Introduction
When it comes to audio, 1MORE is brand that offers some brilliantly well-sounding products at very competitive pricing. I’ve tried their Triple Driver and Quad Driver In-Ears and loved both.
That is why I couldn’t hide my excitement when I received the 1MORE Stylish True Wireless In-Ear Headphones-I for review. I wanted to know if they could also do well in a product category that’s part of the current trend.
Well, everyone’s going for it, trying to have a slice of that market.
Specifications
| Model | E1026BT-I |
| Headphone Weight (Single) | 6.2g |
| Case Weight | 40.4g |
| Product Weight | 52.8g |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Green, Pink |
| Impedance | 16 Ohms |
| Wireless Range | 10m |
| Bluetooth Codec | aptX/AAC/SBC |
| Bluetooth Version | 5 |
| Bluetooth Protocol | HFP/A2DP/AVRCP |
| Input | 5V 1A |
| Headphone Battery Capacity (Single) | 55mAh |
| Case Battery Capacity | 410mAh |
Design
While mostly plastic, the product doesn’t feel flimsy at all, or as if they’re going to break in a couple of drops. I’ve accidentally dropped it a couple of times, and it still looks pristine, and works well.
This TWS uses an In-Ear design, with the earpiece featuring a slightly angled tip. Both also bear the 1MORE branding, along with an LED light that shows the status. Don’t worry, the light doesn’t blink when you’re using it.
1MORE sticks to a physical button on top of each earpiece, which can be used to control playback, turn the headphones ON and OFF, for pairing, and with the recent update, for controlling the volume.
Each earpiece also comes with a hook to achieve a more secure and comfortable fit. There’s also a microphone, for answering calls and talking to your voice assistant. To ensure that your communications are crystal clear, 1MORE has also equipped its TWS with technology for environmental noise cancellation.
Comfort and Isolation
While I didn’t have any problems getting a good fit, the angled tips can be a hit and miss, and is certainly not for everyone. Fortunately, the In-Ear design also means that you can ensure a good seal by replacing the tips. Fortunately, the default tips that were attached were a perfect fit for my ear.
With ANC out of the formula, 1MORE’s TWS rely on passive noise cancellation, and is able to successfully block around 70 to 80% of outside noise. Having used it on many trips to events, you’ll still be able to hear a bit of car engine sounds, but not the couple talking on the seat in front of you.
One thing it doesn’t offer is some sort of ambient mode, which allows most of the external noise to come in. That means you’ll have to be extra careful (or just pause playback) when crossing a street.
These headphone offer good comfort even for long hours of listening, and do not cause any notable fatigue on your ear. It doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing them. Another thing to note is that these headphones do not offer water or sweat resistance, which may be a deal breaker to some.
Connectivity, Latency and Stability
I’ve been using these headphones for quite a while now, and I rarely get connection drops even when the source is in my pocket. That’s provided the battery isn’t low.
The headphones uses the typical Master-Slave setup. That means you need to connect one earpiece with the source. While it works most of the time, there are times when the left earpiece fails to connect to the right. Fortunately, solving this issue is as easy as putting them back in the case and re-doing the pairing process.
I can get a stable connection until around 10 meters away before “drops” start to occur. It’s also a great pair of headphones to use when watching videos, thanks to aptX, which offers less delay – not even noticeable actually.
It can only pair with one device at a time, which while totally fine with me, may be a hassle to others who often switch from one source device to another.
Interface, Controls
Using the dedicated buttons on each earpiece, you’ll be able to control playback, answer calls, activate your voice assistant, and control the volume.
The controls are unconventional. To play and pause a track, you have to do a double press, wherein most other headphones require a single press (which in these, is the volume up and down function).
Speaking of which, that also means you’ll need to put a certain interval on your presses for volume. Too fast, and it will recognize it as a double press.
They’re not hard to master, but being able to remap each function to say, a single press or a double press, or a press and hold action would’ve been nice.
Sound
I’ll admit that I underestimated these headphones for their price. I was wrong. In fact, they blew me away with the sound quality.
Bass has the right impact, punchy enough, but not overpowering. Vocals are just a tiny bit laid back, but still demonstrate good clarity and body. Highs are sparkly enough, detailed, and showcase good extension. Treble isn’t too sharp, but properly crisp and bright.
You’ll also be able get a good level of volume from these headphones, as they’re fairly easy to drive. They also demonstrate decent instrument separation.
Here’s how the microphone in these headphones sound. It’s definitely not the clearest or most detailed out there, but it’s good enough.
Software
1MORE Assistant offers a limited number of features for the TWS. It lets you do the burn-in for the headphone’s drivers, which may or may not affect the sound in the long run, it also lets you perform firmware updates, and lastly, you can use it as a music player.
While it’s fine the way it is, I somehow wish that there were more features, like being able to remap the controls, or maybe sound profiles.
Speaking of updates, updating these headphones can be quite tricky, as you’ll have to do an update for each earpiece. Yes, that means you do the process twice. If done improperly, you could run into some nasty issues, such as the right earpiece not connecting to the left.
Battery Life
In a single charge with volume around 70 to 80%, the headphones managed to churn out around 6 hours of playback, which is close to the 6.5 hours that the company claims. Like most other TWS, its charging can provide additional charges, around 3 in this instance.
The case features an LED light to show when its charging. Unlike some more expensive devices, this one doesn’t have wireless charging. Not really a big deal.
15 minutes of charging should give you around 3 hours of use, depending on volume and other factors.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
