Key Takeaways
- The 1MORE SonoFlow Pro offers a great sound quality upgrade over the original model, with improved noise cancellation and up to 100 hours of battery life.
- The price for the headphones remains the same despite significant upgrades.
- Tactile controls, solid software, and impressive ANC make the headphones a valuable purchase.
Released a few years ago, the original 1MORE SonoFlow were an affordable set of wireless headphones that punched well above their weight in terms of sound quality, ANC, and battery life. The new 1MORE SonoFlow Pro headphones don’t increase the price as the name might imply, but they do add noticeable upgrades in a few key areas.
1MORE SonoFlow Pro
The 1MORE SonoFlow Pro wireless headphones offer the same comfort and great style that made the originals a hit, now with even better sound quality and more effective ANC, plus up to 100 hours of battery life.
- Great sound quality for the price
- Improved noise cancellation compared to the originals
- Price hasn?t increased despite the ?Pro? name
- Tactile controls are solid and reliable
- App disconnects on its own at times
Price and Availability
The 1MORE SonoFlow Pro headphones are available directly via the 1MORE website and retailers like Amazon. At the time of this writing, they sell for a retail price of $87.99, which isn’t any higher than the original 1MORE SonoFlow sold for when they were first released. Unlike that set of headphones, the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro are available in two color options: black and blue.
One detail worth noting about the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro is that you might see them listed under a different name. For example, the box for my review unit lists them as the 1MORE SonoFlow HQ51, while the website refers to them as the SonoFlow Pro. These are the same headphones, just referred to by a different name.
Sturdy Build With a Familiar Design
I reviewed the original 1MORE SonoFlow headphones back in 2022, and when I first opened the box containing the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro, the sense of déjà vu was overwhelming. There are slight differences—namely a few different splashes of color—but overall these look and feel very similar to the originals. I suppose this could be disappointing, but fortunately, I was a fan of the originals, so I wasn’t too let down.
Despite not being quite as plush as offerings from Sony or Bose, the SonoFlow Pro are still plenty comfortable to wear for hours at a time, just like the originals. I wasn’t testing these during the hot summer, but I never noticed any of the overheating that can sometimes be a problem with more affordable headphones. In fact, for over-ear headphones, it was surprisingly easy to forget I was wearing these at times.
These are actually slightly lighter than the originals, though you’d probably only notice by reading the specs. I never found the originals to be a weighty set of headphones, and certainly didn’t feel this way about the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro either. That said, they do feel fairly sturdy in terms of build, though I’m glad they come with a carrying case.
Speaking of the case, this is one of the more noticeable differences between the original SonoFlow headphones and the Pro. While the original had a molded interior, the Pro case is more open inside. While this theoretically may offer slightly less protection, it makes folding the headphones and stowing them much simpler than with the originals, so I actually prefer the simplified case the new models use.
Tactile Controls and Solid Software
Capacitive controls are becoming increasingly popular in headphones and earbuds alike, but fortunately, whether it was for cost-saving or otherwise, 1MORE resisted adding this feature to the SonoFlow Pro. These use the same tactile controls in the same locations as the original SonoFlow and, aside from the somewhat hard to reach power button, they work well.
All of the controls are on the right ear cup. Assuming you’re wearing them, you can control volume with a pair of buttons easily reached with your thumb, while the button just above these switches between ANC, Transparent, and no processing. The power button sits toward the front of the headphones.
1MORE markets the SonoFlow Pro as Hi-Res Audio ready headphones, which is a tricky statement when it comes to Bluetooth audio. In this case, the company is referring to its use of the LDAC codec, which is available on some digital audio players and Android devices, offering higher quality than standard Bluetooth audio codecs. This feature isn’t available for Apple devices, which are limited to the usual AAC codec.
For more in-depth control over the SonoFlow Pro, you’ll need to download the 1MORE app, available for iPhone and Android. This isn’t to be confused with the 1MORE Music app, which was used for older 1MORE products.
The biggest reason to use the app is the EQ. You get 12 EQ presets that range from the flat Studio, to various boosts and cuts, then more genre-specific presets. You can only access these via the app, so even if you plan to use the SonoFlow Pro with a standalone player (as I did for part of my testing), you’ll need to set your EQ options in the app.
The app also lets you update the firmware (mine was up-to-date) and use a smart burn-in feature (which I did not).
Even Better Sound Quality and Noise Canceling
The 1MORE SonoFlow Pro may look relatively unchanged from the originals on the outside, but inside, things are much different. The drivers have been completely redesigned, for example. This could have been a major mistake, as the sound quality was one of the most surprising aspects of the originals, but the good news is that these sound like an upgraded version of the originals, not a completely different set of headphones.
While Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” isn’t the audiophile go-to that its predecessor “Rumours” is, it’s a favorite of mine for testing headphones. “Sisters of the Moon” is a moody track with intricately layered sheets of guitars and keys that does a great job showing off the range of the SonoFlow Pro. Compared to listening to the same track via PlexAmp from my iPhone, I noticed a slight increase in detail in the high-end listening via LDAC from my aging but trusty Sony Walkman NW-A35.
The sample that starts off Beauty Pill’s “Afrikaner Barista” is always realistic-sounding to the point of being jarring, but listening from my Walkman via LDAC, it was startling. This sense of immediacy carried over to the song’s instrumentation, with the piano bass that provides the backbone of the song sounding ever-so-slightly larger and fuller than it did from my iPhone. The reworked drivers in the SonoFlow Pro are likely due a large part of the credit here as well.
Queens of the Stone Age’s “Carnavoyeur” showcases how weighty the updated drivers can sound. Especially when the song hits a crescendo around the 3:00 minute mark, the headphones lend the song an impact that wouldn’t have been possible on the original SonoFlow headphones. Not that those headphones couldn’t get close, but like Nigel Tufnel’s Marshall amp in “This Is Spinal Tap,” these headphones go to 11, whereas the prior model stopped sensibly at 10.
1MORE’s QuietMax ANC has also seen an upgrade in the SonoFlow Pro. This was another one of the more surprising aspects of the originals: while they weren’t quite up to par with $300+ headphones, they held their own. 1MORE claims the new model blocks up to 42dB of noise, a 12% improvement over the original.
I didn’t notice as big of a difference with the ANC as I did with the sound quality, but compared to the originals, I noticed the ANC was more effective without music playing or at lower levels.
Call quality was clear, and the microphone picked up my voice well both indoors and outdoors.
Impressive Battery Life
The original 1MORE SonoFlow headphones already had fairly impressive battery life, offering up to 70 hours of playback on a single charge. Given the more powerful ANC in the SonoFlow Pro, I’d have been happy to keep that number the same. Instead, 1MORE has extended it further, offering a maximum of up to 100 hours of playtime on a charge.
A playback time this long is tough to reliably test on a sane timeline, but the headphones certainly have plenty to offer in the battery life department. They also have an incredibly handy quick-charge feature that means you don’t really need to worry about how much juice you have left. Just a five-minute charge via USB-C will get you up to 10 hours of playback time.
Should You Buy the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro HQ51?
The original 1MORE SonoFlow headphones were already a bargain, so considering the price, the Pro would have to take a few steps backward to be otherwise, and fortunately, that isn’t the case. Both the sound quality and the noise cancellation have seen noticeable upgrades, making these an even better buy than their predecessor. The battery life was already impressive, and seeing it grow in the 1MORE SonoFlow Pro is simply icing on the cake.
While there aren’t any backward steps, there are certain areas where you might expect to see improvements where there simply aren’t any. Despite the “Pro” moniker, these don’t look all that different from the original SonoFlow headphones. The included case is actually less form-fitting to the headphones than the case for the original, though, as I mentioned above, this does actually make the case slightly easier to use.
If you already own the original 1MORE SonoFlow, the Pro model is certainly an upgrade, but it’s not a night and day difference that will have you rushing to get rid of your originals. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an affordable set of noise-canceling headphones, go for the SonoFlow Pro.`
1MORE SonoFlow Pro
The 1MORE SonoFlow Pro wireless headphones offer the same comfort and great style that made the originals a hit, now with even better sound quality and more effective ANC, plus up to 100 hours of battery life.
