Headphone reviews are one of my favorite things to do. Even in just our spare time, my friends and I will sit around and geek out comparing headphones. My favorite thing about headphone reviews is the mystery of reviewing a set of phones from a brand that myself and none of my colleagues have ever tried before. Often times, these unknown brands are unknown for good reason, but other times, you find the hidden gems.. These past few weeks I was given a pair of 1MORE MK802 headphones to review and, to my surprise, we have found a gem.
Aesthetics/Build:
I’d like to start with the aesthetics of the headphones, because typically you’ll see them before you even put them on your head. The look of the MK802’s can be described as bold. They come in either red or blue, with a very premium satin-feeling finish. These are not the kind of headphones that you’ll put on and fade into the background; people are going to notice the pop of color. These are over-the-ear style cups, and one thing I found disappointing is that they do not conveniently fold up into a small easy to transport for factor. Instead, the ear cups can only slide up and down. Thankfully, 1MORE was gracious enough to through in a large enough carrying case, but they will still take up quite a bit of extra room in your backpack or luggage.
Nothing about the aesthetics or build quality says cheap, in my opinion. The chassis, constructed with TR-90 synthetic titanium, feels premium in your hands. The cups, themselves, have comfortable cushion, as I have a rather large head. And while the squeeze is a little more noticeable than most other headphones I frequent- like the Sony MDR-7506- I wouldn’t worry about these falling off at the gym, or even during a light jog. The padding all around the inside of the band is a very soft rubber that is very unobtrusive to the crown on your head. I also really liked the added touch of the Kevlar core 1/8-inch M-M cable with the phone controls that come in the perfectly-matching red or blue. When it comes to the look of any given set of headphones, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
While they stand out a little too much for my personal taste, they are, by no means, tacky, and absolutely do not feel cheaply built.
Functionality:
The 1MORE MK802’s are a pair of headphones that pretty much do everything you could ask for in a modern set of cans. They are primarily advertised as a wireless Bluetooth set of headphones, but can also be ran completely passive, via 1/8-inch cable. They can also be used as a wireless or wired headset for making phone calls. While making phone calls, I was able to hear my caller fairly clear, but multiple people said that I sounded “tinny.” You shouldn’t expect all that much from a microphone with an input opening the size of a flea, anyways.
1MORE has also developed a pretty handy app that contains a burn-in feature. Audiophiles continue to debate up and down how long an actual burn in takes, and by which method of burn in is the best, but just the fact that 1MORE cared enough to add that feature to the phone app shows consumers that they really understand the product. The app allows you to play music stored on your phone through it, with a very intuitive and easy to use EQ system. I actually found that these headphone performed their absolute best when music was played through the 1MORE app with custom equalization. Also included in the app is hearing protection on/off toggle, and overall, I found the app to be well-designed. The one, yet main, issue I did find was that it’s just not quite as convenient enough to replace something like Google Music. The EQ features of the 1MORE app are rendered useless if you stream most of your music via Amazon Music or Pandora.
What I did find that was cool, though, was that the app has a function that allows you to program one of the buttons on the right ear cup to a launch a particular app on your phone. These headphones are very multi-functional. I wouldn’t buy these as a replacement for an actual wireless headset created for making phone calls, but you can’t argue that the utility is a welcomed addition.
Audio Quality:
The most important part of the headphone review, in my opinion, has to do with the audio quality. I ran these headphones, head-to-head, with a set of over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones that I reviewed last year (The VOXOA HD Wireless Headphones) and a pair of wired Bose Sound True headphones. Hands down, the quality of the Bluetooth 4.1 aptX coding that they advertise on the MK802’s made the wireless audio quality superior to the VOXOA’s in every way. From the top of the highs to the bottom of the lows, the 1MORE headphones performed well. I noticed that when the battery was running low I could hear more degradation of clarity, but that is to be expected.
There is a three-position switch on the left ear cup for bass boost, normal bass, or no bass. I honestly can’t think of a reason you would actually listen to any music for pleasure in the minus bass position. It really makes them sound bad. Even the average bass setting is very flat sounding, and this was not only my opinion, but that of everyone I had try them out. There is definitely such a thing as too much bass in headphones, and adjusting the bass switch to the bass boost position gives the headphones the perfect amount of low end. It feels like the ‘bass boost’ setting should have actually been made the normal setting.
Finally, I compared the MK802s to the Bose Sound True Headphones. Just to even the odds, I tested the 1MORE headphones wired against the Bose. Wired is where the MK802 really shine in clarity. I played songs of different genres, back to back, and one thing the 1MORE headphones really excelled in was the panning of left and right. Songs that utilize stereo panning in drum rolls from left to right felt more defined. Overall, I still think the Bose headphones outshone the MK802s, but the difference is razor thin. It’s important to note that the Bose headphones we used to compare were in the same price range, and had absolutely no wireless functionality or ability to make phone calls. When you consider price and utility, the audio quality was so close that I would choose the 1MORE MK802s every day of the week.
Final Reaction:
Full disclosure: the first pair of MK802 headphones that I received had an issue where the battery indicator on my phone showed the battery would not charge above 80%, even after 12 hours of charge. They were very quick to replace them, and the second pair worked flawlessly. I really enjoy these headphones, even if they are a little flashy, but fortunately the quality of the audio lives up to the gaudiness. These are a hidden gem in the grand scope of smaller headphone companies. They are reasonably priced when you compare them to their Beats by Dre wireless counterparts, so all in all, there is not much to complain about. The things keeping them from perfection are in the minor details. If you are going to give it the capability to make phone calls, I’d expect the microphone to be more clear. I’d like them to fold up smaller, making them a bit more portable for storage. I think that the other often overlooked thing that keep this product from perfection is the poor quality of noises that the headphones make, i.e., the 1MORE intro that plays when you turn the headset on, and the female voice saying ‘pairing’ or ‘connected’. These are just cherry-on-top features that the product lacks. Overall, however, these are a great value for someone who needs their headphones to do a little of everything, and still sound great.
Rating: 4/5 Atoms
Review Sample of the MK802 Bluetooth headphones was provided by 1MORE
from Nerd Reactor
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