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1More’s ColorBuds 2 boast way more features and a lower price

Simon Cohen
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We know from experience that 1More has a proven track record for delivering premium audio products at affordable prices, and its latest true wireless earbuds, the $80 ColorBuds 2, appear to be no exception. Packed with active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode, and wireless charging, you can buy them today in black, white, and gold. And 1More is offering a $10 discount for orders received before October 5 if you use the code “COLORBUDS2.”

They’re the most recent set of true wireless earbuds from smaller brands that manage to include a huge array of features for well less than $100, putting pressure on more established brands like Jabra, whose recently released Elite 3 also cost $80.

1More ColorBuds 2 in gold.

In addition to being 1More’s most affordable set of ANC earbuds (beating the $100 ComfoBuds Pro by $20), the ColorBuds 2 are also the company’s first Bluetooth earbuds to incorporate Sonarworks’ SoundID technology — something 1More announced at CES 2020. SoundID attempts to optimize the sound quality of headphones and earbuds by digitally adjusting the EQ based on an individual’s hearing. Since everyone hears sound a little differently, SoundID takes you through a series of A/B sound comparisons that, in theory, should create a custom listening profile. By combining this profile with its knowledge of the specific acoustic properties of a set of headphones (like the ColorBuds 2), Sonarworks claims it can deliver a much-improved level of audio quality.

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The ColorBuds 2 are also equipped with an impressive array of Bluetooth codecs, including SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive. When connected to a compatible phone, aptX codecs can deliver higher-quality audio than SBC or AAC.

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Battery life for the ColorBuds 2 when ANC is turned on is a claimed six hours for the earbuds and a total of 18 hours when you include the charging case. That goes up to eight and 24 hours when you turn ANC off. While those total times may not be especially noteworthy, the individual earbud times are still quite good when you compare them to a product like Apple’s AirPods Pro (4.5 hours with ANC, 24 hours total).

You can use each earbud independently, and an IPX5 rating should mean that the ColorBuds2 will have no problem surviving even the sweatiest of workouts — just don’t immerse them in water when you’re cleaning them.

When 1More released the first-gen ColorBuds in 2020, we were impressed by their sound quality and design, but noted that their controls and Bluetooth 5.0 range weren’t as good as we expected. While 1More doesn’t appear to have made big strides in these areas (though the ColorBuds 2 use Bluetooth 5.2 instead of 5.0), given all of the other new features and a lower starting price, it’s looking like the sequel will be considerably better than the original.

We’ll let you know if that turns out to be the case when we publish our review.

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Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
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