Introduction

1MORE is continuing to produce some very interesting designs. Not long ago, we were mightily impressed with the Triple Driver in-ears, and today, we will be taking a look at something as unusual as 1MORE's Triple Driver Over-Ear headphones. While having multiple drivers in an over-ear or around-ear design is not completely unheard off, well-performing ones are few and far between. In the past 40 or so years, there have only been a few notable mentions in this category; a few from AKG and the odd ones from start-ups.


1MORE's new design definitely one-ups other manufacturers as there are three drivers per cup or, more accurately, two active drivers and a passive one. The primary driver, which handles the broadest range, is a 40 mm Ø dynamic driver, but even here, 1MORE has been bold in their design choices. The 40 mm driver in the Triple Driver Over-Ear features a new membrane material I have never seen used in headphones before, namely graphene. Graphene basically consists of carbon atoms bonded in a flat hexagonal lattice, and the material exhibits a multitude of interesting properties, of which perhaps the most relevant ones for a membrane material are high specific stiffness and strength. Having a stiff and light membrane is almost always preferred. The membrane is made out of Mylar with a graphene-reinforced center section, as there is no separate surround.

Specifications

• Type: over-ear headphone
• Color: titanium
• Weight: 293 g
• Wire: oxygen-free copper
• Cable Length: 1.35 m
• Plug Type: 3.5 mm gold plated
• Speaker Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 104 dB
• Frequency Response Range: 20–40,000 Hz
• Maximum Power: 50 mW

Specification-wise, the Triple Driver Over-Ear looks pretty normal. The sensitivity of 104 dB (presumably per mW) is a good match for most portable devices.


There are a lot of interesting design choices in the acoustic system for the Triple Driver Over-Ear beyond the graphene on the primary driver. 1MORE chose to add a piezo electric ceramic tweeter. This type of driver is pretty uncommon on headphone designs, but has a long and proven track record. Further adding to the complexity of the acoustic system is the addition of a passive driver. Passive drivers in headphones were perhaps made popular by AKG's K240 Sextett headphones from the 1980s, which are still decent-sounding even by today's standards, although nothing spectacular. Packing all of those drivers into a normal-sized over-ear headphone is quite a feat.