1MORE has been the headphone brand to watch for several years now, delivering excellent headphone after excellent headphone at surprisingly low prices. Simply put, 1MORE punches up and often wins. So when I heard that it had released its first-ever true wireless earbud with ANC technology, I had to take a look. Coming to market at $179, the 1MORE True Wireless ANC In-Ear Headphones tick every box: multi-level ANC, ambient sound passthrough, quality microphones, dual drivers, good battery life, and even THX certification — but do they deliver the ANC experience you would expect for that cost? And, most importantly, do they sound good?
Let’s take a closer look and find out.
Specifications
- Current Price: $179.99 (1MORE)
- Model: EHD9001TA
- Key Features:
- Dual ANC Microphones
- Dedicated Hi-Res DSP
- Optimized Qualcomm Chip
- Dynamic Driver + Balanced Armature
- 15 Minutes Fast Charge for 2 Hours Use
- AptX / AAC Compatible
- ENC Microphones
- Infrared Sensor Auto Pause Playback
- Qi Compatible
- THX Certified
- Weight & Dimensions:
- Earbud Weight (Single): 7.9g
- Charging Case Weight: 63.2g
- Total Weight: 79g
- Earbud Dimensions: 38*18*28.5 mm
- Charging Case Dimensions: 81.32*30*38.5 mm
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth® 5.0
- Bluetooth Protocol: HFP / A2DP / AVRCP
- Bluetooth Range: 10 m
- Battery
- Earbud Battery Capacity (Single): 55 mAh
- Charging Case Battery Capacity: 410 mAh
- Playback Time (ANC Off, Stereo Plus Mode): 6 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Playback Time (ANC On, Stereo Plus Mode): 5 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Playback Time (w/Charging Case, Stereo Plus Mode): 22 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Playback Time (ANC Off, Bluetooth Mode): 5 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Playback Time (ANC On, Bluetooth Mode): 4 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Playback Time (w/Charging Case, Bluetooth Mode): 18 hours (AAC / 50% Volume)
- Earbuds Charging Time: 1 hour (Fast charging: 15 minutes = 2 hours of use)
- Charging Case Charging Time: 2 hours
One thing that I’ve always appreciated about 1MORE is that you feel like you’re buying a high-end headphone, even if you’re not spending high-end dollars. It’s as if they study the competition’s unboxing experience and 1UP it. Here, the box unfolds like a book and reveals design sketches and notes from the engineers on the inner panel. The earbuds themselves presented in their own mini display case along with the charging case. I don’t put a ton of stock in packaging that’s likely to get thrown away anyway, but it’s nice to see a company go the extra mile to create a great first impression.
Unboxing them, a few things jumped out at me right away. First of all, I love the almost digital black and gray pattern on the back of the buds, and the red and black theme, subtle as it is, looks great. The buds aren’t the smallest, so they did stick out of my ears more than I expected, but since each carries two drivers and ANC technology, a little extra bulk over the Colorbuds is acceptable. They’re lightweight, but use a combination of silicone tips and ear hooks to make sure they stay in place even through workouts.
The second thing that stood out to me was the charging case. It’s a bit wider than many, but slim and slipped right into my pocket. It’s also made entirely of metal and has a strong magnetic clasp. The buds are also held in place by strong magnets. I haven’t dropped it yet, but it’s unlikely a normal drop will cause the buds to spill out and get damaged.
They also feature a competitively-sized 55mAh battery. On devices that support Qualcomm’s TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology (Snapdragon 835 or higher), this results in a battery life of 6 hours with ANC off and 5 hours with ANC on. TrueWireless Stereo Plus is a relatively new technology that allows the device to communicate with each earbud simultaneously, rather than forcing a “master” earbud to send data to the “slave,” saving battery power. Connected over normal Bluetooth, this drops to 5 hours and 4 hours respectively. Both of these figures are quoted at 50% volume, which wasn’t loud enough for me. At 75% volume, I was able to listen for about 4 hours with ANC on over Stereo Plus. If you run short on battery, 15 minutes in the charging case can provide up to two hours of listening time and brings the total run time to 22 hours.
Controlling the earbuds is done through a combination of button presses and taps. Each bud features a single button on its rear edge and a capacitive face. Controlling your media, adjusting volume, managing calls, and summoning your virtual assistant is done through single, double, or triple pressing on the left or right earbud. Enabling ANC and ambient passthrough is accomplished by double tapping the face of each earbud.
While fully functional, I found this system to be pretty cumbersome. Often, I would press the physical button by mistake adjusting the buds and having to cycle through every ANC 1, ANC 2, and Passthrough just to turn off active noise cancelling was a bit of a chore. This is especially true in those moments where you need passthrough right away but are stuck double-tapping, waiting, and double-tapping again. I would love to see this system refined into one or the other with the ability to customize what each button does.
The last thing that stood out to me was how plentiful the overall package was. You get six pairs of silicone eartips, three pairs of ear hooks, the case and charging cable, and a nylon storage bag. That selection of tips is important, too, because more than most in-ear earphones, finding a proper fit is important. Using an eartip that’s too small will drastically reduce the effectiveness of the active noise cancelling and the overall bass in its sound signature.
It’s also important for finding a comfortable fit. The red-lined tips are much more firm and better noise isolating. Unfortunately, I found that they were too firm for my ears over time. The all-black eartips are much softer and more comfortable, but the added flexibility required me to fit a different size into each ear. I’m still not entirely happy with the fit in my right ear, but I can wear them comfortably for hours which is what matters most.
But enough with all that: how do they sound? Since they’re THX certified, you can rest assured that they’re great. There is no audible distortion to speak of and since each earbud uses both a balanced armature and a dynamic driver, the lows and mids/highs are split, ensuring that each comes through crystal clear. 1MORE has tuned these drivers to deliver a lot of bass without overwhelming the other frequencies and making the set sound muddy. They’ve also elevated the treble to bring out the high-end detail that audio-enthusiasts tend to crave.
This is the first set in a long time that actually allowed me to hear details in songs I hadn’t heard before. Did you that the opening vocal in Brand New’s Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t has an echo? I didn’t either until trying these headphones, and that’s always a cool experience.
I’m also happy to say that the ANC is great. I haven’t been lucky enough to try the Sony WH-1000XM3 in-ear headphones, but I’ve tried many over-ears, and 1MORE’s QuietMax technology competes with the very best I’ve heard. There are two levels of ANC, mild and strong, but the differences are subtle. Enabling it instantly cuts out droning, low frequency noises, like engines and fans. I was honestly impressed at how isolating it was: my own footsteps got sucked up and cancelled out, which was a little eerie. Taking the dog out at night, they completely canceled out the noise from the nearby road. The active noise cancellation is great and leagues better than that on my more expensive Galaxy Buds Live.
Final Thoughts
Active noise cancelling is quickly becoming the killer feature for in-ear headphones. It’s popping up across price bands but one thing remains true: high-end true wireless earbuds with noise cancelling are expensive. It’s not unusual to pay $250-300 in that market. And yet, at $179 the 1MORE True Wireless ANC In-Ear Headphones challenge each of those heavy-hitters in quality, features, and sound. There is room for improvement still, but it hard to argue that these are anything other than an outstanding value.
