1More SonoFlow Review
Affordable hi-res audio over-ears from 1More
Verdict
The SonoFlow combine a lightweight design with decent noise cancellation and an up to 70-hour battery life. The Transparency mode could be stronger and controls are tough to tell apart, but for less than £100, these headphones offer a well-rounded set of features.
Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable design
- Good noise cancellation
- Incredible battery life
Cons
- Weak Transparency mode
- Confusing button layout
Availability
- UKRRP: £89.99
- USARRP: $99.99
Key Features
- Over-ear designLightweight plastic build
- QuietMax ANCAlong with a Transparency mode
- 50-hour battery lifeUp to 70 hours without ANC
- 1More Music appEQ presets and Soothing Sounds
Introduction
1More is an audio brand that has impressed us in the past, not only with its affordable prices but with standout features that grab our attention and separate its headphones from the crowd.
I’ve previously tested the spatial audio-toting 1More Aero and now I’ve spent over a week listening to my favourite tracks through the SonoFlow headphones, a pair of over-ears that boast Hi-Res Audio support, ANC and up to 70 hours of battery life.
So, how did they perform?
Design
- The SonoFlow are soft and comfortable
- The design is very neutral and classic
- The headphones are lightweight but not waterproof
The 1More SonoFlow look great out of the box. The first thing I noticed about the headphones was how soft the earcups and the headband felt with their thick memory foam padding and supple protein leather cover.
The style itself is quite mild. The SonoFlow won’t turn any heads the way the AirPods Max do, but the all-black finish feels classic and the flashes of red inside the earcups add some interest – even if you’re the only one who’ll see them.
The plastic design doesn’t feel as expensive or sleek as the V-Moda S80, but it does keep the SonoFlow incredibly lightweight and comfortable on the head at just 250g, even when worn for longer periods of time.
The controls do feel quite cheap. 1More has opted for physical buttons over touch pads and, while this isn’t a bad thing on its own, these particular buttons are very clicky and not the most tactile to find and tell apart. On the left ear, you’ll find the USB-C port, whereas the right ear houses the on/off button, volume and playback controls, ANC switch and 3.5mm jack for wired listening.
Over-ears rarely have an IP rating and these are no exception, meaning I wouldn’t recommend wearing them in the gym or while trekking through heavy downpour.
The SonoFlow come with a hard grey case that offers the headphones a good amount of protection from dirt and scratches, though it can take a minute to figure out how to contort them to fit in the case.
Features
- The ANC works well but the Transparency mode seems less effective
- Calls are clear with five mics in the headphones
- The battery life can extend to up to 70 hours
The SonoFlow pack a good number of features, including 1More’s own QuietMax hybrid noise cancellation and a Transparency mode.
I found that the ANC worked very well, plunging a supermarket into silence behind my playlist as I walked up and down the busy aisles.
The Transparency mode was less effective. It did increase the sounds of the outside world slightly but the mode was unable to raise the volume high enough that I could make out voices or hold a proper conversation without removing the headphones from my ears.
There are also a couple of additional features courtesy of the 1More Music smartphone app. This includes 12 EQ presets, custom EQ and Soothing Sounds, a feature that emulates the sounds of rain, a bonfire, a forest and outer space (if that sounds soothing to you).
While I think that Soothing Sounds is a nice idea in theory that could definitely come in handy for those who like a gentle soundtrack to study or fall asleep to, the audio for each sound is a single 10-second clip looped in the least seamless way possible. This makes listening to them more uncomfortable or irritating than calming.
Moving beyond the app, the headphones take advantage of five microphones for calls, which I found to be perfectly clear on both ends.
There’s also Bluetooth multipoint support for connecting to more than one device at a time, along with High-Res Audio certifications and the LDAC codec for lossless streaming.
The standout feature here for me was definitely the battery life. The 1More SonoFlow are capable of lasting an incredible 70 hours without ANC or 50 hours with noise cancellation switched on, which should get you through any long-haul flight with ease.
I opted to test the latter and found the headphones took 26 hours to drop to 50%, falling just on the right side of 1More’s own estimate. Every 10% drop took around 5 hours – give or take a few – which also lines up well with that 50-hour claim.
Fast charging is equally impressive, allowing for 5 hours of listening from a quick 5-minute charge.
Sound Quality
- The headphones’ sound is bass-forward with a warm quality to them
- They lack some clarity at the top-end of the frequency range
- The in-app EQ allows you to customise the audio to your liking
The SonoFlow’s sound is powered by a 40mm diamond-like-carbon dynamic driver, which 1More claims allows for rhythmic bass, warm mids and crisp highs.
I found that the headphones did have a very warm sound to them, with the mids and bass demanding most of the attention. I listened to BIBI’s BIBI Vengeance to get an idea of the bass performance and, while the SonoFlow’s have a very bass-forward approach, I did find there to be a lack of detail definition in this area with the low-end seeming to blur together at times.
Moving beyond the bass, the headphones have a good amount of energy to them and there’s clarity and detail present in the vocals. The soundstage also feels wide and spacious.
Moving on to the more slow-paced Kill Bill by SZA and the headphones delivered similarly warm vocals and thumping bass. However, the track lacks clarity with its highs, causing the song to fall a bit flat in the chorus.
Like the 1More Aero, the SonoFlow have been tuned by a four-time Grammy award winner. However, for those looking to customise the sound, there are the 12 EQ presets I mentioned in the app section.
These include Studio, Bass Booster, Bass Reducer, Podcast and Classical, to name a few. There’s also the Custom EQ setting which makes it easy to adjust the sound by dragging the corresponding dots up and down.
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Should you buy it?
You want high-end features for less: The 1More SonoFlow pack Hi-Res Audio, hybrid ANC and an up to 70-hour battery life for less than £100.
You want a strong Transparency mode: I didn’t find the Transparency mode strong enough to listen out for train announcements or chat without shifting the headphones off my ears.
Final Thoughts
The 1More SonoFlow are a well-rounded pair of headphones. 1More has covered all the basics you could want from a good pair of headphones, including a comfortable design, ANC, Hi-Res Audio support and a battery life that’ll last any long journey, all at an affordable price.
There are some drawbacks, of course. The physical controls are poorly laid out and tough to tell apart and the Transparency mode lacks power, rendering it quite ineffective.
The sound profile is also subjective. If you’re looking for a warm, bassy listen you’ll enjoy these headphones, but the audio isn’t perfect. I wish there was a bit more detail definition in the low-end and the highs can sometimes fall flat in comparison.
How we test
We test every headphones we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Tested for over a week
Monitored the battery life
Listened to different music genres
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FAQs
The SonoFlow support up to 50 hours of listening with noise cancelling on, or up to 70 hours with ANC switched off.
Yes, the SonoFlow include hybrid ANC as well as a Transparency mode.
Full specs
Jargon buster
ANC
ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) uses an array of microphones in a headphone to detect the frequency of the sound coming at the listener, with the ANC chip creating an inverse wave (i.e. opposing sound) to suppress any unwanted external noises.USB-C
The modern USB connector you’ll find on most Android phones, new laptops, cameras and games consoles. It’s reversible and used for charging along with data-transfer.Bluetooth multipoint
Bluetooth multipoint is a device's ability to connect to two or more devices simultaneously over a Bluetooth connection
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
