Magaosi K3 Pro In-ear Earphone Review

Design –

The K3 Pro is a stunning earphone, especially considering its more modest asking price. Among earphones from TFZ, Simgot and more household brands like Shure and Westone, the K3 Pro is undoubtedly one of my favourites. The all-aluminium construction is impeccably finished, ergonomically styled and feels nothing but rigid in the hand. The K3 Pro’s are available in two colours, silver and grey as pictured in this review. Both are striking though the grey model is arguably more distinct. A few users have mentioned QC issues though I did not notice anything like that, rather, the K3 Pro has one of the nicest constructions I’ve seen around this price.

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Utilising the typical monitor style housings, the K3 Pro is reminiscent in shape to earphones from Shure and Westone as opposed the more atypical TFZ King, Simgot En700 and Oriveti Basic. But manufacturers adopt this design for a reason and through this tried and tested form factor, the K3 Pro achieves fantastic ergonomics that put their rather awkward competition to shame. Considering the triple driver configuration housed within, the earphones are compact, smaller than the SE215 for instance, and their low-profile fit and replaceable cable makes them ideal for sleeping. As such, they sit deeper in the ear and avoided forming hotspots during my usage. The inner face is absolutely smooth with a perfectly angled nozzle integrated into the metal housings. The nozzles are quite long enabling a deep fit, and are of wider bore; CP100 Spinfits just fit with some stretching though wider tips like the JVC Spiral Dots are more suitable.

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With an over-ear fit, the K3 Pro’s proved to be very stable during use, easily staying put during exercise and general daily commute. Due to the presence of two small vents on the outer face, they aren’t the most isolating earphones, though they suffice for public transport. Foam tips do improve isolation and they may be just adequate for air travel with noticeable volume increase. Long term comfort is also good, the earphones are well shaped and will suit those with smaller ears. They aren’t quite as comfortable as the exemplary Oriveti Basic’s with mild discomfort forming at the back of my ears during extended use. Still, they are one of the most ergonomic earphones I’ve used around this price.

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The K3 Pro has a removable cable using the traditional MMCX connector allowing for countless aftermarket options should the stock cables be unsatisfactory. One thing to note is that the K3 Pro has very loose MMCX connectors. While sound never became intermittent and the cables never accidentally detached during my usage, the earphones may be more prone to these issues later down the road.

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Two cables are included from factory, a remote cable and audio only cable. The remote cable is honestly pretty cheap feeling, very plasticky with far too much memory for my liking. Though it will do in a pinch, this is obviously not how the K3 Pros were designed to be experienced. Luckily, the audio-only cable is far more pleasing, perhaps not as much as the braided cables on the King and En700 though those units are non-removable in return. Instantly, the silvery audio cable is more catching with a lustrous internal braid. All connectors are beefy with great strain-relief that puts many more expensive earphones to shame. The actual wire is reasonably ergonomic with a smooth texture and a decently supple feel. The cable conforms to the user with well-shaped heat-shrink ear guides that are easily more favourable than memory wire. The right angle plug is low-profile, easily fitting within my phone case. Acoustically, the silvery cable has a drier midrange and more sub-bass snap, high frequencies are a little unrefined. Cable swapping is not an economical way to adjust the K3 Pro’s sound though those with a few MMCX earphones may want to give cable swapping a go as they response reasonably well.

 Next Page: Sound

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Ryan Soo

Ryan Soo

Avid writer, passionate photographer and sleep-deprived medical student, Ryan has an ongoing desire to bring quality products to the regular reader.

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10 Responses

  1. That’s very unfortunate and sounds like a defect in manufacturing, I always give the nozzles on my review unit a good tug to test durability and my set was rock solid. Definitely contact the seller you bought them from, you should be entitled to a replacement unit

  2. Watch out, these IEMs are built like garbage. Do not be fooled by the supposed “premium” build. Despite careful usage, the sound tube in mine broke clean off on the left side when attempting to change eartips. Turns out it was held there by glue. The IEM was unrepairable afterwards.

  3. Alright Ryan, thanks for the quick reply. Seems like the K3 Pro is more in what I’m looking for and now after much consideration I will get them instead of 1More. Although not sure why but the case and package of 1More triples seemed to attract me more haha

  4. Hi Brandon, thanks for your kind comments! For kpop, the K3 Pro might be a better choice, I think they’re a really good choice for pop and vocal with really nice detailing in the high-frequencies. The 1More is darker and more natural from memory, it really depends how treble sensitive you are but the K3 Pro’s tuning is probably a better bet for your preferred music.

  5. Great review Ryan, out of curiosity you did mention the k3 being the better triple drivers iem compared to 1More. Could you perhaps elaborate on that as I’ve been eyeing 1More for some time now until I stumble upon your review on the k3. For your info I’m an avid kpop listener particularly on female vocals like taeyeon and IU so would like to know which of them play songs from that genre better.

  6. And yeah, I people tend to prefer the black filters but the silver ones while providing a bit more veiled sound are definitely the mote tonally accurate

  7. Props for the more grounded review. I have to admit I was a bit uldisapointed with the k3 pro as reflected in my comments in the hhead-fi thread but I admit it’s not a bad iem per se. Just lacks technicalitu and transparency but for the 80 bucks I paid it’s decent but personally I wouldn’t pay more for it given the competition in that price range, so for me $100+ is a bit of a stretch for it but some people of course will disagree

  8. Thanks Ryan, I’ll wait for your reviews then.
    About oriveti basics, I’m also worried about excessive bass since I find my 1more triples a bit on the warm side. I’m surprised that you picked magaosi k3 over other options (1more triple, gr07). I’m worried about their hot treble actually.

  9. Thanks John, the hype did get a bit blown out at the beginning on these earphones, but they are still a genuinely fine performer. I will have a review of the EN700 Bass out soon, it’s a pretty new model but from early impressions, they sound balanced and natural with especially nice soundstage and treble. The TFZ King is another model I’ve been reviewing, it has the most resolution and detail at this price but sounds very aggressive, like the Pinnacle P1, so it’s not necessarily the best choice depending on preference.

    I would actually pick the K3 Pro since I personally like their tuning, the other earphones also have pretty awkward ergonomics and fixed cables so it’s a combination of sound and design. The Oriveti Basic is another really great model at this price, it has a smoother, more refined sound than any of the Chi-fi earphones combined with the best fit and removable cable though some have found the sub-bass to be excessive. All of them are really nice performers sonically, I suspect a lot of users will decide based on fit as that is where a lot of them are still catching up to Western models.

  10. I’ve been thinking to get this iem from past couple of weeks. All I could really find was hype on headfi for this iem. Thanks for your review as your review really provided pros and cons. You also mentioned EN700 bass which made me curious about them since this is the first time I heard about EN700. Which is your favorite iem in same budget? I already have EX1 and 1more triple and I’m looking to buy another iem.

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