The 1More Sonoflow headphones are our pick for the best noise-cancelling headphones for shoppers on a budget despite having a name very similar to that of toilet and macerator manufacturer Saniflo. And now there’s a sequel: the Sonoflow Pro HQ51. As before, they’re exceptionally affordable for noise-cancelling – the retail price is $90 (around £70 / AU$135) and there will be $20 discounts for pre-orders.
The new Sonoflow HQ51s look pretty much identical to the current model, but the ear cushions are leather this time around. The key changes are internal, though, including better battery life and noise cancellation that 1More says surpasses that of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. That’s an ambitious claim, considering Bose’s headphones are actually pretty good and cost more than four times as much (when they were new).
Sonoflow HQ51: Key Features and Specifications
The Sonoflow’s battery life was already impressive at 50 hours, but it’s now even longer: 65 hours with ANC on and 100 hours with ANC off. That’s even longer than the mighty Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 or Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless, which both hit 60 hours and received high praise from us for it. Oh, and again, they cost several times as much as the 1More.
Sound quality should improve, too. There are new 40mm diamond-like carbon drivers that 1More says offer lower total harmonic distortion than the mighty Sony WH-1000XM5, and like Sony’s headphones, the HQ51 support the high-resolution LDAC codec for wireless music.
I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the 1More headphones won't be better than Sony's – we didn't think the current version excelled in terms of sound quality, and while the new drivers will likely sound better, I suspect we'll still be seeing headphones that are just okay rather than amazing.
I think it’s telling that the metric used in marketing is total harmonic distortion – that’s something that’s largely unimportant to the average listener. Total harmonic distortion (THD) is a measure of signal accuracy, but once you get to the tiny distortion levels you’ll find in headphones like the WH-1000XM5, the distortion is inaudible. It’s in other areas where the extra cost of Sony’s headphones is felt.
But we're still looking forward to 1More's new earbuds. The current Sonoflow earbuds are a steal, so getting better noise cancellation and audio for the same money (or even less if you buy them early) is even better. As we said in our Sonoflow review, “You'll find better noise cancellation and sound, but, crucially, not for this price.”
