1More Triple Driver review: Superb sounding in-ear headphones with mic

1More audio company based out of San Diego, California specialises in in-ear headphones.

We reviewed their 1More Single Driver in-ear headphone (1M301)  and liked the budget pairs a lot. This time we check out their higher end 1More Triple Driver in-ear headphones (1MEJE0002).

Build and Design: 9/10 The Triple Driver in-ears shouts premium right from the box. You have a really impressive flip box with beautiful and smart packaging. It has the best presentation of ear tips ever displayed in a box.

In the box, you get 6 sets of silicone ear tip sizes, 3 sets of foam ear tip sizes, a dual prong airline adapter, a leather magnetic clasping travelling case and a matching shirt clip.

The earphones are made of lightweight aluminium alloy body with a nylon braided tangle free cable. Three buttons wired remote helps to control songs and calls.

But why is it called Triple driver? It comes from 1More using two balanced armatures and a separate dynamic driver equalling three drivers to deliver sound instead of stressing one driver to do all the heavy lifting. Interestingly, Triple Driver features patented armatures that can deliver frequencies up to 40,000 Hz which one would hear only in Live music (most headphones/earphones produce up to 20,000 Hz).

The 1More Triple Driver in-ears are expertly tuned by Grammy-winning sound engineer Luca Bignardi , this is what the packaging had on it and it certainly shows in the performance.

“Sound should be shaped around the needs of human ears, not flat lines that only satisfy laboratory engineers. Tuning these headphones I was thinking about all music lovers.”

Performance: 9/10 Whatever tuning sound engineer Luca Bignardi has done, is downright awesome. You’ll notice clear, rich and well-balanced sound right off the bat. Everything sounded richer and prettier with these earphones. Audiophiles might be surprised by this sound at this price.

There is plenty of oomph in the bass without sounding overbearing. Midrange is strong and clear while the highs don’t at all pierce the eardrums. It was a true pleasure listening to Metallica – Enter Sandman without tinkering with the EQ to tone down the highs or up the bass signal.

The in-ear earphones are a great pair up with smartphones as having 32 Ohms impedance means it doesn’t need a separate amplifier to power it up. It works off any portable device brilliantly well and loud.

Excellent Seal The earphones ear cup seal is a special mention. I’ve never experienced such a good seal from earphones before. A good seal always ensures good sound. Not convinced that this is only my particular case, I tested these on my cousin and even he too was impressed with the tight seal that the earphones achieve.

Due to the excellent seal, another factor comes in and that is passive noise cancellation. And you guessed it right, the earphones have an extremely good passive noise cancellation, so much so that I couldn’t hear people talking to me at all with just bare medium volume. A definite boon and can be a great bane for those using earphones out while walking on the streets.

I for one tried it on for meditation without any music and it worked really well to block out sound, I could hear and concentrate my own breath easily.

Call Quality: 9/10 Call quality was great. As the seal was better, no doubt everything sounded better, however, this also meant you wouldn’t know how loud you yourself spoke. The mic is closer to the cheek rather than dangling down means that the 1More Triple Driver headset caught my voice better than the surrounding noise.

Verdict and Price in India These are fantastic earphones no doubt. The tech, the tuning and the thought behind the packaging really shines. The MRP rates  are Rs 9,000 (Android), Rs 11,000 (Apple), you can find them for Rs 8,500 and Rs 9,500 respectively.