User Experience

Seen above is the right half of the 1MORE ColorBuds 2 installed on an artificial ear mold that is similar enough to my own average-sized ears. I used the pre-installed size M silicone ear tips for this photo, which is what I also used for the rest of my testing. The fit was fine for me since the shells are still smaller than the average ear concha. These being IEMs, the ear tips go into the ear canal, providing further support and the necessary seal to make the most of these earphones. Passive isolation is fairly decent, but I would recommend both 1MORE and you consider aftermarket ear tips, such as the SpinFit CP100+ or final Type-E tips. These weigh ~5 g each, so they are not at all physically fatiguing. IPX5 spill resistance also makes these conducive for use in the gym or outdoors.

Battery life is a key metric for TWS earphones, and these promise 8 hours of use when fully charged, which is usually a best-case scenario at lower volume and in SBC/AAC mode with ANC off. However, there is either ANC on or pass-through mode on with these earphones—no standard mode whatsoever. This means that as far as battery life goes, it's a matter of choosing between a more or less draining mode. ANC mode is on by default and the intended use case, and with it on, rated battery life is 6 hours, which matched my experience fairly well at ~70% volume on my phone using aptX. No one is going to use these in ambient mode throughout, so the higher-rated numbers seem misleading, unpractical even. With the case, battery life totals ~25 hours in ANC mode, which actually outperforms 1MORE's own numbers since the case can provide more than the rated three charge cycles. It's overall less than average again thus, but primarily because of 1MORE's decision to go with no standard listening mode. Thankfully, fast charging and wireless charging alleviate this pain point.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware and Microphones

As is the case with most TWS earphones, 1MORE is using a single dynamic driver per channel on the ColorBuds 2. This time, it is a 7 mm driver, which makes sense for this form factor, and 1MORE mentions the use of a graphene film as well. I take this to mean the dynamic driver diaphragm has a graphene coating intended to make it stiffer and more conducive to rapid back and forth movements in the magnetic field generated by separately placed magnets belonging to the driver assembly. Unfortunately, there is not much more to go on here with 1MORE also claiming a 32 Ω impedance and a frequency response of the usual 20 Hz to 20 kHz. There is no published factory response curve either, which would have been a pleasant surprise rather than the norm I'd like it to be.


There is no clarification on the exact wireless chipset at this time either, but 1MORE has a fairly complete feature set on the technological side. The mobile app works fairly well and has all the options I would like, as well as some I never thought of needing or using. The SoundID integration was nice to see, and there are several pre-programmed touch controls on the earphones. Some of these can be customized using the app, but the image above shows them all. The actual execution is finicky, however, with occasional double taps being recognized as single taps and the sensor going from at times being too sensitive to barely responding at others. The smart playback feature using the IR sensor can also be very handy if you wish to remove these at any time and want the music or audio book paused, which can also be set to resume playing when the earphones are re-inserted into the ears. I also wish the microphones were better at picking up my voice for calls, with 1MORE using two microphones and Qualcomm's cVc (clear voice capture) noise echo cancellation and noise suppression to do a decent job in a pinch, albeit certainly not as good as one as some other recently tested TWS earphones.

Frequency Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our current testing methodology begins with a calibrated IEC711 audio coupler/artificial ear the earphones can feed into to where there is decent isolation similar to real ears. The audio coupler feeds into a USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running and these TWS earphones connected to the laptop through Bluetooth. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is tested thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the three individual measurements for statistical accuracy. I am also using the pinna mold fitted to the audio coupler for a separate test to compare how these fare when installed in an ear and cheek geometry and not just the audio coupler by itself. The raw data is then exported from REW and plotted in OriginPro for an easier comparison.


The IEC711 is such that you can't really compare these results with most other test setups, just within our own library of measurements. The raw dB numbers are also quite contingent on the set volume, gain levels, and sensitivity of the system. What is more useful information is how the left and right channels work across the rated frequency response in the 1MORE ColorBuds 2, or at least the useful part of it. The left earbud was separately tested from the right one, and colored differently for contrast. I did my best to ensure an identical fit for both inside the IEC711 orifice, so note how the two channels measure nearly identical across the entire frequency response. These are averaged for each channel across multiple fits, which still makes for great channel matching. The small changes noticed here are not really felt in person, and we see more of the same with the artificial pinna in place. This second test also ends up being a good indicator of how good the fit was in an ear mold compared to the ideal case of the coupler orifice itself. Keep in mind that with TWS earphones, the fit and connectivity and signal strength from the source are quite important.


As before, I will refer you to my frequency response measurement database: VSG.squig.link. It allows for users to easily compare my measurements to my preferred target for a better idea of what I personally like, as well as compare to other target curves at the bottom, inspect different segments, normalize based on SPL or at a chosen frequency, and easily compare other devices to each other. 1MORE talks about delivering "rich, detailed sound and satisfying bass performance" with tuning done in collaboration with Luca Bignardi, a 4-time Grammy award-winning sound engineer. These ColorBuds 2 also use 1MORE's proprietary QuietMax ANC operation, and these are all lofty marketing goals to meet.

The issue is that the earphones are meant to be listened to with ANC on all the time, which is a weird deliberate choice. The only other mode is an ambient pass-through mode that is of course meant to be used sparingly, and 1MORE tells me the ANC implementation was "gentle" so as not to affect the sound signature much. I would have probably used unnecessary for the lack of a harsher term since the passive isolation alone does the bulk of the job. If anything, ANC mode just made things boring and brought down the product, especially for the so-called satisfying bass performance these aim to produce. The tuning is something I like to see in an open-back set of over-ear headphones, not closed-back IEMs. The bass elevation many look for is already nowhere to be found, and ANC mode always being on means it feels even more lacking. Unfortunately, I can't say this is a natural sound signature in the low frequencies at all, with things feeling hollow throughout and there being no impact behind beats or instruments.

This is sad because dynamic drivers best display their strengths in the lows, which are now the mids instead. By virtue of the bass coming off lower than it even looks, the mids are somewhat elevated by comparison, making the ColorBuds 2 slightly warm here. If you push the volume up, this can be an interesting set that offers a vastly unique tuning compared to any other TWS set out there, although this effect surely was not intended. Male vocals in particular come off very well, with plenty of clarity for a TWS set, as does the range for instruments. The tuning artist may not have been one much inclined towards the bass perhaps, as we also have a well-executed response to the pinna gain that makes female vocals feel natural, if not as forward-facing as male vocals. The technical performance is lacking, however, with mediocre detail and a narrow soundstage not helping imaging either.

The treble response is fine, but the set is not doing anything to really distinguish itself here. Keep in mind that a flat, uncompensated measurement is boring, which the ColorBuds 2 comes close to since the only excitement is the dip at 6 kHz and small peak thereafter. It does feel like 1MORE has some aggressive DSP filtering going on in this region to provide treble extension for instruments without it being fatiguing, but it does not seem accurate. Some instruments, especially piano keys, sound as though their fundamentals are just not there, and the second-order harmonics are more emphasized. Also, somehow the timbre feels plasticky, which is a first for me with dynamic driver IEMs. Unfortunately, this is another case where the base tuning adversely affects SoundID and how much it can help, with the always on ANC not helping, either.


Seen above are the frequency response measurements for three other ANC TWS sets: the Cleer Roam NC, Tronsmart Apollo Air+, and Lypertek PurePlay Z5. I was in two minds about whether I should include the Padmate PaMu Z1 instead of the Lypertek that is a closer competitor in price, but I did want to include a case of hybrid ANC TWS done right. This means 1MORE is not alone in having a faulty tuning and/or execution, and you often have to go for something above $100 to get a better set. As such, the ColorBuds 2 actually has a more competitive feature set than most others in this price range. I still would not take it simply because of the bass and treble response. Instead, perhaps look at some sets that are on a fire sale (AKG N400 or Technics AZ770). There are other sets in this price range which are tuned better than anything else here, such as the MOONDROP Sparks, but it lacks the technological features of the ColorBuds 2.