# Sound Magic ES18 VS COWON EM1



## maverick121 (Feb 18, 2015)

I have had 2 sound magic es 18,Lost both  .Was settling with samsung bundled earphones.Lost it too 

Now im looking for a new pair of earphones.Bought 2 ES 18s its pretty good stuff,but the cable tangles and the built quality is okay.Now i have noticed the cowon EM1 it has better built and non tangle cable,

I can get es18 for around 600 and the em 1 for under 700.

So which one should i go for is EM1 as good as ES18?


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## robotsmani (Feb 20, 2015)

Cowon EM1. 

I have both not found any major diff in sound. Cowon gives better bass and good build quality(non tangle cable).


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## _MS_ (Feb 20, 2015)

COWON EM1.
Better sound (bass and clarity) and build quality (flat cable).


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## $hadow (Feb 20, 2015)

If you are satisfied with es 18 you can purchase it again or else em1 is a great option. Going for either one of the won't be going to disappoint you. My choice is es18.


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## sharang (Feb 20, 2015)

+1 to Cowon EM1


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## hitesh (Feb 21, 2015)

I am currently using EM1. My ES18 died a few months back. Wish I'd never bought this EM1
EM1 is a little superior in SQ but cable noise (microphonics) is quite high compared to ES18, which is bummer. Also it has bad isolation, so ultimately the whole listening experience is much better in ES18.
EM1 has better cable only in the sense that it is tangle-free, that's it. Otherwise it is inferior to ES18 due to high cable noise. 
Also worth mentioning is that the right piece on my EM1 is going dead just within a few months purchase. This is really bad compared to ES18 I had which worked great for 18months until it died due to an accident


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## Minion (Feb 21, 2015)

I feel ES18 has better Sound quality than EM1 also EM1 doesn't fits into my ear properly it just fall.


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## hitesh (Feb 21, 2015)

Minion said:


> I feel ES18 has better Sound quality than EM1 also EM1 doesn't fits into my ear properly it just fall.



SQ wise I felt EM1 had a clearer bass (though lacking quantity) and better highs, but the difference is minimal.

And yeah forgot about fit. Another reason why I don't like EM1


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## Nanducob (Feb 21, 2015)

For me,
SQ wise - es 18 ,non tangling cable -em 1.
Bit disappointed when moved from es 18 to em 1


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## saswat23 (Feb 21, 2015)

You have already experienced ES18 earlier. Give EM1 a try this time.


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## Nanducob (Feb 21, 2015)

For me,Es 18 was more clear sounding and had quality bass ,only problem I felt was treble bleed?  like the hi hats at the end of the song -  waves ,by Guthrie Govan was annoying


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## maverick121 (Mar 7, 2015)

Thanks did not check back the thread after few days. I think i will get an EM1 this time.


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## $hadow (Mar 8, 2015)

EM1 is certainly worth the money spent on them.


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## vickybat (Jul 14, 2015)

Guys even i am in a fix on what to decide. Having used both pl11 and pl21 in the past, i have some second thoughts about soundmagic's build quality.
Cowon EM1 is another option and i felt it has a clear and balanced sound, after using my friend's piece. 

Which one should i go for? How about audio technica ATH CLR100?


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