The 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 Are the Best Cheap True Wireless Earbuds
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Launching this past month, the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 are a noteworthy entry into an already flooded market of cheap wireless earbuds. For less than $50, they boast customizable sound, spatial audio, and onboard noise cancelation at an impulse-buy price. Merging such an array of high-end features into a product this affordable is a big deal, especially considering 1More’s stellar reputation for making high-quality, value-packed wired and Bluetooth earphones.
PistonBuds Pro Q30 Wireless Earbuds
amazon.com
$54.99
On paper, the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 wireless earbuds are a strong contender for the best buy for frugal upgraders looking for a sound upgrade. After spending the past couple of weeks with the latest 1More earbuds as my go-to set, I was pleasantly surprised that they lived up to my expectations.
Scores
Sound: 8/10
Comfort: 8/10
Design: 9/10
Battery Performance: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 at a Glance
Great audio performance for the money
Elegant design
Up to 7.5 hours of battery life
IPX5 water- and sweat-resistant
Sound: 8/10
Before I delve into my impressions of the PistonBuds Pro Q30 audio quality and noise cancelation, it’s important to keep the earbuds’ price tag in mind. I compared them to similar earbuds whose price hovers around $50. Upping your budget into triple-digit territory will almost certainly bring superior specs and better sound, including from other 1More wireless earbuds.
Audio Quality
The PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds impressed me by delivering balanced sound out of the box. The harmony between bass, mid-range, and treble that they produced handily bested the bass-forward sound of their similarly priced competitors. Cheap earbuds typically hide their acoustic shortcomings behind boomy bass, so experiencing balanced audio is rare to say the least.
My go-to tracks for testing audio gear — from classical masterpieces to live jazz performances, all the way to iconic downtempo albums — piped nicely and with plenty of detail through the PistonBuds Pro Q30. Unlike their rivals that cost around $50, and have as noticeable, cost-cutting vibe to them, these buds made me feel like I was rocking out with a pricier pair.
And the 1More Music companion app has an excellent set of tools for customizing the earbuds’ sound. Among them are presets tailored for various types of content and a mode to create and save custom settings by tinkering with an equalizer. During my testing, I mostly used a studio preset, which gave me the balanced audio mentioned above.
Available via a toggle button in the companion app, spatial audio made anything I was playing sound more immersive. The feature doesn’t require Dolby Atmos-enhanced content to work — I found it to be particularly handy for streaming video and listening to recordings of live music, contexts in which the sounds could be coming from different, distinct directions. Studio tracks sounded better in traditional stereo.
Another bit I like about the earbuds’ companion app is the selection of soothing soundscapes it offers. You can focus or unwind by listening to rainfall, a waterfall, or a flowing river, among many other options. I found the functionality helpful for intense work sessions.
Sound quality during phone calls was consistently solid during my testing. Participants heard me clearly. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, the earphones maintained a reliable link with an iPhone and a Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Noise Cancelation
The noise cancelation of the PistonBuds Pro Q30 is excellent for an under-$50 pair. The earbuds reduced the rush hour Midtown Manhattan traffic during my walks to the office to a more manageable hum, allowing me to listen to a podcast without cranking up the volume to uncomfortable levels. I had no trouble focusing on work while wearing them, at home or the office, either.
Remarkably and unlike their competitors, the PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds offer three modes of noise cancelation: a strong one that’s great for loud noises and commotion like you might experience while traveling, a mild setting suitable for indoor use, and a mode that’s dedicated to blocking wind noise outside. Best of all, there’s also an adaptive mode that, as its name suggests, takes the guesswork out of choosing the best setting you need. I relied on this setting the most while testing the buds because it adjusted the noise cancelation performance based on my surroundings without me feeling like I needed to take control.
Comfort: 8/10
Weighing 4.6 grams each, the 1More PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds are super lightweight for a set with onboard noise cancelation and spatial audio. Combined with an ergonomic shape and soft ear tips (in several sizes), the buds allowed me to spend hours wearing them without discomfort.
My only gripe is with their touch controls. The touch-sensitive setup relies on taps and long presses you can customize in the 1More Music app. It works, but it’s nowhere near as reliable as the clicky buttons of costlier models.
Design: 9/10
One of the first things that drew me toward the PistonBuds Pro Q30 earbuds is their elegant design, with cylindrical stems and contrasting gold accents. Those latter bits have a softer finish on the white color version.
The design touches set the earphones apart from their rivals, giving them a distinctive, decidedly higher-end look. Whether you’re getting a set for yourself or to gift someone, these are a sound upgrade worth showing off.
The earbuds are water- and sweat-resistant with an official IPX5 rating. That’s higher than the IPX4 rating on much costlier true wireless offerings from Bose, JBL, and Sony. It ensures you can hit the gym or exercise outdoors without killing the buds with sweat or rain.
Battery Performance: 7/10
With noise cancelation on, the PistonBuds Pro Q30 can provide you with up to 5 hours of playback between trips to the charging case. Turning off the core feature can extend the battery endurance by 50% to 7.5 hours on a charge.
While far from amazing, that battery life is perfectly adequate for a featherweight under-$50 set with noise cancelation — and on par with that of similarly priced rivals with fewer features. The USB-C charging case holds several additional charges for up to 30 hours of freedom from cables. Using the buds for a few hours per day, I could easily make it through a workweek without worrying about powering up the case.
Overall: 8/10
By concocting a cool design with comfy fit, customizable sound with optional spatial audio, and dependable noise cancelation for only $50, 1More has set a new standard for budget-friendly true wireless earbuds with the PistonBuds Pro Q30. These are the ones to get if you’re looking for an affordable tech gift without it feeling cheap.
The touch controls and the battery life of the earbuds could be better, but given the price, neither is a dealbreaker. I’ve been testing audio gear for more than a decade, and this is the most competent set of true wireless earbuds I’ve encountered at this price.
Regarding alternatives, upping your budget to around $100 will get you good earbuds from EarFun and Soundcore with Hi-Res Audio capabilities and longer battery life. That said, spending $80 to $100 to upgrade is a substantial 60-100% bump over the sticker of the 1More earbuds.
You can order the PistonBuds Pro Q30 in black or white, with the latter featuring an AirPods-like glossy finish. At the time of writing this review, a coupon for 20% off brings the price of the buds to $40, making them an even more attractive proposition. The stemless 1More PistonBuds Pro earbuds are also a good option for noise cancelation on the cheap if spatial audio isn’t a priority.
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