1MORE Triple Driver Hi-Res BT In-Ear Headphones

Peter Donnell / 6 years ago

A Closer Look and Performance

The design of this headset is not one I’ve ever used before. Of course, similar around the neck to earbud headphones are on the market, and I have seen them, but this is the first time I’ve ever used one. The wireless technology and rechargeable batteries are located in the extreme ends of the neckband section of the headphones. This then runs into two short cables to the drivers, so they’re wired, but they’re actually wireless; simple enough.

The headband is made of a soft silky feeling rubber that’s very flexible. This is obviously good, as it doesn’t feel uncomfortable wearing it around your neck. In fact, it’s actually very pleasant to wear! The design looks superb as well, all the little details, such as the stylish 1MORE logo (yes, I have them upside down here), and that metallic red trim between the rubber and metal work. Every looks precision-engineered and there’s real attention to detail here, giving them a premium quality look and feel. Of course, we would expect anything less from 1MORE.

Easy Controls

Down the left side, you’ll find easy to reach controls for play/pause, as well as volume. You’ll also find a pinhole microphone here, there’s another microphone on the top side of the headband; one deals with voice chat, the other with the noise cancelling for the other. While it’s not ANC for listening to audio, it does mean clean chat audio when you’re making calls, which is still awesome. The power button is self-explanatory, of course.

The cables for the earbuds are nice and durable, with a sturdy protective coating. However, it still feels quite soft, so when it’s inevitably going to touch your face/ears it doesn’t feel uncomfortable either. It’s mounted into the neckband housing at an angle too, preventing the cable from sticking out and keeping more in line with your neck and head.

The battery is built into the housing, yet despite this, the whole thing is amazingly lightweight. We’ve been running them for a few days now, listening for about 3 hours a day, and the battery warning hasn’t triggered yet despite the 7 hours quoted battery life! Even so, with a 30-minute charge you can get 3 hours of listening time, so you should be set for those long journeys.

Superb Build Quality

The earbuds are very nicely designed. They come with a milled metal exterior, that’s certainly attractive. The earpiece is angled so that it sits naturally within your ear canal, while the main driver sits at 90-degree to your head. This makes them feel comfortable and balanced, while securely anchoring them within your ears. With eight sets of earbuds included, you’ll be sure to find the perfect fit too. Because the wire is so short, and only goes to the neckband, it doesn’t pull or tug, so they’re safe in your ears even while you’re running and jumping around.

The design is obviously superb, but the hardware on the inside is pretty special too. Using a single large dynamic driver, as well as two balanced armatures, the headset is able to recreate audio on an extended frequency range. Hi-Res Audio means a few things, such as it must support Hi-Res audio codecs such as FLAC, and 24bit/96kHz or 24bit/192kHz files, with a bitrate of around 9216kbps, which is far above the typical 320kbps of most mp3 tracks. Also, the drivers need to reproduce a wider range, usually from 20hz up to 40kHz; which is both below and above the range of human hearing.

So once they were hooked up to out Samsung S9+, and I dug into my regular streaming music Amazon Prime Music, a few CD rips I have, and a fair few true Hi-Res FLAC audio files too. First impressions and I mean within the first few seconds very first impression; jaw-dropping would be an understatement. The sheer range of the bass frequencies is mind-boggling, and I dare say these are some of the best, if not THE best headphones I’ve ever tested. Even more so than the Quad-Driver on-ear headphones from 1MORE themselves.

God-like Sound Quality

Opening up with Notes from Africa by Devin Townsend, the crunch and warmth of the guitars sounded as good as it does right from Devin’s amp (trust me, I know). So, I thought let’s throw something with bigger bass and even more demanding mid-range and treble. David Bowie – Little Wonder, with its thundering drum n bass intro and soaring ethereal sound. The bass is ringing tight and clear down to 30 Hz and the upper end of the range is still bright and clear as a summers day.

So I thought, Ihsahn – Lend Me The Eyes of Millennia would trip up these drivers. Not one big, the sound of that sound is like a mental breakdown of noise and synth, but it’s never sounded so good in my opinion. The good music vibes continue, with the thumping bass guitar opening of Korn’s Issues album, Gojira’s From Mars to Sirius, and I got plenty of fun out of The Greatest Show (yes, the musical). Music lovers take note, audiophiles listen up, 1MORE has knocked it out of the park yet again.

Making Calls

While I was lost in my fourth or fifth album, my phone actually rang. Perfect timing to test the voice chat. Again, voices sounded natural as best it can over a mobile signal. The ANC worked well too, blocking the sound of traffic and wind to a good degree, allowing my caller to hear me nice and clearly.