Nothing Headphones are a must-see, but are they a must-buy?

For the longest time, I was that person on the bus. No headphones, no music, just me, and the entertainment of staring out the window, deep in thought.

That was until I inherited a pair of Sony headphones, wearing them for the better part of a year before graduating to a convenient pair of AirPods. Suddenly, my world was filled with music, averaging about 41 days of Spotify listening per year.

I began craving another good pair of headphones since my trusty Sony pair began showing their age. That's when the opportunity came to try the Nothing Headphone (1).

The unique, transparent design of Nothing's entry into the market struck a chord with me immediately, but are they all style and no substance? Here are my honest thoughts.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

Nothing Headphone (1)

Was $509, now $431

First impressions: a transparent design masterpiece?

I like to think I'm not self-centred, but people were definitely staring. I kid you not. The first day I wore these out, I caught a few more lingering glances on the way to work. The headphones piqued the interest of colleagues and friends, too. The responses were polarising – some loved the design, some called it "stupid".

And you can't blame them. The headphones have a blocky design that features a transparent casing on either side of the ears that looks inspired by a cassette tape. They stand out like a sore thumb in a sea of monotonous dark blue and black, rounded headphones.

The headphones feel premium with great materials, look simultaneously futurist and retro, and the earcups were surprisingly comfortable upon first use. However, beauty has its burdens. At 329g, these headphones are a bit on the heavier side. While comfortable for an hour or two, I did notice the weight during longer listening sessions – but generally, it was actually quite tolerable and even still comfortable.

I also like resting headphones around my neck, and their heft was noticeable after a while of sitting there. Then, there's the case. It's large, and has a peculiar carpet texture. It protects the headphones well, but it takes up quite a bit of space in your bag.

All that to say, upon first impressions, I was really happy with the headphones.

The joys of tactile and easy controls

This is where I fell in love. Nothing has blessed us with tactile buttons that feel incredibly intuitive and distinct from other brands.

The star of the show is an analogue scroll wheel for volume that's precise and makes satisfying clicks when you use it. Below it is a paddle button for skipping or scrubbing through tracks, which was also easy to use.

My only qualm was the occasional unresponsiveness. A few times, a click to skip a song didn't register on the first try. It was a minor annoyance, but worth nothing.

The Nothing X app is also an adjacent software experience that is clean and easy to use. Inside the app, you can access different presets, customise controls, and tamper with an expansive equaliser. If you own a Nothing Phone too, the integration is even tighter with unique features (although not necessary).

I had a play around with the app on an iPhone, Samsung and Nothing phone and the experience is all equally seamless and valuable.

Good sound quality, but not mind-blowing

Let's get this straight: these headphones sound good. The 40mm dynamic drivers, tuned by audio experts at KEF, offer a clean sound. These things get loud without distorting, which is a huge plus. But out of the box, they weren't mind-blowing. In fact, they sounded a little bit flat at first.

The active noise cancellation (ANC) is decent as well. It tunes out low-frequency hums and background noise well, like in the office at work or my computer fan while I'm playing games (offering punchy audio in that case, too). One other thing to mention, there's a weird exhale sound when you turn ANC off. It is a touch weird at first but I got used to it.

Nothing claims their ANC can cut noise by up to 42dB, it doesn't achieve a total blackout from the outside world – especially on a morning commute. That was until I started tinkering with the equaliser and blasting music a little bit louder than usual. I found that while listening to soundtracks from shows, movies or games, they actually did a great job at blocking out sound. But I rarely listen to music that loud.

Overall, I can confidently say the performance is good, but not mind-blowing. If you're an audiophile, you might find better sound from other competitors at the same price or lower. With Nothing, you're paying for design first, quality second. Still, they were enjoyable to use, sounded great to me, and I liked playing around with the EQ.

Who should buy these headphones?

The Nothing Headphone (1) isn't trying to be the best at any single thing, except for design. Instead, it offers a well-rounded experience for the general user – albeit at a higher price range.

If you want your tech to look unique with a fun design, then these headphones are for you. The endurance of the headphones is also a standout, promising up to 80 hours of playback with ANC off and 35 hours with it on. Plus, its IP52 rating for sweat and dust resistance made them perfect for me at the gym.

If, however, your only metric is the absolute best sound per dollar and you don't care about aesthetics, you may want to look elsewhere. For everyone else, and for me personally, I found the Nothing Headphone (1) to be a refreshing, exciting and highly reliable daily companion.

Nothing Headphone (1) at a glance

Nothing Headphone (1) price: $479 via Nothing store

Nothing Headphone (1) colour options: Black and White

Nothing Headphone (1) specs: 40mm dynamic drivers, up to 80 hours (ANC off), 329g weight, up to 42dB NC, IP52 water and dust resistance

Nothing Headphone (1) features: Dual Bluetooth connectivity, good sound quality, transparent design, physical controls, custom EQ via Nothing X app, spatial audio

Does Nothing have earphones? Nothing offers a range of earbuds including the Nothing Ear, Nothing Ear (a) and Nothing Ear (open)

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