Comment: Headphones without retro style (1) are more important than style

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Headphone releases rarely create a huge buzz alone. That’s what Nothing Headphone (1) does.

These wireless cans combine old-fashioned aesthetics with modern features, with full attention from enthusiasts and hypes, and have an affinity for stylishly made audio products. Well, I highly recommend your backfire expectations.

The headphones (1) reward you with strong active noise cancellation, battery life and sound. The transparent design of no one doesn’t suit everyone, and those who find it will be happy or disappointed when unpacked. These headphones are also rough around the edges.

Come and see what I’m talking about.

No headphones (1) Wireless headphone specifications and settings

The headphones (1) have an impressive specification sheet. See for yourself.

• Speaker driver unit: 40mm

• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 40,000 Hz

• Adaptive active noise cancellation

• 4-MIC AI-enabled environmental noise cancellation

• KEF Acoustic Engineering

• Bluetooth 5.3 with high resolution audio, LDAC and USB-C lossless playback

• IP52 dust and waterproof

• 35 hours battery on with ANC / 80 hours off with ANC

• 5 minutes of fast charging equals 5 hours of listening time (ANC off)

• Color: Black and White

Pairing is both simple and unique. These headphones have something I’ve never seen before – the Bluetooth button is carefully hidden in the lower right of the right ear cabinet. Powering on the headset will enable pairing mode to be connected to iOS/MACOS or Android devices; the latter utilizes a quick pairing of Google.

The Nothing App (iOS/Android) grants access to various personalized features and supports firmware updates.

There is nothing to develop a single control solution for seamless operation. All controls are placed on the right ear cabinet. There is an action button on the front to assign advanced features (e.g., Digital Assistance, EQ Prest, MIC MUTE). The real attraction is the roller that adjusts the volume by scrolling left or right. It even is a multi-function button that activates listening mode and playback. Below the roller is the call management and quick forward/rewind paddle. Everything is normal.

A detailed but polarized design

This design is not for everyone. Most importantly, the headphones don’t look as cool as news images. This doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate any exquisite creativity with nothing.

A retro look may not be everyone’s tea.
Image source: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

Details are everything, headphones (1) won’t be missing them. The clean white box inside has a headphone printing with reliefs, exuding a minimalist artistic atmosphere. The oval cassette cassette evokes Sony Walkman’s memories, and the rectangular earmuffs are a nice callback to the old-fashioned home audio headsets. Small touches such as corner arms and dot marks showcase the brand’s chic craftsmanship. IP54 certified protects the headphones from dust, sweat and water splashes.

Unfortunately, the headphones (1) are bulky and heavy (11.6 oz). When the ear cups are rotated, they bend together, and over time, the work of the metal coating will fragment.

Very loud, even more noise-free

Headphones (1) won’t win any fever prizes. Nevertheless, KEF adjusted the sound field to produce a satisfactory combination of lows, middles and highs.

The sound is mostly pleasant. Improved it with EQ. You can choose to create a sound profile by manually adjusting the frequency or selecting from four presets: balance (default), more bass, more treble and voice. More trebles provide the most stable sound.

You need to adjust the equation.
Image source: Alex Bracetti / Mashable

On the “walking contradiction” of Green Day, electric guitar riffs and eye-catching drums have an impact, putting me in mind mode. The “Ooh la la” running the jewelry has a huge reverb highlighted with huge bass, and each sporadic snare strike extends and rots. The mid-to-high points are good. Folks like Mariah Carey’s “We Are” convey a bright and clear voice that is highlighted as the singer exercises her pitch range in Outro.

Android devices provide the best listening experience with LDAC. Audio codecs stream music at high bitrates and keep the nuances of the original recordings. Spotify songs rang on my MacBook Pro, but they got a high resolution boost on my OnePlus 11 without a phone (3) smartphone. The same goes for all other content. Enable low hysteresis mode reduces latency when watching videos.

The headset supports lossless playback via USB-C connection is also great. I noticed that there was a big difference in clarity with Apple Music Tracks when plugging in a MacBook Pro. There is nothing that will make you like the spatial audio mode in Apple or Bose’s 3D audio format, but if you want a theater-like acoustics, that’s acceptable.

Nothing better than I expected real-time adaptive ANC to perform better. This technology suppresses various sounds throughout the spectrum. Common disturbances such as chatty pedestrians and household appliances have not attracted attention. Minimize the treble sounds (e.g., crying babies, sirens, whistles). I use transparency mode religiously at home, especially when cooking. The microphone picks up the vocals clearly, making it easy to communicate with the lady in the room. This feature is the most useful outdoors. I could hear people walking behind me, cars coming from a block.

The ANC playback time is reasonable (35 hours), although more than double the life span (up to 80 hours) when the battery is turned off. Usage of fast charging maximization: Five minutes of charge will incur five hours of listening time (ANC off).

Unrotted areas and other problems

The headphones (1) show many defects. Connectivity in multipoint mode (the audio stutters a few feet away from my main device). Short 3.5mm and USB-C cables are not practical for desktop/laptop use. Wear inspection works hardly, and when it does, there is always a three-second delay.

Another problem that must be solved is that the headset cannot fold. This makes them less convenient to carry and expose certain parts to damage.

Is there no headphones (1) worth it?

If you are a fan of brand lover or fan of retro-looking headphones who want enough ANC and sound, then Nothing Headphone (1) is enough. Everyone else wants to consider other advanced options.

KEF’s Soundstage brings depth and richness to most tracks. Using EQ playback can bring you better results, while lossless playback can improve audio performance. I was shocked by the effectiveness of ANC on these headphones. The technology neutralizes unwanted noise neutralization at a high level and increases environmental awareness in transparency mode. Toys for a long time also come in handy when traveling.

My controversial view is that the headset (1) looks better than the actual release. They look attractive, some elements are attractive, but they themselves don’t have the same charm as ads. Given their shortcomings, we are talking about questionable investments.