A few days ago, I lost my Urbeats earphones. One day I was energetically poppin’ out moves to my music, and the next…some awfully lucky guy in the metro was picking them up and bringing despair into my life.

So I needed new ones. New earphones, that is. Preferably ones that cost less than $100, with a nice design and premium sound quality. Basically, I wanted new Urbeats but without the hefty price tag.

Then I found the SoundMAGIC E10 earphones (or are they earbuds…?)

The Design:

My first impression was that they looked much more expensive than they actually cost. The actual earbuds are cased in metal, with a wire that is sturdy and tangle-free. Which, for those of us who like to abuse our earphones by stepping on, pulling and throwing them, is a great feature. Not only that, but for a low price, the design totally beats out the generic and plasticky look of your typical $20 earphones. I also appreciate that the manufacturer uses different colors in addition to R/L to differentiate between the right and left earbud. Inside the box, they ship with many different styles of rubber in-ear cups, to adjust the earbuds to anyone’s comfort level. And finally, they come with a neat case that is definitely handy for travel and storage.

The Sound Quality

No joke, but when I first put them on, I was amazed at the sound quality. Mind you, I’m no hard-core audiophile, but to me they sounded almost similar to some of the $100+ headphones that I previously used. Not quite as bassy as some, however the sound was very crisp and the noise isolation worked fantastically. These aren’t better in terms of pure sound quality than other high-end earbuds, but they are definitely close.

The Score

Last time I checked, they were $30 on Amazon. At this price range, it’s hard to come up with something better than the SoundMAGIC E10s. They look good, and they sound good. And they’re easy on your pocketbook, too. If you want the best of the best look elsewhere, but if you’re on a budget (or still pine for those super expensive earphones you’ve already ripped, lost, and buried) go for it. The Klipsch Image S4 are also a good alternative, though a bit more expensive.

Gizko Grade: 4.5/5.0