1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Review: A Powerfully Reengineered Pair of Tiny Earbuds

1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Review

I always wanted to like the ComfoBuds Z more than I did. ComfoBuds Z, like the new 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini, are designed to be worn in bed, to snuggle into the ear without protrusion, permitting music or sounds to flow without disturbing a partner sleeping one pillow over. Unfortunately, soon after my review, I started experiencing Bluetooth® connectivity issues. The discontinuity of signal resulted in me not making the ComfoBud Z’s part of my sleep routine. Replacement earbuds did not resolve the issue.

1More completely reimagined their reimagined earbuds and increased the feature set and the quality. I had no issues with the new 1More ComfoBuds Mini, well, at least not with the electronics (that is a story for a bit further down in the review).

1MORE ComfoBuds Review: A Tale of 2 Radically Reimagined Earbuds

1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Specifications

Feature	Feature Value
Driver	7mm Dynamic
Frequency Range	2.400 GHz ~ 2.4835 GHz
Earbud Dimension	17 × 15 × 13 mm
Case Dimensions	56.5 × 50 × 24.5 mm
Earbuds Charging Time	70 minutes
Case Charging Time (Wired)	90 minutes
Earbuds Fully Charged Music Playback/With Case/ANC	6 hours/24 hours/5 hours
Bluetooth® version	5.2
Bluetooth® Protocols	HFP / A2DP / AVRCP
Audio Codec	AAC / SBC

What we like

Pros

• Small and easy to wear during “sleep”
• Active Noise Cancelling
• Qi Charging

A lot has changed inside 1More’s tiniest earbuds. The replacements for the ComfoBuds Z now support active noise cancellation and Qi charging. The $99.99 renamed ComfoBuds Mini earbuds remain diminutive and light, at just 3.7 grams each.

The Active Noise Cancelling is good in the intended environment, which I still define as sleep, or at least rest. I wouldn’t recommend the ComfoBuds Minis for airplane use, but they do a fine job during the evening when paired with one’s favorite pillow—though 1More’s marketing does not relegate these earbuds to the bedroom.

I found the sound to be excellent. I listened to audiobooks and to sleep music, along with a variety of other music. The 7mm dynamic driver doesn’t offer the same soundstage as larger drivers, but it proved perfectly adequate for evening use and for the potentially transformative use of sound during sleep when one’s musical discernment is not at its highest level.

For those who just want to use the ComfoBuds Mini as a sleep or meditation aid, the earbuds include 30 sounds accessible via the app (sounds also available to other models).

I did not test the ComfoBuds Minis on calls, as I never intended them for that purpose, but they do support calls with two microphones on each earbud and a DNN algorithm to focus the user’s voice from surrounding sound.

The Minis work with 1More’s app, which is available on iOS, iPadOS, and Android. The app offers SonarWorks’s AI-based SoundID assessment, which tunes the earbuds to each owner (this feature is also available on other 1More earbuds and headphones). The app also includes control options, firmware updates, and other features.

The 1More ComfoBuds Minis come in black, red and white.

What could be improved

Cons

• Tracking
• Less plastic in packaging design

OK, so here’s my 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini story that’s a bit embarrassing, but I’m going to tell it anyway.

I recently visited Washington, D.C., for the Computers in Libraries conference. When I left my room ahead of my final presentation, I also apparently left the 1MORE ComfoBuds Minis somewhere in the room. I do a thorough room sweep every time I depart, running my hands along the edges of the safe, looking at every countertop, and opening and closing every drawer. I didn’t see them. When I returned home, I realized they were not among the other headsets I carried for comparison and use on the flights.

I’d love to be able to push a button and find my case, but my guess is, at this point, someone else is enjoying my earbuds, or they are lost in the limbo area of the universe filled with small electronics and socks.

While I like 1More’s elegant packaging and high-style unboxing experience, I don’t like the unnecessary plastic cover inside the magnetic box, nor the glued-on plastic receptacle used to hold the earbud case in place, or the earbud case’s plastic wrapping. None of the plastic is labeled for recycling. The engineers who designed this packaging, with its cool concept sketch inner liner, should be challenged to take their designs to the next level of sustainability.

1MORE ComfoBuds Mini: The bottom line

1More seems to have not only solved the connectivity issues with the ComfoBuds Z product but completely reengineered the sleep-focused earbuds to include the latest technology without increasing their size. The new 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini are marketed as more than a sleep companion, but I think that remains their key market. There are better earbuds at the pricepoint for work and music listening—but for those seeking sound to soothe their journey to sleep or weightlessly support meditative moments, the 1More Minis should be very high on the buy list. At their regularly discounted price they make a good special use investment that will also work as a backup should the owner’s primary earbuds malfunction or go missing.

1MORE provided the ComfoBuds Mini for review. Images courtesy of 1MORE unless otherwise noted.

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