admin I’ve been through stacks of earbuds and headsets in my life, eventually building up to the big dogs, such as the AirPods Max. Despite all the flash of Apple’s audio gear, I’m a full-on Nothing convert these days. Their products are visually striking, but you don’t need to break the bank to get premium features. If you’re scouring Black Friday deals right now and have a decent budget to play with, the Nothing Headphones (1) will leave you enough money to buy some games with, too.
If you haven’t heard of Nothing or its sub-brand CMF, let me catch you up. The brand is still going strong since its inception in 2020, with Carl Pei serving as its founder. If you were a big OnePlus fan back in the day, then you’ll likely remember Pei as the bright-eyed, enthusiastic presence across all their presentations. The approach is similar to OnePlus here, bringing you high-end gear that doesn’t require a small fortune to acquire. We’re not talking about shelling out over half a grand for the best headsets or earbuds on the market.
With 40% off, you can get the Nothing Headphones (1) for $239/£179, down from $299/£299. At full price, that’s already cheaper than the AirPods Max $549/£449 asking price. This piece of kit is fairly young for Nothing’s product range. Our Nothing Headphones (1) review is only four months old at this point, in which we give them a glowing 9/10. Since getting hold of them myself, I haven’t looked back.
The immediate impression of them is that they’re defined by a bold aesthetic, focusing on showing their inner workings. It’s like peering into a machine, seeing how the cogs turn. But beyond the eye candy, these cans pack a punch on the audio front.
Accompanied by the Nothing X app, you can tailor your audio experience to your liking. Custom hearing profiles, equalizer tweaks, spatial audio. It’s all there to be tinkering with. While apps for headphones are becoming more common, few brands are going to the lengths that Nothing is. Software updates are regularly dispensed in the app, requiring just a Bluetooth connection to administer them. I’m someone who prefers to use a flat EQ profile for any pair of headphones. This way, the hardware can do the talking, rather than hiding behind settings that favor certain frequencies.
The Nothing Headphones (1) are a fantastic all-rounder on this front. LDAC support is a welcome addition, barely eating into the sturdy battery life. Bass isn’t overpowering but present enough to be impactful, while the mids aren’t a muddy mess. Treble tones aren’t shrill, but they’re clear enough to cut through. Regardless of what I’m listening to, they’re excellent. I reckon they’re just as good as the AirPods Max or the highly popular Sony WH-1000XM5. But they’re also a secret weapon for gaming, too.
With a built-in low-lag mode, dual connection functionality, and custom controls, you can turn this into a great headset for gaming. Bluetooth between my ROG Ally and Nintendo Switch is seamless, with the Nothing Headphones (1) easily determining which device to connect to. I do wish you could sync three devices, but that’s a small nitpick. My custom button setup lets me swap through ANC and spatial audio quickly, ensuring I can hear my girlfriend tell me to shut up when I’m crashing out on ARC Raiders on the sofa across from her.
In my gaming sessions, I dare say these headphones stand up well against my SteelSeries Arctis 7+ headset. Discerning enemy footsteps in FPS games isn’t hard, with clear separation to find out where shots are coming from. But what about the microphone? Being the butt of the joke in any voice chat is always down to this aspect. You won’t be getting broadcast-level results here, let’s be clear. Nevertheless, I find this element to be mostly serviceable, if slightly tinny.
ANC is deceptively effective for the price, though. Walking to the local shop with the ‘high’ setting enabled blocks out background noise to a tee, while transparent mode keeps me aware of my surroundings while browsing in the supermarket. If you can’t stand chatter and the bustle of public transport, you can easily be put in your own little world.
There are plenty of Black Friday offers to sort through; I get it. But if you’re in the market for a solid set of headphones that threaten to dethrone the bigger brands, the Nothing Headphones (1) are worth your attention.
