Introduction
Recently the AFUL MagicOne has been gaining a lot of attention from enthusiasts. We definitely want to check them out too. AFUL is founded in 2018 which is quite recent but their first hybrid driver in ear monitor (IEM), Performer 5, was highly popular amongst the community for the last few years and since then AFUL have been active with their releases which even includes a USB DAC dongle recently. However, today we have the MagicOne which is a single balanced armature (BA) driver IEM, and they feature some cool technological jargon. The ones that caught our attention were the Nautilus Acoustic Maze and SE-Math Electro-Acoustic Intermodulation technologies. They are also priced at 139 USD for a single BA monitor which is to be fair a competitive price segment nowadays. Therefore, let’s find out what the MagicOne is all about shall we?
Packaging & Accessories
AFUL MagicOne came with a simple relatively small box. Inside you would get a circular black case with a nice dual oxygen free copper (OFC) and silver-plated OFC Litz Type 4 cables. Two types of eartips, wide and small-bore stock eartips were also included. As for the build quality, the MagicOnes shell are made of a clear resin I believed, with a faceplate decorated with snowflakes design. What’s interesting is that the clear shell allows us to see the Nautilus Acoustic Maze technology and SE-Math Electro-Acoustic Intermodulation technologies inside. As for the former, an ultra-thin 3D printed acoustic tube acted as a resonator to increase the BA driver’s bass. As you can see in the image the end of the tube is connected to the shell as a vent. This technology is actually not really new since it was inspired by the famous Nautilus speaker design. Meanwhile, the aforementioned later technology is utilized to increase the treble extension of the custom-made AFUL single BA using some network of circuitries that they called “RLC electro-acoustic network”. As a former researcher myself, it’s good to see a Chi-Fi company showcase their research and development (R&D) efforts rather than shoving the “same old same old” drivers or techs in parallel to their product release. Whether these technologies truly revolutionize the actual sound reproduction is up to us to judge, but the fact that they had the efforts to do things differently through proper R&Ds would always be appreciated.
Specifications
- Impedance: 38Ω
- Sensitivity: 103dB/mW
- Frequency Response: 5Hz-35kHz
- Passive Isolation: 26dB
- Connectors: 2-pin 0.78mm
- Termination: 3.5mm/4.4mm
- Cable Length: 1.2m
Retail Price & Where to Get
Thank you, Starpickers Audio Library, for lending us the AFUL MagicOne for an honest review. Check out the AFUL MagicOne here:
Source Pairing
- Android 13/ Windows 11 > DDHifi TC35B/ Questyle M12/ Topping DX3 Pro+ > AFUL MagicOne
Test Tracks
Tonality
A welcome departure from the typical Harmanish and DF neutral tuning style, the AFUL MagicOne is a tastefully tuned neutral monitor. This actually makes sense since they only got a single BA driver that can only do so much. In spite of neutral sound profile, they do have some sprinkle of “magic” in the bass and treble and hence the aforementioned, “tastefully”, word takes place.
Bass
The bass of the MagicOne is neutral as a whole but there is a gentle bump on the midbass to prevent them from sounding too analytical or flat. The slope contrast between the midbass and lower midrange is also great to maintain their neutral sound and avoid excessive “warmness” and bass bloat which I could found in other IEMs. As someone who subjectively prefers a not too much bass IEM, I’m quite pleased with the bass quantity which is pretty much good enough for any kind of music. However, I found that quality wise, they are debatable, partly because of their low subbass extension and lack of speed and resolution, despite all the Nautilus Acoustic Maze technology embedded. While that technology is great at providing a satisfying amount of bass punch with relatively good timbre, they certainly still lose to physics in which the natural limitation of using a BA driver would be highlighted on certain occasions. After all, there is only so much air that can be pushed by that cute little driver in comparison to other types of drivers. To understand what I’m talking about, try listening to Box of Stars Part 1 by Jacob Collier. You’ll notice that while you can hear the deep subbass, there’s always something missing because you can’t truly feel it, like in some other IEMs. Anyhow, I still have to remind myself that I was listening to a single BA driver IEM.
Midrange
The midrange performance of this IEM is just excellent across the board in my opinion. The tuning is just spot on especially to my taste, with that subtle pinna gain that isn’t too sharp like with most Harman inspired sounded IEM nowadays. The rest of the lower mids are frontally positioned making this IEM a fantastic player for vocal and midrange lovers. Technical-wise too is profound with the MagicOne. They are resolving and highly textured with great micro dynamics sound inflections. Listening to jazz records would be a fantastic choice too with MagicOne since the timbre is relatively natural for a BA IEM. There isn’t any harshness, and peaks but warmth and intimacy like a warm blanket during a winter day. I even prefer to listen rock and female vocal music so that I can hear them at higher volume occasionally (please don’t follow me on this one and take care of your ear well).
Treble
While treble isn’t as stunning as the midrange, they are no slouch. There is a slight lack of upper treble extension, but they are far from bad. Just like the bass, there is also some gentle boost on the lower treble which makes MagicOne’s high a hair bright. They aren’t offensive at all and there is no sibilance either that I could detect. Overall, the treble is similar to the bass as a whole in which they are pleasantly bright to my ears quantitatively, but I did notice a slight loss of control and definition which can be occasionally detected when complex tracks are being replayed. While the SE-Math Electro-Acoustic Intermodulation technology did work for the treble extension at the top, they still couldn’t excel the ultimate test of separation due to their intrinsic limitations.
Soundstage & Imaging
Aside from tonality, let’s talk about the subjective part of the sound starting from the soundstage. The soundstage to my ears is great. I don’t have high expectations of staging size when it comes to IEM because to me IEM is not meant for this. Go for headphones or speakers if you want soundstage. Of course, we can still discuss the soundstage characteristics of an IEM though and for the MagicOne, I found that they are horizontally wide enough to support the imaging but there were some slight lacks depth and height which could be improved upon. But what really cares for an IEM is the imaging performance. And the MagicOne has a fantastic imaging localization. They can absolutely shine when you’re playing a well-produced record with a high amount of soundscape in all directions.
Resolution & Separation
However, the instrument separation is just average despite the great imaging. I wish that the resolution and separation are a little bit better especially at this price point because I really like the tuning already. This is just the limitation of utilizing only one BA since the driver needs to handle every single task including those complex instruments. But do note that they are not bad by any means, they are still better than some IEMs that have multiple drivers in them which is quite a remarkable achievement already in my opinion.
Drivability & Synergy
The MagicOne baffled me a little in this department because they are quite demanding in terms of power requirement despite their nature of having only one BA driver. Generally, playing the MagicOne with your DAC from a PC or laptop is still fine but definitely not with a smartphone. My Questyle M12 USB DAC struggled to drive them to my typical loud listening volume and even more so with my cute little DDHifi TC35B which just didn’t have enough power. Therefore, a lot of my testing was done through my 1.5W desktop DAC AMP, Topping DX3 Pro+, which occasionally almost ran out of volume headroom. Therefore, I highly recommend anyone have a capable source first before grabbing these bad boys. In terms of synergy, I believe a clean sounding or low output impedance source would be the best synergy for the BA driver in the MagicOne.
Comparison
Kefine Klanar:
Klanar is a much more fun and v-sounding planar magnetic IEM. The midbass kick is more pronounced while the subbass is slightly deeper. In terms of resolution, both are similar. However, the Klanar is slightly faster in their transient and hence providing slightly better separation. Midrange, particularly in the lower region is more recessed with the Klanar whereas the pinnae gain is higher resulting in peakier effect for vocal and mids instruments. Herein, I much prefer the more relaxed, intimate, and more detailed midrange of the MagicOne. Treble is somewhat similar for both IEMs, but the Klanar has a bit more sibilance but better upper treble extension. Therefore, the Klanar’s treble is a bit more resolved and detailed. Soundstage wise, Klanar has a hair bigger staging due to the v-tuning effect, but the imaging is slightly blurrier than the MagicOne. Resolution is a bit more complicated because each has its own strengths depending on the frequency. In example, the Klanar is more resolving in the bass and treble meanwhile, the MagicOne is more resolving in the mids. Overall instruments separation is not much different, but the Klanar may handle more complex songs a bit better. In addition, I prefer the timbre of the MagicOne a bit more because the Klanar’s planar driver timbre can sound slightly artificial plus the sibilance issue as well as lacking in their centre images. In the end, both are tuned distinctly, and each has their own character and strength due to the nature of their drivers.
Audiosense DT200:
A much more interesting comparison is with the well-tuned two BAs IEM, DT200. While they are much older than the MagicOne, they share similar tonal balance but only slightly differ in the lower mids and upper mids frequencies. The DT200 is a bit warmer due to less contrast between the bass and midrange and because of that they sounded less defined or mushier in comparison to the MagicOne. The MagicOne also made improvements over the slightly peakier 3kHz and 8kHz of the DT200. Therefore, the MagicOne has a bit more controlled treble with better resolution and other technicalities such as more defined imaging and micro detailing. In my opinion, the MagicOne is a direct upgrade for the DT200 despite having one less BA because they sounded almost the same tonality-wise. However, the MagicOne is a little bit bigger and bulkier in size, though both still have excellent comfort and noise isolation when worn.
For Whom?
MagicOne is an IEM for someone who likes neutral sound in a tasteful way that means a different approach from the typical Harmanish or DF neutralish upper mids and midbass scoop tuning. They are also great for those who love vocals but are sensitive to upper midrange and treble frequencies. I personally like to listen to vocal and jazz music as well as pop genres with the MagicOne.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the AFUL MagicOne is my easy recommendation for a well-tuned single BA IEM that is neutral yet balanced while at the same time healthily departs from the repetitive “Harmanish” tuned IEMs found in the market nowadays. In the grand scheme of things, they are unlikely to top the chart in terms of sheer sound quality, but the price in my opinion is granted by taking the R&D costs and efforts into consideration. Ergonomically, they are great, lightweight, and comfortable to be worn on the ear. And, in my mind, AFUL has done a great job for this single BA IEM project that indeed actually worked as a proof of concept where less is definitely more. I hope they don’t just stop here, keep going and we’ll be interested to see the future of AFUL and their next release.
