1MORE Aero review: Spatial audio for the masses

The 1MORE Aero are the latest entry into the brand’s stacked lineup of true wireless earbuds, and its first foray into the realms of spatial audio and head tracking. Those technologies are usually reserved for pricier earbuds like the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM4, but do occasionally make their way to more affordable options.

While spatial audio isn’t as effectively implemented here as it is by those esteemed buds, when you consider the chasmic difference in price it’s a pretty fair shake. Add in a detailed sonic profile and effective noise cancellation, and the 1MORE Aero are a solid pair of affordable earbuds.

1MORE Aero review: What do you get for the money?

With a list price of £100, the 1MORE Aero fit nicely into the brand’s lineup as a more fully featured follow-up to the 1MORE ComfoBuds Pro. The Bluetooth version has been upgraded to 5.2, though codec support is still limited to SBC and AAC. At this price, it would have been nice to see a high-resolution codec like Sony’s LDAC thrown into the mix, but there is at least Bluetooth multipoint, allowing you to connect to two devices simultaneously.

The design of the Aero follows that of the ComfoBuds Pro closely, with teardrop-shaped stems that extend down and out over your earlobes. They’re more water-resistant than their stablemates thanks to an improved IPX5 rating, and are lighter, too, with each bud weighing 4.9g. In-ear battery life has taken a hit, however, with stamina stated at seven hours without ANC and five with it, compared to the ComfoBuds Pro’s eight and six hours respectively.

The charging case takes the overall battery life up to 20 hours with ANC on and 28 hours with it turned off. There’s been a fairly major design overhaul to the case, with the ComfoBuds Pro’s fiddly pill-shaped case replaced with a more accessible clamshell design. It’s slightly heavier at 45.2g, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off, as the extra space makes it easier to remove the earbuds, especially one-handed. Wireless and fast charging are also supported, with the latter delivering three hours of playback from a 15-minute charge.

Touch controls are once again located along the stems of the earbuds, offering the usual selection of functions including playing/pausing audio, hailing your voice assistant and cycling through noise cancellation modes. The controls can be tweaked via the 1MORE Music app, where you’ll also find a ten-band graphic equaliser, 12 preset tunings and the noise cancellation options. These consist of Strong, Mild and Wind Noise Resistance settings, an adaptive mode that adjusts ANC automatically based on your environment, and a transparency mode.

Rounding out the list of app functions is the option to toggle wear detection on and off, a smart loudness slider that attempts to preserve bass and treble quality at lower volumes, and the star attraction – spatial audio. This technology seeks to create a virtual 3D space, positioning the different elements of songs strategically so that audio appears to be coming from all around your head.

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1MORE Aero review: What did we like about them?

The Aero’s 10mm dynamic drivers may be smaller than those housed in the ComfoBuds Pro, but the downsizing proves a smart move. The lighter buds were more comfortable and secure in my ears and there was no negative impact on audio quality. Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic” jumps straight into a frantic frenzy of drums and guitars, but the Aero’s detailed mid-range didn’t miss a beat, articulating each element cleanly across the broad soundstage.

Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” proved to be an excellent showcase for the Aero’s upper and lower limits. The electronic beats and central guitar solo were translated energetically and without distortion, while the tightly contained bass underscored the track with an impactful thump. This delicate balance carried over into Bjӧrk’s “Aeroplane”, blending the steady thrum of bass and hand drums with twinkling chimes and gentle cymbals into a complex, but uncluttered, arrangement.

It would be a shame for outside interruptions to spoil that detailed delivery, so it’s just as well the 1MORE Aero offer reasonable noise cancellation. The new adaptive mode effectively responded to indoor distractions such as a kettle being boiled and eliminated the low rumbles of passing cars while walking near a busy road. Tricky higher-pitch frequencies did manage to sneak through, but that’s to be expected from buds of this price. Transparency mode is more of a mixed bag – you’ll hear the doorbell or a baby crying, but speech is quite muffled, so it’s not great for holding full-blown conversations.

Having encountered it a few times now, I’m still not convinced that spatial audio is a must-have feature. It occasionally adds an immersive quality to tracks, but it has a tendency to sound unnatural or overly artificial. That being said, what we get here works pretty well. Engaging the spatial mode in the 1MORE Music app lowers the floor out of the soundstage, adding extra depth, and positional audio cues are pretty accurate.

Crucially, and unlike Apple Spatial Audio and Sony 360 Reality Audio, this function is universal, meaning that you aren’t tied to specific streaming services. While it works reasonably well with music, the spatial audio really comes alive when watching films. Using Bluetooth multipoint, I connected the Aero to both my phone and my TV to try out the spatial audio with Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front, and I was not disappointed.

The distant crack of firing rifles and the thump of bullets smacking into the mud felt distinctly separate, and a mortar strike near the trenches sent a disorientating cloud of dirt and debris clattering past my right ear. The virtual space isn’t as broad or clearly defined as Sony’s 360 Reality Audio or Apple Spatial Audio, however, so quieter, dialogue-driven scenes don’t feel as spacious. Still, when paired with a densely layered cinematic soundscape, the effect is suitably impressive given what the Aero cost.

1MORE Aero review: What could be improved?

While the spatial audio does a decent job of expanding the space and sense of depth, there’s a fairly minor annoyance that’s worth mentioning. The Aero use head-tracking to position you in the virtual space, but where the AirPods Pro 2 allow you to choose between off, fixed and dynamic head tracking, the Aero always follow your head movements and adjust output accordingly.

This wasn’t a problem while watching films or sitting at my desk as I stayed facing the same way, but using this on the move will result in the audio coming from odd directions for about ten seconds every time you turn, while the tracking tries to catch up. Go left, for instance, and all the audio will be thrown to the right. Pull a 180, and now the music is behind you. You can reset your head position by toggling spatial audio off and on again in the app, but this is a pain to do every few minutes if you’re out on a walk or taking the bus.

Which leads neatly into my next issue. Even if the head tracking remains locked on, having the option to code one of the touch controls to toggle the spatial audio would allow for a quick reset when on the move. Unfortunately, the control scheme and customisation options are fairly limited, with only double and triple taps able to be changed, and no option to set one to controlling spatial audio. The Aero have the long press on both earbuds locked to cycling through ANC modes, when one could easily be swapped out to control spatial audio. It also would have been nice to see them make use of the long stems, with volume adjustments set to sliding a finger up or down either stem, like the Oppo Enco Free 2 or Apple AirPods Pro 2.

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1MORE Aero review: Should you buy them?

Restrictive touch controls are nothing new for 1MORE; even our favourite of the brand’s true wireless earbuds, the 1MORE EVO, suffer from it, so it’s hard to judge the Aero too harshly. Equally, this is 1MORE’s first dalliance with spatial audio, so it’s unsurprising that the results can’t quite match the more established and expensive efforts from Sony and Apple, but the key advantage here is accessibility. Not only are the 1MORE Aero cheaper than most spatial audio alternatives, they aren’t hamstrung by a restrictive list of compatible services.

Add to this accessibility decent audio performance across the board, solid noise cancellation and a lightweight, comfortable fit, and the Aero are a well-rounded package, even taking into account the middling in-ear battery life and restrictive touch controls. If you’ve always fancied giving spatial audio a go but can’t justify the price of the AirPods Pro 2, the 1MORE Aero could be the affordable alternative you’ve been waiting for.