1More C1002

£90

Ready for one more review? Bad puns out of the way, the 1More C1002s are interesting because they come from a company we’re not too familiar with. That, and their unusual look.

The C1002 structure is like an earphone aperture glued into a giant medicine pill. It’s designed to fill the far side of your ear cartilage but makes the 1More C1002s an unusual fit. As with most earphones though, pick the right tip and you’ll be fine.

Inside the capsule

1More calls the pill shape a capsule, and it’s home to the C1002’s dual drivers, which comprise one balanced armature and one dynamic driver working in tandem. There’s a threebutton in-line remote designed for iphones and Androids, but no active noise cancellation or wirelessness. One neat touch is the earpieces cling together thanks to magnets in each capsule, so you can hang them round your neck when they’re not in use.

We’re not entirely convinced by the sound. The treble is very pronounced, creating an imbalance in the sound. Lots of people like bright headphones, but the extent of the emphasis here is incongruous and leaves male baritone vocals sounding unnaturally treble-led. While the treble clarity is obvious and doesn’t suffer from sibilance or outright harshness, it’s also short of what could justly be called refined or well-integrated.

Roll back that treble and there are some admirable aspects here. The bass is fairly punchy, if lacking a little power in the lowest reaches, and the mids are clear.

The 1More C1002s are unusual earphones, and a dual driver earphone for under £90 seems like a good deal. It’s just a shame the treble is so enthusiastic, making the C1002s sound less balanced and natural than they should.