Soundmagic E10C In-Ear Isolating Earphones with Mic, High-Performance Sound, Deep Bass, Noise Isolation, Durable Metal Build, Compatible with iPhone, Android, PC,Tablet - Black/Gold

This is one of my favourite sets of earphones ever, even before taking into account their excellent price. I purchased them as a spare pair for my Sennheiser 400's (themselves regarded as one of the best budget earphones) and found that they quickly took over as my main set, with the Sennheiser's being relegated to backup duty.Firstly, the price - these earphones punch well above their weight in build quality and sound quality. I'd happily pitch them up against earphones costing two or three times their price. They won't match truly excellent earphones costing 5x as much, and I won't even say they're the best under £100... but they're certainly the best I've seen for less than £40, and nothing else in the sub-£100 category seems worth paying the extra money for.The sound quality is excellent, with good punchy (rather than boomy) bass, a very clear mid-range and only a hint of tinniness at the high end. The sound and bass both scale very well with volume, and the bass is well balanced - it doesn't over-power the vocals or mid range as is the case in many other budget headphones (which throw bass in to improve perceived quality).Generally I find the sound well balanced, excellent quality and enjoyable to listen to. These headphones won't provide the soundstage or quality of a set of Bowers and Wilkins P7s for example, but they also cost 1/15th of the price of the latter...The build quality is also excellent - mine travel with me everywhere and are beaten and misused, but easily stand up to the battering of a seasoned traveller. They come with a handy hard-shell case, the wire design doesn't lend itself to tangling and is very sturdy, and they're overall very well made.Comfort is very good - they come with several sets of earbuds of different sizes and shapes, although I found the standard size perfect. I can happily wear them for several hours without discomfort - the only time I have any issue is if I listen while lying down, as the main unit is a little long and can apply pressure to the ear when against a pillow or similar. Even this isn't a major discomfort, and only becomes apparent after an hour or longer.Overall, I can't see myself buying any other set of sub-£100 earphones.

Great sound quality at a very good price. comfortable to wear and easy to use. Quality belies price. No microphone on these but I didn't want one anyway.

First, I'm not a big user of earphones, so bear that in mind with my comments. I'm also a very late adopter of mobile technology. I eventually realised that I needed earphones to make better use of my recently acquired smart phone and I've always thought the 'speakers' on my iPad mini were tinny beyond belief. So I searched for recommendations on the web and these earphones were praised everywhere. Some reviews even suggested you'd have to spend 3-figure sums to get better sound. So I took the plunge.APPEARANCE: They do look good. I know that shouldn't be a major factor, but the packaging, presentation and the 'phones themselves all contributed to a value-for-money feeling. Here they're described as 'silver/black', but there's no silver visible anywhere - they're a gray/black combination. Personally I find it attractive.CONTENT: At this price I think I expected to receive a pair of earphones and nothing else. I was surprised, pleasantly so, to see what else was provided. There's a really tidy hard-shell storage case. It's about 2.5" square - jet-black with a bright red zip closure all the way round the middle. Inside, each half-shell has a mesh net pocket extending full-width and about half-way up its open height. Looks well constructed and very useful.In one of the mesh pockets was a small SoundMAGIC spring-clip, presumably for attaching the earphone cable to a collar or other item of clothing.In the other was a plastic bag with the writing"SoundMAGICEar hookComfortable rubber earhooks for cable back to ear"Through the plastic I could see what turned out to be 6 different pairs of rubber tips for the earphones (different sizes and shapes) and what looked like a small pair of bent plastic rods. I assumed they were the 'earhooks'.Surprise! When I emptied the bag, I got rubber tips, but it turned out the earhooks were actually an image printed on the clear plastic bag. Very strange. I still can't explain this. Nevertheless the different sized tips have provided me with a really comfortable fit, and I don't feel like I need any hooks or clips to keep them in place.SOUND: The earphones themselves are surprisingly, to me, very good indeed. Since I got them I have listened to classical and jazz music, solo instruments and large ensembles, and the 'phones are genuinely very pleasing and satisfying. However, the cable is incredibly noisy! I don't know if this is a characteristic of all earphones of this type or only these. When I move around, or even just turn my head, the cable brushing against my clothes or head generates thumps and rumbles that are incredibly distracting. To get some idea of what I'm talking about and see if your own 'phones have the same issue try this test: pinch the cable at any point really tightly with one hand, using your thumb and one or two forefingers; now, using the other hand, flick the cable with your forefinger above where you've pinched it and again below where you've pinched it. I find these two conditions massively different. The 'below' flick causes no problems - all the cable vibrations and noise get trapped and damped out by my pinched thumb and fingers. But the 'above' flick produces a massive thump in my ears as all the cable noise is transmitted straight to me ears. It's as if the cables were acting as a microphone. It may be, but it's not clear, that this is exactly why the spring-clip is provided - to anchor the cable as close to your head as possible.SUMMARY: Build, appearance, extras, basic sound quality, all seem 'good' verging on the 'excellent'. But until I've resolved this cable noise I can't say this will be my preferred method of listening. I'm happy to persevere because the positive impressions of everything else in this purchase make me feel there has to be a way around it.