Before I get started, shout out to the 1More Team for supplying these headphones for review. My opinions are my own.
I wasn't sure what to expect with these open earbuds, especially when you consider the fact that they sit on the ear canal instead of being inserted within it. These are meant to be the ideal headphones for fitness, hence "Fit" is in the name, but... do they check out? Let's jump in and find out after this unboxing!
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Quality + Comfort: I have to speak on the quality of this packaging first. 1More S50s basically come in a hardbound case (basically a hardbound bookcover) keeping them safe and... sound. This has been a trend that 1More has maintained for well over a decade for their higher-quality headphones and it definitely makes the case worth keeping (which works great for those upgrading, because the case won't fall apart ahead of a future reselling).
Now as far as the clamshell charging case, it's a durable plastic shell with an additional layer on the interior top and bottom. The connection point is nice and open for cleaning too, which is great if things begin to get a little gunky in there... especially if you're working out consistently. There's space to run a Q-Tip and get them nice and cleaned up for a clean connection so that they can properly charge. If you've owned earbuds before... you know exactly what i'm talking about.
Now in terms of the earbuds, you get earhooks that keep the earbuds in place quite well.
The 1More Fit S50s themselves surprised me in regards to how they fit, because they sit on the ear canal, so... I was (honestly) unsure how they were going to remain on my ears while working out. The only thing I didn't do to test these was... roll around on the ground or flip, but pushups, walking, jogging/running around with my daughter at the park (and running across a wall or two on occassion)... didn't result in them falling out or getting loose. Leaning my head from side to side and rotating it to stretch my neck (btw great for headaches caused my neck tension) didn't cause them to fall out either... but I did a slight adjustment to push them back over the ear canal if I was doing something on my side.
For the most part, the built-in memory wire in the ear hook does its job well... and I'm glad it's flexible because that aids in the comfort instead of a stiff piece of plastic.
Speaking of comfort, my tolerance for these headphones was strong... except for the times I attempted to sleep with them on. They stayed for the most part, but the comfort level wasn't there for me to get zzz's with them on for the full night so I took them off. It wasn't discomfort on my ear canal, it was the earhook. I think it's an okay trade-off when you compare it to in-ear earbuds at times (at least for me) because if I feel any itchiness in my ear canal during workouts... they have to come out. These weren't made for sleeping (at least for me), so they check out for use other than calling the cows home.
Sound: In terms of sound, I want to touch on a few things here. I'll skip the obvious one for now, so that I can speak on the open-air tech that allows you to hear the world around you. Situational awareness is a must when you're out and about being active... but I was concerned about the audio. Luckily, I've tested it... and the quality of the sound isn't affected for the most part.
The only thing that you may not be thrilled about when it comes to hearing the outside world a bit more... is when you are listening to ASMR, so make sure to find a quiet room and your good.
By the way, Luca Bignardi was the sound engineer on these too, which also serve up 12 studio-level EQ presets from Sonarworks. Basically what that means is that a grammy award winning sound enginner tuned these earbuds to deliver a natural, authentic sound. Plus... the 10+ Authoritative Music Industry Award winning Sonarworks software, delivers presets recommemnded by grammy award winning sound engineers that are also used by over 200,000 studios.
How do these open HiFi earbuds sound to me? These are some damn good earbuds according to my ears. Right out of the gate, I played:
Gerald Albright - What you see is what you get... it's just one of those songs that should have a "Play in HiFi" label on it or something... because the instruments deliver a beautiful combination of awesome that put me in vacay mode every time I hear the track. These headphones pick up the various instruments and their placement when recorded. I hear Gerald on the sax front and center, the vocalists (left, right, and center), maracas or shakers to the left, the thump of that bass and... everything in between. By the way, the Eastrock stainless steel shaker set and the Kandu Clever shakers are pretty cool instruments.
From there I made a shift into ASMR based on the time. So I utilized a nice quiet space to kick back and indulge in what I consider as the headliners for my ASMR experience. There are different styles and approaches, and these are the ones I prefer:
Tingting ASMR, Gentle Whispering ASMR, and Frivolousfox ASMR... are my faves because they take the quality of their productions seriously. Their soft sound takes advantage of the diamond-like carbon diaphragm of these headphones that picks up subtle details well (trust me).
I've listened to ASMR for well over a decade now, and you can tell who aims to deliver without unwanted background noise, quality sound through a good 360 mic (using ambisonic technology)... and they know what they're doing. They aren't harsh with the mic or mics, they keep things gentle and pleasant for great results, and... I salute that by... (ummm) going to sleep.
Once I got up, I hit continue on the party by listening to:
mr.&mrs. smith... is an interesting show, with some hot & cold audio. Not hot and cold bad, but instrumentals and sound effects kick up at various points and they like to zero in on elements of combat (i.e. gun shots). The earbuds don't mesh up the audio, you can hear the separate sounds and where they are in the environment thanks to the PurePower Driver that boosts those suble nuance sounds. I could hear movement in the background (behind me) with these headphones... which increases the immersive spatial audio experience. I know some people don't see the value in anything above a base audio set up, but... (good luck with that) you don't know what you're missing.
SWAT... starring Shemar Moore, has some action packed audio too. I think I noticed more boom and thumps from gun fire in the episodes of this show.
Fun fact: I know Shemar's friend... Romeo, he's a pretty cool dude. He's the reason I know... Keybeaux.
I also had the pleasure of playing, Pacific Drive and listening to the audio with these headphones. This was an enjoyable experience for sure. Not every game or track delivers the same quality, but the ones delivered with quality in mind... will stand out with HiFi audio like the 1More Fit Open Earbuds S50. Also another plus is if you're pressed for time and the tech juice is running low, fast charge comes to the rescue. You can get 2 hours out of a 5 minute charge... to work out.
By the way, I heard the guitar strumming the melody more to the right side in the Mink Slide track... which I think stood out in a pair of headphones that were 2 to 3 times the price of these. Some headphones don't pick these things up, but despite the specs of these headphones I was still surprised that the sound is as clear... despite the openess. I thought that I'd get a potential sound loss for the sake of them not being in-ear and being open.
Last but not least... the calls are clear ladies and gentlemen, even with my lower tone of voice. I can be heard, and I was able to hear without asking or being asked to repeat. The AI noice reduction most likely has something to do with that. It picks up the human voice with the goal of minimizing background noise that isn't identified as such through the 4 MEMS microphones. Even when it comes to a crowd at the store (like the ones who have yet to implement self check out), it can reduce the background noise by 30dB.
The 1More Fit Open Earbuds S50 use an AI Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology to make your calls that much clearer by weeding out what shouldn't be in the call basically. I'm not fully familiar with the tech and the layered structure it follows regarding data... so I won't even attempt to try, but I haven't had to repeat myself in calls that've I've made using these earbuds. If DNNs sound familiar, you may have heard about it regarding self-driving cars, drones, games, and things of that nature.
Tuned by Multi Grammy Award Winning Sound Engineer
Open-Air Tech for Situational Awareness and Safety
Price:There's currently a sale for these headphones on the 1More site for 33% off, bringing them from $149.99 down to $99.99. Great price, but... after doing some digging, if you use the coupon, and the promo code, you can save $43... here. That brings the total down to $86.99 before taxes, but... you're still saving over $7 bucks after taxes.
I think we're about to bid the Xbox farewell as a console. I said this in the past because they were placing their games on PC via the Gamepass, and you can play games directly on select Samsung Gaming Hub TVs via Gamepass.
Now Playstation owners are at the door of in terms of playing Xbox games, which doesn't necessarily spell doom and gloom for Xbox as a company, but... the console just might be sailing off into the sunset as Xbox potentially goes all digital beyond its game controllers and other peripherals... because they're still playable on PC.
I honestly don't mind this move, although it could mean the door is closing on the Xbox console. Microsoft actually has a solid opportunity to make the Xbox bigger than the actual console if they go the route of Luna, and Roku even harder. I say that because we're gaming on TVs, and if they can get Gamepass on more TV's... for the purpose of streaming, then what good is the console... if the internet connection is solid?
Pair an Xbox controller to the TV or over WiFi similar to what the Luna controller does, and it would simply be another streaming service without the cost of pumping out a new console. This would allow Xbox gamers to keep those achievements racking up, playing multiplayer games and the party (chat) would continue. I know the downside to that is no offline gameplay, but if this is the way Xbox is going... it's a way for us to benefit even more (got a smart TV... you have an Xbox... basically).
If you're still ticked about this, remember... Microsoft does this though where they trip over their own shoelaces that were intentionally untied by them. Just like with the Windows Phones, what's the incentive of rocking with the phone if they were making the first-party apps accessible on other phones? Microsoft always wants to reach customers beyond their platforms. Xbox games on Playstation may not make everyone rejoice, but that would make it a 2-in-1 console. PC gamers have had the pleasure of enjoying multiple games from various platforms for decades, but this console war may ultimately end up being Nintendo vs PlayStation. The good thing though is that there are enough differences for both to be appreciated, but... at the same time, Sony can't get comfortable because with options out there to game simply by streaming from a TV app... the door to competition is still open.
Overall, is the Xbox console still worth the money? Possibly... but I'd say don't run out to buy one at full retail during this stage in the game unless they can assure console owners that they will maintain support for quite some time.
Roll out the red carpet and cue the drumroll, it's Top 10 time... my friends! But hey, before we dive into the weekly leaderboard, let’s throw some confetti at the awesome patchwork of players, high-scoring parents who also cheer from the sidelines, and every soul in between who's been showing us love and support, it's starting to feel like a group hug that goes around the world. Alright, enough with the group hug... let's dive in:
And let's not forget our honorable mentions that came close... China, Australia, and South Korea. The love is always appreciated. They didn’t crack the top 10 this time but don't count them out. Stay fierce, keep those gaming thumbs warmed up, and who knows? Next week, we might just see a shakeup that’ll turn the ratings upside down. Keep your eyes on the prize, and game on!