This isn’t 1MORE’s first set of over-ears—that would be the Triple Driver Over-Ear headphones. Those headphones sounded great, but they were wired and didn’t offer anything in terms of noise canceling. The SonoFlow, on the other hand, aims for a balance of wireless performance, convenience, and sound quality.
With any company’s first attempt in a new product category, there’s plenty that can go wrong. Does 1MORE have a hit with the SonoFlow, or should the company stick to earbuds?
Build and Comfort
The exterior of the SonoFlow is plastic, but they feel fairly sturdy. Still, it’s handy that 1MORE includes a semi-hardshell case to protect the headphones when you’re not using them. This also serves as a spot to keep the 3.5mm audio cable and USB-C charging cable.
While the headphones weigh in at just 250g (a little over half a pound), they don’t feel cheap or flimsy. Strangely enough, despite the low weight and relatively smaller size, I was more aware of these on my head than I have been with other, larger headphones.
Fortunately, this doesn’t affect the comfort of the SonoFlow. The ear cups are soft foam, with a leather covering. The headband is comfortable as well, using the same foam and leather as the ear cups.
Each ear cup has one port. The right cup is home to the 3.5mm jack for wired listening, while the left carries the USB-C port. Each of these are highlighted in the same red as the interior of the ear cups, which makes them easy to spot with a quick glance.
Controls are relatively simple and located entirely on the right ear cup. A multifunction button on the front of the cup pauses and resumes playback, as well as answering and ending calls. Pressing it for a few seconds powers the headphones on and off.
The back of the ear cup is home to the volume buttons, as well as a button to toggle active noise cancellation (ANC)
Connectivity
Like most headphones these days, the SonoFlow uses Bluetooth 5.0, giving a wireless range of up to 10m (33ft). 1MORE also opted for the LDAC Bluetooth codec, which offers more bandwidth and therefore less compressed audio than the standard SBC codec.
LDAC has downsides, mainly that it is only supported on certain phones and MP3 players. It’s nice to know that this is supported if you have a compatible device, but fortunately, the fallback AAC and SBC codecs don’t degrade the audio quality if your phone, tablet, or computer doesn’t support LDAC.
Additionally, the 1MORE SonoFlow has support for multipoint Bluetooth. This lets you connect two devices at the same time, switching between your phone for calls and your computer for music, for example.
If you want to use a playback device that isn’t Bluetooth-equipped, 1MORE has you covered. The SonoFlow has a 3.5mm jack that lets you connect it like a standard set of wired headphones.
Unlike many Bluetooth headphones with a wired option, the SonoFlow works with the power off. This means that even if the headphones run out of battery, you’ve still got the wired option. The sound is definitely less powerful, but it’s nice to know this option is there.
Sound Quality
After testing and liking the 1MORE Evo true wireless earbuds, I was excited to hear these. That said, these are over-ear headphones with 40mm drivers, a far cry from those tiny in-ears.
The overall sonic character here is very similar to the Evo. This makes sense, as 1MORE points out that the SonoFlow was tuned by Luca Bignardi, an award-winning sound engineer who also tuned the 1MORE Evo. These aren’t transparent headphones by a long shot, but fortunately, they are good sounding.
To make the most of the SonoFlow, you’ll need to download the 1MORE Music app (available for iPhone and iPad and Android). This lets you swap between EQ presets, though right now, no custom EQ is available. It is possible that this could come in a future firmware update.
Having listened on the Default setting for a while, I decided to try the presets. Using the Electronic preset, ill.gates’ “Eject (feat. DWELM)” sounded heavy, wide, and completely over the top, which is precisely how it should sound. Compared to the default EQ setting, this preset brought out more bass but also more treble detail.
Listening to “Changeling” by DJ Shadow showcased the soundstage of the SonoFlow. There’s a lot happening in the stereo field with this song, and these rendered it well. I initially listened on Default, but switched to the Hip Hop preset halfway through. Here it was like a little salt, bringing out what was already there without adding its own flavor.
The presets aren’t perfect, or always necessary. Hot Snakes’ “Having Another?” sounds great on Default, but each preset added too much bass or unpleasant high midrange.
As I did with the 1MORE Evo, I appreciate that the SonoFlow have a Podcast preset. This lowers the bass and increases the frequencies where the human voice operates, making podcasts a much nicer listen than the default EQ preset.
Noise Canceling and Call Quality
I tested noise cancellation outside on a busy day with plenty of traffic. Turning it on with the button on the back of the right ear cup, I noticed the general summer noise and much of the traffic noise disappeared. That said, certain passing vehicles like trucks were easily audible.
1MORE also outfitted the SonoFlow with a Transparency mode, which lets in outside sound using the same microphones used for noise canceling. While I find this mode near-essential, it seems less necessary in over-ears. That said, the Transparent mode worked well, and I had no trouble hearing nearby people.
When it comes to calls, 1MORE placed five environmental noise cancellation (ENC) mics around the SonoFlow. These help suppress the ambient noise around you and let the person on the other end of the call to hear what you’re saying.
This works well, though it seems to come at the expense of voice sound quality. Your voice is plenty audible, but the processing leaves it sounding like you’re talking on a landline.
Microphone Audio Sample – Indoor
Microphone Audio Sample – Outdoor
Battery Life
1MORE claims a hefty 50 hours of battery life for the SonoFlow, and that’s with ANC engaged. Turn off the noise cancellation, and 1MORE’s claim goes up to 70 hours. Even if the company is off by a large number, you’re not going to worry about charging these often.
As a matter of fact, get used to hearing “battery medium” every time you turn the headphones on. While it seems to go from high to medium quickly, I never even managed to get to the “battery low” message after days of testing without charging the battery once.
Once the battery does run out, you’re not out of juice for long. The SonoFlow supports fast charging, with a five-minute charge getting you as much as five hours of listening time.
Should You Buy the 1MORE SonoFlow?
The 1MORE SonoFlow headphone isn’t going to outperform a $300 pair of headphones. That said, they get closer than you may imagine. While they’re a third of the price, they offer far more than a third of the performance.
These aren’t transparent, and they definitely have a sound signature, but fortunately, that sound signature is a good one. The one area the SonoFlow doesn’t quite keep up is when it comes to noise cancellation. It’s effective, yes, but this is where the gap to more expensive headphones is most apparent.
Even without keeping the price in mind, these are a great buy. Once you look at the price tag, they’re an even better buy.
