Thank you 1MORE for sending us this pair of earbuds to review!

While I have reviewed many earbuds over the years, I don't think I've ever reviewed more sets all at once than I have within the last month. Some from 1MORE, some from Creative, it's been a busy month of reviewing earbuds! So while in one sense it's been overwhelming, in another it's also great for getting perspective on the different models and types out there. I am happy to state that this one is my favorite of all of the recent ones, though it's unfortunately the most expensive.

The 1MORE Open Earbuds S70 is 1MORE's current flagship for their open earbud line. There are several kinds of earbuds. The first are just earbuds, which often rest inside the concha, usually only held in by shape or pressure. The next type is probably the most popular these days, in-ear monitors. Those are usually inserted into the ear canal, and can sound really, really good if done properly. The biggest downside to these is that they block outside sounds really well (which can also be a pro), and some people find things stuck in their ear uncomfortable. (I can use IEMs for a while, but it gets irritating after some time.) The final kind are open earbuds, which these S70s are. They hook around your ear and have the speaker driver float over your ears, projecting sound inside. But because nothing is blocking your ears from the room around you, you can easily hear everything in the room you are in as well as whatever you happen to be listening to.

Being open, they are extremely convenient for me, since my day job has me working from home. I can hear it if someone is at the door or my dogs bark, while I can also hear what I am listening to, whether that be a podcast, some music, or even in a phone call or meeting. Or, I can work on the back patio and still hear nature (or cars) around me, while still listening to whatever I need to. While I wouldn't take these S70s onto the bus or train, they are great around the house.

Another major selling point for something like this is for its use when running or biking. By being able to hear all around you, you remain aware of your surroundings, and can still hear oncoming vehicles or dogs while listening to whatever you like. Very useful!

It also helps that the way it clips onto your ear is absolutely genius. When I reviewed the Creative Outlier Go, I noted that the clip that goes around your ear is reasonably comfortable, but it is thin and since all of the weight is on the speaker end, it can dig into your antihelix behind the ear. This design avoids all of that, making it one of the most comfortable earphones I've ever worn.

You see, rather than all of the weight being on one end, it's almost perfectly balanced, with the speaker on one end, and the large battery on the other. In between there is a curved rubber arm. This arm balances the earphone clip around the top front of your ear helix, with the battery going around back and resting behind your antihelix, and the front resting comfortably in front of your concha. There is an opening for the audio to come out right over your ear canal, and with the front of your ear perfectly balanced with the back, you can barely feel the earphones on your ear at all. I have used these for almost a week pretty much all day, and they are incredibly comfortable.

I have also ridden them on my eBike at unreasonable speeds, and they stay perfectly put. I normally wear a helmet that has built-in Bluetooth, but for casual rides around the neighborhood, I often skip the helmet, and these stay exactly where I left them, and they haven't fallen off at all. I've only dropped them a couple of times when at home, and that's usually when I am fidgeting with them for no good reason.

The good news doesn't end there. I have always felt that 1MORE's audio tuning, especially on their higher-end stuff, has been excellent. These are no exception. Open ear headphones are working against physics, in that getting a properly balanced bass and treble requires some extra effort in the design, because bass tends to roll off quickly without an enclosure, and same with the treble as it's quite directional, so if it isn't pointed directly at your ear, it can be lost. While the sharpest treble is somewhat rolled off for that reason, most of it is still there, and the bass is remarkably well balanced. I have listened to music of virtually every genre, from classical to metal to jazz to electronic, and all of it sounds pretty much as I expect. It won't shake your head with bass, but if you want a neutral, balanced sound, these are great. There are a few EQ profiles in the 1MORE app if you want to tune it some, though sadly the choices are limited. Thankfully, the default of Studio is pretty much perfect for my tastes.

Some of the features do require the app, and it's available on Android or iOS (Android tested). That is the easiest way to tell how much battery you have, as it displays the earphone and charging case battery level prominently at the top once you have it paired and connected. You can choose from one of the six available preset EQs from there, if you want to. Under that are custom settings, where you can change what double and triple tap of each side of the earphones does. Touch and hold is hard-set to activate voice control, which I wish I could change, but oh well.

To the right of that is an option called shortcuts, and Gaming Mode is listed in there. You can activate that to lower the latency of the audio, keeping it more in sync with the video. For a Bluetooth headset, the latency out of the box isn't terrible, at somewhere between 200ms and 300ms; this is better than others I've tested. With Gaming Mode on, that drops about another 100ms, which is usable, but not as low as some others I've tested. Overall a decent but not amazing showing from Gaming Mode, but I'm really glad it's there.