Cowon EM1 vs soundmagic ES 19s which one to choose?

for how much time did you use Cowon EM1? did the sound quality remain same throughout its life? I own one and now I hear crackling when pressing it into my ear...I feel it lost its bass-punch which was present initially. should I get it replaced under warranty?

build quality is better in Cowon EM1 in the same price range.

How is the ES19s, its the successor to the forum popular choice ES18, im curious if it has better build

I've had SoundMagic EM10, ES18, Cowon EM1, Sennheiser Cx180 etc.
Build Quality:
Cowon > Sennheiser > SoundMagic. The cables on soundmagic will split itself, especially the left one. It is not a typical rubber tube, but rather a sheet of rubber rolled and glued to form a tube. If you have a sweaty neck or face, it will happen sooner. It won't last a year of regular daily use. The cables will sometime become sticky and oily, like the rubber grips in old pens
Sennheiser earphones sometimes lose volume on one of the earphones, like after six months or so. Glad it had a two year full replacement guarantee; got it replaced twice. Cowon has withstood all kind of torture for more than a year, and yes, it is tangle free unlike the other two where you have to spend quite some time untangling the cables.
Sound Quality:
SoundMagic > Cowon = Sennheiser. If you love bass, Sennheiser is the one for you. After listening to soundmagics, the Cowon EM1 felt flat. But still it has got a good bass and clarity. Sennheiser CX180 also has got a similar feel like Cowon.
SoundMagic EM10 got a better bass and sound stage than ES18/ES19.

SoundMAGIC ES19S

The best budget earphones I've heard this cheap, blew my mind a little! As with any earphones at this price range I wasn't expecting sonic wonders when I tried them out but I was completely blown away when I heard them. Don't get me wrong, they're not as sonically textural as fellow new SoundMAGIC models such as the E50 and E80 that I've tried but bass is present and solid as expected but the top end cuts through beautifully with the mids giving a nice width to their soundstage. A real solid number for the price!