There’s nothing unsuitable with purchasing for low-cost headphones. Once I say low-cost, I don’t imply quality-wise; I’m speaking MSRP. We discovered the Sony ZX Sequence wired headphones to be among the best underneath $25 scores on the market — and now, we’re including the 1More Piston Match to that listing as effectively.
These inexpensive earphones may appear to be one thing you’d discover on Temu, however they provide extra in efficiency and magnificence than most fashions listed underneath $100.
Versatile audio and compatibility in a glossy design make these $11 earphones a pleasant discount pickup and stocking stuffer for the vacations.
I used to be initially meant to profile the 1More Piston Traditional till notified of their discontinuation and lack of availability. My pair additionally broke after a number of years of use. Looking for an alternate, I searched for affordable earbuds on Amazon and found the Piston Match.
My current experiences with the model have been principally optimistic. The PistonBuds Professional are among the finest price range earbuds I’ve examined, and I share that very same sentiment about these customary wired earphones.
1More deserves reward for the way effectively the corporate engineered these earphones. Beneath the hood lies highly effective dynamic drivers that ship wealthy, clear audio highlighted by highly effective bass.
The nice and cozy sound profile enhances fashionable music genres like EDM, hip-hop and psychedelic rock. Present favorites like Tame Impala’s “New Particular person, Identical Outdated Errors” sounded implausible. The distorted drums and grumbling bass line produced gnarly reverb that hit my low-end candy spot. These earphones dealt with the monstrous bass response on Dr. Dre’s “Kush” a lot better than I anticipated. The pulsating drums slapped arduous and didn’t overpower issues, leaving sufficient room for the intricate synths and stabbing piano keys to breathe over the booming manufacturing.
Classical and jazz music lovers may also discover the Piston Match’s sound high quality appropriate for orchestral recordings. Artwork Blakey’s “Alongside Got here Betty” was a serene hear that created crisp, peaceful-sounding cymbal faucets and soothing horn play. The instrument separation on Donald Byrd’s “Wind Parade” was higher than I’ve heard on among the finest true wi-fi earbuds. All the pieces from the calm wind chimes to the melodic bass line to the delicate violins sounded energetic and clear.
Stylish, compact and cozy completely describe the Piston Match’s design. The aluminum casing is sturdy and has a pleasant shine impact to it that accentuates the branding. You may toss the 0.48-ounce earphones in any carry-on bag or denim pocket and never really feel weighed down. The angled sound port slides into your ears and the physique rests pleasantly on the concha throughout prolonged listens. I felt high quality carrying the earphones for four-hour stretches earlier than fatigue set in.
The Piston Match will work with any media machine carrying a headphone port. I used them with my iPhone 14, MacBook and totally different Android smartphones through an adapter. Apple’s Lightning connector allowed for Apple Music lossless sound, however the high quality was simply respectable.
I used to be extra impressed with what I heard from the OnePlus 11. Pairing the earphones with one other under-$25 rating, the Anker USB-C to three.5mm audio adapter resulted in brighter sound with clearer mids and highs. Enabling the OnePlus 11’s spatial audio mode amped up the sonics. The placing snares on the Mary Jane Ladies’ “All Night time Lengthy” smacked my eardrums and stimulated head nods, whereas the emphasised vocals made the soulful hook extra intimate.
Spatial audio by means of the Piston Match didn’t work effectively on all tracks. Bass on Frank Ocean’s “Swim Good” was bloaty and affected readability. Efficiency was barely higher when streaming on high-resolution platforms like Tidal, however solely a skilled ear will pinpoint frequency enhancements.
Usability is one other spotlight on these earphones. The one-button management module enables you to function totally different features, together with playback/name administration (single press), skip observe (double press), earlier observe (triple press) and digital help (lengthy press). Sure, you’ll be able to activate your machine’s native assistant (Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby), and the characteristic works effectively to execute primary instructions like “open Gmail” and “play music on Spotify.”
An audio product this cheap is all the time going to have some imperfections. Noise isolation isn’t the perfect, so that you’ll wish to use these earphones in quiet settings to devour audio totally. The wire tangles simply and is extraordinarily delicate; a slight yank will rip it from the three.5mm plug. Lastly, 1More may have thrown in a canvas pouch for cover.
These are affordable criticisms. Nevertheless, the Piston Match’s nice consolation, compatibility and sound high quality make them a stable buy for those who want a dependable backup when their AirPods run out of juice.
