It's hard to make a splash in the personal audio space these days, but the Nothing Headphone (1) manage to instantly stand out. I mean, just look at them. Their boxy, minimalist design sets them apart from nearly everything else on the market. Though they fit right at home with the brand's similarly styled smartphones and earbuds, this funky look is sure to be a "love it or hate it" feature.
But there's a lot more to these over-ear headphones than just a divisive aesthetic. Their comfort is top-notch, their wealth of connectivity options is a breath of fresh air, and they deliver good audio performance.
I've been reviewing headphones for more than a decade, so I've tested all of the top models from brands like Bose, Sony, Sonos, and Apple. The Headphone (1) are good enough to be in the conversation with the best headphones out there. More importantly, they have many of the same features you'd get with those top-tier options, but undercut them in price. At $299, they're a tempting buy for a variety of needs, so long as their singular style suits your tastes.
The Nothing Headphone (1) instantly stand out thanks their retro-inspired, minimalist design, but there's also plenty of substance beneath their unique style. The headphones deliver good sound quality and solid ANC performance at an attractive price.
- Detailed sound
- Eye-catching design with physical controls
- Comfortable fit
- Good ANC performance
- Poor carrying case
- Lackluster call quality
- Needs power to use 3.5mm cable
- Design won't be for everyone
The square design is eye-catching, but still comfortable
Addressing the elephant in the room, yes, these headphones ditch circular ear cups for a more rectangular retro-inspired design that fits in perfectly with the brand's established style, which is also present in the company's phones and earbuds. Though this look is at odds with most over-ear headphones, it doesn't affect their fit or feel. In fact, these are some of the most comfortable headphones I've used.
This is primarily due to the soft foam in the ear cups and headband. The smooth material coating them also goes a long way toward making them feel as if they've disappeared while wearing them.
I've received mixed reactions to the headphone's unique shape and semi-transparent look from people of various age groups. No one was shocked by them, but my teenage daughter did offer a disgusted face at first sight. Other people were mostly indifferent, commenting that they were "neat" or looked "fine." Based on my daughter's reaction, I do wonder if they skew more masculine, despite being color agnostic. They come in white or black at launch.
Personally, I think the headphones strike a good balance between eye candy and subdued elegance. That is to say that they'll surely get noticed in public, but probably aren't quirky enough to have people constantly asking you what they are or where you got them.
The headphones have the specs and controls to back up their flashy look
The Nothing Headphone (1) aren't just about appearances. They also have functional design touches that work well. The controls, in particular, are excellent. There's a volume roller and track rocker on the right ear cup. You slide your finger left and right over the roller to change the volume. It feels great, really natural, and tactile.
However, I do wonder why the direction wasn't up and down on the roller instead. The rocker paddle underneath the roller is easy to feel for and tap left or right. Supposedly, holding it down in either direction will activate fast forward or reverse scrubbing, but I couldn't get that to work with an iPhone using Apple Music or Spotify.
But as great as those intuitive media controls are, my favorite design touch is actually the headphones' physical switch for power. It's a tiny detail but critical to everyday use. Nearly all headphones nowadays use a button for power, and depending on how long you press it, this same button is often used to activate Bluetooth pairing. As such, I'm never sure how long to hold a button to turn a pair of headphones on and off. This switch eliminates that problem.
To round out the controls, there's an extra button on the exterior right cup, open to be customized. It's set to activate your voice assistant by default, but using the Nothing X app allows you to change it. I made it the ANC toggle and found that to be perfect.
Under the hood, the Headphone (1) feature 40mm dynamic drivers with a frequency range of 20Hz-40KHz, and they support AAC, SBC, and LDAC audio codecs. Six microphones are built-in to enable real-time adaptive ANC, four of which are used for voice calls.
The battery life is listed at 35 hours with ANC on or 80 hours with it off. You can ignore the 80-hour number as you'll only want to use these with ANC or transparency enabled. Once the battery dies, they charge quickly in 120 minutes, as advertised.
They weigh 329 grams but feel lighter in practice. They also have multi-device support, on-ear detection, and an IP52 water and dust rating. The latter should make them safe for commuting during inclement weather, but they're not suitable for use with dripping sweat while at the gym.
I love that these headphones support listening via Bluetooth, a 3.5mm cable, or USB-C audio. Most of the time, wireless will be sufficient, but having extra options is always nice. That said, they still require power when using a wired connection, which is a bummer if you want to listen with a cable as a backup when the battery has died.
If there's one reason to be mad at these headphones, look no further than the case. It's woolly, scratchy, and just kind of sucks. Touching it nearly makes my skin crawl. The Headphone (1) case is similar to the Sonos Ace case. I don't like either of those cases because of the texture. The zipper isn't smooth to open or close either. More companies should look into magnetic closures and copy what Sony did with its WH-1000XM6 case.
Audio quality is mostly neutral, but bass lovers won't be left out
Stylish headphones with no brains would be disappointing. Luckily, the Headphone (1) sound good, providing ample substance to go with their flashy style. The headphones' acoustics have actually been developed in partnership with KEF, a company known for high-end audio products.
The resulting sound profile is neutral and pleasing, but does lack some personality. They aren't as vibrant as headphones from Bose or Sony, but they still sound full. I never felt let down by songs with heavy synths, those pounding the kick drum, or ones with thick bass lines. Importantly, the headphones also have great clarity throughout the midrange. Vocals were present and detailed, while instruments like guitars were audible.
All of this talk of the sound is in reference to the default experience with tuning left as is out of the box. But using the Nothing X app, you can heavily tweak the sound via simplified or advanced EQ settings. I'm not against adjusting a headphone's EQ, but I don't think you should need to, so it's great that the Headphone (1) perform well without any tinkering. However, there is a bass enhancement toggle to boost the low-end for people who crave a bit more oomph. This control is also in the Nothing X app and doesn't require knowledge of frequency bands to use.
There's also support for a spatial audio mode, which can transform stereo sound into a "fully immersive experience." In other words, it's a simulated surround sound mode. Head tracking and fixed audio are both options for this spatial setting. I'm generally a fan of spatial music that's specifically been mixed for it, like Dolby Atmos tracks included on services like Apple and Amazon Music, but I don't care for artificially altering stereo playback. I did test this setting for music and movies to give it a chance, and while I didn't find the spatializer egregious, I also didn't find it useful or worth wasting battery life on.
Noise cancellation is strong enough, but making calls is a weak spot
Active noise cancellation has become a make-or-break feature of modern headphones. The Nothing Headphone (1) pass that test with very good noise blocking capabilities. Bose and Sony still reign supreme if you want the very best noise-canceling headphones, but these do an admirable job. I tested them against vacuum noise, café chatter, and airplane cabin ambience, and they muffled each of those enough to keep annoyances away.
For those sensitive to head pressure, the amount of ANC is adjustable, or it can be adaptive to change with your environment. I usually left the headphones on their strongest setting, but the adaptive mode is worthwhile.
When switching to the transparency mode to let outside sounds in, there's a breathy sound effect that gets whispered in your ears. It's creepy and a little unsettling. But the feature does provide good enough awareness to talk to others without voices sounding muted.
Call quality is a highly touted feature of the Headphone (1), but I was disappointed by it when used in a noisy environment. My voice sounded fine when used in a quiet place, but with street noise around, I found my voice to be highly artificial and easy to get lost.
Should you buy the Nothing Headphone (1)?
In terms of raw value, the Nothing Headphone (1) present a compelling offer. They're comfortable, sound good, and are loaded with features. In many respects, I'd be willing to shell out $299 for these before spending more on other flagship options with marginal improvements in ANC and sound.
I don't care for the case material, but that's easy to overlook in the grand scheme of things. The lackluster voice call performance could be the most meaningful downside for people using these in a business setting. For people commuting, traveling, or working from home, there's very little to complain about.
In the end, the headphones' most superficial aspect might be their most important. Do you like how they look? If so, you might have already hit "buy." But if you don't, there's no reason to consider them.
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