1More Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones Review - Review 2022

We are big fans of the 1More Triple Commuter In-Ear Headphones—who wouldn't like $100 earphones that deliver quality far surpassing what you'd expect for the toll? 1More has taken that concept and added a driver for its new Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones. Information technology has also doubled the price. At $199.99, at that place is no doubt the excellent Quad Commuter earphones are worth it, thanks to stellar sound functioning and a killer batch of included accessories. That said, many listeners will be meliorate off going with the less expensive model.

Blueprint

The Quad Driver's jet engine-shaped earpieces have an anodized metallic finish to them, and an ideal weight that helps them stay securely in place. There are some red highlights here and there, and the cable is wrapped in a translucent material that shows off the natural coloring of the oxygen-gratuitous copper wires delivering audio to the drivers. Internally, there are three balanced armatures and a single carbon dynamic driver per ear, each roofing its own swath of the frequency range.

1More claims the range is 20Hz to 40kHz, well beyond the roughly 20kHz barrier nigh earphones top out at. Whether you tin can really hear what'southward happening in these higher frequencies is some other story, as nearly people'due south hearing tops out where most earphones do (typically twenty-22kHz or and so). Just there'southward no denying the audio here has fantabulous loftier frequency clarity, and y'all can be certain you won't exist missing out on anything in the highs.

1More Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones inline At roughly chin level, in that location'due south an inline remote control and microphone compartment forth the right ear's cable. The remote is of the three-push variety, with a primal multifunction button handling playback, call management, and rail navigation. The outer buttons are dedicated volume controls that piece of work in conjunction with your mobile device's chief volume levels.

The mic offers excellent intelligibility. Using the Vocalisation Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we not only understood each word recorded, but the clarity was superlative-notch, with little to no artifacts. It'due south on par with, if not better than, the mic on the telephone itself.

As touched on, the fit is secure thanks in part to the pattern of the earpieces themselves. But it's aided past the inclusion of nine sets of eartips—6 pairs of silicone safety tips, and three pairs of foam tips—all in varying sizes. 1More also includes a handsome black leather protective case that's small-scale enough to fit in well-nigh pockets or bags. In addition, a 0.75-inch headphone jack adapter, a shirt prune, and an airline jack adapter are included, making for a strong accessories package.

Functioning

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Pocketknife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver a powerful deep bass response matched with excellent clarity in the highs. At superlative, unwise listening levels, the drivers do not misconstrue on this track, and at more than moderate levels, the bass response is still delivered with strong definition.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with petty in the way of deep bass elements, sounds full and lively here. The drums become some added bass presence, only nothing over the peak. Callahan's baritone vocals go a pleasant richness in the low-mids and wonderful presence through the high-mids, giving them both depth and clarity. The guitar strums benefit from the excellent high frequency presence, as practice the percussive hits. This is a wonderfully balanced sound signature that doesn't really seem to favor the lows over the mids, or the highs over annihilation else—it's all here in counterbalanced, equal measure.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church building in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets plenty of high-mid presence then that its attack is abrupt and slices through the layers of the mix. You can hear the vinyl crackle typically relegated to the groundwork a trivial more you lot might unremarkably, which is a sign the highs are really dialed up a bit, but it's subtle. Nothing here is glaringly bright, and the vocals never sound overly sibilant nor harsh. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat become plenty deep bass presence to audio strong and ominous, but we've heard bass-frontwards earphones push button these deepest frequencies to (and across) the limits earlier, and nothing similar that is happening hither.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some added depression frequency presence that is subtle and lovely, lending some added body to the lower register instrumentation. The higher register brass, strings, and vocals still own the spotlight with their bright presence, but things don't become brittle or harsh despite the slightly boosted higher frequencies.

Conclusions

While I appreciate the wonderful bass response of the Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones, coupled with their high frequency fidelity, I wonder whether all listeners will feel in that location is a boost in quality compelling plenty to spend $100 more over the Triple Driver model. The off-white affair to practise hither is compare the Quad Drivers with other $200 earphones, and in that regard they do quite well.

We are fans of the Libratone Q Adjust Lightning, the RHA CL750, and the Bowers & Wilkins C5 Serial ii. All are a bit less expensive than the Quad Drivers, and all have earned our Editors' Option. The Quad Drivers proceed pace with these favorites, setting themselves apart with a flatter response audio signature that purists will observe appealing. If you're looking for superb sonic quality for even less, all the same, we know a pair that's hard to beat: the 1More Triple Commuter In-Ears, another Editors' Choice winner.

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