1MORE aims high. Since their founding in 2014, they’re made it their mission to become a premiere audio brand that delivers high-end audio at affordable prices. Today, we’re looking at their latest release with the 1MORE Triple Driver BT In-Ear Headphones. Featuring LDAC support, three drivers per ear, Hi-Res Audio Certification, and a metal alloy build, should they be your next pair of Bluetooth earbuds?
Specifications
- Current Price: $149.99
- Model: E1001BT
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Key Features:
- Triple Drivers: Dual balanced armatures, metal composite dynamic driver,
- High Resolution Audio: LDAC - x4 transmission speed of normal Bluetooth, AAC Hi-Res Transmission (16-bit, 48kHz)
- Aluminum alloy design
- Ergonomic neckband with foldable design
- Multi-function controller with media, volume, and smart assistant controls
- Environmental Noise Cancelling
- Fast Charging - Complete charge in one hour, 10 minutes = 2 hours
- Charging Time: 1 hour
- Talk Time: 7 hours
- Music Play Time: 7 hours
- Impedance: 32 Ohm
- Wireless Range: 35 ft
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth v4.2
- Weight: 42.5g
- Input: 5V 1A
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I’m a firm believer that presentation matters. The unboxing experience may not seem like much after you’ve owned a product for a while but when you’re picking up a box on a store shelf, those first impressions matter. 1MORE are absolute masters at making their products feel like premium pieces of kit. The Triple Driver BTs follow the same sensibilities of their other high-end headphones with a dense cardboard box held closed by a magnet. After opening it like a book, the headphones are posed in a nice display window with the inner cover decorated with design sketches and notes from the lead audio engineer. The impression you’re left with is that these aren’t your average headphones and make you feel good about the $149 you paid for them.
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Inside the box, you have a good selection of accessories including eight pairs of fitted ear tips. Five pairs are silicone and are paired from 10-14.5mm for the perfect fit. 1MORE has also included three pairs of foam ear tips at 11, 13, and 14.5mm. The array of eartips is a big step up from the S/M/L you typically find with earbuds and an important one at that. Being able to find a proper fit is important for any earbud but it’s especially important with a headset that prides itself on high quality, LDAC capable audio.
I would highly suggest any reader considering investing in a new pair of in-ears take the time to find the exact combination of tips to fit their ear. I had to go through several, ultimately finding I needed a slightly smaller tip in my left ear to achieve a comfortable seal. Too small and the bass drops out, too large and they pressurize your ear canal or won’t fit at all. The foam tips are especially nice here since you can compress them like a set of earplugs and get achieve the same isolation from the outside world.
You also receive a lightweight travel bag and USB Type-C to Type-A charging cable, though you’ll need a brick if you plan on charging them from the wall.
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The build quality on the Triple Drivers is outstanding and is a close match to the Dual Driver BT Active Noise Cancelling headphones we reviewed at GameSpace back in March. In fact, they’re close enough that you could easily confuse the two if you didn’t know what to look for. Both feature aluminum alloy construction which makes them lightweight and durable, though the Triple Driver is brighter and more metallic. Unlike the Dual Driver earbuds, these don’t have the magnetic clasp at the rear, which I miss. The do include a wire clasp to keep them together though mine fell off on the first day of active use and I haven’t been able to find it since.
I love that 1MORE has used so much metal in their construction because I’ve learned from hard experience that it is the single most important thing for long-term durability. Plastic headphones just don’t last, at least not when they’re worn around your neck every day. These pass the toddler test - moms and dads, you know what I mean. What I am worried about is the stems coming down from each bud. They’re thin and are a separate piece fitted into the larger bud, which makes them the most likely point to bend or break in the whole design.
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These earbuds feature a neckband design, which is my favorite amongst Bluetooth headphones. When I’m not using them, I’ll leave the earbuds on and ready to go for the next time I want to listen. It also means that they’ll have a better battery life and signal quality compared to the True Wireless earbuds taking over the market right now. Likewise, it also gives the designers more room for straightforward controls which I much prefer over the “tap twice for volume up, tap three times for volume down” chicanery found on some true wireless sets. The charging port is also hidden behind a panel on the left side, so there’s no exposed port to let in water or sweat.
The downside to 1MORE’s design here is that it isn’t weighted, which means that the band will bounce around quite a bit if you try to use these on the treadmill. There’s enough slack where it never pulled the buds from my ears but it’s something to keep in mind if you plan to take them to the gym.
If you do happen to take a call, the microphone features Environmental Noise Cancellation. I tested this with several recordings and Voxer messages. In a quiet environment this works very well and my voice came through very clear. When it gets noisier, however, the cancellation is just too aggressive and really started to degrade the quality of my voice. Recording a Voxer on my way home on evening, I was surprised to find that there were points where I could barely understand myself when I listened back, even with normal road noise. I find myself having to raise my voice and speak loudly when taking a call in the call to be sure I’m heard.
On a more positive note, I was pleased with the battery life and blown away by how fast the recharge time is. 1MORE quotes 7 hours of listening time, which I actually found to be about right. I didn’t scientifically test battery life, but I do use my headphones off and on all day as they live on my shoulders and have easily been able to make it through every day without running dry. What’s really impressive, though, is that a single hour of charge time will completely replenish the battery. 10 minutes is enough to get you another couple of hours of use, so any time I’ve run low, I plug them in for a few minutes and guarantee I’ll make it to bed time. Simply put: the between the capacity and fast recharge, the “up time” of these headphones is fantastic and some of the best use of fast charging I’ve ever seen in an in-ear headphone.
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Inside each earbud are three tiny drivers capable of delivering Hi-Res audio. Hi-Res certification is important as it denotes that the drivers are actually able to reproduce sound well outside what humans can actually hear. This guarantees the fidelity of the drivers and that anything you can hear will be clean and free from distortion.
By implementing two balanced armatures and a dynamic driver, 1MORE has taken their design to the next level, splitting the audio frequencies between each of each of the driver units. This reduces the dynamic range of each driver, allowing them to be tuned to a specific spectrum of sound and empowering the audio engineers to more dial in the headphone’s unique character. 1MORE has paired the triple driver design with LDAC compatibility, which increases the bandwidth available for wireless audio and allows for much higher quality than normal Bluetooth can provide. You’ll need to use as a device capable of sending an LDAC signal, though it’s more and more likely your smartphone will work perfectly well.
In practice, the system comes together to form one of the best sets of Bluetooth in-ears that I’ve ever heard. Lows, mids, and highs are all clear and controlled thanks to the triple-driver setup. Lows are elevated and wide without ever becoming flat or overwhelming. There’s a tightness and warmness that really makes these headphones versatile for everything from rap to metal, movies to mobile games, and even your PC if it supports Bluetooth. Mids are slightly recessed compared the lows and highs, but vocals are still clear and articulate. Highs sparkle; cymbals shimmer and the texture of strikes and lingering notes cuts through the mix adding a layer of fidelity that many headphones simply can’t replicate.
Final Thoughts
Having now used several different in-ear headphones from 1MORE, there is no question that they’re perhaps the company to watch in consumer audio. The build quality on the Triple Driver BTs is exceptional, the audio is fantastic, and the price makes them a great value for what’s on offer. I wish there were some quality of life improvements, like less noise cancellation on the mic and magnets in the ears, but overall the 1MORE Triple Driver Bluetooth Earbuds blew me away. For $149, they’re simply some of the best sounding, fully-featured earbuds you’re going to find.
Pros
- Hi-Res certified for superb clarity
- Triple driver design leads to tight, controlled frequencies across the spectrum
- Tuned for fun - excellent bass response without stepping on mids or highs
- Excellent, metal-alloy build
- LDAC support
- 1 hour charge time!
Cons
- ENC can be downright destructive to mic quality
- Some concern about ear piece stem
- No magnets to keep ear pieces together
The product discussed in this article was provided by the manufacturer for the purpose of review.
