On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I started sifting through old boxes of unopened headphones, hoping to find a forgotten gem I could write about. My eyes fell upon SoundMagic. I tested out one of their cheapest pairs a while back, and I thought it sounded great for the price. So, I was interested to see what SoundMagic could do for a few more bucks. And I have to say, after listening to the E50, I was pretty impressed. Let’s see what makes these $50 buds stand out from the rest in this SoundMagic E50 In-Ear Headphones Review.

IN the BOX

FIT

I had no problems in this department. Easy to pop in with a decent amount of sound isolation. The fit is comfortable, and the earphones come with a bunch of different sized tips, including double flange, which isolates the sound even further. Ooh, I also just found a pair of foam Comply Isolation tips in the carrying case. If you choose to use them, they’ll probably  warm up the sound a bit.

DESIGN

Looking at the simplicity of the E50’s design, it becomes clear that SoundMagic has prioritized quality sound over anything else. Although the E50 doesn’t come with a mic and remote, the build quality is no nonsense. The braided cable feels durable and well insulated beneath a shiny plastic coating. The earbuds themselves are very light with minimalist metal housing. And the angled plug seems sturdy enough to withstand some wear. The E50 also comes with a semi-hard carrying case, making the overall design and packaging a great bang for your buck.

SOUND

Overall Impressions: Deep and juicy lows, with a freqload of clarity for the price.

Lows

We’ve got a very forward leaning bass. It’s got the right amount of tight grip to give pop music a ton of punch, while being subby enough to do justice to hip-hop. And because of the overall low-end warmth, rock songs have a lot of meat on the bone. However, people with bass anxiety might be a little overwhelmed by this sound signature and might prefer something a little more conservative, like the famous Final Audio E3000. (We highly recommend it.)

Mids

The midrange is also very present, and it’s nicely balanced. Generous attention is given to the low mids and there’s no hint of harshness in the upper midrange. Again, big rock choruses feel expansive and rich. And in terms of clarity, the E50 does an impressive job as well. Guitar strums in the low mids have good separation, and overall, acoustic instruments have great transparency and resolve for earphones in this price range. So, these buds will work well for folk music as well.

Highs

Although the lower frequencies are given a lot of generosity, you can’t call the sound signature entirely dark. Percussion in this range has some crisp sparkle, giving pop a decent amount of snap. And the most impressive thing about the E50 in this range is the transparency. Listening to strings, I was really surprised by the amount of clarity and detail these affordable buds displayed. So, you can be sure that these earphones work nicely for classical music as well.

Soundstage

Again, for the price, I’m impressed. Although the soundstage is not extremely multidimensional, it’s definitely got some width and depth. And you’d be hard pressed to find anything better in this category for 50 bucks.

SUMMARY

The E50 is a damn good time. Extremely versatile, there’s not one genre that these buds can’t manage. If you like a luxurious low end, but you don’t want to sacrifice clarity in the higher frequencies, you’ll be more than satisfied with these babies.

SPECIFICATIONS

Driver: 10mm dynamic

Frequency Range: 15Hz-22KHz

Impedance: 51 Ohms

Sensitivity: 102 dB

Cable Length: 1.2 meters