I. Love. These. Headphones.
OK, now with that out of the way…
A few months ago I got some marketing email for some Bluetooth earbuds from a company I had never heard of called 1MORE. It was marketing and made some claims that I thought were a little over the top. (Full disclosure, I hate Bluetooth audio. I have a half-dozen different sets of BT buds and one set of JBL over-ear headphones that can be either wired or BT. The BT stuff is only usable if all one cares about is convenience.)
So, feeling a bit of that old fire in the belly, I shot off a reply email saying something along the lines of “We both know that these BT claims are bullshit but the wired over-ears sound interesting if you need anyone to check those out.” And then I forgot about it.
A few weeks later a parcel arrived and, to be honest, it took me a few minutes to figure out where they had come from when I opened the package.
So What Are These?
The 1MORE Triple Driver Over-Ear headphones are probably on the lower side of high-ish end headphones. They are sleek, well-designed and with a plethora of metal and real leather, look like they’re built to last. 1MORE calls these over-ear which is arguable. The cups are round rather than oval and a little small to be truly over-ear unless you have little baby ears.
I would argue a bit with the description of these as having three drivers. Unless you are going to count a passive bass reflector as a driver, so these really are two-way devices with a 40mm graphene dynamic driver and a ceramic dome tweeter.
Connection is via a beefy, cloth-clad cable. The cable is removable and replaceable but you are not going to be able to grab a spare aux cable if this one breaks. There is a jack on each cup and the cable terminates in a standard TRRS 1/8” connector on one end and dual TRS connectors on the other end. There is a lot to like about a setup like this, especially in terms of longevity and repairability. There is no wiring going along the headband between the cups as is common (and a common point of headphone failure). I anticipate these lasting a very long time. But I would suggest ordering a replacement cable just to keep on hand.
While we’re talking build, let’s talk style. These are stylish as hell. As noted before, lots of metal and leather and when you look at the back of each ear cup, the covering is clear (so you can see the back of the bass reflector) and covered with what looks like a high-end sports car rim. 1MORE does not use this in their marketing and it’s not even on their web site (it should be…) but it turns out that they were originally designed as gifts for people who purchased a new Maserati. So that rim look is appropriate.
I’ve touch on this any time I review headphones or in-ears, but I should mention that my hearing is damaged, as is the hearing of so many audio folks and musicians. Too many loud shows and too many hours on stage in what then-Tower of Power trumpet player Bill Churchville once told me was the “Cymbal Zone of Death.” Basically I lose about 6 dB per octave above about 4K and it’s worse on the right than on the left. I also have 24/7/365 tinnitus.
My day-to-day has always included listening to a lot of music but that has become even more true in the past five or six years since my day gig has kept me chained to a desk for up to 12 hours a day. And I’ve been listening even more over the past year, so accuracy is a big deal. And because I listen to music for 8 or 9 hours a day, comfort is king. And the 1MORE headphones deliver on both counts.
Impressions
I was concerned about long-session comfort when I first put them on because, as noted earlier, they are really more on-ear than over-ear. But the leather cup covers are butter-soft. I could have gone for maybe a tiny bit more foam, but I’ve been using these at least 3 hours a day five days a week for a couple of months and they are super comfy.
In terms of sound quality, my primary comparison is a set of JBL Everest that I used for a couple of months before getting the 1MORE unit. While those are more of a true over-ear fit and have a lot more foam, I can’t honestly say they were any more comfortable when worn for long periods. And it terms of sound quality there is just no comparison.
The 1MORE headphones are detailed in a way that nothing I’ve tried outside of stuff that costs double what these do or compares to. The bass is very present due to that added reflector, but it’s not hyped like so many consumer headphones. I had an EQ curve setup for the JBLs and had to back way off the bass for these. The current listening curve is not totally flat (remember, I have high-end hearing damage, so I boost that to compensate) but it’s pretty damn close to flat. I just grabbed a couple pics of those JBLs and they are hitting eBay later today.
I’ve used these enough now that I have had several instances of hearing something in music I thought I was intimately familiar with that I had not noticed before. Who knew there was a pedal steel guitar mixed pretty far back in the out chorus of “Black Rose” by J.D. Souther? And that signature flute riff in “Lowdown” is actually a flute and a flugelhorn playing in unison? Whaaat?!?! I’ve had to remind myself more than once that, I have things I’m supposed to be doing, like actually working, because I’ll find myself with my eyes closed and just soaking up the music. The last time I reviewed any transducers that had this kind of detail was when I wrote about the Adam Audio F7 monitors about 10 years ago.
The Verdict
At about $250 via online sellers, these are a bargain when you consider that dreck like Beats cost at least that and can be a hundred bucks on top of it. Or that the new AirPods max retail for more than double the cost of the 1MORE unit.
I took them down into the studio (AKA “the garage”) a few weeks ago during a rehearsal to have the other audio guy in the band try them out. I say “other” but should clarify that Cory kicks my butt in terms of knowledge and at just 30, his hearing is not close to as damaged as mine is. It was interesting to find out the set of 1MORE buds are also his go-to for everyday listening. I may have to check a set of those out. These 1MORE guys are on to something cool.
For more info, visit: usa.1more.com
1MORE Triple Driver Over-Ear Headphones
Pros: Stylish; great sound; unhyped LF
Cons: Not a true over-ear design; proprietary cable may be hard to replace
Price: $249
Web: http://usa.1more.com
