1More Sonoflow NC Headphone Review

[short27]

Just came across this thread after buying these a couple of months ago. They sound great to me although I don't have much in terms of references, and as an Android user LDAC is nice to have. The cups have been a tiny bit on the small side for me, and the power button has definitely deteriorated for about a month now, to the point that the travel seems roughly halved as if something is blocking it (it occasionally decides to hit the full travel every now and then). Aside from that the rest of the headphones and the case feel perfectly acceptable for the $80 I paid, but I didn't realize how much I'd wish for multipoint Bluetooth - maybe that can be added down the line with an update, like the adjustable EQ?

 

[TheBatsEar]

I'd wish for multipoint Bluetooth - maybe that can be added down the line with an update, like the adjustable EQ?

Tap the red logo at the top right:


Then go to experimental:


Then you can activate multipoint connections:


Also, welcome to ASR.

 

[sharock]

These are discounted to £65 on Amazon UK.

Tempted by them for the office.

Has anyone tried them with MS Teams or Zoom?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I'm interested in these as well. The ANC and wireless thing would be pretty handy for summertime apartment listening (my window AC is noisy and I also need to run fans in every room.) They list on Amazon Canada at $129.95cdn and have a nearly permanent $25 coupon discount offer so I can get them for $105 but I'm holding out for a 1 day sale or something for $90 or even $95 before I pull the trigger.

 

[ElJaimito]

I have used them with Zoom on PC. They are fine, but not as good in mic performance as my Microsoft wired headset with boom mic. Also, no sidechannel. OTOH, on Chromebook a few days ago I didn't get the mic to work. I was late to the Zoom and didn't debug it all first... I will probably sort all of that.

 

[TheBatsEar]

Has anyone tried them with MS Teams or Zoom?

I did use them with Zoom, but i used an external microphone (Umik-1, hehe). So i used them just like regular headphones. With LDAC the latency seems not noticeable.
I use Linux, this is the command used to test if LDAC is used:

pactl list | egrep codec
                bluetooth.codec = "ldac_hq"
                bluetooth.codec = "ldac_hq"

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Well, I waited as long as I can. They dropped to $103.99cdn (so $77usd) which is $2 less than they've been in the past few months so ZING they arrive tomorrow! lol. It's summertime and my apartment has very limited AC - just a window AC unit in the living room. Plus, it's been hot! So, I have fans running constantly in every room and the noise has become pretty annoying averaging 50dbs compared to the normal 30dbs or so I have without the fans. With my "serious" HP rig I can hear the noise when the music gets quiet which is bothersome. I'm looking forward to the ANC and to being able to walk around my place with the phones on.

 

[Howie Dern]

I've been using mine for a couple of months and enjoying them. The ANC is effective and battery life seems to live up to the claims or at least it's quite good. One note, if you use LDAC and wander too far from the source, the headphones will switch to a lower quality codec (without indicating so) and you will need to manually invoke LDAC from the 1More app when you are close enough to your source again.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Oh those bucking fastards! lol...I knew I should have waited one more day to pull the trigger! They put up a $6 coupon this morning on top of the 20% off sale price of $103.99 for these and mine arrive today! Grrrr....I've become a bit obsessed with getting the lowest price possible on Amazon purchases. I watched these for about 3 months and they never dropped below $104 until the day after I bought them lol. It's only $6 but it's a wound that's going to fester for sure!

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Listening to them right now. Right off the bat, they don't have the "wow factor" of my Topping dac/amp HE400i rig which just has an amazing sense of limitless clean power and spatiousness. But, they sound very very good. And they have some impressive bass! The sub bass hits in Hallade Recorder by Ott come through pretty fully. And the ANC is fantastic! I can't hear any of the ambient fan noise here at all which is perfect. It's pretty weird removing the headphones with no music playing and having the fan noise suddenly re-appear. They seem to stay connected just fine walking around my apartment too which is a very nice thing compared to being tethered to the rig in my bedroom. Overall, great deal!

Hmmm, can someone confirm for me - are the EQ settings sticky? Meaning once I choose an EQ (preset or custom) does it set the phones that way even if I switch the app off and listen from a completely seperate device?

 

[TheBatsEar]

Hmmm, can someone confirm for me - are the EQ settings sticky? Meaning once I choose an EQ (preset or custom) does it set the phones that way even if I switch the app off and listen from a completely seperate device?

Not sure about other devices, but all the settings stay, regardless of the app running or not.

It's my first experience with ANC and it's a bit spooky i think

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I've been using mine for a couple of months and enjoying them. The ANC is effective and battery life seems to live up to the claims or at least it's quite good. One note, if you use LDAC and wander too far from the source, the headphones will switch to a lower quality codec (without indicating so) and you will need to manually invoke LDAC from the 1More app when you are close enough to your source again.

is there some option in the app for selecting ldac? I don't see that anywhere...

 

[TheBatsEar]

is there some option in the app for selecting ldac? I don't see that anywhere...

Maybe your phone doesn't support LDAC?

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Maybe your phone doesn't support LDAC?
View attachment 293975

Ah yes of course. Iphone here…

Here’s where I’m at as far as EQ goes…and I'm pretty sure once set, these EQ settings are sticky across devices.

 

[Yoku-San]

https://www.headphonezone.in/blogs/...ivate-ldac-on-your-smartphone-in-5-easy-steps

Maybe this helps.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

https://www.headphonezone.in/blogs/...ivate-ldac-on-your-smartphone-in-5-easy-steps

Maybe this helps.

nope. I'm on Iphone here...no LDAC support. I have a Fiio DAP though that does LDAC. The option for that is in the settings on the DAP though since the 1More app isn't on that device.

 

[firekunai]

I've recently bought this headphone and am quite enjoying it as my first closed-back headphone, I'm interested in applying EQ with the headphone connected to my Topping A30 Pro but noticed that there appears to be a single csv which is the frequency response of the headphone when powered on and used via Bluetooth, is a csv file Amir's measurement of the headphone's frequency response when wired available anywhere?

 

[TheBatsEar]

is a csv file Amir's measurement of the headphone's frequency response when wired available anywhere?

I don't think so. I took the EQ from @Yoku-San from https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...noflow-nc-headphone-review.42849/post-1521698 and called it a day.

Welcome to ASR

 

[alumnicesar]

@amirm, the EQ is not readable...

Here are some thoughts about the EQ.

Notes about the EQ design:

• The average L/R is used to calculate the score.
• The resolution is 12 points per octave interpolated from the raw data (provided by @amirm)
• A Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the EQ.
• The EQ Score is designed to MAXIMIZE the Score WHILE fitting the Harman target curve (and other constrains) with a fixed complexity.
  This will avoid weird results if one only optimizes for the Score.
  It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be therefore more neutral.
• The EQs are starting point and may require tuning (certainly at LF and maybe at HF).
• The range around and above 10kHz is usually not EQed unless smooth enough to do so.
• I am using PEQ (PK) as from my experience the definition is more consistent across different DSP/platform implementations than shelves.
• With some HP/amp combo, the boosts and preamp gain (loss of Dynamic range) need to be carefully considered to avoid issues with, amongst other things, too low a Max SPL or damaging your device. You have beed warned.
• Not all units of the same product are made equal. The EQ is based on the measurements of a single unit. YMMV with regards to the very unit you are trying this EQ on.
• I sometimes use variations of the Harman curve for some reasons. See rational here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pro-review-headphone.28244/page-5#post-989169
• https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pro-review-headphone.28244/page-6#post-992119
• NOTE: the score then calculated is not comparable to the scores derived from the default Harman target curve if not otherwise noted.

Good L/R match except 1000 - 2000Hz range.

I have generated one EQ, the APO config file is attached.

Score no EQ: 40.3
Score with EQ: 81.8

1More Sonoflow Wireless NC EQ Flat 96000Hz
March132023-155129

Preamp: -3 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 63.51 Hz Gain -4.13 dB Q 0.44
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 206.78 Hz Gain -2.73 dB Q 0.96
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 584.82 Hz Gain 1.62 dB Q 1.87
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1292.44 Hz Gain -5.95 dB Q 1.35
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3228.8 Hz Gain 3.48 dB Q 1.38
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 6447.2 Hz Gain 2.48 dB Q 2.49

View attachment 271331

damn 40.3 preference score with no eq

 

[Howie Dern]

Listening to them right now. Right off the bat, they don't have the "wow factor" of my Topping dac/amp HE400i rig which just has an amazing sense of limitless clean power and spatiousness. But, they sound very very good. And they have some impressive bass! The sub bass hits in Hallade Recorder by Ott come through pretty fully. And the ANC is fantastic! I can't hear any of the ambient fan noise here at all which is perfect. It's pretty weird removing the headphones with no music playing and having the fan noise suddenly re-appear. They seem to stay connected just fine walking around my apartment too which is a very nice thing compared to being tethered to the rig in my bedroom. Overall, great deal!

Hmmm, can someone confirm for me - are the EQ settings sticky? Meaning once I choose an EQ (preset or custom) does it set the phones that way even if I switch the app off and listen from a completely seperate device?

Thanks for the Ott track mention! New to me and now in my collection.