AFUL MagicOne

DISCLAIMER
The review I'm about to share reflects my personal experience and provides an honest evaluation regarding this set. I am completely unaffiliated from the brands I review. I did not receive (or will receive) any financial or monetary incentives in exchange for writing this review, I wrote this review of my own free will and all of the opinions you'll read are my own.



INTRODUCTION
After using this set for almost a month, I'll be straightforward: the Aful MagicOne is now my favorite set under $100. It's truly surprising what one small balanced armature can achieve. I initially planned to write a review after just one or two weeks of use, but I enjoyed it so much that I took my time to fully absorb the experience. Now, after nearly a month, I’ve finally decided to write this review and share why I love the MagicOne. Here are the gears I used for this review:

DAC/Dongle: Jcally JM7l or Fiio Q3 MQA
Phone/Device: Either my iPhone XR or my laptop
Music player: Spotify and Tidal

PACKAGING
I have to say, the unboxing experience was great. While the package doesn’t include a lot, the items that Aful provided with the MagicOne feel premium, are well-built, and offer excellent quality. The included small plastic hard case has more than enough room for the IEM and cable, and it features a thin padding inside to protect them from scratches. The stock cable is well-built—it doesn’t feel sticky or stiff and doesn’t form any lasting memory. The stock eartips also feel great in terms of texture and softness, pairing perfectly with the IEM that's why I didn’t find any reason to switch to aftermarket eartips for the MagicOne.



BUILD QUALITY, DESIGN, AND COMFORT
The shell is made of transparent resin, allowing you to see the driver inside as well as the acoustic tube design. Both the IEMs and the cable feel very durable. The shell is slightly on the smaller side—understandable, as a single balanced armature doesn’t require much space. Its shape resembles a semi-custom fit with fins, which contribute to the excellent passive noise isolation. The fit is relatively comfortable, though there is some initial pressure build-up when you first wear the MagicOne. However, this sensation gradually subsides after a few minutes, making it much more comfortable over time.



SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The MagicOne's tuning is neutral yet colored and rich, with a hint of warmth and thickness. It never comes across as 'boring' like many other neutral sets. The overall presentation feels very well-rounded. To be honest, I was surprised that a single balanced armature could perform this well and achieve such a refined tuning. If you listen to this set and analyze its graph without knowing it's driven by a single balanced armature, you’d likely never guess it.

Bass
Aful clearly aimed to replicate the performance of large dynamic drivers in the bass region with their acoustic tube design. While the low-end does resemble that of a dynamic driver, the differences are still noticeable. The MagicOne's bass is somewhat prominent, particularly in the sub-bass rumble. Both the sub-bass and mid-bass are linear—neither overshadowed nor overly emphasized by the other one. The mid-bass retains a satisfying punch despite not being forward, but the bass attacks lean towards the softer side. As a result, the bass feels smoother, lacking a tactile and textured quality. The bass attack has a relatively slow decay. While this can make it seem like it smears through finer details, it also contributes to a sense of spaciousness in the sound. Overall, the bass is well-controlled, smooth, and satisfying, with a soft punch that makes it feel relaxing and natural.

Mids
The mid-range has a warm presentation, with a rich, colored sound that still retains a natural tone and impressive detail. Vocals are never drowned out by the instruments and remain tonally accurate, which is what I love most about this set. Many IEMs with a warm tuning tend to over-emphasize the lower mid-range, which can make vocals sound nasal, but that’s not the case with the MagicOne. The mid-range is well-bodied and doesn’t sound thin, thanks to the MagicOne’s tuning, which enhances its musicality.

Treble
The treble region is very clean and well-balanced. It’s not overly sparkly or bright; it feels just right. However, like the bass region, the upper frequencies have a slightly soft and laid-back attack due to their slower decay. As a result, percussion and the plucking of stringed instruments don’t feel particularly snappy or aggressive. Despite this, the treble is well-tuned and complements the mids and bass exceptionally well. There’s also a nice amount of treble air that lingers on every high note, which just sounds fantastic.

Details, Imaging, and Soundstage
The MagicOne’s technical performance is quite surprising, especially considering it’s driven by a single BA driver. However, there are a few weaknesses to note. Imaging and soundstage are only fairly average, but that’s expected given the small size of the driver—a single balanced armature can only do so much. When it comes to detail retrieval, though, the MagicOne holds its own against the competition. It reveals a good amount of microdetails, and the instrument separation is above average, sounding excellent.



CONCLUSION
I would describe the Aful MagicOne as a truly 'elegant' IEM. Beyond its looks and design, this is exactly how I felt when I first heard its sound performance. It was like walking through a garden full of colorful flowers. This is an outstanding set and a definite no-brainer purchase. The Aful MagicOne will likely be one of my favorite IEMs of all time, at least for now.

It’s been a little while since I got the Magic One in, so I think I’m ready to share some more concrete thoughts on them as I really do think these might be one of the most slept-on pairs of IEMs in 2024.

Yes, they’re a single BA set.

Yes, BAs won’t give you the most visceral bass response.

Yes, a single BA set is limited in terms of SQ compared to a hybrid or even a single DD in most cases.

But…
The Aful Magic One is another incredible example of audio engineering that I’ve been lucky enough to experience. I think the name “Magic One”, with the emphasis on the Magic part, is truly fitting for this incredible IEM. I’ve never owned a single BA IEM up to this point, and quite frankly, I used to really shy away from all BA IEMs because of their bass performance when compared to a set with a DD in it. Admittedly, I don’t believe in that anymore, honestly. There are so many all BA sets I’ve experienced that have completely changed my way of thinking when it comes to all balanced armature IEMs. The most important ones are the Symphonium Meteor, U12t, Elysian Diva, and of course, the big Mack daddy of them all, the STORM. All BA sets can be good when they’re done right, for sure. The Hisenior T4 is another good example too, but I owned them for a while, and even though at first they impressed me with their bass performance and their warm sound signature, after comparing them extensively with sets that have DDs in them, there’s really no comparison. I feel like to get an all-BA IEM that performs as well as a hybrid with a DD (bass specifically), you really do have to spend a good amount of money to get that kind of performance.

Enter; The Aful Magic One.

Special thanks to some guys on the Discovery Thread on Head-Fi like @pk500 for totally peer-pressuring me into buying the set…. I blame them

With an original price of $140, I was able to get this set for only 58 bucks. Fifty-eight… Using some coupons on AliX on top of a sale they were having. Now even at the original $140, I’d still be impressed with this set, but for $58 I’m completely blown away…

I tried the Magic Ones using all of my portable sources, but I ultimately landed on the BTR17 with its superb technical performance and slightly forward upper mid-range.



BASS

The bass is tactile, punchy, and snappy with a very fast decay that I personally very much enjoy. The fast decay is balanced out with an excellent amount of warmth in the overall sound sig. It never sounds overly quick like some planar sets, and I feel like the tubing system that Aful has developed for the set really does work when it comes to the mid-bass specifically. Drum kicks, bass guitar lines, and synthetic bass lines all sound very detailed with more than enough body to them to ensure they’re still very enjoyable and not frail. The weakness of this set really comes down to the sub-bass. It doesn’t have that much of a rumble or reverb to it. This also makes the mid-bass a little one-dimensional with not as much depth as I would like or even, that I’m used to, but since most of my music doesn’t have much sub-bass in it, I’ve learned that this isn’t really a dealbreaker. Definitely not as much as I thought… If you had asked me before I got my hands on the Magic Ones, I would have told you to kick rocks. I need my sub-bass to be rumbly and powerful to enjoy my library… interestingly, I was totally wrong, ha. Like a lot of people, I’ve been bumping the new Kendrick album, GNX, pretty much on repeat. My favorite way to listen to it is with the Estrella off the Muse M4, but a close second is with the Magic One with the BTR17. That album is mastered and produced so well, all the different elements and layers they’ve managed to cram into every song are impressive, and the Magic Ones really does this record justice, which surprised the hell out of me. Between the mid-bass punch and the reverb of said mid-bass, it is satisfying to enjoy the album, but it’s far from the best replay I’ve heard.

Simply put, the bass is surprisingly good not only for an all-BA set but also good in general. Yes, it does lack the depth and texture of a good DD, but I would say this would impress most people and keep a lot of people content. For non-rap or EDM-style music where there’s more of a balance between the entire band, the bass is more than sufficient and enjoyable.

Mids

The mids are where this IEM shines and the mid-range performance is exactly why I decided to pull the trigger on my own set. I kept hearing how good they were and I can confirm that the texture and resolution of voices, specifically female voices, is superb. Even more shocking to me is the timbre, these sound very accurate to my ears with absolutely 0 BA timbre anywhere in the mid-range. I’m telling you… these are impressive. The vocals are slightly forward but I think it’s just enough and perfectly placed - the vocalist is front and center ahead of the band but never shouty or harsh in my listening.

The resolution of vocals and other instruments in the mid-range really did impress me and still does to this day. Even after having them for well over a week and a half now, I still find myself reaching for them daily just because of the mid-range performance. The overall sound of the mids is also fairly open too, the Magic Ones never sound congested or boxed in. All of the instrumentation can breathe more than sufficiently and the layering is very good. Overall, the mids are fantastic and definitely the star of the show. If you have any female vocalists with a powerful voice in your library, the Magic Ones will be a great fit. Some may want their vocals to be more forward, more similar to a Harman-style tuning and if that’s you, these might not have enough bite for that person.

Treble.

The treble isn’t anything to write home about if I’m totally honest. While I think the Magic Ones have very good technicalities, layering, and instrument separation, the treble doesn’t seem to have any special properties I can pinpoint… it’s a safe tune that should appeal to most or at least not offend most. I really do love a little extra energy in the later part of the treble, but I can understand the limitations here with a single BA handling the entire frequency range. I think considering the hardware here it’s very impressive. It’s not lacking anything in the slightest besides maybe a little extra bite.





I’d hate to keep rambling on and take up more of your time, so I’ll wrap it up here. As you can tell, the Magic One is a great set that I very much enjoy and have enjoyed on a daily basis. While the bass and treble aren’t going to be winning any awards, I think the overall warmer tuning coupled with lovely vocals and the detailed and emotional mid-range presentation will have most Audio geeks grinning ear to ear.

They are somewhat hard to drive, with the BTR17 getting to 32/60 in low gain out of the 4.4mm, but it doesn’t seem to need a power plant to drive either. Due to circumstances, I haven’t been able to get these on my desktop rig yet, but I’m hoping to do that soon to see if it improves anything at all about the sound, but as of right now, nothing seems to be lacking when playing these out of the BTR17.

With an impressive hardware implementation, a beautiful shell design in my opinion, overall great sound characteristics, and a very open sound, I can safely say that I’m happy I paid my own money for the Aful Magic One.



I know this is a very simplified version of a “review” but I just really wanted to focus on the sound in this one. Thanks so much for reading, regardless!

Cheers!

TL;DR: Clean, balanced, technical, detailed - Aful definitely put some magic in this release

Overview/History
Hi all.

Here again with another review and this time it's the Aful MagicOne. This is an older unit but has always been on the radar to try out especially as it does some unique things. Aful is known for their Performer series, their Explorer and the MagicOne has stuck around despite being a 1 BA driver IEM.



Here's the description straight from Hifigo's website:
After extensive research for over 3 years, AFUL has brought us the all-new MagicOne. They have developed a specially customized full-frequency balanced armature driver with premium materials and a meticulous construction process.

AFUL has also implemented its newly developed technologies including SE-Math Electro-Acoustic Intermodulation, and Nautilius Acoustic Maze. These help the pair to achieve true high-resolution sound performance. Get the correct tone, and experience an exquisite sound with the AFUL MagicOne!!

What this basically means is that they've developed a way to utilize a single BA with an 'acoustic maze' or a resonator that helps with the sound replay.

So, how has it lasted this long in the market? Simple: it brings something unique that isn't just about driver counts or any EQ/DSP element. Let's get into it.

Specifications so you don't need to look yourself:

• >Impedance: 38Ω.
• >Sensitivity: 103dB/mW.
• >Frequency Response: 5Hz-25kHz.
• >Passive Isolation: 26dB.

Disclaimers: This unit is a personal unit of a friend's. I received no guidance or correspondence to say or frame this review in anyway. These are all my own personal takes and impressions.

Build Quality, Comfort and Accessories
Photo dump time!







The MagicOne are a smaller (like the Explorer) IEM with a pretty ear friendly nozzle size (5.5mm). They come with some standard tips, a nice cable and a nice carrying case.







The entire IEM is actually really nice. I enjoy the transparent view into the drivers and their resonance chamber. The shell is simple, understated yet classy looking. I enjoy the look a lot.















Tip Rolling
While the nozzle is smaller, smooth bore usually means that I have to find something with extra grip or I'll end up with an ear-tip in my ear (Final Type E, Dunu S&S, Radius Deep Mount). This did mean I had to go around looking for the best combination.

Stock: Stock tips fit OK but I think they took away too much of the bass for my liking compared to a lot of other tips that I typically use which will provide good balance. Not the biggest fan of them. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Explorer tips either.
Fiio HS20: New tip alert! These are liquid silicon and very grippy. They work very well with the MagicOne - mid-bass is a bit more present (sub-bass is a smidge deeper) but the magic of the mids/treble are still very transparent. Plus, they're extra grippy so they don't slide off the nozzles. Probably my favorite combo.
Radius Deep Mount Zone: Similar to the HS20 but I think the bass isn't as nice as the Fiio tips. Very good to keep the mids/treble still, though, with an extra smidge more sound stage.
Canal Works Gel Tips aka Cat Paw: I love these tips and they work great on the MagicOne. I don't typically recommend these tips are they're harder to come by but they do really well to synergize with the MagicOne and are grippy.

Cable
Cable for the MagicOne is actually really nice for a stock cable.



It's got good weight, no memory prone issues and, overall, paired well with the MagicOne. I actually prefer this cable to the Explorer's cable and I -definitely- don't like the Performer 8 cable.

Sound
So, how do the Aful MagicOne sound?



The MagicOne is a very neutral, clean sounding IEM with very good synergy across the entire sound performance. They don't come across as bright, they don't come across as bassy, they don't come across as mid-heavy yet they do a lot of everything well save for the handicap that is BA bass.

Gear Tested On: Primarily streamed music via either dedicated Streamer, Laptop or Phone
Phone chain: Pixel 8 Pro -> Abigail Pro
Streamed Music Chain Workstation: Laptop -> JDS Labs Element 3 MK2 (Boosted)
Streamed Music chain: WiiM Mini -> JDS Labs Atom DAC+ -> JDS Labs OL Switcher -> Geshelli Labs Archel 3 Pro

*My Audio Preference and Score Disclaimer*: To preface my breakdown, here's my sound preference. I tend to prefer warmer sound. I enjoy good sub-bass extension with enough mid-bass to feel the music. I prefer more fuller sounding mids to match my library. My preference is for smooth treble extension; while I'm not treble sensitive, I'd probably lean more towards 'safer' treble tuning for longer listening. I also tend to listen at either medium to louder listening volumes (reasonably loud).

In addition, all scores listed below are typically (unless otherwise stated) rated/scored as it relates to it's peers in the same price group.

Lows/Bass: Getting into the bass, the bass is there. It's got good detail, it is situational punchy with decent sub-bass.

There is some good texture to it as well which was the most surprising thing about the MagicOne as I was anticipating really dinging it for bass performance.

That being said, it's still BA bass where it's quick, detailed but missing a lot of extra weight, thump, boom or general impact. It's not terrible deficient but it's still limited by being a BA (without the technology to offset BA bass that is available in super expensive sets).

Bass Score: 7.25/10 - TL;DR: Detailed, punchy but BA bass is still limiting for note weight and satisfaction of bass. Not bad. Not great. Good enough.

Mids: Mids for the MagicOne is really where they started to impress me. As typical for BA sets, there is a good amount of detail oriented tuning that really works well for instruments like guitars and female vocals.

The upper-mids provide good air and make female vocals shine without ever sounding shouty. Instruments really have a defined playback but it never feels like the MagicOne is going for that analytical tuning. There is still some aspect of warmth in it so there isn't a sense that the music comes off flat or boring.

Male vocals have that small bit of warmth though I don't get that satisfying note weight or full male vocals as I'd typically prefer. This set works with some great rock music and has that bit of soul to the music that I find works. Especially considering this is a single BA set.

Mids Score: 8.5/10 - TL;DR: Very good vocal performance and instruments. Male vocals have good warmth even if note weight isn't as heavy or full as I'd like.

Treble: Treble is smooth with a great amount of air that sounds pleasant. I never felt like I had to turn the volume down while listening to the MagicOne.

Treble sounds very natural with good energy. Treble is very detail oriented but never to the point where I felt like it was unbearable.

In fact, following in line with a lot of other Aful tunings, the MagicOne actually scale very well with higher volume listening (not that you need to crank the volume up with them) so even if you typically prefer to listen to your music on 11, you'll likely be safe from any harshness.



Treble Score: 8.5/10 - TL;DR: Smooth treble extension with good air; scaling on power/volume still remains very smooth without ever getting sibilant or harsh

Detail, Separation, Imaging, Overall Soundstage, Etc.: Very good to great technical performance is also where the MagicOne shines.

There is very good instrument separation and imaging. I'm able to, if I choose to, really pick apart instruments and listen for specifics in tracks even when they're busier rock songs.

Sound stage is pretty good, imaging is pretty good. Nothing is like class leading but it's easy to forgive when you consider the technology going into this IEM and how it handles this performance better than a lot of other sets relying on numerous BAs or other drivers to get to that performance level.

Technicalities Score: 8.5/10 - TL;DR: Good technical performance - good instrument separation, good sound stage, good detail overall. Not class leading but definitely well above average for technical performance

Library Hit List: For the MagicOne, I think the best song library really comes down to more rock oriented or orchestra type of scores. Some of the best tracks I heard:

The Cure - "Friday, I'm in Love"
AC/DC - "Back in Black"
Oasis - "Don't Look Back in Anger"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dani California"
The Black Keys - "Little Black Submarine"
Grizzly Bear - "Mourning Sound"
Death Cab for Cutie - "No Room in Frame"
Foster the People - "Houdini"
Santana - "Feels like Fire (feat. Dido)"
Weezer - "Buddy Holly"

Comparisons: Quick comparison I wanted to make would be the Aful Explorer (which I prefer more).



Aful Explorer: The Explorer is probably my favorite Aful product that I've heard to date (wink wink?) but what works really well is that it's a complimentary listening experience to the MagicOne. Both can, in a way, co-exist in the same library. But, where the MagicOne is more mid/treble/technical in nature, the Explorer is warm and bassy and fun. In a heart beat, I would pick the Explorer > MagicOne any day of the week. But, that's not to say the MagicOne isn't good in it's own ways, it's just not as fun as the Explorer is.

Other Things to be aware of:
Considering it's a 1BA driver IEM, the MagicOne has very good sound and musicality to it. It's a bit harder to drive than most standard IEMs but most dongle dacs will likely suffice.

Other than that, there isn't really much else to be aware of with the MagicOne beyond that the smooth nozzles bug the heck out of me. This is always going to be my mortal enemy.



Volume Listening: The MagicOne works very well at moderate and high volume listening due to it's frequency response. I would probably lean towards more moderate volume listening, however, as nothing is really opened up more on the low end/bass side with bumping up the volume (Explorer is opposite where more volume = more mid/treble performance).

Source Synergy: Source synergy is an interesting one because I did some minor testing on a K11 R2R (testing this set up to see if it would work before fully committing) and a warmer source will actually further sweeten the MagicOne. It doesn't necessarily need the warmer sources like an R2R but it will respond exactly as you expect so there's no weird quirk to playing around with your sources.

Special Sauce/Personal Bias Score: 8.5/10 - TL;DR: Unique and a great IEM release based on a proof of concept that just works. It's hard not to like this IEM. It may not be a permanent staple in my library but it's an easy recommendation for it's good sound performance

Conclusion: The Aful MagicOne has been around for a while now and has stayed a general recommendation/favorite for people due to that special quality to them. There is something unique in having a single BA driver IEM that provides very sweet, detailed mids, great extension on the treble and overall excellent technical performance.

While I may, ultimately, prefer the Aful Explorer to the MagicOne, the magical quality here is undeniable and I completely understand the hype. Very well done by Aful as they continue to release different/fun IEMs that shine through a world full of Harmans and 'meta' tuning.







Final Weighted Score: 8.25/10 - 4.125/5 - not enough to round up further but a solid 4 star rating. The MagicOne is a nice and special set and I can appreciate what it does.

Thanks for reading!