Sound Magic PL30 In-Ear Headphone Review

Here’s a review of the classic PL-30 in-ear monitors.

Split into two parts, there’s the ‘out of the box reaction’ followed by the burned-in final verdict, all after the jump.

Accessories

Got weird ears? Need mild or maximum sound isolation? Well whatever you need you’ll be catered to with the contents of the PL-30 box.

There’s an excellent range of changeable rubber and foam tips that are equally comfortable and effective.

The case, the over the ear gliders, the PL-30s and a selection of the rubber tips.

I’ve found for now that luckily both the best sound and comfort is achievable for me through one set, the double flange rubber tips, which help block out the intrusive din of city streets and fit best to get the full audio range.

For the active or more careful among us there’s also the adapters for hooking the PL-30s round your ears.

All of these can be carried around in the handy compact case.

The headphones with a selection of the foam tips.

Sound

The PL-30s offer a definite space to the sound, where things that could easily be hidden in the mix come forward, revealing intricate details in recordings.

Stereo is also well defined with definite a left and right along with a very effective middle ground.

Out of the box the odd snare drum can be a little too punchy in the high end without the body of well worn-in drivers and bass tones in general are lacking but should readily pick up and fill out after the recommended 60-70 hours burn-in.

In the mean time, however, combining the headphones and MP3 player with the FiiO E5 headphone amp fills in the bass gaps nicely.

From genre to genre they perform really well, even out of the box.

The recent re-issue of the Beatles’ albums are a good test as they’ve been arrived with a huge weight of expectation and have been digitally re-mastered from analogue with the latest and greatest technology, allowing the best of both worlds.

A spin of the ‘Help!’ album through the PL-30s has all the intimacy and space of an analogue record and they offer the wide range of frequencies required to enjoy this kind of ‘in-studio’ sound.

The Chemical Brothers are on hand to test the bassier edge of these headphones.

They didn’t perform quite so well with this as the ‘block rocking beats’ were more nudging than rocking as they are fresh out the box but as mentioned before, the Fiio E5 gave them the necessary lift.

Design

First and foremost, they’re comfortable which is the ultimate necessity.

In terms of style, they’re basic and functional with no frills or graphics that you might find on similar priced more commercial in ear headphones but generally at this price range the money you’ll pay for say, Skull Candy IEMs goes directly toward style rather than sound quality which is where the PL30s shine.

They also feel sturdy and well constructed.

Part 2 – A week on…

Out of the box these babies are good. Once they’re warmed up and the drivers begin to be sufficiently burned in, they’re nothing short of great.

It took some extra fiddling to get the right in-ear positioning and seal for optimum sound but when I got it, wow. Thanks to the wide range of tips that come with them there’ll be no problems for anyone finding their optimum.

Once it was there they changed from being standard IEMs to a glimpse at what it means to have the next level up.

With skull-shaking bass (handily turned up or down via a mixture of EQ and rotating dials on the earphones themselves), great mids and warmer, more subtle trebles and a real sense of audio space they really do feel like a true upgrade.

Regarding the bass, once burned in they impressively carry their own without the use of an amp.

The noise cancellation has really come into its own too, for city traveling they’ve taken the place of my Skull Candy GIs for blocking out the traffic and construction noise.

An excellent pair.

The Verdict

For the price range the PL-30s are excellent value.

The difference between these and the standard in ear headphones you’ll buy from HMV for the same price is huge and they bridge the gap between this price range and the $100 jump up to high-end products.

These are a serious piece of kit masquerading as a relatively unassuming looking set of earphones that will keep getting better and better over time.

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