1More Sonoflow Wireless ANC Headphones Review – Pretty Close To The Truth
The $99(!) over-ear 1More Sonoflow from generally-respected IEM maker 1More don’t feel or look any cheaper than the exponentially more expensive mainstream (Sony/Bose/Beats/Sennheiser) products they’re imitating, with good quality (if mainly plastic) build and nicely understated matte finish. Plush faux leather headband and earcups provide for pretty good comfort (they’d be perfect if they were just a few grams lighter), although passive isolation is only fair.
Contrary to some reviews I’ve read, the 1More Sonoflow’s ANC works well to suppress the outside world; however it has the odd effect of enhancing bass while veiling higher frequencies, and I got the best sound by keeping the ANC and transparency off. Physical control buttons are awkwardly placed but are more responsive than the typical touch panels.
Tech features aren’t especially advanced—there’s multipoint and LDAC, but no AptX or wear sensors , while the accompanying app seems a bit half-assed, with some marginally useful presets but no custom EQ and a wholly baffling “soothing sounds” mode which, for some reason, plays short bursts of ambient noises. (Note to 1More—in this culture, at least, “gale” and “volcano” are not considered soothing). Battery life, however, is positively sick—50-70 hours, which is reason enough to buy these.
The 1More Sonoflow present a V-shaped, signature with fairly lean note texture and a within-your-head, but nicely rounded soundstage. Instruments are well-separated; however the Sonoflow are slightly incoherent in the sense that you can hear the crossover between the different frequencies.
Bass is well-sculpted and quick but doesn’t have a lot of slam or depth, which makes the phones sound a bit “polite” (the Bass Boost preset helps a bit), while mildly recessed mids push vocals a few feet back from front stage. Neutralish treble is well-resolving, effortless and free from harshness and digital artifacts, even if some microdetails like snare hits are smoothed over or muted. Tonal quality is the real strong suit here—it’s accurate, uncompressed and less colored than most of its peers.
I compared the 1More Sonoflow to its most obvious target, the $348 Sony WH-1000XM4. The Sony immediately registers as bassier, fuller-sounding and richer-textured, with better integration from highs to lows. However, the Sonoflow actually sound more natural and less “Bluetoothy,” with better high-end definition; the Sonoflow had the more “audiophile, ” albeit less energetic presentation.
The AirPods Max, at least from memory, likewise have significantly more low-end punch and better dynamics, but sound more compressed and processed at the high end—again, the Sonflow more accurately reproduces the source material. Stated another way, most consumers would find the Sony and Apple to be the better phones, while serious music geeks and adherents of measurements would opt for the less flashy but more transparent 1More.
Granted, both the Sony and Apple have much better tech, marginally more solid build and more expansive stages—but I’m not sure the advantages are cost-effective. In any event, the Sonoflow sounded better to my ears than the comparatively flat-sounding, mid-focused (if more comfortable) >$300 Bose QC45 and the competent-but-uninvolving Beats Studio3, which don’t image as well and sound a tad muddy and overemphasized in the lower mids.
The 1More Sonoflow also perform on a completely different level that the party-hearty $50 SuperEQ S1, which has a surprisingly big stage and good imaging, but sound comparatively boomy at the low end and strident at the highs.
However much it’s evolving, Bluetooth still doesn’t sound as good as well-tuned wired sets, and you might reasonably question whether it’s worth spending serious bucks on what’s basically a lifestyle appliance. Purely from an audio standpoint, I’m not quite prepared to anoint the 1More Sonoflow as a giant killer—they miss just a little low-end punch and high-end sizzle, though they are more than credible for the genre.
As a value proposition, however, the 1More Sonoflow are unrivalled (you can get these for $79 with current promos) and especially consider the week-long playtime, it’s hard to keep your fingers off Amazon’s Buy Now button.
Non-disclaimer: bought ‘em myself.
Specifications 1More Sonoflow
| Model: | HC905 |
| Headphones Weight: | 250 g |
| Dimensions: | 170 × 192 × 82 mm |
| Battery Capacity: | 720 mAh |
| Charging Time: | 80 minutes |
| Playtime(ANC Off): | 70 hours |
| Playtime(ANC On): | 50 hours |
| Speaker Impendance: | 32 Ω |
| Bluetooth Range: | 10m(Open space) |
| Bluetooth Version: | Bluetooth® 5.0 |
| Bluetooth Protocols: | HFP/A2DP/AVRCP |
| Input: | 5 V = 1.1A |
| Working Temperature: | 0℃ – 45℃ |
| Frequency Range: | 2.400GHz – 2.4835GHz |
| Product Page: | 1More |
| Tested at: | $99 |
