I spent two weeks in the company of the Nothing Headphone (1) , particular headphones, especially for their design out of the ordinary . Let’s start with the price: €299 , high especially if compared to the best-selling or most famous in the sector: the Sony WH-1000XM. The latest XM6, which we reviewed a month ago , cost €499, but the previous XM5 were now available for €279 online on Amazon, while I’m writing this review. The other day I was passing through Munich airport and in one of those tech shops, not very convenient, inside Terminal 1, there was a basket of WH-1000XM5 for €299. On Aliexpress, from Spain, they can be found for €220-230.
The Sonos or the AirPods Max, which in terms of design are perhaps more of a direct competitor of these Headphones (1), certainly cost more , but more popular models like the Sony are a bitter rival of this new experiment by Nothing. I, first of all, still sporadically use the WH-1000XM3 purchased in 2019 and I will use this model to make some comparisons, especially on noise cancellation and sound.
I’ll start with the price because many of you will surely take it as a reference for the general evaluation of this product, but the other side of the coin also tells us about the first experiment of the London company in the world of over-ear headphones.
Being already compared to sacred monsters like Sony, or AirPods, or maybe some Sennheiser, is no small thing! Too bad my listening experience was mediocre. Even the noise cancellation could be improved. If you are in the world of such products you might not be totally satisfied with the Headphone (1) after trying them, if it is your first purchase you might be more than satisfied, as long as you do not listen to certain musical genres.
THE NOTHING HEADPHONE (1) IN WHITE
ATTENTION :In this review, some problems came out, such as a slightly scratchy and unconvincing bass. Only after testing the headphones and writing and recording the necessary recordings, I discovered that
other “colleagues” had problems , such as defective headphones or similar.
I therefore could not tell you whether the problems I encountered were also due to a manufacturing defect or not, even though they arrived immaculate. Since I am in London these days to discover the new Nothing lineup, I will try to test others and let you know. I have finally got my hands on other models and I can confirm that my impressions were correct, our model was therefore not defective, even though the reports received by the company, both from Italy and EMEA, were not few. I will talk about the audio problems later.AESTHETICS AND DESIGN
The Nothing Headphones (1) look good, very good in fact. They are the most original headphones I have ever seen , although this does not directly mean the most beautiful or well-made. The transparent parts are very fake , designed, it is obvious. The metal is solid, but the plastic inserts already show evident signs or micro-scratches. The imitation leather pads seem well padded and sturdy, but they are not replaceable like in the latest Sony or Sonos. When they get damaged you will probably have to change headphones, even if we are talking about a long time of continuous use.
The dimensions are compact: 173.8 x 78 x 189.2 mm for a weight of 329g , an interesting compromise between solidity and portability. The IP52 certification guarantees resistance to dust and water splashes, a detail not to be taken for granted in this category.
In any case, some parts, such as the metal connection between the headband and the two earcups, are well made with “indestructible” metal inserts. The XM5, for example, often got damaged in this section. Why? Because they couldn’t be closed and were subjected to a lot of pressure in that area. The Headphones (1) also can’t be closed , but with these metal inserts at least they won’t get damaged.
The mechanism for widening the headband, with the metal part that comes out or hides in the protective plastic inserts, is well made and “buttery”, not at all jerky. In these small details you can see that there has been an engineering of the design and aesthetics with an eye to functionality.
SONY VS NOTHING: THE DIMENSIONS
The earcups can obviously rotate , so they are more comfortable when we have the headphones worn “around the neck” or to be stored in the transport case. Like the Sony in fact here too we have a slightly velvety, semi-rigid case, nice to look at and to touch, but huge! The case measures 52 x 220 x 220 mm for 264g , practically doubles the total size.
My XM3 were foldable and this also allowed for a compact case , nice to keep in a backpack. These Headphones (1) have a huge case and I often had to give up carrying them in my backpack, not having enough space available. Perhaps a “handbag” solution like the AirPods Max would have been the perfect compromise between aesthetics and functionality.
Also, the carrying case , although huge, does not allow you to save the opening of the headband: every time you have to close everything. On a day where you happen to take the headphones out 5-6 times, it starts to become frustrating.
SONY VS NOTHING: THE CASES | THE WHITE CABLE
EXTRA: CHARGING CABLES AND JACKS
Small note of disappointment: for a company that focuses so much on design I would have expected an audio jack and a type-c cable for charging in the same color as the headphones , while both the black/gray and white/silver ones have white cables. Ok, saving money during production, but it’s a small detail that many might not be crazy about. Well, I would take the white/silver model just for this aspect , even if I consider this black more elegant and less “dirty”.CONVENIENCE AND PHYSICAL KEYS
Wearing these Headphones (1) we notice that they are well-designed headphones: they adapt to practically every person , the arches as mentioned before are flexible and adjustable and finally they are not very heavy headphones like the AirPods Max , although I have not found all the lightness of my XM3 which however are really “bad plastic”, after 6 years of holding them in my hand they seem worse than some headphones “from Aliexpress”.
But what will make you love the Headphones (1) , or at least it was for me, are the physical controls . There is a Roller (rotating cylinder) that allows you to raise or lower the volume, but also be clicked to play/pause. If we hold it down we switch from active noise cancellation to transparency mode.
There is also a lever, a “Paddle” as Nothing calls it, that we can move in one direction or the other: this allows you to go forward or backward with the music queue and if your music player supports it, also go forward or backward within a song ( scrub function ). With Apple Music, both on iPhone and Android, I have not been able to use this function.
It doesn’t end there because there is a button to call the voice assistant , on the outside, completely customizable via the Nothing X app . On Nothing Phone activate the Channel Hop function to quickly switch between recent audio apps. On the bottom of the right earcup we find the slider for power, the input for the 3.5mm jack and the USB-C for charging. Audio via USB-C is supported for Hi-Res playback up to 24-bit/96kHz . Be careful because if we listen to music via USB-C we lose all control via the app, a shame.NOISE CANCELLATION AND TRANSPARENCY MODE
The Nothing Headphones (1) boast noise cancellation via its 6-microphone system in total (4 for ANC, 2 additional). The real-time adaptive hybrid ANC system scans the environment every 600ms and monitors leaks between the earcup and the ear every 1875ms , promising up to 42dB of reduction (effective up to 2kHz).
Here my doubts begin, although I repeat that they could be caused by a defective model. I spoke with some colleagues who found the cancellation decidedly better than the Sony, even of more recent generation, but with music listening. I instead found it deficient even compared to my XM3s with many years behind them. What I found better is the transparency mode because it made listening much more natural and less distorted/robotic than my XM3s.
Testing colleagues’ models, always to verify that mine were not defective, I still had the same feeling. The Nothings are conservative in canceling, if you use them without listening to music you will notice how people’s speech is clearer and the sound like that of an airplane engine is more evident. I took four planes during the test of these headphones so I think I had enough time to put them under pressure. Furthermore, the cancellation is too influenced by the position of the head and if you press your head against, for example, a wall of the plane, or the train, you risk having an annoying sound. LISTENING TO MUSIC: SOME DOUBTS ABOUT BASS
Even for this chapter there remains a question mark: the Nothing Headphone (1) boast a photonic collaboration with KEF , not just any brand in the audio world. This collaboration promises optimal tuning and “perfect” listening without the need for special equalizations. The 40mm dynamic drivers with 16Ω impedance and nickel-plated diaphragm should guarantee a frequency response of 20Hz-40kHz with Hi-Res Audio and LDAC certification .
Everything should work idyllically out of the box, at most we recommend the Bass Enhance function or Head Tracking for a more immersive experience with 3D spatial audio .
From my tests, however, I did not have this pleasant experience of stock. The only way to avoid the headphones crackling was to find a fine equalization that took about two hours to be refined, and a rather deep knowledge (which I did not have either, thanks Perplexity AI for the help eheh) . In any case, I always had to leave the Bass Boost function and the Head Tracking deactivated because in those cases the audio always crackled on the bass , even with rather common songs such as a Bad Bunny reggaeton on DtMF, a Post Malone on White Iverson but also a You Rock My World by Michael Jackson.
During my usual tests of earphones and headphones I usually put the bass under pressure with hyperpop like that of 100 Gecs with songs like “hands crushed by a mallet” or “Pombachu” by Cake Pop & Dylan Brady, but here it would have been therapeutic obstinacy. I was only able to listen to these songs by deactivating all third-party settings and setting the equalization to “VOICE” or with the one customized by me, which however cut the legs off the audio in general a bit, resulting in a volume slightly lower than usual.
Of course, we are talking about the first headphone type headphones for Nothing, but I would not have expected these problems, like mine or that of other colleagues, with defective models. I hope that the models for sale are tested more thoroughly and with a higher quality control, otherwise this risks being a “minefield”.
NOTHING HEADPHONE BASS TESThttps://tuttu.io/embed/2yTXU6rj
SONY WH-1000XM3 BASS TEST
Always comparing myself with other people who have tried them, many boasted a fantastic listening quality , which left me rather doubtful. The truth is that it depends a lot on your needs, tastes and musical genres that you listen to. For soul, a generic pop or the songs from Sanremo of the moment are fine, already if you put some summer hits with a reggaeton base you risk finding yourself facing some limits.
The advice I was given is to lower the audio to around 60-70% , but I find this a non-solution , especially when some Sonys from six/seven years ago don’t have the slightest problem at 100%. Also because a hyperpop song even at 50-60% continues to have problems, while on the Sonys even at 100% there is no problem.TOP AUTONOMY AND CONNECTIVITY
The battery life of the Nothing Headphone (1) is fantastic: up to 80 hours without ANC and 35 hours with ANC active (with AAC codec). With LDAC the numbers drop to 54 and 30 hours respectively . The quick charge is impressive: 5 minutes for 2.4 hours of listening with ANC or 5 hours without ANC . A full charge takes 120 minutes with the 1040mAh battery .
Connectivity is also excellent with a stable Bluetooth 5.3 (10m range), dual-device connection present and a very smooth switch between one device and another, a factor that is obvious but not too much. The supported codecs include AAC, SBC and LDAC with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair compatibility. We obviously have the Nothing X app through which you can control each parameter with 8-band EQ or download improvement updates.CONCLUSIONS AND PRICE
The Nothing Headphones (1) represent an ambitious debut in the world of over-ear headphones , with a distinctive design and high-level technical features on paper. The collaboration with KEF, the exceptional battery life and the innovative physical controls are undeniable strengths. However, the problems encountered with the bass and noise cancellation raise questions. At €299 they are positioned in a competitive range where the competition is fierce, and where every defect is amplified. Let’s hope that Nothing solves these teething problems, because the potential is there.
If you are looking for your first pair of over-ear headphones and for you design is essential, you find this type of touch control quite comfortable or simply want something that is also beautiful as a design accessory, these Nothing Headphones (1) are for you, as long as you don’t listen to certain types of music (or do it with manual equalization).
If you are already inside this audiophile world then perhaps you could be disappointed from the start. Even if you travel often the case and the fact that they are not foldable might not make you love them. We will keep them in testing, hoping for some update that improves the audio compartment!