1MORE S20 earbuds: in review
A new style for "open" earbuds
We’ve reviewed a number of different types of headphones and earbuds here at WWR. While I personally like over-ear headphones for all-day usage, there’s no denying that a compact pair of earbuds are handy to have with you when you head out. Sure, you can get noise-cancelling ones, but if you’re anywhere you need to be aware of what’s going on around you (say, walking in or through traffic), that’s working against you. There are various ways “open” earbuds can accomplish keeping you aware, and the 1MORE S20 earbuds come at it with an interesting clip format.
1MORE S20 earbuds: what they are
The opening there sort of gives it away - the 1MORE S20 earbuds are open-ear earbuds, allowing you to hear what you’re listening to, while also allowing you to hear what’s going on around you. When you open up the packaging, you’re greeted with a small puck of a charging case, which feels pretty standard for earbuds these days. It’s when you open the case that you see something different.
You’ve got a small U-shaped configuration for each earbud. The larger section is where the battery is, and we presume most of the electronics. On the other end, the small bulb holds the speaker. The bit connecting both sides is flexible, and allows you to slide them onto your ears, directing the sound into your ears, while not blocking them off.
Why you might want open-ear earbuds
We do need to establish some use cases for these. If you’re working away at home, and you’re the only person there, ok, these don’t make sense. If you’re in the office though, and need to hear someone coming up to you to ask a question? These easily allow that. Likewise, if you’re riding a bike somewhere, or even just walking on your daily commute - and need to get through traffic at intersections - being able to hear what’s going on around you is key.
Finally, there is one usage that I’ve found pretty helpful - when you’re driving. I’ve got an older car, so there’s no inputs into the radio for me to run my phone through (unless I use a cassette adapter). So, with these, I’m able to listen to music or a podcast, and still hear if there are horns or sirens that I need to be aware of. Of course, if you wanted to have a little extra safety, you could use just a single earbud.
How’s the sound quality?
That should be something you consider for any set of headphones or earbuds. Now, due to the nature of having smaller drivers, earbuds are obviously not going to have the same fidelity that larger on- or over-ear headphones will. This is further stretched when you’ve got open ear styles, which don’t seal things up. In other words, you’ve got the sound traveling through the open air, which causes some loss of fidelity.
That said, you can still clearly hear things with your music, just not with a punchy bass hit. Where these really shine is if you’re listening to audio books or podcasts. In other words, reproducing people speaking, rather than music. That comes through great. They also work quite well for using on a phone call, with some ANC built into the mics on the earbuds.
Wrapping things up
All in all, I came away rather pleased with the performance of the 1MORE S20 earbuds. The clip design is quite comfortable, and is a great option for folks who wear glasses. And if you’ve got a need to still be aware of what’s going on around you (either at work or even just out for a walk), you’re all set with these. You can get them in either black or a light blue for $39.99 directly from 1more.com
1More S20 Tech Specs
Model: S20
Headphones Weight: 70g
Earbuds Size: 130*130*40mm
Battery Capacity: 600mAh
Charging Time: 1.5hours
Playtime: 22hours
Speaker Impendance: 16Ω
Bluetooth Range: 10m
Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth® 5.4
Bluetooth Protocols: HFP / A2DP / AVRCP
Input: 5V-1A
Working Temperature: 0℃ ~ 45℃
Frequency Range: 2400GHz ~ 2.4835GHz