Acknowledgment
Thanks, Syed, at 1MORE UK for providing this review sample in return for my honest opinion. The MK802 is available from POCKET ROCKET UK (1MORE's official UK retailer) for £115.99 ($140).
Introduction
I find myself in a strange position. I love wired headphones. I like the plugs, I like the feel of aftermarket cables and sexy looks. I like that I can be confident that my music won’t be interrupted.I’ve reviewed a lot of Bluetooth headphones, with my total now at six before this review is completed. Four out of six have been inexpensive units that have failed to be anywhere near giant killers, all in the below £25 price range. Most of these have sounded like average consumer headphones with inoffensive signatures that don’t move me in any way. This is not a recipe for audio pleasure. So far, my experience has been that you can get good to excellent sound from Bluetooth, but not under $50 (~$65). Ironically, I think that many of the people searching for a Bluetooth option are also the people who don’t want to spend $50 on any headphone. So these folks, those that could be wading into the shallow end of the steadily improving sound quality pool, will not partake of any auditory feast of wireless delectibles. They may not hear the 1MORE iBFree ($60 or £80), or the 1MORE MK802 ($150 or £150).
I think the audience that this headphone is serving is so called audiophiles such as myself, and aesthetes and fashionistas currently donning Beats and other fashion headphones like members of some me-too cult. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the room and bursting through the wall. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.
I first heard the 1MORE MK802 at CanJam London 2016. I was in the middle of reviewing the MK801 and had finished reviewing the EO323 Double Driver in-ear. I stopped by the 1MORE booth and Jude had just checked out the iBFree. Having a brief listen to the MK802 and the E1001 while seeing how impressed Jude was with the iBFree, I just had to review all of them. In hindsight, that was a big plate of food I served up, and I’m now just finishing it, with the maitre d’ signalling closing time. It’s a bit bittersweet to finish this three course meal. There’s no time for coffee and the other guests have left. The meal has been delicious, though, so there is that.
A little bit of musing on bluetooth
Bluetooth is weird. There are a good many people who have stood on the position that all we need to hear is 320kbps MP3s. If this is so, than nobody needs the headphone jack and Apple has it right in getting rid of the archaic technology. I’ve had the privilege to hear a great variety of Bluetooth headphones, and I can say with confidence that the quality is improving, and that the quality is getting ever closer to rivalling the quality found in wired headphones. For those who listen exclusively to Redbook CD rips or can’t tell the difference between MP3 and 24/192, cables may already be obsolete—assuming sufficient battery life.I have generally found that wired performance is better than Bluetooth performance, but it isn’t night and day. On the go, in loud environments, at the gym, Bluetooth may be preferable—you won’t hear the full fidelity of your music anyway.
Many Bluetooth headphones tout their use of aptX. I think we need to define what aptX does and doesn’t do a bit better. The 1MORE MK802 is one of only a few headphones that have aptX HD (or my pair say that on the box, but it doesn't say that on the website), the green mushroom of aptX technology. According to a 2016 What HiFi? article, AptX HD Bluetooth: What is it? How can you get it?, aptX is a coding algorithm created in the 80s that was popular with film studios and radio broadcasters. AptX claims to be able to play ‘CD-like’ audio quality, but when we examine what this means. ‘CD-like’ is 352kbps lossy music. It isn’t much better than the best quality MP3s. AptX HD boasts a bitrate of 576kbps, and has the ability to play 24-bit/48kHz audio—it’s still compressed and lossy, but higher quality lossy. Qualcomm also claims lower distortion in the mids and treble regions—that would be spiffy. I’m not sure I get the point of aptX HD yet. The problem with aptX HD is that there are next to no transmitters and only a few audio output devices (headphones, speakers) that support it. The most notable sources that support aptX HD are the LG G5 and the LG V20. If you aren’t rocking one of those, you probably will be listening in just regular aptX—I’m in that boat.
If you don’t have aptX you have a codec called SBC (subband coding). The Headphone List has an article that should be required reading for anyone thinking about their upcoming Bluetooth purchase. According to the linked article, SBC plays at a bitrate of 328kbps at a 44.1kHz sampling rate (at maximum quality), but with worse audio quality than a top quality 320kbps MP3. If you have an Apple device you may get AAC, which is designed to sound better than MP3 at similar bitrates.
The catch in all of this is that your ears will only get to hear the best codec that your transmitter and your receiver (the headphone) are capable of producing. If you are wielding an iPhone, aptX is just marketing, you don’t have it. If your phone doesn’t use it like the ZTE Axon 7 (as far as I know, not listed aptX anywhere), your aptX headphones will default to whatever quality SBC the phone is programmed to play—it might not be that 328kbps high quality bitrate. Beyond this, headphones and transmitters with aptX aren’t necessarily better. I have an Aukey Bluetooth USB dongle that has aptX low latency, but my older Avantree SBC only BTTC-200 is better sounding with less noise. My new Avantree Priva II transmitter is better than the Aukey also. Both Avantree transmitters sound better than my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which has aptX.
Another factor plays into whether your Bluetooth set-up sounds any good. Unlike your wired headphones, your Bluetooth headphones have the Bluetooth receiver, a DAC and an amplifier (as well as batteries) in the earpiece(s) or attached to the earpiece(s). The quality of those components may mitigate the quality of your source. If the amplification isn’t clean to the drivers, your source isn’t really going to matter too much.
Wireless headphones are just a lot more complicated than wired headphones. With wired headphones you know exactly what you are getting in the signal chain much of the time. This isn’t the case with Bluetooth headphones most of the time. I think that Bluetooth tech needs to fully disclose what chips are used inside the enclosure so consumers can know what to expect a bit more. It would be similar to being able to know that your favourite delta-sigma chip is inside your DAC. I happen to like the AK4490 almost all the time.
I think that the improvements in sound quality between most Bluetooth headphones aren’t down to the differences in codec, but in the differences in DACs, amps and drivers that are in the headphones. Additionally, as others have pointed out, much of the difference in sound quality between HiRes and CD/MP3 is due to better mastering on the HiRes tracks, so if you down-convert from a high quality master, you are getting most, if not all of the sound quality of that master. Theoretically, this means that Bluetooth headphones may very well replace most wired headphones in the not too distant future and we won’t be any worse off for it.
About the company
I’ve described 1MORE’s ascent in all of my 1MORE reviews—that’s four other products, so in this one, it’s below a spoiler.According to the Wall Street Journal, 1MORE was founded in 2013 by three former Foxconn executives with an in investment from Xiaomi, one of the largest mobile gear manufacturers in China among other venture capital investments. The company is based out of Shenzen, but has roots in the USA in San Diego—a really nice place to have roots with all the great beer, great food, great culture, great weather and endless beaches—and a distributorship in the UK. 1MORE aims to have a global brand to match Apple’s big bangin’ gorilla, Beats. Unlike Beats, 1MORE wants to make premium quality headphones at midrange prices, instead of making mediocre quality headphones at premium prices. As of the Wall Street Journal blog entry in 2015, achievements included 10 million in earphone sales in China, and I imagine since their triple driver won a couple of awards, that those sales numbers are way up.
Back to back spoilers, that’s no good. This sentence serves no purpose but to make it clear there are two spoiler boxes, maybe you’ll open one or both up just to not look at this puke green sentence any longer than you have to.
Like most sensible people I started falling in love with music as a child. My first portable audio device was a Sony Walkman (the cassette kind) that I got when I was 10 years old (24 years ago). I listened with the cheap Sony on ears that came with the Walkman until I bought a Koss CD boombox and started listening to UAF College Radio and 103.9 (alternative rock at the time) in Fairbanks, Alaska. I once listened to Louie, Louie for 3 days straight, and I’m not insane—did you know there is a Spanish gospel version of Louie, Louie?
Like political tastes and tastes in friends, my musical tastes evolved through association and then rebellion and experimentation. From the songs of my father (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top), to the songs of my peers (Dr. Dre, Green Day, Nirvana, Weezer), my tastes evolved, expanded and exploded into the polyglot love that is my current musical tapestry. Like a Hieronymous Bosch mural, my tastes can be weird and wonderful: dreamy Japanese garble pop, 8 bit chiptune landscapes percolated with meows, queer punk, Scandinavian black metal; or they can be more main-stream with minglings of Latin guitar, Miles Davis trumpet, and banks of strings and percussion in the Mariinsky Orchestra. Mostly my audio drink of choice is a rich stout pint of heady classic rock and indie/alternative from my musical infancy and identity formation (the 90s). Come as you are, indeed. Beyond the weird, the wonderful, the interesting and accepted, I’m a big fan of intelligent hip-hop artists like Macklemore, Metermaids, Kendrick Lamar, Sage Francis and Aesop Rock. I even dabble in some country from time to time, with First Aid Kit and the man in black making cameos in my canals.
My sonic preferences tend towards a balanced or neutral sound, though I’ll admit to liking a little boosted bass or treble from time to time. If I have to choose between warm and bright, I’ll choose bright almost every time. A few screechy high notes are preferable to me than a foggy unfocused bass guitar. As my tastes are eclectic, and a day of listening can involve frequent shifts in my sonic scenery, I don’t generally want headphones that try to paint my horizons in their own hues. I need headphones that get out of the way, or provide benign or beneficial modifications. I desire graceful lifts like an ice-dancing pairs’ carved arc, not heaving lifts like a man mountain deadlift.
My last hearing test with an audiologist was a long time ago and under strange circumstances. However, I have heard tones all the way down to 10hz and all the way up to 23Khz using headphones in my collection. Either my headphones tend to have a hole in frequency at 18kHz or my hearing does, because I never seem to hear it. I’m sensitive to peaky treble, and treble fatigue, even when I can’t hear what might be causing it. I do enjoy smooth extended treble. I like deep tight bass and impactful drums, and dislike upper mid-bass emphasis. I like my vocals crisp, so stay away from Josh Tillman’s voice you nasty upper mid-bass hump. I like air in the stage, not just cues to distance and height, but the feeling of air moving around and through instruments. Soundstage shouldn’t be just about hearing, I need to feel it. I listen at volume levels that others consider loud (78 to 82 dB), but I just set it to where the dynamics peak. I’m not here to shatter my eardrums. I like them just how they are.
I generally don’t believe in using EQ, not even for inexpensive headphones, especially in reviews. I won’t claim that I haven’t done it, but I generally try to avoid it.
I believe that burn-in can make a difference, but I also acknowledge that there isn’t any measurement that appears to give conclusive proof that burn-in exists. I trust my ears, fully acknowledging that my brain may fill in expected details, may colour my interpretation, or may be subject to its own settling period with a headphone. In my experience, burn-in effects are not as large as proponents of burn-in tend to advertise. I’ve also noted that using white/pink/brown noise, I almost never observe changes beyond 24 hours of burn in. When people tell you that you shouldn’t listen to your headphones until they have 200 hours on them, I think these people need to be ignored. No matter what, you should be listening to your headphones at different stages, right out of the box and at intervals. How can someone observe a difference without baseline observations and follow up observations to measure change trajectories? If you really want to be serious about controlling for effect, you need volume matching, source matching, and tip/pad matching.
I’m a firm believer that cables can make a difference, but I don’t think they always do. When I tried out Toxic Cables line, they were in a bunch of baggies at the Cambridge 2015 HeadFi meet without any labels tell me what I was listening to. The cheapest looking one was the one I liked the best. I was excited that I wouldn’t have to spend much to improve my sound. It turned out that the cheapest looking one was the Silver/Gold top of the line cable. I’ve heard the difference that USB cables can make, from upgrading from the crappy cable that came with my Geek Out 1000 to a Supra USB, and then again when upgrading to the LH Labs Lightspeed 2G with the iUSB3.0. When I picked up a cheap shielded power lead from Mains Cables R Us to replace my standard kettle lead on my integrated amplifier, I heard more crunchy and clearer treble. I switched the leads with my wife blinded and she heard the same difference. I didn’t tell her what I heard and let her describe it herself. But cables don’t always make a difference. When I switched from my standard HD650 cable to a custom balanced cable (Custom Cans UK, very affordable), the sound stayed exactly the same when hooked up via a top tier (custom made by my local wire wizard, out of silver/gold Neotech wire) 4-pin XLR to 6.3mm converter. Balanced mode made a difference in clarity and blackness of background—this indicates that the amp was the deciding influence, not the cable. Your mileage may vary and you may not hear a difference, but I have.
Like political tastes and tastes in friends, my musical tastes evolved through association and then rebellion and experimentation. From the songs of my father (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top), to the songs of my peers (Dr. Dre, Green Day, Nirvana, Weezer), my tastes evolved, expanded and exploded into the polyglot love that is my current musical tapestry. Like a Hieronymous Bosch mural, my tastes can be weird and wonderful: dreamy Japanese garble pop, 8 bit chiptune landscapes percolated with meows, queer punk, Scandinavian black metal; or they can be more main-stream with minglings of Latin guitar, Miles Davis trumpet, and banks of strings and percussion in the Mariinsky Orchestra. Mostly my audio drink of choice is a rich stout pint of heady classic rock and indie/alternative from my musical infancy and identity formation (the 90s). Come as you are, indeed. Beyond the weird, the wonderful, the interesting and accepted, I’m a big fan of intelligent hip-hop artists like Macklemore, Metermaids, Kendrick Lamar, Sage Francis and Aesop Rock. I even dabble in some country from time to time, with First Aid Kit and the man in black making cameos in my canals.
My sonic preferences tend towards a balanced or neutral sound, though I’ll admit to liking a little boosted bass or treble from time to time. If I have to choose between warm and bright, I’ll choose bright almost every time. A few screechy high notes are preferable to me than a foggy unfocused bass guitar. As my tastes are eclectic, and a day of listening can involve frequent shifts in my sonic scenery, I don’t generally want headphones that try to paint my horizons in their own hues. I need headphones that get out of the way, or provide benign or beneficial modifications. I desire graceful lifts like an ice-dancing pairs’ carved arc, not heaving lifts like a man mountain deadlift.
My last hearing test with an audiologist was a long time ago and under strange circumstances. However, I have heard tones all the way down to 10hz and all the way up to 23Khz using headphones in my collection. Either my headphones tend to have a hole in frequency at 18kHz or my hearing does, because I never seem to hear it. I’m sensitive to peaky treble, and treble fatigue, even when I can’t hear what might be causing it. I do enjoy smooth extended treble. I like deep tight bass and impactful drums, and dislike upper mid-bass emphasis. I like my vocals crisp, so stay away from Josh Tillman’s voice you nasty upper mid-bass hump. I like air in the stage, not just cues to distance and height, but the feeling of air moving around and through instruments. Soundstage shouldn’t be just about hearing, I need to feel it. I listen at volume levels that others consider loud (78 to 82 dB), but I just set it to where the dynamics peak. I’m not here to shatter my eardrums. I like them just how they are.
I generally don’t believe in using EQ, not even for inexpensive headphones, especially in reviews. I won’t claim that I haven’t done it, but I generally try to avoid it.
I believe that burn-in can make a difference, but I also acknowledge that there isn’t any measurement that appears to give conclusive proof that burn-in exists. I trust my ears, fully acknowledging that my brain may fill in expected details, may colour my interpretation, or may be subject to its own settling period with a headphone. In my experience, burn-in effects are not as large as proponents of burn-in tend to advertise. I’ve also noted that using white/pink/brown noise, I almost never observe changes beyond 24 hours of burn in. When people tell you that you shouldn’t listen to your headphones until they have 200 hours on them, I think these people need to be ignored. No matter what, you should be listening to your headphones at different stages, right out of the box and at intervals. How can someone observe a difference without baseline observations and follow up observations to measure change trajectories? If you really want to be serious about controlling for effect, you need volume matching, source matching, and tip/pad matching.
I’m a firm believer that cables can make a difference, but I don’t think they always do. When I tried out Toxic Cables line, they were in a bunch of baggies at the Cambridge 2015 HeadFi meet without any labels tell me what I was listening to. The cheapest looking one was the one I liked the best. I was excited that I wouldn’t have to spend much to improve my sound. It turned out that the cheapest looking one was the Silver/Gold top of the line cable. I’ve heard the difference that USB cables can make, from upgrading from the crappy cable that came with my Geek Out 1000 to a Supra USB, and then again when upgrading to the LH Labs Lightspeed 2G with the iUSB3.0. When I picked up a cheap shielded power lead from Mains Cables R Us to replace my standard kettle lead on my integrated amplifier, I heard more crunchy and clearer treble. I switched the leads with my wife blinded and she heard the same difference. I didn’t tell her what I heard and let her describe it herself. But cables don’t always make a difference. When I switched from my standard HD650 cable to a custom balanced cable (Custom Cans UK, very affordable), the sound stayed exactly the same when hooked up via a top tier (custom made by my local wire wizard, out of silver/gold Neotech wire) 4-pin XLR to 6.3mm converter. Balanced mode made a difference in clarity and blackness of background—this indicates that the amp was the deciding influence, not the cable. Your mileage may vary and you may not hear a difference, but I have.
Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)
This is where the marketing speak gets voice. Most of what’s in this section of my reviews isn’t my words. I generally use standard block quote methods to let you know what I’m not saying. Keep at attention to avoid confusion. The typos are original, I take no credit for them. As is standard, brackets means that the text is mine.| Specifications | |
| Driver | 40mm Beryllium alloy coated PEEK driver |
| Frequency response | 20Hz - 20kHz |
| Impedance | 32Ω |
| Sensitivity | 104dB |
| Maximum Power | 50 mW |
| Bluetooth version | 4.1 |
| Bluetooth codecs | aptX HD, SBC |
| Bluetooth range | 30ft |
| Battery life | Standby 5 months, Talk 26 hours, Music 15 hours |
| Colours | Metallic red or blue |
| Accessories | 1.2 metre enamelled copper Kevlar coated cable with 3.5mm termination and inline control with microphone |
| App | There’s a 1MORE app that can be activated with the touch of a button. It does burn-in and other stuff. |
Form & Function
The MK802s come in the same box as the MK801s and even have the same cloth pouch, and same cable (in a new colour in my case). That cloth pouch is still about as protective as a paper bag—I’ve definitely seen tougher paper bags. The foam inner box has grown on me a bit since I reviewed the MK801. It still isn’t as fancy-pants as the 1MORE E1001 or the 1MORE EO323 box innards, but the box has a solid feeling foam insert, a useful accessory box and one can never forget the all important desiccant package—do not eat, that’s for keeping out the salty sea air, not for causing poisoning down in there.The headband is made of the same material as that of the MK801 and took a little bit to break in, much like the MK801 headband. I find the headbands on both headphones to be most comfortable tilted slightly forward. The earcups are more plush than those on the MK801 and slightly larger in width (75mm vs. 70mm), so they have a bit less concentrated pressure on the ears. The depth is the same, but the MK802 have softer pads with a nicer feeling protein leather. These are still not circumaural, but they are more comfortable than their forebearer. Like the MK801 the cups have good adjustability via vertical movement, and are adjustable on two additional axes, both front to back and side to side on the head.
There are five buttons on the right earcup. From top to bottom, they are: the power on/pair button, volume up button, play/pause/answer call button, volume down button, and the dedicated 1MORE Assistant App button. Pairing and volume control were mostly straight forward, with the exception of pairing with my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (I know, why do I still have such an ancient outdated phone, right?). Pairing with computers and dongles was easy with all devices identifying the 1MORE MK802.
The Note 2 had to be put into developer mode. I didn’t answer any calls while using my Note 2, but I did try to make one. On that occasion the microphone didn’t turn on, so I could hear the person on the other end, but they couldn’t hear me. It may just be that I’m a newbie to making calls with Bluetooth, but there were no instructions in the manual for making calls, only for answering them.
The included manual was clear with good definition of all functions. There was also a manual included for the 1MORE Assistant app. Personally, I found the app to be absolutely useless. It didn’t help me pair the headphone when my phone wasn’t allowing pairing, it didn’t have any really interesting features or modes for the headphones, and the included smart burn-in feature was stupid. The principle behind burn-in is to exercise a dynamic driver so that it has longer excursions, increasing its capabilities. The app sets the volume of the phone at 20%, which is not sufficient to exercise a driver. It’s like doing the right exercise but with a weight that won’t challenge the driver. Most burn-in recommendations I’ve read have said to play between slightly lower than normal listening volume to slightly above. All advise against blasting the volume. I normally play at normal listening volume for burn-in. I didn’t use the app for burn-in as the audio signal was just way way way too quiet. It was school library when all the students have left quiet.
In addition to the controls on the right earcup there is also a headphone cable out. The cable used for the MK802 is exactly the same as that used for the MK801—noticing a theme here? I burned in the headphones using the cable. Burn-in did help the sound, making it open up a bit and making the sound more defined. It was a bit murky to start. I found that the sound is better without the headphone cable, with better overall clarity. There is something to be said for the amplifier having almost no distance to the diaphragm.
My favourite feature, by far, is on the left earcup: the bass switch. The bass switch has a boosted setting and a reduced setting. The boosted setting does a nice job boosting sub-bass and lower midbass. To my ears it accomplished this without colouring the mids. The boost is bigger than on the iFi iDSD BL and more broadband.
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My battery life testing rig for when I really need to concentrate at work |
The Bluetooth is strong with this one—I’ve been watching way too much Star Wars. I was able to travel about 10 meters with solid signal. With regards to longevity, the battery life is absolutely exceptional. The specs say that the battery will last for 15 hours listening time, I got 23 hours. Well done, 1MORE.
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Audio quality
The 1MORE MK802 is a larger, more refined version of the MK801 with long-life Bluetooth added.Comparisons
For comparative listening I volume matched every headphone using my trusty SPL meter with big foam ball or with my toilet roll and Poundland packing tape coupler—extra special reviewing gear here. Volume was matched to 78dB using white noise from Ayre Acoustics – Irrational but Efficacious System Enhancement Disc. |  |
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Below is the rest of the signal chain:
Dell Vostro—LH Labs Lightspeed 2 USB—iFi Micro iUSB3.0—LH Labs Lightspeed 2 USB—LH Labs GO2A ∞—
—Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—1MORE MK802 Bluetooth headphone
—Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—1MORE iBFree Bluetooth IEM (Comply tips)
—Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—Syllable D700-2017 Bluetooth IEM
—1MORE MK801
—Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (got to have a neutral reference in there!)
For Bluetooth headphones I maxed transmission volume on the GO2A and then adjusted volume on the headphones to closest match. All volume adjustment was done via the GO2A volume controls for wired headphones. The Avantree Priva II sounds better than the Cayin i5 Bluetooth out, and better than my phone’s Bluetooth, I wouldn’t be surprised if this little white disc of flexibility bests a lot of Bluetooth setups. Something to note with Bluetooth dongles is their black box nature; inside the Avantree Priva II there is an ADC, and a DAC and Bluetooth transmitter (maybe part of same chip, I don’t have a clue) but I don’t know what they are. One advantage of the Avantree Priva II is that it can pair two Bluetooth headphones at the same time, which is hugely useful for reviewing. I should have bought this little white beauty a long time ago. The table below presents the volume levels and recorded SPL readings for each of the headphones.
| Headphone | GO2A Gain | SPL | Volume* | Price** |
| 1MORE MK802 Bluetooth headphone | 1000mW | ~78.9 | 10 | £115.99 |
| 1MORE iBFree Bluetooth IEM (Comply tips) | 450mW | ~77.7 | 12 | £55 |
| Ausdom M05 | 100mW | ~78.2 | 11 | £40 |
| Syllable D700-2017 Bluetooth IEM | 1000mW | ~78.1 | 14 (2 away from max) | £20.99 |
| 1MORE MK801 | 450mW | ~78 | 43 | £60 |
| Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered | 450mW | ~78 | 37 | £999 |
**All prices derived from Amazon.co.uk (01-01-2017); all 1MORE prices are for item sold by the seller POCKET ROCKET UK (1MORE’s official UK retailer, Amazon.co.uk store prices are lower than linked website); with exception of UERR (price includes VAT, but not impressions)
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Syllable D700-2017
Why – Strawberries has a bit of a veiled sound, but for £20.99, these are doing pretty well. Bass sound is very fit dependent and these things are sized like they are made for Keebler Elves or other fey creatures, not for humans who have reached full maturity. If I press these in firmly I get a more intimate soundstage, bigger bass and more muffled mids. I prefer the loose fit that is more natural on these, which is good, because I’d have to hold my fingers on top of the capsules to make these seal more—that would be a pain in the butt. There is nice sparkle on the bells. Perla Batalla’s rendition of Bird on a Wire (RIP Leonard Cohen—2016 was like a class field trip to the sewage processing plant, at least it’s over). Overall the detail is pretty excellent for this price range.1MORE MK802
Bigger than D700-2017 in every dimension on soundstage. Fit much more comfortable. Both headphones have a neutral-ish sound to their base signature. I can flip a switch for more bass on the MK802, though, which is awesome like a Secret Aardvark hot sauce. That’s some hot action there when listening to Yoni Wolf drop some twisted and demented rhymes on Mumps, Etc…. I far prefer the MK802 with the bass switch pumped up on many tracks. Pushing the bass a bit forward also gives the impression of greater depth in the signature. It’s a nice improvement much of the time.
There is really nice air between instruments in the MK802 presentation. Perla’s vocals should always enchant, and the MK802 don’t fudge with that—children force you to learn prudent self-censorship. I prefer this trackThe soundstage on the MK802 is not as big as that on the Ausdom M05. Some of this could be due to the MK802 sealing better. The MK802 does have better detail and separation than the Ausdom M05. For rock tracks and hip-hop tracks I found that I basically always flip the bass switch as it is much more satisfying.
To test out speed, I tried to do some metal music, but volume levelling doesn’t work right for metal, it removes all the dynamics and makes the music sound muted. Metal shouldn’t be muted. However, when I turn off the levelling the result is distortion. These headphones can’t handle being punched in the face by some aggressive metal music.
,
Ausdom M05
Warmer than the MK802. Big midbass, with a little bleed into the mids. Still love the fantastic airiness in the signature, good 3-dimensional soundstage. More comfortable than the MK802. Leak sound like a sieve, though, so not suitable for out and about or in a quiet office. The bass is on these is like a less controlled version of the MK802 with the bass switch engaged. These sound louder and more energetic than the MK802 due to a more forward signature and the big bass enhancement. However, instrument definition on the M05 is not nearly on par with the MK802. The soundstage has greater dimensions in all ways, but instrument separation isn’t as refined and mids and midbass are forward, a sound that many will prefer.1MORE iBFree
Listening to Michael Jackson – Billie Jean, the house sound is readily apparent. Similarly, both of these headphones use single dynamic drivers to provide their sound. The soundstage is smaller than the MK802 and notes don’t have quite the same precision, but the sound signature is very similar. The mids on the iBFree are a bit more forward than the MK802, which is helpful in picking out the details of the train station announcements on Pink Floyd – On the Run. Similarly, the drums are closer on Pink Floyd – Time, which compresses the soundstage depth a bit but gives more immediacy to the sound. There will be folks that prefer the more forward mids of the iBFree. I think that both presentations are good. In my opinion, the MK802 definitely has the edge in overall presentation.1MORE MK801
Similar to the iBFree, the 1MORE MK801 is a bit more mid-forward in the signature. Listening to Dragonforce – The Fire Still Burns reveals that the amplifiers in the MK802 earpieces just aren’t up to snuff for loudly mastered tracks. They twist and distort when exposed to more heavy tracks. Something I’ve found is that if a track is mastered loud, listening to it quiet will never sound right. I try to have a live feel to music when listening. Because I wanted to listen to some metal, I did a corded comparison for the MK801 and MK802 with volume matched as follows with white noise: MK802 = GO2A Infinity 450mW, volume = 41; MK801 = GO2A Infinity 450mW, volume = 37). I used the cable from the MK801 for both, but it is likely that the cable is identical between the two headphones, just a different colour.Listening to Animals as Leaders – Ka$cade, the background is a tiny bit noisier on the MK801, and the notes a little less precise. The MK802 is also a bit faster. Some detail is lost in both. The MK801 has more forward mids, which will be inviting to many. I experienced no distortion with either headphone in cabled operation.
UERR
Since I was already corded, and still wanted to judge some speed, I ran some more volume matching for the UERR without volume levelling (GO2A Infinity 450mw, volume 29). Mids are more like the MK801 on the UERR than like the MK802, which inclines me to conclude that the mids are a bit recessed on the MK802. The soundstage of the MK802 is more intimate and has less well-defined elements, but we are talking about a nearly £900 price difference. The UERR is a bit denser in the mids too, which isn’t always welcome, depending on the track and sonic preferences.Throwing on San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Harrison: Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra (off American Mavericks), the UERR sorts instruments in space much better with a greater soundstage in all dimensions.
Whilst the MK802 is not as technically accomplished as the UERR, it’s performance is by no means embarrassing. It is still a great sounding headphone. I’m finishing off with some SACD ripped Pixies – Where Is My Mind. The mids are further back on the MK802 and it doesn’t give the same level of performance in soundstage or instrument definition, but it is still very satisfying.
Conclusions
I set out with three new 1MORE headphones to review in August. Of the 1MORE headphones, these MK802s have the greatest range of functionality. I love love love the bass boost on the MK802 and find myself engaging it much of the time for the increase in body and small increase in perceived stage depth. These are fast enough to keep up with the technical metal of Animals as Leaders and reach high enough to showcase the airy twinkling percussion of the Welsh folk of 9Bach. If you are looking for a Bluetooth headphone that will give you copious playback time, good range, corded operation for when that mega-battery runs out, and a neutral signature with extra bass on demand, these 1MORE MK802s should be on your list of headphones to check out.Thanks again, 1MORE UK, for providing this review sample, these were a nice cap to a delicious three course audio meal, though I feel like I did this in the wrong order. These are definitely more of a main, with the iBFree being an appetiser and the E1001 Triple Driver a dessert. It’s time to turn the lights out and go home.
