due to my wide and shallow inner ear, I found the best sound balance using UE900 eartips. It seems that narrow boar stock tips and wide boar spiral dots didn’t provide a good enough balance between low end and treble, while using UE tips did the trick.
Design details.
Considering this E80 model is part of a new SoundMagic Reference Series, I’m sure a lot of you are curious to find out how they sound. E80 has a neutral revealing bright sound with a touch of mid-forward signature. I found it to have an excellent low end and treble extension, where it's all about quality rather than quantity, and a nice airy soundstage with a good level of depth. Imaging is not exactly 3D, but it still has a good positioning of instruments thanks to an excellent separation of sounds with a decent layering effect between instruments and vocals.
I find their low end to be a touch north of neutral, but it's not boosted or exaggerated. Very natural balance between intelligent sub-bass rumble (only comes out to play when called upon) and a tight mid-bass punch. There is no spillage into lower mids, bass is under control, and in perfect harmony with the rest of the spectrum.
Lower mids are not too thin or too thick, with a bit of warmth that gives sound a convincing natural body. Upper mids are a bit forward, bright and detailed, and never crossing analytical threshold or becoming harsh. Vocals sound bright and clear, a bit less organic in comparison to a slew of warm multi-BA driver IEMs I have been listening to lately, but it still smooth, never becoming harsh or grainy.
Treble has an excellent extension with a bright crisp sound. I'm very cautious using “bright” in describing treble because it always leads to sibilance, but in here SoundMagic managed to tune their treble without crossing that sibilance threshold, while still remaining bright, crisp, and airy.
I thought at first RE400 and B3 Pro I would be an interesting comparison due to their neutral and warmish nature, but I felt that E80 was in slightly different category with its brighter signature. Here are some of the comparisons.
E80 vs E10 - E10 mid-bass punch is stronger and a lot faster, mids a more recessed and not as smooth and organic as E80, treble is very similar and so does a soundstage.
E80 vs KC06A - KC has a little more exaggerate bass, elevated quantity of sub-bass and mid-bass, a very similar lower mids, while E80 upper mids are a little smoother, and also both have a similar treble. It will probably sound closer to KC06, due to lower bass quantity, but I still find E80 to be smoother and more transparent.
E80 vs UE600 – both have a very similar low end, but 600 mids are more upfront, making their signature a bit more mid-centric vs E80 being more neutral and balanced, and also 600 treble doesn't have as good extension as E80. E80 mids are a bit smoother, and also it has less background hissing.
E80 vs VSD3 - VSD3 has stronger mid-bass punch, more quantity for sure; upper mids are a bit more upfront being brighter and harsher, while E80 mids are more neutral and smoother in comparison. Also, VSD3 treble is not as extended as E80.
E80 vs IM50 - IM50 has a stronger and faster mid-bass punch and deeper sub-bass, warmer mid, and having treble extension which doesn’t quite reaches E80 level.
Conclusion.
I typically stir away from neutral sound that is tuned toward bright signature because I’m “allergic” to analytical harsh sound. Here I believe SoundMagic hit a sweet spot with E80 that "magically" draws you right into its "sound" filled with revealing details without any exaggerated peaks. Sound is neutral, but it’s not flat-neutral, and actually very engaging. To be honest, I was a big worried when I read “reference” series name, thinking it will have a bright analytical signature. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with a sound that is easy on your ears, gives you plenty of revealing details, even has a touch of a fun bass, and still great for an extended listening period without causing ear fatigue. Definitely recommend this one!
When the original SoundMagic E10 was released almost 4 years ago, they shocked everybody with their incredible price/performance ratio. Years later and with a number of rewards under their belt, they still hold their own in sound and build quality when compared to other more expensive IEMs. It looks like guys at SoundMagic haven’t been sitting still and decided to expand their lineup of more fun-tuned IEMs with a new Reference Series. I just had a chance to review their flagship E80 model from this collection, and here is what I found.
There are a lot of similarities in packaging with their original E10. It arrived in the same compact box with a cover image of E80, brief but accurate summary of a sound description and a design bullet points, a detailed tech spec, and a clear display window on the back with headphones showing right through it – a very efficient presentation without any unnecessary magnetic flip cover or larger than needed box.
Unboxing.
Without wasting a square inch of the space, SoundMagic packed the box very efficiently with a foam cutout piece holding E80 IEMs and a spacious hard case holding all the eartips. Though nothing can beat Brainwavz IEM cases, I found SoundMagic square IEM case with pockets on each side to be my 2nd favorite. As a matter of fact, it’s spacious enough to hold comfortably both E10 and E80 where I have both of them now, and red zipper accent makes it stand out with red design of E-series IEMs. Keep in mind, other finish colors might be available soon, but hasn’t been released yet.
In addition to a cable clip, which you may or may not use and I do appreciate it being included separately rather than attached, there is also a plethora of included eartips. You have 3 pairs of silicone S/M/L with narrow bore opening, 3 pairs of silicone S/M/L with wide bore opening, a pair of large double-flange tip, and 3 pairs of genuine Comply Foam eartips in S/M/L. Though other silicone tips are generic, 3 pairs of Comply Foam tips have a $15 value you are getting along with a quality hard shell zippered cases.
Accessories.
As you can see, I already mentioned a few times the value E80 brings to the table in terms of its pricing, accessories, and also a build quality with all metal construction. Everything from slim metal housing of gold plated 270deg headphone plug with a nice rubbery strain relief, to a slim cylindrical metal y-splitter with a great strain relief and a tight rubber chin-slider, and going up to metal barrel shells with a molded cap piece on the back flowing into a strain relief – all this speaks highly of a durable build quality.
I like 270deg angled headphone connectors since they are perfect when used with a phone or a DAP in your pocket. Cable is very similar to E10 with a twisted wire which is shrink-wrapped in a tight rubbery shielding. Cable has some microphonics effect, also a little springy, and yet still soft enough for an easy storage management. I have seen a lot worse stiff wires, so this one is not that bad in comparison.
Earpieces are relatively small with a smooth rounded short barrel shape and rather unique wire attachment on the back. Though I’m more used to a traditional wire connection from the bottom of the shell, SoundMagic wire attachment felt confident. There is a vent at the base of the nozzle, and L/R marking at the bottom of the shell. A small font in white color with a circle around it makes it a bit hard to read which is important considering symmetrical design, so I would like to see a better ID, perhaps making a Left side dot-bump on a strain relief a little bit bigger.
Sound isolation is controlled by eartip selection, and you can get a decent level with a right seal. Due to my wide and shallow inner ear, I found the best sound balance using UE900 eartips. It seems that narrow boar stock tips and wide boar spiral dots didn’t provide a good enough balance between low end and treble, while using UE tips did the trick.
Design details.
Considering this E80 model is part of a new SoundMagic Reference Series, I’m sure a lot of you are curious to find out how they sound. E80 has a neutral revealing bright sound with a touch of mid-forward signature. I found it to have an excellent low end and treble extension, where it's all about quality rather than quantity, and a nice airy soundstage with a good level of depth. Imaging is not exactly 3D, but it still has a good positioning of instruments thanks to an excellent separation of sounds with a decent layering effect between instruments and vocals.
I find their low end to be a touch north of neutral, but it's not boosted or exaggerated. Very natural balance between intelligent sub-bass rumble (only comes out to play when called upon) and a tight mid-bass punch. There is no spillage into lower mids, bass is under control, and in perfect harmony with the rest of the spectrum.
Lower mids are not too thin or too thick, with a bit of warmth that gives sound a convincing natural body. Upper mids are a bit forward, bright and detailed, and never crossing analytical threshold or becoming harsh. Vocals sound bright and clear, a bit less organic in comparison to a slew of warm multi-BA driver IEMs I have been listening to lately, but it still smooth, never becoming harsh or grainy.
Treble has an excellent extension with a bright crisp sound. I'm very cautious using “bright” in describing treble because it always leads to sibilance, but in here SoundMagic managed to tune their treble without crossing that sibilance threshold, while still remaining bright, crisp, and airy.
I thought at first RE400 and B3 Pro I would be an interesting comparison due to their neutral and warmish nature, but I felt that E80 was in slightly different category with its brighter signature. Here are some of the comparisons.
E80 vs E10 - E10 mid-bass punch is stronger and a lot faster, mids a more recessed and not as smooth and organic as E80, treble is very similar and so does a soundstage.
E80 vs KC06A - KC has a little more exaggerate bass, elevated quantity of sub-bass and mid-bass, a very similar lower mids, while E80 upper mids are a little smoother, and also both have a similar treble. It will probably sound closer to KC06, due to lower bass quantity, but I still find E80 to be smoother and more transparent.
E80 vs UE600 – both have a very similar low end, but 600 mids are more upfront, making their signature a bit more mid-centric vs E80 being more neutral and balanced, and also 600 treble doesn't have as good extension as E80. E80 mids are a bit smoother, and also it has less background hissing.
E80 vs VSD3 - VSD3 has stronger mid-bass punch, more quantity for sure; upper mids are a bit more upfront being brighter and harsher, while E80 mids are more neutral and smoother in comparison. Also, VSD3 treble is not as extended as E80.
E80 vs IM50 - IM50 has a stronger and faster mid-bass punch and deeper sub-bass, warmer mid, and having treble extension which doesn’t quite reaches E80 level.
Conclusion.
I typically stir away from neutral sound that is tuned toward bright signature because I’m “allergic” to analytical harsh sound. Here I believe SoundMagic hit a sweet spot with E80 that "magically" draws you right into its "sound" filled with revealing details without any exaggerated peaks. Sound is neutral, but it’s not flat-neutral, and actually very engaging. To be honest, I was a big worried when I read “reference” series name, thinking it will have a bright analytical signature. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with a sound that is easy on your ears, gives you plenty of revealing details, even has a touch of a fun bass, and still great for an extended listening period without causing ear fatigue. Definitely recommend this one!
