1MORE SonoFlow review

The 1MORE SonoFlow are a new contender in the over-ear active noise canceling (ANC) headphone market. Coming in at under $100 with a feature-rich and stylish design, they’re all about value. We’re curious to put their boasts of wireless audiophile sound and long battery life to the test and see what else they have to offer.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

What’s it like to use the 1MORE SonoFlow?

Unzipping the 1MORE SonoFlow’s fitted travel case reveals the headphone’s sleek foldable design. The outer finish is smooth to the touch. While you’ll notice a few creaks from the plastic while adjusting them to your head, the padded headband and roomy ear cups provide a good seal and quality cushioning for extended listening periods. The package includes a 2.5mm to 3.5mm non-color-matched jack cable for wired listening and a USB A to C charging cable.

Although comfortable, the clamping force is on the light side, and they are headband-heavy, so they’re not ideal for heading to the gym. I found myself constantly adjusting the headband position when performing any exercise where I wasn’t upright.

While cycling through listening modes manually via the ear cup controls, you will hear various chimes, and you’re left to decipher which chime corresponds to which mode. Near the power button on the right ear cup are two lights that flash when you power on and connect and immediately turn off. A continuous indicator showing power and connection status would be welcomed; there is nothing to tell if you’re connected to your device or left the headphones powered on accidentally.

Installing the app will eliminate the guessing and give you visual control over your connection, settings, and EQ options you will want to experiment with.

How do you control the 1MORE SonoFlow?

Four physical buttons are located on the right ear cup for controlling your headphones. As mentioned, you must download the 1MORE app to dive into the EQ options and other features.

Since there is no continuous power indicator, it’s important to listen for the power-down chime when turning off the headphones to preserve battery life.

Should you use the 1MORE MUSIC App for the 1MORE SonoFlow?

Downloading the 1MORE MUSIC app is recommended to get the most out of these headphones. The app provides a quick guide to using the headphones and allows easy access to listening modes, firmware updates,  and the option to dive into an EQ section under sound options. You can select from 12 “studio grade” presets or make your own with the limited graphic EQ.

There is also a “soothing sounds” section with various background nature sounds, like a babbling creek or pouring rain, but the quality of these recordings leaves something to be desired.

How do the 1MORE SonoFlow connect?

The 1MORE SonoFlow headphones can connect to your source via Bluetooth 5.0 or the supplied 2.5mm to 3.5mm TRS jack cable. Note that when in wired mode, ANC is not available, and any volume adjustment or track navigation will have to be done from your source device.

How long does the 1MORE SonoFlow battery last?

In our standard test, designed to emulate real-world use, the 1MORE SonoFlow lasted 56 hours and 51 minutes with ANC engaged. That’s almost 7 hours longer than the advertised 50-hour battery life, not bad at all!

How well do the 1MORE SonoFlow cancel noise?

The 1MORE SonoFlow has decent noise isolation thanks to the well-fitting ear pads. The active noise canceling does a great job of nulling out the low rumble of the bus and most unwanted noise or conversations while on public transit. In a home office environment, any noise from nearby appliances or landscapers working outside was kept at bay, and I could listen distraction-free.

The chart above shows how the headphone’s noise blocking abilities were measured in our lab. The passive isolation is shown in pink, and the combined passive isolation and ANC in blue — higher values equal better performance. As expected, passive isolation is most effective at blocking external noise in the higher frequencies above 1kHz. Active noise canceling works best at canceling out low-frequency noise below 1kHz.

As well as allowing you to disable the ANC, the headphones also offer a transparency mode for situations where you need to remain aware of your surroundings.

How do the 1MORE SonoFlow sound?

Playback Frequency Response (Bluetooth)

While the measured frequency response curve for the 1MORE SonoFlow doesn’t deviate too far from our headphone preference curve, they are a bit light on the low end compared to my usual JBLs, and I found it noticeable during my first listen. The EQ section in the 1MORE app is the key to unlocking the true performance of the SonoFlow headphones. The presets are a great starting point for fine-tuning the 1MORE SonoFlow to your taste, an you can always return to the headphones’ default EQ settings by selecting the ‘Studio’ preset.

Diving into any hard rock or metal like Meshuggah’s Koloss album, turning on the ‘Bass booster’ preset EQ helped bring that low end to life. The double kick drum became much more impactful, along with the massive low-end resonance of their 8-string guitars. Although it may seem counterintuitive, if guitar-driven music is your thing, the “hip-hop” preset is also worth a go. It adds just a bit to the lows and highs and a healthy midrange bump. Engaging this preset while spinning Pink Floyd’s Money brought the distorted guitars right up front in the mix and allowed me to hear more detailed percussive elements in the drumming, like the stick attack on the ride cymbal.

Don’t let the preset names fool you. Switching up genres, Gunship’s Tech Noir with the “classical” preset also provided those bass frequencies I was missing upon first listen and some high-end to help define the wide-spanning layers of this driving synth track. Each EQ preset also provides a basic visual of their appearance on a graphic EQ. Revisiting the Meshuggah track with that visual, I was able to replicate the Bass booster preset in the manual graphic EQ while also giving a bump to the 6.7kHz and 9.6kHz sliders to brighten up the cymbal work at the same time. Once you’re satisfied with your adjustments, you can save up to 3 of these custom EQ settings.

Can you use the 1MORE SonoFlow for phone calls?

Microphone Frequency Response

You can use the SonoFlow headphones for fielding phone calls. Although it boasts 5x ENC (environmental noise cancelling) microphones, in our calibrated test recordings, you can still hear keyboard clicks and other movements in our simulated office. A quick chat with a friend will be fine, but it’s not ideal if you’re hopping on and off conference calls all day at work.

1MORE SonoFlow microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

1MORE SonoFlow microphone demo (Office conditions):

1MORE SonoFlow microphone demo (Street conditions):

Should you buy the 1MORE SonoFlow?

Overall, the 1MORE SonoFlow are an excellent option for anyone looking for a decent set of over-ear ANC headphones on a budget. They check all the boxes when it comes to modern features. Once you’re familiar with its operational chimes and have spent some time with the EQ, you’re set for an enjoyable, comfortable listening experience for under $100.

What should you get instead of the 1MORE SonoFlow?

If you’re set on spending under $100, the Monoprice BT600ANC $84.99 at Amazon is another option to check out. They also offer excellent ANC, decent battery life, and a travel-friendly foldable design. However, there is no app support, so you won’t be able to tweak your settings like you can with the 1MORE SonoFlow headphones.

If you have some wiggle room in your budget, the Anker Soundcore Life Q35 $99.99 at Amazon are worth a look. They share some of the features of the 1MORE SonoFlow, including ANC, travel case, foldable design, 50h+ battery life, quick charge feature, and supporting app for EQ customization.

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