1MORE ComfoBuds Pro
Summary
These earbuds from an alternative reality look amazing and offer great sound. 1MORE created an experience, not just another pair of AirPod knockoffs. You might even find your ComfoBud Pros the subject of conversation as people ask just what you are wearing.
1MORE ComfoBuds Z
Summary
1MORE’s diminutive ComfoBud Zs offer exactly the right mix of sound and size to help lull owners to sleep. And ideal companion for any sleep management regime.
1More ComfoBuds appear to come from the future. They arrive in little pods, clean and white, or iridescent. They are small and silent ahead of awakening. They glow at the tips to broadcast their willingness to couple. These two earbuds serve very different purposes. The Zs aim into the night, when dark envelops and reality remixes. The Pros arrive ready to hatch and attach, cleverly canceling outside noise while surrendering the highs, the lows, and the mids wrapped in the most recent pop package.
1More ComfoBuds Pro
My new educator-priced iPad Pro 12.9 recently arrived with its complementary Airpods. The Airpods work well enough, but 1MORE’s ComfoBuds Pro sit next to my new iPad like a blue nugget that emerged from some alternate reality, at the ready for music or video chats. The ComfoBud Pro’s look great and sound fantastic, and unlike the Airpods, they don’t migrate from Apple device to Apple device in the middle of a phone conversation. But there is more to my choice.
When I don the ComfoBuds Pro, the world becomes a distant hum, and I fall into my music, or my video call, with all abandon. There is more to the ComfoBuds Pro than one might expect at a $110 or so price point. The company’s proprietary QuiteMac active noise cancelation (ANC) combines several tricks into one continuous analysis of incoming sound: wind noise reduction complements dual-band ANC and audio tuning from 4-time Grammy award winner Luca Bignarrdi. These earbuds, do, as I suggest above, create an expansive stage upon which audio decoders deftly place their tones.
The accompanying app controls ANC, including a pass-through mode to strong ANC that isolates you and your tunes from everything else. 1More reinforces the alien feel of these buds with a pinch motion on the stem that cycles through ANC modes.
Six microphones combine with feedforward and feedback ANC to put the wearer’s voice front and center, pushing background noise, well, into the background.
With ANC on, users can expect around 6 hours of talk or music, and 12 more with the case. Turning ANC off completely save battery life, boosting airtime to 8 hours, with 20+ more when charged in the case.
IPX4 water and sweat resistance make the 1More ComfoBuds exercise-friendly.
The ComfoBuds Pro also come in black and white, but only the Aurora Blue version includes EQ presets to enhance the basic dynamic range that rolls from the 13.4 mm composite driver, and other audio enhancing hardware. 4 pairs of antibacterial eartips offer sanitation and fit.
1MORE cites dripping liquid metal as the inspiration for the shape of ComfoBud Pros. I’m unconvinced that some designer didn’t also have a few images from Arrival floating in their mind.
An investment in the ComfoBud Pros won’t disappoint.
1More ComfoBuds Z
The 1MORE ComfoBuds Z are not for everyday use. These earbuds come into their own at night, as I seek to diminish the sounds of the world in favor of a private acoustic oasis. They hide in my ear like a transhumanist implant, snug and secure, aiming ethereal ambient compositions directly at my tympanic membrane, tugging at the little bones in my head until they stimulate the cochlea, driving waves of relaxation over the cochlear nerve toward my cerebral cortex where I will use them disarm wakefulness.
These are quite literally little gems, a scant 24 x 9,2 x14,2 mm each in size—easily lost between forefinger and thumb. And at less than $100 even the price seems compact.
The ComfoBuds Z don’t answer phones. They don’t include touch controls. They do however noise isolate (with reductions up to 24dB) but they don’t cancel. They do include sleep timers and 30 different soothing sounds independent of streaming or music libraries.
The 1MORE ComfoBuds Z makes music personal—so personal you may think of these earbuds as an extension of your brain.
I like background music. Playing it through an Amazon Echo however, forces everybody to listen to the same stream. The 1MORE ComfoBuds Z makes music personal—so personal you may think of these earbuds as an extension of your brain.
Of course, the ComfoBud Zs also play music or render audiobooks during waking hours. Keep in mind they are audio experience companions, not a work companions. If you buy a pair, you may find yourself choosing listening over talking a bit more often.
[Reviewer’s note: after this review, I started experiencing Bluetooth connectivity issues. The issues were not resolved with replacement earbuds. Further note: this issue does not seem to be present in the updated ComfoBuds Mini that replaced this model.]
1More ComfoBuds: The Bottom Line
1MORE delivers innovation and style with the ComfoBuds line. I am not overly fond of the branding, but I tell my clients to ensure product names describe function and promise. I have to give it to 1MORE for delivering on that precept.
My only immediate wish list item would be wireless charging, but the USB-C input works well and keeps them aligned with contemporary design choices.
Both of these earbuds dispatch outstanding sound and unique user experiences. They are indeed comfortable earbuds, and much more.
1MORE provided the ComfoBuds Z and Pro for review. Images courtesy of 1MORE.
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