The 1More Stylish True Wireless is a compact titanium composite dynamic driver TWS featuring BT5.0 and 6.5 hours battery life. It retails for $99.99
Disclaimer: The 1More Stylish True Wireless sent to us is a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. We thank 1MORE and HiFiGo for this opportunity.
To learn more 1MORE reviews on Headfonics you can click here.
Note, this review follows our new scoring guidelines for 2020 which you can read up on here.
It is impossible to go into any wireless sector and not include 1MORE. These guys have a reputation for punching way above their price point on a lot of affordable consumer and audiophile gear. They have also put out plenty of wireless IEMs in the last few years.
At CanJam Singapore 2018 a lot of their new traditional BT earphones were already on the table ready to buy when some companies were just getting to grips with going wireless. So, I am not surprised at all they have entered the TWS market because they do seem ahead of the curve at times.
The name ‘Stylish’ is a little cheesy for me but the sub-$100 price point of this TWS I suspect will temp more than a few for the features it offers. And yes, we do have the new ANC version here to review for you very shortly. It promises to be an interesting time for 1MORE in the TWS sector.
Tech Inside
Titanium Composite Driver
Like many TWS the 1MORE Stylish uses a single dynamic driver. However, 7mm is actually a bit on the larger side with plenty much smaller at around 6mm. The driver diaphragm is also finished with a titanium composite which I tend to rate just under beryllium for performance in traditional wired versions I have heard to date. Certainly, it will be an upgrade over traditional magnesium coated drivers.
Bluetooth 5.0
The Stylish comes packed with Bluetooth 5.0 using a Qualcomm QCC3020 chipset I presume considering the features closely match a few other TWS units out there with that chipset inside.
That’s good, that’s the least and most I can expect right now from TWS in 2020. Anything less like BT4.2 is a little on the cheap and dated side unless it is a system from early 2019 that we have reviewed really late.
aptX
aptX & ACC, (including SBC), is also about as good as you can expect from a TWS system at the time of writing. LDAC is not yet available and aptX-HD is still not possible unless they swap out that QCC3020 chipset for a QCC3034 chipset which does support it.
I suspect the current TWS design and implementation might not allow for that, particularly on size and battery life as well as left to right communicati0on protocols with regard to stability. In any event, aptX is the ceiling for both budget and flagship with the current 2020 focus on premium ANC technology which the recent 1MORE ANC TWS does have.
ENC Microphone Technology
This is an interesting feature pitch. Not because I am an avid call user with TWS but rather, to date, I am used to seeing cVc 8.0 noise suppression technology on other TWS. I presume ENC is something similar and certainly, they are touting similar features such as environmental noise canceling and static control. The use of DSP to process for noise suppression would suggest it is a similar software algorithm to cVc 8.0.
The ENC, combined with its implementation of an LDS antenna, (space-savvy antenna design), should, in theory, produce a stable quality call performance at a decent range.
Missing
What we are missing from the Stylish is an IPX rating. That does mean we cannot give 100% assurances on the Stylish for any sweat-inducing moments in the gym or wearing outside in crappy wet weather. Having said that, 1MORE has reported that customers have fed back that they are using them in the gym without any issues.
Design
I am in two minds about the design of the Stylish driver housing. That may well be due to getting the all-black version because you can get these in different colors. The plastics and all-black finishing to me is a bit ‘plain-jane’. However, the form factor or the functional side of the design is very good.
From the top-down, they have that regular earphone jellybean look save for the large LCD status notch on the faceplate and the 1MORE logo. However, if you note in the picture above, the 1MORE Stylish from the side is a bit more complex.
O-Ring
The first, the obvious, is the inclusion of a stabilizing 0-ring that slips right onto the nozzle housing. The O-ring initially looks like it is part of the driver itself but in actual fact, it is a slip-on rubber ring that is shaped to mimic the contour of the Stylish body. That keeps it low-profile and prevents it from creating fitting and stability issues. A small hook at the rear also keeps the O-ring from sliding off unexpectedly.
The O-ring also comes in several sizes so if the one on the Stylish out of the box is too small or big you can slide off the tip, then the O-ring and change it for one that suits you better. They are also left and right specific for the small hook at the back to fit so make sure you get them on correctly.
Form Factor
The second is the depth and angulation of the form factor. This is a tall design and, in a way, it negates what is a very short nozzle with that height. The angulation also means the main housing is nowhere near your outer ear when inserted.
In fact, it sits more towards the front bottom of the outer ear allowing an easy two-finger grip. That helps prevent the Stylish from jamming into your ear when you push the physical control button on the rear-side.
Comfort & Isolation
Combining that O-ring with a tall and slightly angular form factor does mean the comfort and secure fitting levels of the 1MORE Stylish are excellent.
That’s the type of securing fitting you want for something like the gym which makes me wonder why the Stylish is not IPX rated. It would make a big difference for me. As such the lack of liquid resistance means its more suited to moments maybe in your daily life where you stoop down suddenly and ant to make sure they do not fall out.
Further, the angular forward-fit means you can grip the housing easily with one finger whilst pressing on the controls in the rear. The Stylish does not lose its sweet spot and even better, it doesn’t jam into your ear whilst pressing the rear control button. It is very nicely thought out by 1MORE.
Tips
The Stylish comes packed with a set of single bore silicone black tips in small, medium and large including a spare set on the Stylish. This is the norm for 99% of TWS out there in the market but still, this is 1MORE. I had hoped their audiophile sensibilities would mean just a slightly better selection.
The large fitted well enough for me but the stems felt very loose as well as having a bit of a porous nature to the material. As a result, the isolation was very average for me on the stock tips.
Biflange/SpinFit
Using biflange silicone tips the isolation was the same as the stock single flange but with a reduction in bass bloom and warmth. Some users might actually like that tweak in the presentation.
SpinFits didn’t improve the isolations levels either but the performance sounded more rounded than the biflange though not as warm as the stock tips. These were my co-favorite pairings with the Stylish.
Foam Tips
Generic foams isolated the best which was not surprising to me but at the cost of treble and air. The signature sounded was too veiled and warm for my liking with foams.
Final E/FiiO ‘Vocal’
The final 2 sets tested were single silicone Final E tips and the FiiO vocal tips, (found in their FH/FA series IEMs).
Out of these two, the FiiO vocal tips were my preferred tips. The Final E allowed a little more bass-biased to creep in compared to the FiiO tips. They tended to do the stock sound better than the stock tips so if you want to retain the low-end thickness but add some space up top then choose the Final E.
The FiiO tips were closer to the SpinFits for producing the most balanced sound with the Stylish drivers. At times I could flick between both because both tame that boisterous low-end down and slim down the bass bleed better than the other tips. The SpinFits, however, seem a little cleaner in the upper mids and treble compared to the FiiO Vocal tips. No surprise where the FiiO tips excel in, yup the mids.
Controls
Firmware
Earlier reviews of the 1MORE are now redundant in terms of the actual control configuration of the 1MORE Stylish physical buttons. One of the nice things about the Stylish is the app integration and there are two apps relevant to this including 1MORE Assistant and 1MORE Music.
Both apps will allow you to upgrade the driver firmware with the 1MORE Music the relevant app for Chinese firmware devices such as this one we are reviewing. The 1MORE Assistant will cover all English speaking Stylish TWS systems.
Control Tweaks
Now the reason why I say earlier reviews are redundant is that 1MORE has made some running changes to the Stylish control features. The big addition is volume control which was not there at the original launch last year. That is a major plus point because it means you can step away from your source, change tracks and adjust the volume to suit without having to come back if it is more than an arms reach away.
The rest of the control system has been tweaked to allow for the new volume control feature. The options are relatively familiar to most TWS users however with a split between calls, music playback and voice assistant controls.
Single fast clicks account for volume, slower single clicks left and right move the track play forward or to the previous. With double clicks on playback, you can pause the track or play. Triple clicks on either driver will answer calls and hang up as well as activate any relevant voice assistant.
As with most TWS taking both drivers out of the box will power them up but you can do that manually by pressing on the buttons for a few seconds and vice versa for turning them off.
1MORE Assistant
This is the app you really need and it does a bit more than just upgrade the firmware. You can access your media library as well as tweak some settings such as loudness compensation and apply some EQ. As a media app, there are better apps out there for EQ such as HiBy’s MSEB DSP which does work with TWS systems such as the Stylish.
The 1MORE Assistant media management is really too basic if you have more than 50-100 tracks as it just lists them. It is also a live list so every time you open the app and go to the library it does a fresh scan. Also, you can only sort by name or default order of scan. If you have about 100GB of music on your phone like me that’s not going to cut it.
EQ & Burn-In
The EQ option inside the app is nice but it is more of a 5-band basic graphic EQ than anything hardcore. Again, 3rd party apps are going to be better so it is a nice to have feature but not an essential tool.
The Assistant app also has a little 15-minute phase Burn-in app which is cute. For those that believe in burn-in knock yourself out. It will do 15 mins per channel with a mix of white and pink noise as well as square wave signals for as long as you like.
Charging Case
The charging case has a small egg-like form factor all in black. Like the drivers, you can get the case in a few other colors depending on your preferences. The case is actually quite smaller and thoroughly curved. Definitely closer to the Redmi Airdots experience and quite pocketable with that smooth curving.
What I especially like is the little press button latch at the front that releases the lid. Other lids are just terrible to release like the HELM TW5.0 but this has a smooth ‘release and locking’ action. Above the latch button is a single LED light that shows red when charging, the same as the LED lights on the top of the driver when in charge mode.
The finishing on the inside is very refined, very professional with no loose plastic bits, nice cut lines and enough space for the drivers to fit easily with the 0-rings. Note to those using 3rd party tips, the Stylish will be fine with even large SpinFits but not biflange.
Battery Life
The battery life on paper is actually above average for the Stylish. You are talking about 6.5 hours, (SBC with 50% volume) for the drivers and up to 24 hours in the cradle giving you about 3-4 cycles. The driver cycle is the good part, the 24-hour cradle is slightly below where I would like it to be. If you are using aptX, however, the numbers will drop to closer to 5.
The problem? Micro-USB on the rear. Ok, so the Stylist was launched last year but its old school tech and going out of style really quick. Ironic for a TWS called Stylish. The one plus point is the fast charge capability which surprised me. You can get 3 hours from a 15 min charge which is decent.
Mind you, the battery is fairly small at 410mAh so it only takes a total of 85 mins from 0 to 100%. Not the worst but their new stuff is all USB-C now so this may well be the last we see of micro-USB on 1MORE TWS.
Accessories & Packaging
1MORE always does really nice packaging and accessory lineup. Whilst TWS systems seem to be fairly tight on accessory lineups, 1MORE still has managed to squeeze some of their tried and tested techniques into making the Stylish standout.
First, the box is all 1MORE with a flip lid and that classic written graphical styling on the inside and an opaque plastic protector on the other showing off the gear. Inside the accessory line up is probably one of the better ones with a little drawstring carry bag that looks waterproof but not sure. If it is that will make up for the lack of IPX on the Stylish somewhat.
Aside from the little grey carry bag, you get a short USBA – Micro USB cable for charging, some manuals and quick guides and the variable-sized O-rings and single bore silicone tips. I would have loved to have seen some stiffer silicone material tips in there but otherwise, for the price this is good enough.
Click on page 2 below for sound impressions & comparisons
