1MORE Quad Driver Review

1MORE Quad Driver in-ear monitors are a direct upgrade over the Triple Driver, especially in build and sound quality. However, the latter still doesn’t match competitors that cost half as much.

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• List price (MSRP): $169.99
• Manufacturer: 1MORE

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Related: Best headphones under $200 – Most durable earbuds – Best audiophile headphones

Our Conclusion

1MORE Quad Driver are beautiful and premium-feeling in-ear headphones that don’t shy away from using aluminum everywhere. Even the inline control module is all metal.

This time, the cable uses oxygen-free copper for better conductivity, which minimizes distortion and improves clarity.

As the name suggests, IEMs use 4 drivers: 3 balanced armature drivers and a single dynamic driver. Compared to the Triple Driver version, the additional BA driver helps add more resolution.

Overall, you can hear more details, and the sound feels more natural than the other version. However, it still fails to match the musicality and clarity of cheaper IEMs.

Are the high-quality build and the wide selection of accessories good enough to persuade you from buying something else? Are there any hidden strengths of the Quad Drivers? Learn more in the full review with tests below.

Pros & Cons:

Compare similar IEMs

Our Analysis and Test Results

Our frequency response tests showed almost identical tuning to the 1MORE Triple Driver but with a slightly more balanced and technically capable response.

Call quality remained similar to the cheaper model, while noise isolation was slightly worse on the Quad version (although the results are within the margin of error).

Sound

1MORE Quad Driver use 4 drivers per earbud to produce a relatively natural sound with decent detail retrieval. However, they can occasionally get bloaty and overly warm.

Key points:

• Relaxed, warm, and smooth sound with decent details.
• The sound is decently controlled but can still get a bit muddy.
• The soundstage is of good size, and the imaging accurately places instruments around your head.

Check our 1MORE Quad Driver A/B sound test:

Learn how to understand sound comparisons.

Looking at the frequency response graph, the tuning of the 1MORE Quad Driver is almost identical to the Triple Driver, but with one crucial change: Grammy-winning sound engineer Luca Bignardi added around 5dB more energy at 11kHz and 12kHz.

With the addition of a different dynamic and an additional BA driver, the difference in resolution is audible. However, some of the issues from the Triple version remain. Let’s take a closer look.

Bass: Decently controlled, albeit muddy at times

The Quad Driver use a “diamond-like single carbon dynamic driver” to produce a low-frequency range. Tuning-wise, the lows are well-extended into the sub-bass, providing a nice rumble in songs like “Scream” by Avenged Sevenfold.

However, the bass response also extends a bit too far up, surpassing the midrange at 300Hz. Consequently, the overall sound is very warm and tends to get muddy.

While that isn’t a big issue in bass-forward songs, rock/funky tunes like “Love Juice” from Dwane can quickly become a little bass-bloated.

Fortunately, the mid-bass punch feels more controlled despite the boost, probably due to a better driver. You get a slightly more nuanced bass guitar performance, too. Although, a more neutral tuning would make the sound even more controlled.

1MORE Quad Driver frequency response

Midrange: Recessed but reasonably natural in tone

Midrange frequencies are also copy-pasted from the Triple Driver, so you can expect recessed and muted vocal and instrumental performance.

However, since the recession is pretty even (except for the 4kHz), the midrange performance is on point, just a bit quiet.

Furthermore, thanks to the added BA driver and a slightly better tuning in the treble, vocals and instruments sound a bit clearer and airier (although far from perfect).

One thing that I’m still missing is the sense of dynamics, which are probably crushed by the bass bleed and recessed mids.

Treble: Good texture but very little energy

Higher frequencies in 1MORE Quad Driver are also slightly dark, albeit much better than in Triple Driver.

Additional energy between 11kHz and 12kHz provides some clarity and resolution, causing cymbals to stand out a bit more.

They produce a lovely shimmer and decent texture, but, as with everything else, they’re also a tad quiet. As a result, they get lost on busier tracks.

Moreover, treble could use more air to better separate instruments and tame the bass bleed. That’s why the second part of the “Cure for the Itch” by Linkin Park sounds less exciting than it could.

Soundstage and imaging

Moreover, the soundstage is wide enough to place sounds slightly out of your head, and the imaging does a great job pinpointing the sounds’ location.

Sound Comparison

My conclusion

Overall, 1MORE Quad Driver offer a more reasonable sound quality for the price than the Triple Driver, providing a slightly better value.

Our suggestions remain the same; if you like a warmer sound with a forgiving treble (if you’re treble sensitive), these IEMs will be perfect for you.

However, if you prefer a more faithful-to-the-original sound, you can get it for much less.

• Best wired earbuds under $100

Comfort & Fit

1MORE Quad Driver are of perfect size, despite storing 4 drivers, so they fit comfortably in your ears without causing pressure. On the flip side, they quickly fall out of your ears if you try shaking your head.

1MORE Quad Driver has a cylindrical design similar to the Triple Driver. However, they’re slightly bigger to house another BA driver.

Fortunately, their size remains small compared to other in-ear monitors, so you can expect a very comfortable wearing experience during long listening sessions, regardless of the ear size.

The housing doesn’t poke or press against your pinna, and the ear tips (there are 9 pairs inside the packaging, 3 of which are memory foam) avoid creating pressure inside your ear canal.

Using the included silicone earbud tips ensures only adequate stability. They’re sticky but fail to provide a secure fit during more rigorous head movements.

During the head-shaking test, IEMs quickly start losing grip, even faster than in Triple Driver. That could be due to the slightly heavier build (22 grams compared to 18 grams).

Stability doesn’t improve if you wear them with the cable over the ear.

Compared to other similar models

Quad Drivers are comfier than KZ AS16 Pro and CCA LYRA and about the same as RAPTGO x HBB HOOK-X. On the flip side, the latter are more stable, just like the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero:Red.

Durability

1MORE Quad Driver are overall built like a tank with an all-aluminum construction. You even get a stiff carrying pouch made of pleather. However, you can’t replace a damaged cable, and IEMs probably can’t survive intense sweating.

The build quality of the 1MORE Quad Driver is top-notch. Everything from the plug, the cable splitter, the inline module, and the IEMs are made of aluminum.

That makes them feel sturdy and resistant to drops and accidental chewing by your pets (although the cable won’t withstand your dog’s or hamster’s nibbling teeth).

Furthermore, a hard, pleather carrying case ensures the IEMs don’t squish when thrown in a bag. Also, the magnetic lid doesn’t open accidentally.

Cable’s inline module has 3 buttons, which provide satisfyingly clicky feedback. The cable is slightly thicker than in Triple Driver but also stiffer.

As a result, the cable doesn’t fall straight down but stays a bit curly. Moreover, the rubber used to coat it is slightly sticky, which, in combination with its ability to tangle, makes it difficult to untangle it again.

Slight annoyances aside, the biggest problem is that you can’t replace the damaged cable. So, you need to be extra careful not to twist or pull it too much.

Also, there’s no official IP rating or sweat protection. Due to the ventilation holes on top of the buds, we advise against using them for workouts or in the rain. Liquids could slip through.

Are they suitable for…

• Wearing in the rain: Not suitable, as liquids could slip into the ventilation ports.
• Running & exercising outside: Somewhat suitable, but avoid excessively sweating or walking on very dusty roads.
• Sweating: Not suitable if you’re sweating, like a lot.
• Dipping underwater: Not suitable, as the water will quickly damage the internals.

Durability comparison

Quad Drivers are built like a tank and from luxurious materials but lack the ability to remove the cable like in most competitors.

Features

1MORE Quad Driver have all essential playback controls and let you summon your voice assistant. Call quality using a built-in mic is great, but only in quiet environments.

The Quad Driver has most of the features that wired in-ear monitors offer (apart from some rare options, like Bose QC 20, that also support active noise cancelling). That includes:

• Inline controls to answer phone calls, music playback, and control volume
• Built-in microphone for making calls

1MORE Quad Driver controls are as follows:

• Answer/hang up/play/pause – single press on the middle button
• Decline a call/voice assistant – long press the middle button
• Next song – double press the middle button
• Repeat/previous song – triple press the middle button
• Volume up – press the upper button
• Volume down – press the lower button

In the box, you also get an airline adapter to enjoy airline entertainment during travel and a 6.35mm adapter to plug the IEMs into an amplifier.

Microphone quality

1MORE Quad Driver provide great clarity and fullness to your voice but suffers from distortion when speaking in a noisy environment.

1MORE Quad Driver microphone test (quiet & background noise):

The Quad and Triple Driver IEMs must use the same microphone, as the performance of the two is identical.

When speaking in a quiet room, the mic can pick up your voice with great clarity. You also sound pretty full and distortionless. The only thing is that you appear a bit quiet.

Moving to loud environments, the voice quality remains practically unchanged. However, while trying to reduce background noise, the noise reduction technology introduces distortion.

You can hear the heavily distorted ambient noise, which can annoy the person on the other side of the line.

Therefore, if you’re using 1MORE Quad Driver and want the best call quality, make phone calls someplace quiet.

Features rating comparison

Noise Isolation

1MORE Quad Driver is about average for passively isolating you from the outside world. They’re suitable for commuting but expect to hear some ambient noise even when listening to music.

Again, we can draw comparisons to the Triple Driver model, as they share almost the same passive noise isolation performance, with minor differences in the lower treble region.

Even though you can pick between 9 pairs of ear tips, the isolation remains average. The reason could be a higher number of ventilation holes around the buds.

Using foam tips helps increase the isolation but can also hurt the audio quality by boosting bass and reducing treble response.

That said, you can still use them during a commute, as they will successfully reduce people’s speech. However, engine noises, especially on trains, will interfere with your music, even at higher volumes.

Here’s a table of how effective is 1MORE Quad Driver’s passive noise isolation at blocking specific frequencies:

What about cable noise?

Cable noise is kept at a minimum. You don’t hear it at all when simply sitting down, and it also doesn’t bother you when you’re walking around.

Noise isolation rating comparison with other models

Should You Get 1MORE Quad Driver?

1MORE Quad Driver are a meaningful upgrade over the Triple Driver, especially in the sound department and overall quality feel.

Pros & Cons

Who are these best for:

• People who prefer a more laid-back sound with a forgiving treble but still want some extra resolution when listening to genres like jazz or bands like Dire Straits.

Who should avoid them:

• People who want faithful reproduction and dynamic sound. Funny enough, you can get that in alternatives that cost more than half the price.

How do 1MORE Quad Driver compare to the competition?

Here’s their value rating compared to similar alternatives:

Are they worth the price?

1MORE Quad and Triple Drivers are cult in-ears that were an excellent pick 10 years ago. However, today, with so many amazing chi-fi brands, those two buds have a tough time competing. Especially at $100 and $70 price points.

1MORE Quad Driver alternatives

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero:Red

Antlion Kimura Duo

EarFun Air Pro 3

What’s in the Box?

• 1MORE Quad Driver in-ear monitors
• 9 pairs of ear tips (3 or foam (S, M, L), 6 are from silicone (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL))
• Protective pouch
• User manual
• 1MORE sticker
• 6.35mm adapter
• Airplane adapter

Specifications