Soundmagic TWS50

Staying true to its affordable heritage, Soundmagic’s debut pair of true wireless in-ears comes in at well under £100. Weighing just 4g apiece, the buds are beautifully light. A secure fit during use may seem like a basic requirement, but the TWS50S are comfortable and fit well.

Soundmagic has chosen to offer something different with its charging case; holding the bottom half and rotating the top reveals the buds. The numerical battery indicator, which shines from the case for a few seconds when it registers the buds’ presence, is a nice touch. The claim here is, with a fully charged case holding four extra charges, you’ll get up to 30 hours of use before needing another power source.

We cue up FKA twigs’ debut album LP1 on Tidal and there’s an awful lot to like. Solo voices in Preface are full-bodied and presented within an expansive and layered mix. Computergenerated blips flash from left ear to right and even from overhead.

With Lights On, the presentation is open and spacious, with each instrument given ample space. It’s only during the track Two Weeks that we become aware of a minor shortfall. Here, an initial, rhythmic riff through the bass registers is actually a heavily altered vocal, but the sounds aren’t fully recognisable as words here.

We play Foals’ Antidotes album and vocals are well handled and the treble is exciting, but the shortfall in dynamic detail remains, especially through the lower frequencies. There’s plenty of separation, but in terms of timing, the TWS50S are a shade off too. We lose some of the frenzied bassline that underpins The French Open and draws musical strands together.

Soundmagic’s true wireless in-ears offer decent sound-per-pound value. If this is the extent of your budget, you’ll get competitive battery life, one of the more comfortable earbuds we’ve tested and an expansive listen that betters the cheaper Cyrus soundbuds.