SoundMagic PL21 and PL 30 Earphones

Soundmagic is one of those “made in China and we’re proud of it” brands, which is actually different from your regular “Made in China” brands. The company is called Shenzhen Soundmagic technology, and the global coverage on this set of in-ears is nothing less than superlative. I love the rare occurrence of an obscure brand coming into the market and winning praise out of nowhere, you know, the underdog phenomenon. We have 2 models by them, and I plan to put both under the scanner: the PL21 and PL30, thus these can be another choice for your sh*tty iPod earphones replacement.

The Soundmagic PL21
Rs 800
These little plugs have a black outer body that marries itself to black rubber sleeves. The design is not the most elegant out there, but has no tackiness at all. It’s a simple straight up look, barring an ultra slim metallic rim around the drum of the body, and also small labels stating ‘left’ or ‘right’.

The cord is 1.2 m long, which also comes with a clip for the shirt. The accessories are basic but complete, comprising a leather carrying case, 7 pairs of extra ear sleeves of different sizes and a pair of ear braces to attach over the pinnae. The frequency response is stated 15-22000 Hz, while the sensitivity is at 99 dB@1kHz/mW.

The sound quality had one thing going for them right from the start, and that was solid bass response. The bass is not dominant; in fact it supports the rest of the spectrum very well. The mids and highs are also crisp and crystal clear, respectively. The levels can go louder than most requirements; in public too there is an acoustic sound isolation of about -20dB.

The Soundmagic PL30
Rs 1000

The PL30s have a slightly different design, it’s slightly more complex geometrically speaking. The drum of the body is a little flat, with a small semi circular dial on top of it, for bass adjustment. The sleeves are similar to the PL21, black rubber material along with other choices in size. This set also has foam sleeves that take the shape of your ear canal to ensure a snug fit, the latter ones are great for bass response and sound isolation both.

This model has similar specifications to the PL21, which is a 1.2 m cord, 20-22000 Hz frequency response. The only difference is in the sensitivity, this one is louder at 103 dB@1kHz/mW.

The sound quality here is again really beyond my expectations, they do sound like much more expensive, boutique quality in-ear plugs. The bass can be slightly adjusted  though I prefer them in normal mode, it’s a great sounding balance of audio frequencies. As expected this model is louder than the PL21, plus they have very impressive clarity.