Nothing Headphone (1) Review: A Great Blend of Design, Comfort, and Sound Quality

Strategic Insights -

Anuj Bhatia spent a week with the Nothing Headphone (1), and here's what he learned about Nothing's first noise-cancelling, over-ear headphones. The design of the Headphone (1) is a perfect blend of vintage and modern elements, with a square shape and rounded corners, reminiscent of classic cassette tapes. The headphones feature 40mm drivers with a nickel-plated diaphragm, rim, and dome, which adds rigidity and improves clarity in the highs and power in the bass. The sound quality is pleasing to the ears, rich, and well-balanced, with clear vocals.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Nothing Headphone (1) has a unique, vintage-inspired design that appeals to those with a particular taste.
  • The headphones are comfortable to wear, even for long periods, and feel well-balanced with a weight of 329 grams.
  • Nothing has ditched touch controls entirely on the Headphone (1) in favour of physical ones, which are cleverly executed.
  • The sound quality is pleasing to the ears, rich, and well-balanced, with clear vocals, though it falls slightly short of delivering pure audio quality.
  • The noise-cancelling is top-notch, and the transparency mode is equally good, allowing for quick conversations and hearing announcements on trains and airplanes.
  • The battery life is pretty decent for over-ear noise-cancelling headphones, with up to 35 hours of listening time at moderate volume levels.
  • The Nothing X app offers a clean and easy-to-use interface, with features like ear-detection sensors, spatial audio mode, and multipoint Bluetooth pairing.
  • The Headphone (1) is a premium pair of headphones with features that are high-end, though many have now become standard across over-ear models.

Statistics:

  • The Headphone (1) weighs 329 grams.
  • Battery life is up to 35 hours with noise-cancelling turned on at moderate volume levels.
  • Battery life is up to 80 hours with noise-cancelling turned off.
  • A five-minute charge gives you 2.4 hours of battery life with ANC on.
  • The headphones support both AAC and LDAC audio codecs, though LDAC isn't supported on the iPhone.
  • The ear cushions are oil-resistant and offer comfortable memory foam.

Sources:

  • Nothing X App (iOS and Android)
  • KEF Sound Technology
  • Sony Walkman
  • iPod
  • Bowers & Wilkins P5
  • Apple AirPods Max