1More Evo review: Midrange earbuds with LDAC support for high-end sound

The 1More Evo is the latest creation from the bargain audio manufacturer and one of the finest-sounding wireless earbuds available at its price point. 1More equipped these buds with a robust spec sheet consisting of a 10mm dynamic driver paired with a balanced armature driver, active noise cancellation (ANC), Bluetooth 5.2 with LDAC codec support, SoundIQ compatibility, and wireless charging.

On paper, the Evo sounds like a true wireless winner, and it does come very close. But not everything hits its mark. The companion app is buggy, call quality is weak, and the mediocre noise neutralization keeps it from entering the best noise-cancelling earbuds conversation.

Even with these shortcomings, the Evo remains a solid performer with the connectivity and sonic prowess to win you over.

1More Evo review: Price and availability

• Competitively priced
• Two color options

The 1More Evo earbuds are priced at $169 / £199 available at major online retailers, including Amazon and Newegg, or on 1More’s website. 1More sells extended warranties for 1-year ($15.99), 2-year ($25.99), and 3-year coverage ($34.99). These buds are sold in two colors: black and white. Inside the box are a wireless charging case, USB-C charging cable, user guide, warranty card, and five pairs of different sized ear tips. 

As a newcomer to the mid-range category, the Evo faces stiff competition from well-received models such as the Sony LinkBuds S ($199) and Sennheiser CX Plus ($129). If the price is too steep, we recommend checking out the more affordable Piston Pro, another 1More noise-cancelling model with surprisingly good performance that's currently discounted to just $59 on 1More's website and Newegg.

For all of the latest wireless earbuds sales, bookmark our best headphones deals page.

1More Evo review: Design and comfort

• Stylish and well built
• Wireless charging case is conveniently portable
• Acceptable comfort and on-ear stability

The Evo’s design is easy on the eyes. The oval body tapers to fit inside the ear. Shiny touch panels and gold accents give the buds a premium appearance. 1More discretely hides the talking mic below each bud. Build quality is durable, so the buds will survive hard spills to the concrete. The Evo also comes IPX4-rated for sweat and water resistance.

1More’s wireless charging case is pocket-friendly and easy to carry around. It has a nice soft-touch plastic exterior that can take a beating, and strong magnets to keep the lid shut and buds locked into their charging slots. The embossed gold logo on the top and pairing button on the inside are nice touches as well.

Expect a stable and secure fit. The multiple bundled ear tips accommodate listeners with different ear shapes and achieve a tight seal. I wouldn’t advise using the buds for exercising, but the secure fit will help you feel more confident walking over a sewer grate when out and about.  

Comfort is moderate. In other words, you’ll be fine wearing them for about 2 hours straight before fatigue sets in. I noticed some soreness around the concha after listening for several hours sporadically throughout the day, but this was mild discomfort rather than anything painful. 

1More Evo review: Controls and digital assistant

• Responsive touch panels and motion sensors
• No single-tap gesture
• Reliable digital assistance integration

Users are given a full suite of commands: Playback, Call Management, Volume, Digital Assistance, and Listening Mode activation. Most of these are enabled through double/triple taps. ANC/Transparency can be activated by performing the long-touch gesture on either bud. The touch panels were spot-on and registered input accurately with zero latency. On-ear detection performed similarly, automatically pausing music whenever removing the buds and resuming playback when placing them back on your ears.

It seems odd that 1More didn’t implement a single-tap gesture, especially when it is the simplest input method to activate commands, but this isn’t a deal-breaker. Besides, you can assign commands in the companion app to simplify usage.

Siri and Google Assistant worked well for voice commands. 1More’s triple-array mic demonstrated great speech recognition, picking up every syllable and registering long-winded inquiries with precision. Results were accurate and came back as quickly as the digital assistants received them. 

1More Evo review: Sound quality

• Balanced mids and highs
• Tight bass
• LDAC codec support

The combination of a hybrid driver design, SoundID sound personalization, and Bluetooth 5.2 with Sony’s LDAC codec gives these buds a versatile sonic profile that not many sub-$200 models can match. 1More’s sound signature is neutral, meaning you’ll enjoy balanced frequency range, though I preferred my SoundID profile since it boosted lows and sharpened highs. Listening with ANC won’t compromise audio quality either. 

I played several tracks across different music genres from Apple Music and Spotify, and each one offered satisfying results. The string arrangements on Sébastien Tellier's "La Ritournelle" sounded clean and poignant, the drums were impactful, and the lofty vocals had a serene resonance to them.

The 1More's effective low-frequency energy came through on bass-heavy tracks like Rudimental’s “Spoons”; I couldn’t help but nod my head to the thumping bass line. Something that caught my attention was how well the Evo handled the low-fi buzzing, clearing up the soundstage for what was mostly a distortion-free listen.

These buds support AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs, the latter being capable of delivering Hi-Res playback with a decoding rate of up to 990kbps. You must activate LDAC in the companion app by selecting “priority on sound quality” in the Bluetooth Connection Setup menu. Having the feature places the Evo in the same company as some of the best wireless earbuds like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Technics EAH-AZ60.

Those seeking more detailed listening will experience subtle nuances in complex recordings and improved instrument placement when enabling the codec. Vocal texture on Jennifer Warnes’ “Ballad of the Runaway Horse” sounded more natural and the plucking from the upright bass was well defined.

1More Evo review: Active noise cancellation

• Some ANC modes more effective than offers
• Outstanding wind noise reduction
• Ambient listening mode works well

1More put a lot of effort into making the Evo a monstrous noise neutralizer, but the results aren’t as grand as one would expect from wireless earbuds with four ANC modes. Of the collective, WNR (Wind Resistance) is the best option and greatly reduces the whooshing effects caused by rough winds. It also does a fantastic job of minimizing incidental sounds, something most wind-resistant modes fail to accomplish. 

Strong is decent for blocking out low- and mid-frequency sounds. I was able to ignore family conversations happening around my workspace and noises from the laundry room. Everything else was audible, especially high-frequency noises like baby cries and whistles. Mild is said to be designed for in-office use, but the setting performed poorly in all environments. My ears picked up on chats occurring outside of my bathroom door, along with other common household distractions like doorbells and home appliances.

Adaptive examines the noise levels around you to determine the best ANC mode. Based on my testing, it felt like the mode always defaulted to Strong; performance was very similar.

Transparent mode performs better than ANC and comes with two settings. Pass-through reduces traffic noise and Voice Enhancement increases vocals. Both increased my awareness of surroundings during strolls with my toddler. I found pass-through most useful when crossing streets and toll bridges, while Voice became a go-to for conversations with the missus during work hours.

1More Evo review: Special features and app

• Several useful features via 1More Music
• Buggy app

The 1More Music app is the hub for all extended functionality and is available for download on iOS and Android. Despite being on the market for over a year, minor bugs and a plain design make it feel like a beta version that has yet to be completed. It will occasionally crash during updates and not recognize connections. Nonetheless, you get a handful of serviceable features that enhance the user experience. 

I already touched on essentials like ANC/Transparent, control customization, LDAC, and SoundID. You’ll find other features in the app, though they are hit or miss. On the homepage is the Soothing Sounds mode that masks ambient noise around you by playing select nature sounds. These sounds are close to the real thing, but the feature still hasn’t been fixed, restarting after 10 seconds instead of running on a continuous loop.  

The settings page is where you’ll find the smart burn-in tool, which is said to help get the buds up to their optimum audio performance by playing noise covering a wide range of frequencies continuously for several hours, plus experimental features like Dual-Device Connection (aka multipoint technology) and Pop-Up Window. The former allows for pairing to two compatible audio sources simultaneously and the latter displays battery life in an overlay. 

Other notables include battery level indicators for both buds and the charging case, firmware updates, quick guide, and the option to prioritize sound quality or connectivity.

1More Evo review: Battery life and charging case

• Decent playtimes
• LDAC mode reduces battery life
• Impressive fast charging mode

1More rates battery life at 5.5 hours with ANC on and 8 hours with ANC off. That’s accurate when listening at 50 percent volume and with AAC/SBC as your default codec. LDAC drops playtimes by about 1.5 hours. Rivals like the LinkBuds S (6 hours) and CX plus (8 hours) offer longer ANC playtimes, but what the Evo gives you is considered standard. It’s also more than what you’ll get out of the AirPods Pro (4.5 hours).

The wireless charging case holds between 20 to 28 hours, depending how you use the buds. You’ll need to charge it fairly often if you’re thinking of using ANC and LDAC all the time. Something that should relieve your low battery anxiety is 1More’s fast charging technology: a 15-minute charge equates to 4 hours of listening time.

1More Evo review: Call quality and connectivity

• Not the strongest performance for video and voice calls
• Lengthy wireless range
• Supports Google Fast Pair and multipoint technology

As a calling headset, the Evo is lackluster. Some people mentioned that my voice kept going in and out and sounded tinny. My wife even claimed that certain letters like “S”s and “T”s sounded harsh. There was also some distortion on the opposite end. 

Bluetooth 5.2 worked exceptionally well. Connections remained strong throughout the house during calls and streaming sessions. Pairing to recognized devices was instant; Google Fast Pair expedited the process on Android devices. And as previously stated, the buds can connect to two devices at the same time.

However, range is the Evo’s unsung feature, exceeding what 1More advertises (33 feet) on their site and extending up to 80 feet. I was able to leave my phone in the back of the house and walk right onto the street without any dropout.

1More Evo review: Verdict

The 1More Evo is a noteworthy entry in the mid-price category for anyone seeking relatively affordable noise-cancelling earbuds with superb sound and wireless performance. It gives expensive models like the AirPods Pro a run for their money, at least on the sonic front, though it could have benefited from better ANC. At least the wind resistance and transparency modes are reliable. Overall, the Evo makes for a compelling purchase.