Review: 1MORE MK802 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

Another round with 1MORE and today we have their new Bluetooth edition of their over-ear model, the MK802 wireless headphones. One of two models they have released to the market, breaking into the world of Bluetooth with and expanding on their already proven reputation.

We have actually been playing with these for some time now, but the burn-in process took a number of days to get through, so the playing took a while before we were ready to talk.

The design of the MK802s comes pretty close to the wired older brother, the MK801, in many ways. Not only do you have the overall shape, but just about everything else as well. Really, it’s easier to point out the difference more than the similarities. Ready? Go: “there is a silver accent that runs around the cuffs between the cushion on the enclosure”. Outside of the newly added buttons (since it’s wireless, and wireless headphones need their buttons), well, that’s it. That was easy. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with the original design, so it does just fine with copying it.

Let’s talk about those buttons shall we? The right muff has all the buttons but one. You have a power button at the top that allows you to–(let’s see if you can guess….)–power the headphones on and off with. You can also manually trigger pairing mode by holding it down an additional 5 seconds after turning them on (don’t let go, else the second press will only turn them off). Of course, if you have never paired them before (first time turning them on) or your paired device is nowhere to be found, they go into pairing mode by default once you turn them on.

Next, you have your volume up button that also acts as your next track button if you hold it down. The same applies to the volume down button as well as it will trigger the previous track. Between the volume buttons you have your multi-function button that does what you normally find in a multi-functioning button: you have play, pause, answer call, hang up, decline call (hold it down as a call is coming in) and last number dialed (quickly press twice). Finally you have the last button that features a small soundwave as an icon and represents 1MORE’s app. The instructions say “Download the 1MORE APP and customize settings to your preference”. We originally thought it would trigger the app market and bring you to the app for your phone (Android or iOS), but none of that happens. All we could get it to do was play or pause whatever music app was recently running in the background. The same would happen if paired with a Windows phone.

On the left muff at the very bottom, is a bass switch that allows you to control the level of bass in your ears. You have three modes to pick from and I am sure the results are self-explanatory.

At the bottom of the muffs is where you find a 3.5mm input for switching to wired with and a micro-USB port for charging them with. Both cables are included with the headphones inside the box. The website says the charging adapter is included, but this is not the case (just the cable).

Ad: Buy the 1MORE MK802 Headphones via 1MORE

Both the included 3.5mm cable and the headphones themselves do have a built-in microphone for taking calls with, so you don’t have to worry about which mode you are in when one comes in.

They do offer a burn-in app (1MORE Assistant), available for both iOS and Android, that allows you to burn them in using it as a tool vs trying to produce your own method. A number of manufacturers are beginning to offer this now and as you read above, it does take some time to complete, so you will need a little patience.

Thankfully, it does allow you to pause and resume the process whenever you’d like, which helps. It remembers the headphones you had plugged into it with and stores them under a profile showing their progress. If you have other 1MORE headsets laying around, feel free to plug them in too. In fact, you should be able to do this with any pair of wired (or wireless) headphones you may have.

I will warn you though, keep them far away from your ears while the app is running through its process as it will repeat the same small section of a song over and over for hours on end. Unless you’re a big fan of listening to a faint repetition as background noise, it’s probably best to sit them in the next room over (or a storage closet, like we did).

I haven’t spoken about quality yet. A little important to bring up I guess. A few days ago we had covered the wireless in-ear model 1MORE also recently launched into market along with these. They didn’t do as well in our opinion, but the MK802 on the other hand, did. These over-ear headphones are a lot like their predecessor. It’s easy to say they are the exact same headphones, only wireless and with additional or new electronics inside to compensate for the Bluetooth stream.

They have a pretty addicting range to them, featuring crisp highs, a wide range of mids and a level of bass that would complement just about anything you throw at them. The bass level selection switch on the left muff only adds to that since some users prefer a little more bass than others. You don’t want your classics to sound muddy nor do you want your club genres to sound weak. This helps cover all of those situations evenly.

From Boz Scaggs to Eminem, we spent hours of time listening to these headphones and passing them around. They sound really good and just about everything pops with them, regardless of genre.They tend to have a warm sound to them and when you mix the crisp highs into the pot, result in an enjoyable listening experience.

Now, we have listened to plenty of headphones that sound better than these, but most of them also cost a little (or a lot) more, leaving only a few models within the same range that bea them. This creates a good position for them. The original MSRP is $149, and if you are looking for anything more impressive, you will have to consider brands like Sennheiser, B&W and Bose.

Wireless range is also pretty solid as we were able to distance ourselves by up to 50ft from the streaming device (including walls in the mix) before we began to notice any interruptions. That will allow you to walk around most common homes without having to drag your device with you. You also get up to 15 hours of play time before you have to plug it in for a charge, so that will get you through nearly any kind of day.

Comfort is another winning factor since the muffs are quite soft and don’t seem to result in too much strain after long-term use. They feature a very fine (thin) layer of pleather (vinyl?) and super-soft foam inside. This allows them to gently lay upon the ears while still being able to shut out a small bit of the world around you. They aren’t noise-canceling in any way (although I’m sure 1MORE would own this feature if they moved into this direction with the next model), but they do allow you easily focus on what you’re listening to and less on the distractions around you.

These headphones were tuned by Grammy award-winning sound engineer, Luca Bignardi. Luca is an Italian engineer who has been mixing albums for a handful of artists since 1979. He has his own recording studio and has worked with names like Andrea Bocelli. You can learn more about Luca in the following video or via his website here.

Our Conclusion

The MK802 headphones are a great addition to the 1MORE lineup, allowing them to properly knock upon the door to the Bluetooth market with. They are comfortable, last up to 15 hours before having to charge them again and offer a great range to them. I think they are headed in the right direction with these. They aren’t perfect, but there are very few headphones within the same price range than can beat them out.

I feel that next, we could probably see something from 1MORE that will compete against the next level of over-ear models. Even deeper range, noise-cancellation and so forth. Something that could give Bose a small run for their money. Maybe it’s more of a hope than a prediction, but would prove to be a great road for them. 1MORE seems to be pretty dependable on the R&D side of things and Bose has very little competition in regards to their wireless QuietComfort headphones. I guess time will tell. Until then, the MK802s are a great buy.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

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