[phantomasko]

 
Thats good to hear! I've had them a couple of months and while i have no doubts about the cable i've often wondered how the plastic housing around the drivers would hold up over time.
Yeh i found the stock tips to be of such low quality none of them were useable so I ended up using the tips from my old sony mdr-ex100's. What surprises me is i find myself reaching for these over my much more expensive Shure SE846s when i head out. The pleasant, relaxed sound, great fit and comfort makes them fantastic for when im out walking and commuting. Plus they're so cheap i'm never worried about possibly losing or damaging them. The only negative thing i can say about them is how the cable is constantly curling up and wont stay straight but its only a minor issue and i can live with it. I'm hoping Soundmagic updates them like they have with the E10s and adds an inline remote, that would make them pretty much perfect imo.

Yup the cable can get annoying, but it's manageable. As for the sound, it is very flat and relaxed indeed, but there's a spike around 2-3k which is definitely noticeable and a bit pain to EQ during portable use. Currently using them with HTC One (M7) on it's own (with GMMP app), and with added FiiO E17 if I'm not moving much (F### you microUSB). Also one of the things I enjoy the most about their sound are the detailed vocals in mid stage.
Yeah I'd like to see them updated for sure. But possibly the next step for me will be CustomArt Music One/Two, maybe even something from their Pro series as I would use them in my career path, but those are higher price ranges and I'm getting off topic...

 

[Airlight]

Thought I would add that adding the Etymotic impedance adapter to the PL50 has some interesting results. It takes them into a leaner, less mid-centric direction. Couple that with the right tips, in my case a pair which has a slightly loose fit around the barrel so the lower frequencies are just slightly relaxed compared to a tighter fit, and these produce a sound not too dissimilar to the Ety ER4S. Compared to the Ety they have less of that upper-midrange color, and are warmer than the ER4S.
They also gain that level of detail that the drivers lack in stock sound config, where there is some life and texture back into the lower treble.
Most sounds are still centered around the midrange, but it sounds very evenly centered, and the treble takes just a small step behind the mids. Plus they now have much more palpable air and upper treble thanks to the impedance adapter.
 
If you got a PL50 and the ETY adapter laying around, worth experimenting.

 

[becritical]

I have read quite a few reviews that the pl-50 tend to break easily. Can someone who has owned them for a while comment on their durability?

 

[Airlight]

  I have read quite a few reviews that the pl-50 tend to break easily. Can someone who has owned them for a while comment on their durability?

 
Mine have been lying in a drawer for a long time. I only realized recently that I hadn't tried the impedance adapter on them, and that the result might be similar to the Etymotic IEMs where they become more cold and analytical, aswell as gaining some more perceived precision and detail from the more "flabby" stock config.
 
Really digging these now. No hassle with deep insertion (I use a pair of tips that barely form a seal, and they maintain their sound where as Etymotic IEMs get treble peakiness if they are off just a little with insertion depth.
Really good detail and depth to the sound, very enveloping and intimate, good layering, and the FR balance is such that they have good body and lower mids, yet slightly darker material isn't overly dark. Plus they really texture well in the mids and treble, so even songs with a dark tilt never sound veiled or smoothed over, and small things like leaves crinkling or the subtle texture of a violin still come through on top of the lows and mids.
 
If one can get the PL50 cheaply and has access to the adapter, worth a try. However I should add that your choice of tips might be important aswell for that last fine-tuning of balance. I am using a wide-bore tip which has a stem narrow enough to hold on to the PL50 sound tube. Shallow fit should work, even when I break the seal on purpose so the sub-bass goes away, they still maintain their tonality.
 
EDIT: Excellent clarity I should add, they really move and jump and sounds can punch through with big volume changes quite effortlessly when called for, and because of this they can translate depth and distance by volume differences very well.
 
Sine sweeping for my ears and tip choice shows a slight bump at 2K, another at around 6K and one at 9K. After that very good balance up to 16K (probably driver limitation up there).
 
Sound overall reminds me of the Etymotic HF5, but much better treble than those (HF5 gets brighter with the impedance adapter, but that makes the sound quite bright, plus they still need deep insertion).
 
I just did some comparisons with my Noble4 Universal, and they sound only slightly better. PL50 with adapter is not missing much at all in terms of separation and the dynamic clarity. They sound the opposite of compressed or stuffy, really lively, detailed, layered and vivid while not being at all V-shaped. In fact just shifting the EQ with more emphasis on the 5-10K bands and dropping the bass down slightly, they can sound very close overall to the Noble4.
 
Not to start a hype train or anything. But I'm really glad I basically seem to have found a more comfortable, warmer Er4 alternative with a very clear, sharp, transparent midrange that doesn't gloss over or loose texture with more intense or busy music.
The bass of the PL50 is also quite warm and not superfast with a slithly slower attack and decay, so the presentation right now sounds like the warm low-end of a dynamic driver, with the precision of BA on top.