1More PistonBuds Pro. Pic: Noel Campion.

1More PistonBuds Pro are small and light (4.5g per bud) in-ear buds that offer top of the range features such as IPX5 water and dust proofing, excellent app support and active noise cancellation for those on a small budget.

The PistonBuds Pro are button style buds with a flat, circular outer surface area. The case is the same colour as the buds and features an LED light on the front that’s green when fully charged, yellow at 50%, and red when it’s time to charge it again.

There’s no wireless charging support, so you can only charge them via the USB-C socket around the back of the case.

On my white review unit, the outer surface of the earbuds features a glossy silver colour with the 1More logo. The lid has the same matching colour with the 1More name printed on it in silver. The top and bottom are flat and the rounded edges on either side mean the case can easily slip into a pocket.

Included in the box is a USB-C cable for charging along with three different sized silicone ear tips.

Like any earbud with removable ear tips, it’s essential to find the size that fits you best for comfort and performance. I found the default medium size fitted me best while also providing excellent passive noise isolation and security — I never felt like they’d fall out regardless of the activity. However, the lack of an extra wing element may mean that they’re not ideal for strenuous workouts that may cause them to fall out.

I found the Piston Buds comfortable to wear and easy to take in and out of my ears. They pop in and out of the case easy too and they’re light enough that you forget you’re wearing them after a while.

Sound quality and ANC performance

The 10mm dynamic drivers use an aero titanium membrane that manages to produce excellent results for budget earbuds. They feature the latest Bluetooth 5.2 with support for a low latency mode as well as the ACC and SBC audio codecs. Unfortunately, there’s no aptX or LDAC but at this price, I wouldn’t expect it. The latter is found on the 1More Evo earbuds. A review of those coming here soon.

I tested the Piston Buds on both iPhone and Android devices with similar results since both were using the ACC codec. The sound quality is excellent but not exceptional. They have a good bass response and clear highs. The mids are a little duller but this makes them work for a greater variety of genres.

The buds provide decent passive noise isolation as long as you use the best fitting ear tip for your ears. This also assists the active noise cancellation built into the buds to work even better. I found they were able to block out, or at least mute most of the noise around me when not playing audio. As soon as you play audio, it was hard to hear anything else. While the ANC isn’t best in class, the PistonBuds Pro perform much better than most at this price range.

You can quickly toggle between ANC, ANC off and transparency mode using the touch controls. The transparency mode is especially useful when you’re on a call or if you need to be aware of your surroundings for safety reasons.

The companion app is one of the best I’ve used and comes with a plethora of useful features. These include the ability to customise the touch controls, update the firmware and select any of the 12 EQ presets.

The main screen displays the current state of charge in each bud and the case. Plus, you can disable the wear detection in the app if you don’t like your audio pausing each time you remove the buds from your ears.

1More says the buds should last 7.5 hours on a single charge with ANC off and a total of 30 hours with the charging case. Of course, this will vary based on listening volume. Also, a quick five-minute charge delivers one hour of listening.

The 1More PistonBuds Pro come packed with a lot of excellent features and performance not generally seen in TWS in the price range. While you shouldn’t expect to be blown away by the build or sound quality, the addition of decent ANC performance and the latest Bluetooth 5.2 make them easy to recommend for casual listeners who don’t want to spend big money on a pair of wireless earbuds.

1More PistonBuds Pro priced from €56 at Amazon

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