[MatosPoljca]

I was looking to buy SoundMagic E11C in-ear headphones, but since they are at least 4-5 years old now, and a bit harder to find, I thought some better choices became available by now. I'm looking for a 30-60€ piece with rugged-enough build (like the E11C) and solid sound with decent bass (again, like the E11C). I'll be playing music from my phone (no amp or other accessories), mostly for psy trance, but also rock, metal, rap, techno, upbeat, funk... I'll be using them in the gym too, and I can be a bit clumsy, so I need them built to last. Doesn't have to be bulletproof or bulldozer-proof, but not cheap plastic either.
Thanks in advance

 

[dunring]

The best value for money is the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 which don't need equalizing or an amp, good for all types of music with Harman curve tuning. They're light and the silver color is pretty conservative, though the blue I had was cool too. There's no "ruggedized" IEM since they're small by nature. The metal shells like the Simgot EA500 are durable, but also heavier so a drop might do more damage inside. They're $24 USD so a pretty small amount to risk taking to the gym. I had the Soundmagic E80 and the Zero:2 is an upgrade in every department.

 

[MatosPoljca]

The best value for money is the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 which don't need equalizing or an amp, good for all types of music with Harman curve tuning. They're light and the silver color is pretty conservative, though the blue I had was cool too. There's no "ruggedized" IEM since they're small by nature. The metal shells like the Simgot EA500 are durable, but also heavier so a drop might do more damage inside. They're $24 USD so a pretty small amount to risk taking to the gym. I had the Soundmagic E80 and the Zero:2 is an upgrade in every department.

The E11C's have 15-22kHz response, while Zero:2's have 20kHz cap. I'm not too smart about sound, but wouldn't wider range be prefered? And I must say I do love a metal case over a plastic one, and heavier isn't worse for me (or a problem). My phone is 390g and immune to drops to concrete from 2m . And I've heard there's a decent gap between E11C's and E80's, but again, I'm no pro.

 

[Lindholdt]

The E11C's have 15-22kHz response, while Zero:2's have 20kHz cap. I'm not too smart about sound, but wouldn't wider range be prefered?

No, for most people it won't make any difference at all, as they can't hear above 20khz. The normal hearing range for humans is 20hz to 20khz.
There are some (not many, and if you are older than 30, chances are really slim) that can hear slightly above 20khz, but even if you are one of the very few, the difference between 20khz and 22khz will most like make very little diffence in practice.
So no need to focus on this at all, IMO

 

[Ioanast]

Very much agree with you Lindholdt. Even more than this, I would say most people cannot hear anything above 16Khz.
A detailed audiogram of the full hearing spectrum at your audiologist will take you by surprise!!!

 

[MatosPoljca]

No, for most people it won't make any difference at all, as they can't hear above 20khz. The normal hearing range for humans is 20hz to 20khz.
There are some (not many, and if you are older than 30, chances are really slim) that can hear slightly above 20khz, but even if you are one of the very few, the difference between 20khz and 22khz will most like make very little diffence in practice.
So no need to focus on this at all, IMO

I heard that it's not about hearing those 20+k frequencies but rather that even without you hearing it, it changes the way the music sounds when the sound has a fuller range and hence sounds better. Some logic I thought of was, if the headphone can produce such a wider range, it probably is a more advanced piece of tech compared to some 40Hz-14kHz garbage. And I'm 20
I'm no audiophile or anything so I really wouldn't know how much of a difference that makes... Sooo i don't care if it's 20k or 40k as long as my music sounds good
Those E11C's seemed really good tho, and Zero:2's reviews say the cable is a bit too thin and quality of build not as great, so that does make me uneasy. One of the selling points of E11C's for me was exactly that durability (someone described the cable as cloths line hahahah, I like that)

 

[Lindholdt]

I heard that it's not about hearing those 20+k frequencies but rather that even without you hearing it, it changes the way the music sounds when the sound has a fuller range and hence sounds better. Some logic I thought of was, if the headphone can produce such a wider range, it probably is a more advanced piece of tech compared to some 40Hz-14kHz garbage.

The ability to recreate a larger part of the frequency range does not indicate anything about how advanced or "good" the driver is. You can have very bad drivers or integrations of drivers that can recreate 20+khz. So I would not put too much into this.
I'm also struggling to see how +20khz frequencies should make things sound any fuller. Have you tried listening to frequencies above 17-18Khz?

However, I do agree that frequencies above 15Khz have an effect on the "feel" of "Air" and "spaciousness", but for tonality, it won’t matter much, IMO.

And I'm 20

Well, there is a chance, then. But again, the normal hearing range is to 20khz, not many have the ability to hear higher than that.

I'm no audiophile or anything so I really wouldn't know how much of a difference that makes... Sooo i don't care if it's 20k or 40k as long as my music sounds good

Exactly, which is also why I think you should not put too much into these specs, as there are so many other variables that can affect the sound in much more obvious ways.

Enjoy whatever set you end up with

 

[MatosPoljca]

The ability to recreate a larger part of the frequency range does not indicate anything about how advanced or "good" the driver is. You can have very bad drivers or integrations of drivers that can recreate 20+khz. So I would not put too much into this.
I'm also struggling to see how +20khz frequencies should make things sound any fuller. Have you tried listening to frequencies above 17-18Khz?

However, I do agree that frequencies above 15Khz have an effect on the "feel" of "Air" and "spaciousness", but for tonality, it won’t matter much, IMO.


Well, there is a chance, then. But again, the normal hearing range is to 20khz, not many have the ability to hear higher than that.


Exactly, which is also why I think you should not put too much into these specs, as there are so many other variables that can affect the sound in much more obvious ways.

Enjoy whatever set you end up with

Soooo do you also recommend Zero:2's? What about E11C's? Any other pair to consider in sub 50€ range?

 

[earmonger]

You can do a rough hearing test online to see what highs you can actually hear.

https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_frequencycheckhigh.php
https://hearingtest.online/

22,000 Hz vs. 20,000 Hz might sound like a lot -- another 10 percent, right? Not really. Every doubling of frequencies is one octave. The lowest octave of a piano is 27.5 Hz to 55 Hz. The highest note on a piano is 4186 Hz. An octave above that, up in birdsong land, is 8372 Hz. The whole span of 10k-20k is only another octave, with some high overtones of voices and instruments -- possibly adding nuance and spatial information, but not richness. And 20k-22k would be like having only an extra note or two on an imaginary keyboard. Manufacturers put up specs like that more as marketing than as useful information.

 

[Lindholdt]

Soooo do you also recommend Zero:2's? What about E11C's? Any other pair to consider in sub 50€ range?

I haven't heard the two IEM's, so I can't really recommend any of them. My point was just that you should not pay too much attention to the frequency response range, when making your decision.

 

[Hypops]

I was looking to buy SoundMagic E11C in-ear headphones, but since they are at least 4-5 years old now, and a bit harder to find, I thought some better choices became available by now. I'm looking for a 30-60€ piece with rugged-enough build (like the E11C) and solid sound with decent bass (again, like the E11C). I'll be playing music from my phone (no amp or other accessories), mostly for psy trance, but also rock, metal, rap, techno, upbeat, funk... I'll be using them in the gym too, and I can be a bit clumsy, so I need them built to last. Doesn't have to be bulletproof or bulldozer-proof, but not cheap plastic either.
Thanks in advance

I see those same SoundMagic E11C's available at a number of retailers still for about $45 (including from Amazon). Easy answer would be just to buy the set you already know you like.

I heard that it's not about hearing those 20+k frequencies but rather that even without you hearing it, it changes the way the music sounds when the sound has a fuller range and hence sounds better. Some logic I thought of was, if the headphone can produce such a wider range, it probably is a more advanced piece of tech compared to some 40Hz-14kHz garbage.

As others have said, there really isn't much of a practical reason to worry about frequencies that high. Even if you can hear that high still, virtually no music has fundamentals (i.e., the "main notes") beyond about 6-8kHz. For example, a piano's highest fundamental is about 4kHz. Everything above that is just upper harmonics of those fundamentals (what audiophiles call "air").