Beyerdynamic DTX 101 iE or Sound Magic E10

In my view, from my long experience and expense with hifi, more expensive does not mean better! They will have a differing presentation and I doubt these fairly new headphones have been compared together.

Still, for £28, why not take a punt on the E10?

I've bought the SoundMAGIC PL30s and I'm very impressed for £18 or so. Quite an emphasis on the midrange.

If you give me to the end of the week I'll make the comparison (or at least my take on it) for you.  I have had a set of the DTX101e for a number of months and have nbeen hugely impressed with them; especially since I started using Comply tips.

However, for 24 quid I just couldn't resist a squiz at the E10's as I have heard so much about them and they are on their way....

Paul

le_vicar is a lucky person! Very interest in the results too!!

I'll even listen to 2112 for you Graham and let you know.  Bet Snakes and Arrows will get a look in too!! 

Hee hee, Moving Pictures.....

Moving Pictures in 24/96 FLAC sounding sweet tonight though...

Moving Pictures was recorded well on the original release, so the FLAC will be sweet. The Blu-ray MP deluxe 5.1 is superb. 

Right then here goes. 

Took delivery of the E10's yesterday and was probably as excited about a pair of £25 IEM's as it's possible to be.  I spent last night and a fair amount of today alternating from listening to the same music through the DTX101's and the E10's.

The top line is that they are both very very good indeed.

Detail wise there's no doubt in my mind that the Beyers are the better unit as they (a) have a better quality feel about them and (b) to me, seem a bit more 'complete' in terms of their ability to produce excellent results from a variety of music.  However there really isn't much in it at all.

I listened to Sleepthief's 'Dawnseeker' with it's ethereal and haunting themes, Jon Lord's "Pictured Within' which is a test for even the most discerning set of cans, Thin Lizzy's 'Live and Dangerous' and (just for you) Rush's 'Presto'.

Across the piece the E10's more than held their own indeed it was only on the Thin Lizzy opus that I felt that they became a little overblown - not massively so - but the Beyers just had that little extra control over the bottom end.

Verdict?  Are they better than the Beyers?  In my opinion no BUT there's so little in it that in a straight shoot between the two then the Beyers don't justify being twice the price.

If you want as near to perfection as you can get in the price bracket buy the Beyers.  If you want very very good for half the price buy the E10's.

Hope that helps.

P

Good review Paul. Thanks for that.

It will be interesting to see how they both fare after extended play.

Do report in!

Any change in your early assessment after a week or so?

Not really.  Have had the E10's on a couple of trips away so used them a bit now.  Still prefer the Beyerdynamics to be honest.

Interesting. I tried some old Sennheiser CX 300-II Precisions yesterday against my SoundMAGIC PL30s. There was no comparison, the bass sounded bloated on the Senns, the treble weak and tinny; however, the SoundMAGICs sounded great.

Don't get me wrong the E10's are very very good and for 25 quid you literally can't go wrong.  It's just personal choice and to me the Beyers just have that little more refinement.  Not much in it though.

Graham, you really think the Senns sounded that bad in comparison? I love mine, are yours real? (There are a lot of fakes... depending on where you got them). If the SoundMAGICS are that good I might give the E10s, the what hifi 2011 award winner for In Ear Headphones up to £40s.

They were directly from Amazon, not a reseller, so I'm assuming they're not fake. The buds are really flimsy and sound was impossible to get right.