Thank you 1MORE for sending the Fit SE Open Earbuds S31 for review!

When I was asked to listen to these earbuds and write a review from my good friend Jason, I said I would love to, as I have been kinda bored lately and needed a distraction. Then he showed me the S31 Open Earbuds from 1MORE. “Now those look really cool,” I said, “I’ve been looking for a set of earbuds that I could use while I was at the gym.” Jason told me to use them for a week and write an honest review. Now I have been using them for 4 days, and I can tell you that these earbuds are some of the best sounding earbuds I have used.

When I opened the box all that was inside was the S31 Open Earbuds in the case and a card with a QR code to verify the purchase of the 1MORE . I would recommend that you charge the earbuds before using, because you don’t know how much charge is on them. There is a light on the front of the case that shows green for full charge, yellow for about 50% charge, and red for low battery in need of charging. Anyway, as soon as you take one of the earbuds out of the case they power on with a little white light on the main body. The battery pack for each earbud is actually the weight in the other end of the S31. This gives it more balance so the earbud is not sliding off the ear if it gets wet. And the S31s are IPX5 rated waterproof, IPX5-rated devices can handle more significant water exposure, such as heavy rain. They are suitable for outdoor activities where you expect substantial moisture but not full immersion. It only took an hour on my 5-volt charging brick to become fully charged, and that means both the case and the earbuds will be at 100% charge. The earbuds paired with my Android phone quickly and easily, and immediately started to listen to music from my play-list on Amazon Prime Music app in Ultra HD. Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps.

The first night of using the S31’s, after awhile I thought that they feel really comfortable on my ears. Now before I go further, I need to say that I have a big head and equally large ears. To that end, I don’t think the S31s fit my ears perfectly, so when I am listening with the S31 Open Earbuds, the sound I get is a bit quiet, and when I push the earbuds a bit further down into my ears, the sound really gets better. Darn my big ears. So the only small negative I have found with the sound from the S31’s is that they were made to be comfortable earbuds that are NOT in the ear canals and wrap around the top of the ears to prevent them from falling off the ears. Because I have big ears, the earbuds don’t really sit over my ear canals, so the sound is just a bit quieter. When I push the earbuds down a little, I get the full sound the way its supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong, the S31s sound really good for me. When my daughter and other family members tried them, they said the S31s fit perfectly and the sound was very good. Another negative for me, and this is really being picky, but the case is very smooth and slippery like a river rock, so sometimes its hard to open the case. I know... Nit-picky because just about all earbud cases are smooth, so it’s definitely not a deal breaker.

Once the S31 Earbuds are charged, simply turn them on by opening the case and place the earbuds on your ears. Then simply press and hold the left earbud until a voice states that they are in pairing mode. Then open your settings on your cellphone and find where it shows to pair a new device, and then select the “1MORE S-31” device. Now they’re ready to use. After the earbuds are paired, download and install the the 1MORE app from the Google Play Store for an Android phone, or Apple Store for Apple phones. I only used my Android cellphone for this testing and review, so I cannot talk to the usability of the S31 Open Earbuds on Apple devices. I did however, ask my daughter to check on the Apple Store for the 1MORE app, and indeed there is an app for Apple phones to use the 1MORE Earbuds. Just as a side note, the user ratings for the 1MORE S31 Open Earbuds were not as good on the Apple Store as they are on Google Play. I think this speaks more to the fact that Apple tends to be proprietary with their hardware, so sometimes there can be 3rd party devices that do not work as well on Apple phones as they do on Android.

The 1MORE app for Android is very basic. When you open the app, it shows the S31 earbud’s battery status and the earbud case with its battery status. When you place the earbuds in the case, it will charge the batteries in the earbuds to extend the usage time for the earbuds, so you can charge the case without the earbuds in it. The normal usage time for the S31 earbuds is 8 hours, but you can extend the usage time to 30 hours by placing the earbuds into the case with the case’s battery fully charged. In my opinion, this is a game changer, because extending the battery life of the earbuds is very beneficial to the users, because there is no need to place the earbuds on a charger every night.

The other components of the 1MORE app for Android is Sound Options, Custom Settings, Settings, and Quick Guide to Product. In the Sound Options, you are offered 3 different Preset EQs, which are the Studio, which is the default, then Bass booster and Bass reducer. Bass booster lowers the mids and highs and increases the bass, which makes the sound muffled. Bass reducer does the opposite and makes the high frequencies louder, which makes the sound more ‘tinny’ and hollow. In my opinion, keep the Preset EQ set to Studio, which sounds the best. Next is the Custom settings, which allows you to customize the touch zones for either left or right earbud. In the Settings option, there is Operations to enable Smart Burn-in and OTA Firmware Upgrade; the Music option to connect to the 1MORE music festival; then the Control option which you can select the Product Color, turn Ads on or off and Experimental Features, which turns on/off the Pairing Popup Window; then the Support options which links to FAQs, Contact Us and About 1MORE, which shows the APP version and the 1MORE Official website. Lastly there is a button to a Quick Guide to Product, which shows how to use the earbuds.

I have made a lot of calls while using the 1MORE S31s, and I can tell you the call quality is top notch with no lag or robotic sound. There are dual microphones in each earpiece which allows the person on the other end of the call to hear the call clearly, even to the point of feeling almost like you’re in the same room or talking face to face, and without any background noise due to the “Enhanced AI Noise Canceling Technology”. - “The S31s are equipped with dual microphones per earbud and the documentation states that they use a DNN noise-canceling algorithm, so the 1MORE S31s are supposed to amplify your voice in noisy settings, to make sure you have crystal clear phone calls. Now while I do agree that the sound quality is very good with phone calls, I have asked the people on the other side of my phone call how I sound, and they have all agreed that my voice comes in clear and loud in spite of any background noise. I did not try them in excessively noisy places, but under normal conditions, the S31s performed quite well.

The sound reproduction from the S31s comes out clear and natural without being muddy, the Highs and mids are crisp and clean - vocal pick up is awesome. And the enhanced spatial channel separation of each musical instrument is so good that at times I felt like I was right there at the live concert or recording studio, because I really noticed the incredible soundstage the S31s are able to produce. The first night of listening to various types of music with the S31s was great because of how comfortable they really are. With some earbuds, they can get very annoying sitting within the ear canals, and I think that has a negative effect on the music because the drivers in the earbuds are so close to the eardrums, that they could eventually cause damage to the ears. I believe I really put the S31 Open Earbuds through the paces, because I listened to a very wide range of music types, from hard rock, classical, country, jazz and more. The S31s really excel at sound reproduction, and that is all due to the 14.2 mm Enlarged Driver that provides the “Rich Sound, Fine Details”. The S31s also include a “Bass Enhancement Algorithm,” which does enhance the bass frequencies in music. The S31s have a wide frequency range, although the range is not specified with the S31 specs or details. I can only assume that the audio frequency response is the standard 20Hz to 20kHz range. Since the 1MORE S31s are considered “Open Ear,” meaning they do not go into the ear canals and block outside noise, I was able to hear noises around me while listening to music, even at the maximum levels.

I feel that the S31 Open Earbuds have a very flat neutral sound, which allows any type of music to sound good. I gave the S31 Open Earbuds to my daughter (a Gen-Z kid) who lives and breathes music and plays several musical instruments in college level orchestras. Her first thought was, “they’re weird looking.” Then she put them on and I played some classical music for her, including some songs that she has played herself in orchestras, and she was very impressed, saying that these earbuds sound better than the Bose earbuds she has, and much better than any other earbuds she has used in the past. By the way, the S31 Open Earbuds fit perfectly in her little ears, and she also stated that they were very comfortable and she’d wear them all day, and with the sound being so good, it would not be laborious at all to wear them to the point of not noticing they were on at all. I then asked my daughter what she thought the price was for these earbuds. “At least $200 or more,” she said. When I told her that the MSRP for the 1MORE S31 Open Earbuds is $49.99, she was shocked. For the price, I really don’t think you can find a set or earbuds that performs as well as these.

I have noticed a small issue with the S31s when they have to be re-paired to my cellphone. At times I have tried to turn them on, and only the right earbud will turn on. I have found that in order to get them working, I needed to place the earbuds back in the case and close the case. This disconnects the S31s from my cellphone and then when I open the case and remove the earbuds, they automatically re-attach to my cell phone and both earbuds function properly. Also, the S31s will only connect to one device at a time, either my cell phone or my PC. Changing the connection from one to the other requires me to turn off the S31s by placing them in the case and closing it, disconnect them from one device, open the S31s case and then connect them to the other device. There is no need to re-pair them because they are already listed in the connection list of either device, so they will automatically connect to the next device when you select the earbuds from the list of Bluetooth devices.

Now let’s talk about the Bluetooth signal. The 1MORE S31 Open Earbuds are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, which brings a much quicker and stable connection from the earbuds to your devices. The website states that with the newest version of Bluetooth, the connection range is 10 meters (about 30 feet). So I connected the S31s to my desktop computer, which is located roughly in the center of my basement, and then I walked around my house while listening to music. While my house is by no means a mansion, it is not a very small house, and I was able to walk around, not only in the basement, but upstairs in all the rooms and even outside, all with no loss to signal. I estimated that I got about 40-50 feet or about 15 meters from my PC before I lost connection.

If you are in the market for audiophile headphones with all the bells and whistles and high def sound, the 1MORE S31 Open Earbuds may not be for you. But if you are looking for great sounding wireless open earbuds that do not sit in the ear, which can fall out easily, then give the 1MORE Fit SE S31 Open Earbuds are a good look. The S31s are a great value at their current price point for the amazing sound reproduction they provide, and are great at being comfortable while still being very functional. I have been using the 1MORE S31 Open Earbuds for the week now, both at home and and at the gym, and I can honestly say that for the price, these earbuds are a fantastic value with great sound. I would highly recommend them to everyone.