Bro,

Can we COD tonight??
I read throught the comments but still cant decide which one suits me..

Thus i prefer to test it 1st before i buy 1.

Im interested to know more about PL11, PL31 and PL30 ?

can we meet somewhere, dont worry if im not satisfy with the sound, ill pay ur travelling fee.. hows that..

where are you staying.. i stay at kota damansara..

Hi everybody,

I have received my earphone during COD yesterday. I tested PL-11, MP-21, PL-30 and also PL-50. Before i go further, i would like to thank seller for being patient. I tested all earphone and took so long to decide. He just sit there and play with his PDA

Disclaimer 1st, this review is what i experienced using my Creative ZEN MX. The sound quality and loudness produced by this deviced might different from others. My review is mainly for rough guidance only, thus it is advisable to go and test the earphone yourself prior to any buying. Afterall, different people different preferences.

I got 1 Ultimate Ear SF Pro 5 earphone and also Westone UM1 earphone, but of course i will not compare Sound Magic Series with them. However, having read so much good review, i put my expectation bar a bit high before i started the testing

So, here goes my review...



PL-11
1st earphone i tested yesterday. My 1st impression was, by looking at its soft cable and small earpice, i really thought this is out of my comparison. Until i get it plugged in my canal, and wow.. i was a bit surprised that this cheap-look earphone can actually pass my passing mark. The bass projected from this earphone is really something. The bass produced is very loud, louder than Creative EP-30 or Sennheiser CX-300, if i may say, and for that i need to set my 'bass boost' off. Whilst i think the bass loudness is there, i still think Sound Magic should improve the bass quality. But nonetheless, i really enjoy the bass even though i play it at low volume (which most of moderate earphone failed to give).

I terms of sound balance, i have to agree with most of forumers comments, that the low-mid-high balance is not there, definitely not its selling point. But, if you really enjoy high bass music, for RM60 i will not hesitate to recommend this earphone for you.

Pros: RM60 for the sound it can deliver. Bass at low volume
Cons: Too much bass is not convenience for a long listening.


PL-21
At first, seller did not have a PL-21 earphone, thus he asked me to test MP-21 because from the understanding, MP-21 and PL-21 is using the same driver, the only different is the fact that MP-21 is equipped with mic.
However, at the end of our deal, he opened a new box to let me test the earphone (thanks for that!).

Erm.. I was under the impression that PL-21 will perform better than PL-11. But, when i tested the earphone, i was wondering, rather than dissapointed, as why i cant hardly notice that 'better' feeling. Even when in turned on the bass booster, the bass is still not a kind of 'blasting' bass. Im not very sure, is it because of the newly opened item (under burning) or is it my player problem, but i personally did not enjoy the bass loudness. However, on the other side, i have a feeling that Sound Magic has somehow improve the bass quality, and not to mention, the sound balance between low-mid-high is satisfactory.

Dont get me wrong, it is not that this earphone isnt decent enough, in fact its quality is a bit (just a bit) better than PL-11. Its just that, i think because of the balancing, the bass feeling lost somewhere along the way. The 'wow' feeling wasnt there and i somehow felt like the different between PL-21 and PL-11 do not worth an additional RM20.

I really hope i can test PL-21 that already undergone a burning-in process one day. I know it did not deliver its sound at its best performance yesterday, so to be fair, i will not compare it with other earphone. I, however have a feeling, that this earphone is slightly better than PL-11 in views of quality and balance, but until i really experience it myself, i will neither give any credit nor recommendation to this earphone.. not at this moment at least.

Pros: Slightly better than PL-11 in terms of sound balance.
Cons: Because of the balance, it lack of bass (maybe because of no burning-in yet).


MP-21
Ok.. I had a problem with this earphone. I remember i read some forumers commented that this earphone does not works with certain devices, maybe because of the microphone feature. I would like to second that. At first i tried it without any adapter and i can hardly listen to a very soft sound. I told the seller, and he suggested me to plug in some sort of adapter, which i applied but still the 'acceptable sound' isn't there. I can only listen to some hissle and a very very soft voice at the end of the sound.

Again, dont misunderstand. I will not review its quality as from what Ive learned, it should be the same with PL-21. My only advice here is that, if you are using a PMP (ZEN, SANSA, COWON, SONY etc),you might want to test this earphone 1st before buying. I have a feeling it is because of my player, in addition to the microphone features, this earphone did not works properly. I based on fact that i tried Nokia N95 headset (with microphone) before, and indeed it is not working with my PMP.

But from what he said, Ipod users are very happy with it, so i guess it is working well with Ipod. Maybe one day, i will bring ipod so that i can further test and review the quality it can deliver.

Pros: I cant tell until further review
Cons: I think it only works with certain PMP, maybe because of its microphone feature.


PL-30
Soundstage... Nahh. I reacted with regards to one forumer comment that claimed it produce soundstage. For those who wonder what is soundstage, soundstage is actually the feeling of the wideness of the sound. You can actually hear the sound comes from different distance. From the very beginning, i doubt it can give me soundstage. Most of the earphone only have 1 driver, and for you to be able to deliver soundstage quality, you need 2 drivers. Try Ultimate Ear SF Pro 5 or Shure

Ok, its not fair to say that tho. Im not saying this earphone is not good, its just that i want to give my idea on the 'soundstage' quality so that i will not mislead any potential buyer. Thats all. This product is far away from soundstage quality.

OK, now.. in terms of quality, no doubt for RM100, you cant get any better than this. Materials wise, well.. not the best ive seen but not the worse as well. But sound wise, trust me, I own Westone UM1 earphone before which cost me way way more expensive, and surprisingly, this not-so-expensive-looking earphone is about there. The crispy of the sound is at the right amount, eventhough not enough to listen to rattling symbals, but decent enough to hear the clarity of symbals splash.

Bass wise. ermm i can say quite moderate. I even turned on the bass boost, but the bass sound is so gent. Its noticable, but it is soo gent. Bass loudness wasnt there, however quality wise, it is 'OK'. I actually like the crisp sound it deliver but to my preferences, if only its bass is a bit louder, then only i can enjoy the bass quality and crispy details at the same time.

Go for this if you are a jazz lover, instrument lover or classical music fan... but if you are a head banging kind of person, you might want to erase this from your watch list. Listen to Micheal Buble's song, and then listen to Dream Theater's song, and you will stand my ground.

Pros: Decent sound quality. It is able to provide a very crispy sound. Good for SQL lover. Nice earplug.
Cons: Bass adjust dont have any significant different. For SPL lover.. a big no.. Sharp music might irritating for long listening.


PL-50
I never had any intention to buy PL-50, but out of curiosity as how far it can go, i gave it a test.

Build wise.. again i guess all Sound Magic looks kind of plastic. But put that aside 1st. The earphone fits very well in my canal, and with its weight, it is so confortable to plug that one into my ear. I didnt try the foam bud, only the silicon bud, but yeah it as confortable.

In terms of sound, i think PL-50 sound is slightly better than PL-30. I read some forumers said PL-50 won in all aspects, but my personal point of view, i can hardly tell any major different. The only different that i can tell is PL-50 is even more crispy than PL-30, which is to me not a selling point. PL-30 clarity is already pass the boundary, any further, i feel like im struggling with the sharp sound. So sharp that i cant cope with it. And for that high level of treble, the low bass now become even lower.

I do not know about others, but personally, i dont think PL-50 worth an additional RM100. Big no for me..

But again.. bare in mind that im using Creative ZEN PMP, it might works wonder with Ipod or other device, that i do not know yet. So i wont comment so much on this product to be fair with.

Pros: Really comfortable design.
Cons: Too sharp (Well at least for me). Not worth additional RM100.



I would to stress here again. Im not bias to any product, this is my sincere review, base on what i experienced and what i felt. Again, these are subjective to your own preferences. Not to mention, i personally thought that different player will give different result, i.e not necessary earphone A better than earphone B for all players.

Aside from the technical review, i would like to thank maninkl for being such a honorable and reliable seller. I give all credit for him that he waited so patitently until i tried all earphones to meet my satasfactory. I will not hesitate to suggest all of you to deal with him.

As for me, i end-up bought PL-11 for myself.

P/s:- Actually there was no PL-11 stock with seller yesterday. Just to show how good seller he is, he asked me to use the demo earphone 1st, while he post a new set to my office. See..

All night long, i played with the PL-11, wondering such a decent earphone only cost me RM60. That would be the most worth-buying earphones ive ever bought. Im not poisoning all of you (i admit i got poisoned by all the feedbacks.. arghh), but seriously try and feel it yourself. For me, among all Sound Magic series, PL-11 worth its price the most.

Hope this review helps (especially for ZEN user)

This post has been edited by Sawamura: Apr 22 2010, 06:21 PM

TS, UGPM

Item receved just now..

what about you ??

thanks