1More True Wireless ANC.
1More True Wireless ANC.
The design of the 1More True Wireless ANC is pod-like, not unlike Sony’s WF-1000XM3. The earbuds have black carbon fibre prints on the outside and they come in an oblong charging case that is just about small enough to fit into most pockets. It also isn’t as compact as Apple’s AirPods Pro, but considerably less chubby than the WF-1000XM3’s. The case can be charged using a USB-C cable or wirelessly with a Qi wireless charger.
1More goes to great lengths to ensure owners can get a good fit. Included with the earbuds are no less than six pairs of silicone ear tips and three pairs of silicone O-hooks. The O-hooks are supposed to fit into your concha but I could never get them to fit right. Even without them, I found the 1More True Wireless ANC to fit well enough.
The earbuds feature a single balanced armature driver and a dynamic driver with titanium diaphragm.
There are controls on each earbud – a single button and touch controls on the side – and they can be confusing at first because you have to remember which earbud controls what function and how many presses activates what, but you’ll get the hang of it after a couple of days.
Speaking of, the touch controls allow you to cycle through the various noise-cancellations modes. The first mode toggles full-on ANC which 1More says is suitable for flying and can cancel external noise by up to 35dB. The second mode is less aggressive and can cancel external noise up to 20dB. The third mode is pass-through, which lets you hear your surroundings.
AT A GLANCE
DRIVER
Single balanced armature and 10mm dynamic driver
SUPPORTED CODECS
aptX and AAC
BATTERY LIFE
4 hours
PRICE
$329
Setting up the 1More True Wireless ANC was easy as they are designed to pair automatically whenever you take them out of the charging case. However, this didn’t always work. Sometimes only one side would pair. Fortunately, a quick press on the play/pause button will get the unresponsive earbud to come to life. There were also instances where the earbuds don’t pair with my device at all and I had to reinitiate the pairing process from scratch.
On the bright side, once paired, they do maintain a strong connection. It supports both aptX and AAC wireless audio codecs so it’ll work well with both Android and iOS devices. Furthermore, it supports Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology so audio is streamed separately to each earbud independently. This eradicates the issue of audio lag that plagues certain true wireless earbuds.
Active noise-cancellation was not so great. To my ears, it sounded a great deal off the mark compared to the AirPods Pro and WF-1000XM3; I could hear a lot more of my fan and my system than the other two earbuds. The pass-through mode was decent. It didn’t sound as natural as the AirPods Pro’s Transparency Mode, but it wasn’t too artificial. My biggest gripe was that you had to cycle through the other modes. By the time you get to it, you would’ve missed that travel announcement you were trying to listen to.
The charging case supports wireless charging with any Qi wireless charger.
Where the 1More True Wireless ANC truly excels is audio quality. It has two drivers, a single balanced armature driver and a 10mm dynamic driver with titanium composite diaphragm. It’s much more balanced and refined than both the AirPods Pro and WF-1000XM3, matching the Sonys for detail and one-ups it by showing more control in the bass department. Against the AirPods Pro, it’s livelier and more natural. This is only with active noise-cancelling activated mind you. With the feature turned off, bass drops considerably, and you get a more neutral but far less engaging sound. If it was up to me, I’d only listen to the True Wireless ANC with active noise-cancelling on.
Battery life is average. 1More claims 4 hours with active noise-cancelling activated on a single charge and I got a bit less than that. The charging case is good for another 10 hours, which gives you a total playing time of 14 hours – just about enough for most long-haul flights. It has some form of fast-charging capability with 15 minutes enough to get you up to 2 hours of use.
At $329, the 1More True Wireless ANC is priced competitively against the AirPods Pro ($379) and WF-1000XM3 ($349). It trumps the two in terms of sound quality and its ability to hold a solid connection is commendable. However, to enjoy its superior audio is to put up with its so-so active noise-cancelling.
CONCLUSION
Solid true wireless earbuds, teething connectivity issues notwithstanding.
PICTURES 1MORE, 123RF
