“Do you know 1More?…. 1More what?” This was an exchange between I and a friend and I can’t say that I blame him. When it comes to Headphones and other audio accessories, the name 1More cannot be said to be among the top brands. Of course, not where you have top brands like Apple, Bose, Sony, and Sennheiser, to name but a few.
Since we know this, why are we even bothering to look at products from this brand? Well, though this brand can be regarded as an outlier in this field, we hear some good things about them, which has elicited the need to look at a few of their products.
With its headquarters in Shenzhen, China, 1More has slowly but steadily spread its tentacles across the world, establishing its presence across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Two major factors have been behind the success and expansion of this brand – Affordability and Quality.
The brand has a simple philosophy, and that’s that every music lover deserves and should be able to hear music the way the artist intended for it to be heard. To this end, it offers some of the best quality headphones at the lower spectrum of the headphone price range.
Interestingly, its headphones are acoustically tuned by, Luca Bignardi, a 4-time Grammy Award winning sound engineer. With such a competent professional in charge of tuning these headphones, you know to expect something good.
Let’s now begin to take a close look at some of its products. We will be looking at the following headphones from 1More:
• SonoFlow Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones
• EVO True Wireless Buds
• Fit Open Earbuds S50
• Penta Driver Headphones – P50
1MORE SonoFlow Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones
Score by Spec
| Impedance and Amplification | 7.5 | Noise Cancellation | 6.5 |
| Frequency Response | 7 | Design | 7.5 |
| Sensitivity and Volume | 7 | Material | 8 |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | 7 | Battery Life | 9 |
| Isolation | 5.5 | IP Rating | NA |
With other established brands selling similar headphones for hundreds of dollars, what can you expect from this wireless active noise cancelling headphones from 1More that costs less than $100?
The consensus on these headphones is that they are really lightweight and comfortable to wear. You can have them on for hours without any discomfort. These headphones will also go without any charge for days. It promises 70hours of use with ANC off and about 50 hours with ANC on. When the battery is low, 5 minutes of charge will yield about 5 hours of use time and from empty, the battery will get to full charge in about 80 minutes.
This is an over-ear headphone so you can expect some level of isolation even if not much. However, with ANC activated, external noise is significantly cut down. While it may not be as complete as some much more expensive brands, it will get the job done for most users.
When it comes to the sound, right off the bat, you may notice that the lows are not so pronounced. Not to worry, 1More offers its music app that allows you get much more from these headphones. The additional features include 12 EQ presets that you can immediately engage to change the sound of your music. You can also create your own custom EQ on the app.
Considering how much these headphones cost, most average users will find them completely sufficient for their needs. It connects very easily and quickly to various devices, making it even more user-friendly. Why spend so much more when you can have this with a lot less?
1MORE EVO True Wireless Buds
Score by Spec
| Impedance and Amplification | 7.5 | Noise Cancellation | 7 |
| Frequency Response | 7 | Design | 7 |
| Sensitivity and Volume | 7 | Material | 7 |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | 7 | Battery Life | 6.5 |
| Isolation | 6.5 | IP Rating | 5 |
The Evo is 1More’s latest addition to the world of headphones and earbuds. The 1More Evo, offers isolation that is further enhanced by the brand’s active noise cancellation tech., QuietMax, to enable you enjoy some peace and quiet even in the midst of chaotic noise.
Its noise cancellation is described as “Adaptive” which means that it has levels which you can choose from. The different levels allow for varied amounts of environmental awareness. So, you make your choice depending on how much of your environment you want to be aware of. These controls are accessed on the companion app.
In line with the brand’s philosophy, these earbuds come at a very affordable price. Despite being priced lower than most alternatives, it is not necessarily cheap. It has a nice build and delivers good quality audio.
Its battery life is average, offering about 5 hours 30 minutes with ANC and 8 hours without ANC. If you add the charge from the case, you get a total of about 20 hours with ANC and 28 hours without ANC. Charge time is 1 hour for the earbuds and 2 hours to get the case fully charged.
To ensure that every user can achieve a snug fit, it comes with 5 pairs of silicon ear tips. These range in size from XS, S, M, L to XL. Using the correct sizes for your ears ensures increased comfort, better sound, and better isolation/active noise cancellation. It also reduces the risk of the buds falling off. This coupled with the buds IPX4 rating makes it suitable for some levels of workout.
To get the most from these buds, match them up with the 1More music app. You will be able to choose or create your own sound preference. The app gives you access to 12 studio-grade EQ presets that you can check out. They can also connect to two different devices at the same time, reducing the time it may have taken to switch between devices.
An important point to add is that the call quality that they offer is good. The fact that it enhances communication by reducing ambient noise while increasing your voices, is something that makes it easy for you to talk conveniently even in a noisy environment.
While these earbuds may not offer extraordinary features, they offer the main features that most user actually need. For the money, they are well worth it.
1MORE Fit Open Earbuds S50
Score by Spec
| Impedance and Amplification | 8 | Noise Cancellation | 0 |
| Frequency Response | 6.5 | Design | 8 |
| Sensitivity and Volume | 7 | Material | 7.5 |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | 7 | Battery Life | 7 |
| Isolation | 5 | IP Rating | 8 |
The idea of an “Open” Earbud is one that finds the perfect middle ground between great sound and an ideal listening environment. This is different from noise cancellation which aims at completely eliminating the sounds from the environment, allowing you to get fully immersed in what you’re listening to.
The 1More Fit Open Earbuds S50 was created to give you a great sound and an ideal listening environment. These earbuds are commonly referred to as “Sports” earbuds. This is most likely due to the fact that they are designed to stay firmly attached even with increased physical activity without causing discomfort. Its impressive IPX7 rating is also an important factor since it means it is protected against sweat and light rain.
Unlike the 1More Evo which inserts into the ear to achieve its fit, the S50 sits over the ear opening and is attached to the outer ear by the hook. You don’t get to enjoy great isolation as you are constantly aware of what’s happening around you. However, this is great if, for example, you’re out running on a busy street. You will most definitely want to hear when a car is coming behind you.
The S50 has an interestingly low impedance of 16 ohms. What this means is that it will work perfectly with practically any consumer device. Since this low impedance requires less voltage to power it, it will consume less power.
We know that having such a low impedance has a major disadvantage. Thankfully, the fact that it is Bluetooth connected means that this risk of distortion or even damage from powerful or professional-grade equipment, is seriously reduced.
The earbud offers a decent 11-hour play time when it’s fully charged. If you add the additional charge that you can get from the case, you get a total of 38 hours of play time. You need about 80 minutes to get the earbuds to full charge while the case will require about 1 hour 30 minutes to be fully charged.
For emergencies or when the battery is completely dead, you just need 5 minutes of charging to get 2 hours of use-time. That’s pretty impressive. They also support wireless charging which is also a plus.
One more important thing to note about these buds is that they can be used effectively by people who need to talk on-the-go. With a total of 4 microphones, two on each bud, it promises crystal clear communication anywhere. The brand also uses an Ai-powered tech that it calls, Deep Neural Network (DNN) algorithm, to reduce background noise while increasing the sound of your voice. This enhances communication even in a noisy environment.
Add to all of the above the extra features that you can get with the companion app, and you have one earbud that is looking like a great alternative to the household name brands out there.
1MORE Penta Driver Headphones – P50
Score by Spec
| Impedance and Amplification | 7.5 | Noise Cancellation | 0 |
| Frequency Response | 8 | Design | 7.5 |
| Sensitivity and Volume | 7.5 | Material | 8 |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | 7.5 | Battery Life | NA |
| Isolation | 6.5 | IP Rating | NA |
Moving away from the wireless phones, we will be rounding off this review with a wired IEM (In Ear Monitor) from 1More. This IEM is known as the P50, a Penta or five driver headphones.
A lot can be said about this headphones, starting from their design and build quality. They look and feel well-made, which is the very first thing you get to see. The wires are also top quality, preventing audio quality loss or degradation. These wires are detachable from each bud.
Since they are in-ear, they offer appreciable isolation. 1More promises up to 28dBs of noise reduction with these. Of course, they do not offer noise cancellation since they are passive headphones.
With all that out of the way, let’s look at what really makes these headphones tick – the penta drivers. This is the core of these headphones and what really makes them shine.
Each ear piece comes with 5 drivers, a dynamic driver and four planar drivers. Each of these four planar drivers represents a specific frequency range. You may hear this headphone described as a hybrid headphone. That’s because it combines the benefits of the dynamic driver with that of the planar driver.
The result is a fuller sound with a much better sound reproduction across a wider frequency range. As an IEM, you can expect to enjoy the full spectrum of any music genre on these headphones.
With an impedance of 32 ohms, it can be used with your regular devices, in the studio or on stage. The fact that it comes with additional accessories like a Type C to 3.5mm jack adaptor, and three sets of phone tips, shows that it was created for a wide range of applications.
As with all 1More earbuds, these also come with 5 sets of ear tips with sizes ranging from XS, S, M, L and XL. We already know that the right ear tip enhances isolation which helps improve the quality of sound you get to hear.
So, if you are in the market for a set of IEMs that won’t cost you an arm and a leg but will deliver great audio quality, this is one product you will surely want to give a try.
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