1More S51 and S70 Open Ear Headphones Review – No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith

Like Evan Williams bourbon, or Hyundai sedans, 1More has traditionally occupied that niche of churning out me-too products which are almost as good as the more venerated nameplates, but cost considerably less. As fate would have it, I got my greedy mitts on both of their latest open ear entrants, the S51 and S70 and, still numb from last week’s political tsunami, I mixed a couple of Xanax-and-tonic and dug in for a listen.

The $119.99 S51 certainly looks the part of a contender, with a sleek design, an 11 hr. battery and fairly responsive touch controls which, frustratingly, require three taps to adjust volume (instead of the more intuitive touch-and-hold). The 1More app offers some preset EQs (ostensibly tuned by some Grammy winner I’ve never heard of), but no custom EQ. The “Acoustic” and “Deep” presets were useful, while “Lounge” and “Hip Hop” were shrill and genuinely horrible.

Unfortunately, although comfortable to wear the S51 does not have adjustable earpieces, which means that sound quality will be hit or miss depending on your ears’ shape. For me, the drivers on the S51 fired into the triangular fossa (i.e the little ridge above the concha), rather than directly into my ear canal; as a result output was preternaturally low and bass response muffled; high end had no discernible extension.

When I literally held the buds in the optimal wearing position, I observed that they were actually well-tuned, with a slightly warm, balanced tone and a fair amount of sparkle at the high end, albeit not very loud or full-sounding. In any case, since I need my hands to lift beer glasses and/or do other things, the S51 just don’t fit and will be gifted to someone with a more favorable anatomy.

The higher-tier $154.99 S70 looks and feels even more premium that the S51, with a fancier see-through charging case and rich-textured silicon-and-titanium earpieces. Although the form factors are almost identical, the S70 fit me better than the S51, perhaps because the drivers on the S70 are situated slightly differently.

Even so, for satisfactory results I was required to position the earhooks them over the middle of my helix (the outer ear part) instead of around the back, which makes them less stable. Of course, your results may differ. The S70 uses the same gestures and app as the S51, with the same limitations.

As with the S51, maximum output on the S70 is low; I found these essentially inaudible and unlistenable below 70% volume. Cranked up near 90%, a very competent sound signature emerges—balanced and coherent except for a conspicuous dip in the lower mid region. Note texture is lean but tonality is very smooth and natural sounding.

Soundstage is impressively wide but shallow and low-ceilinged; instruments are well separated and (at least at high volumes) remain uncongested, but layering is somewhat imprecise—the performers tend to be placed on a flat horizontal plane. 

There’s a palpable if shallow subbass presence; mids have good energy and clarity and  high end has limited extension but retains some sparkle and shows quick transients and a fair amount of definition. You can plainly follow the separate melodic lines on large scale group performances. However, likely due to its volume limitations, dynamics are a bit flat—there’s an overall lack of punch and slam.

Something like the (much cheaper) Baseus Sport Eli (review here) or Tozo OpenBuds (review here) may trail very slightly in resolution but simply sound bigger and more impactful and are the more exciting listen, while the comparably-priced Oladance OWS (review here) is  more coherent and revealing; all of the above have better UI and fit.

The S70 is by no means a bad piece; it’s lovely to behold and, at least when cranked near the max, has an estimably natural-sounding timbre. However, even putting aside its design quirks, you can get better for less and these would be a pass for me.

Non-disclaimers: temporary loaners from private owners.

Specifications 1More S51 and S70

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