The vast majority of headphones that are available to buy these days are based on one of the three common formats: over-ear, on-ear and in-ear. It rarely happens that mixtures or completely new formats come across our desk for testing. This is the case again with the 1MORE Fit SE. The headphones impress with a relatively rarely seen but no less useful way of enjoying music via two small speakers that rest loosely on the ear without any silicone attachments. This young category is also called open-ear headphones.
Design & comfort
The headphones come in a charging box – we also know this from other models, this is the usual procedure for such devices. It is also common to store the headphones in a charging box that is as compact as possible so that they can easily fit in your pocket if you want to take them with you. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not adhere to this rule with the 1MORE Fit SE – the pill-shaped plastic charging case is a bit large in our opinion, and not all of this can be blamed on the size of the earbuds themselves.
But that was also the design decisions that we can object to – because everything else works without any problems. The headphones are kept in simple black, the flat sides offer touch surfaces. The ear hooks themselves are made of relatively soft rubber plastic and are sufficiently flexible. Overall, the workmanship is top-notch, and thanks to the status LED on the front of the case, we always know how full the headphones’ battery is. The sound is conveyed into the ear by a small speaker on each side; the earpiece also serves as a sound body.
There is a lot to be said about comfort. Because we noticed: How pleasant and comfortable you find the headphones depends very much on your personal sensitivity and tolerance for objects in your ear. We gave the earbuds to several people to try out. The majority of testers had no problem with the open design – the entire weight of the earpieces, which weigh around 10 grams each, is borne by the ears, but is well distributed thanks to the temples. However, there were a few people who were a bit bothered by the format of the headphones due to the pressure of the temples on the back of the ear that cannot be ignored. We recommend trying out the headphones yourself and wearing them for a few hours.
Operation & app
Operating the sound reproduction is relatively painless using the two touch surfaces on the sides of the headphones. By default, double-tapping on either side starts or stops playback; triple-tapping triggers the voice assistant. Unfortunately, there’s no gesture for a single tap or hold on the headphones, so control options are relatively limited. In the 1MORE app it allows you to remap the control gestures, set up an equalizer and play white noise for relaxation. The app is well structured and works relatively flawlessly.
Sound quality
It’s hard to pinpoint what open-ear headphones like the 1MORE Fit SE sound like – in-ear or over-ear headphones. After all, these are small speakers in front of the ear, as is the case with in-ears – but they are not inserted into the ear canal. Compared to over-ear headphones, the built-in 14.2 millimeter drivers are tiny. But that doesn’t stop them from sounding surprisingly good: Anyone who is worried that the headphones won’t have enough bass or will sound tinny can rest assured. The sound isn’t entirely balanced, but that’s not the aim here – it’s pleasant, quite full, warm and absolutely suitable for the masses.
Of course we miss details, for example in the highs – the mids are also a bit reserved in comparison. But all in all, the Fit SE provide a really solid overall sound package and, from this point of view, can easily keep up with in-ear headphones in the same price range.
Equipment & ANC
It should come as no surprise that the 1MORE Fit SE does not offer active noise cancellation (or passive noise cancellation either – all noise from the outside world is allowed through unhindered). Playback is not automatically paused if you remove one or both headphones from your ear. Bluetooth 5.3 is installed, but only with the inferior AAC codec. If you’re looking for aptX or LDAC, you won’t find them here.
battery pack
The battery life of the 1MORE Fit SE is solid: The 80 milliamp hour (mAh) battery cells in the earbuds are easily enough for 9 to 10 hours of listening to music in a row. With the case, this running time is extended to up to 30 hours. Recharging the individual earphones takes around 90 minutes, and the case itself can be recharged in around two hours using USB-C.
1MORE Fit SE – photo series
1MORE Fit SE – photo series
Price & alternatives
The 1MORE Fit SE normally costs around 80 euros on Amazon. You can currently get the open-ear headphones for just 65 euros, which is a really fair price given the adequate performance. The colors available are black and white.
Your ears will receive even better sound with the slightly more expensive but more powerful Shokz Openfit (test report), which uses the same concept as the 1MORE Fit SE. The new Huawei Freeclip (test report) also left a good impression with their unusual and delicate design. If you don’t want to do without isolation, you will find the test winner of the Jabra Elite 8 Active sports headphones (test report) an almost perfect choice as in-ear headphones.
Conclusion
There’s little we can complain about with the 1MORE Fit SE. We would have liked a slightly smaller case, better audio codecs like aptX or LDAC or a slightly more extensive setting option for the touch controls. However, the open-ear headphones easily make up for these small shortcomings with their great sound, great battery life and simple design as well as an excellent price-performance ratio. Thanks to their design, the headphones are suitable for a lot of things – sports or cycling (due to the need for a sense of hearing in traffic) are among them.