Nothing Headphone (1) review: Not bad, but definitely quirky£299, nothing.tech
London-based Nothing has made a name for itself with its distinctive Nothing Phone, aimed at people who want something a little different to what the tech giants offer. Headphone (1) is the company’s first full-sized headphone model, following on from its range of earbuds, and it enters into a crowded marketplace of around-£300 models offering a bunch of tech on top of hi-fi sound.
But are the Nothing headphones just about looks, or is there serious sound packed into these cassette-shaped cans?

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The headphones come in black or white, with the white model more clearly emphasising the use of transparent casing and design touches that have a retrofuture feel. Build quality is impressive and blends plastic, aluminium and soft leather pads which sit comfortably over your ears but do not appear to be user-replaceable. At 330g the headphones are solid enough to feel like a premium product yet still light enough not to feel like they are weighing you down.
The battery life is excellent, with a two-hour full charge giving 80 hours with noise cancelling off and 35 with it on, and 54 / 30 hours respectively when streaming using the higher resolution LDAC as opposed to the standard AAC Bluetooth codec. A five-minute fast charge produces 2.4 / 5 hours of playback, depending on ANC. These numbers, which I find to be accurate, mean you’ll not need to worry about recharging even on particularly long journeys. For comparison, Apple’s ageing AirPods Max only manage 20 hours, the Sonos Ace 30 and Sony’s latest around 32, all with ANC on.
Image: Press
The headphones pair easily with up to two devices – the pairing button is somewhat hidden – and Nothing has opted for physical controls rather than the touch-based tactile controls many other manufacturers choose. This is simply a different approach, and there’s nothing wrong with touch except its occasional inaccuracy, but here the controls are a breath of fresh air. Configurable in the app – more on this momentarily – they all live on a single cup and quickly become familiar with use.
First up is the Roller, which works as a combo control. Pressing it and press-and-hold can be assigned to playback and cycling ANC and transparency modes, while rolling it works as a volume control. Then there’s the Paddle, which can skip tracks and answer calls, while press-and-hold here is fast forward and rewind, which you don’t always get as physical options. Then there’s the Button (Nothing keeps the names simple), which triggers your voice assistant and, if you have a Nothing Phone, can cycle through recent audio apps or favourites.
The audio side of the headphones has been developed with hi-fi specialists KEF, and there’s honestly a lot going on here in terms of customisation and playback. You’ll want to get a pretty tight seal of the cups around your ears for optimum playback – not uncomfortably so, but with cancelling on, the mics analyse both inside and outside the cups and adjust continually. Initially, wearing them quite loosely, I find the sound fluctuates in character a little, but this is solved by achieving a snug fit.
The 40mm dynamic drivers have a frequency response of 20 Hz – 40 kHz, topping out far higher than the human ear. We find quite a variation in the sound depending on how we configure the headphones in the app, which provides a bunch of tweaking and tuning options. Listening with active noise cancelling switched on, at any of its levels, provides a well-rounded soundstage with a pleasing balance of low, mid and high frequencies and solid separation. Switching ANC off, however, drops a significant amount of the bottom end out, sounding somewhat thinner.
EQ. Image: MusicTech
Switching on the Bass Enhance control at about 2 or 3 out of five stops returns the richness to the sound. Then there’s also a comprehensive EQ stage you can use to further shape the signal; an eight-band parametric system in which you can save presets, a ‘simple’ option with several presets, or a custom mode where you can draw in your own EQ shape. Combining the ‘wrong’ settings, say full ANC plus bass boost, gives incredibly boomy results, but finding a combo that works best for you shouldn’t take too long.
Headphone (1) also offers wired listening modes, more rarely encountered on wireless headphones but extremely welcome. In addition to a 3.5mm analogue connection, uncompressed digital USB-C is listening, with both cables supplied in the box. The hierarchy here works as you’d expect, with LDAC wireless offering a small but noticeable uptick in sharpness and detail over the standard AAC, then analogue and USB-C a little more again. These aren’t huge leaps but are definitely noticeable, plus wired modes also offer more volume when pushed right to the maximum.
The aforementioned noise cancelling, powered by a total of six microphones, while not quite up there with Sony’s latest, is still impressive, especially on its highest setting and transparency mode feeds the outside world into the cups for better awareness. Making calls works well, and there’s IP52 waterproofing too, which means the odd splash is OK, though anything more is not.
Settings. Image: Press
A couple of other features are worth mentioning, including fast pair for Google and Microsoft, wear detection and low latency mode for movies and gaming, which does seem to speed things up slightly. There’s spatial audio too, which converts stereo signals into a 3D soundstage. This always sounds odd with music, but it’s more useful with movies or games. The headphones also allow dynamic head tracking, which can keep the soundstage centred as you move your head or have it follow you as you move. Again, this is a nice option to have for games or films, but probably not so much with regular music tracks. All this stuff is switched off by default, so you’re free to ignore it if you prefer.
Headphone (1) is an intriguing product. It looks and feels great, has excellent battery life, friendly physical controls and a solid and engaging sound, even if you might have to find the particular setup and combination of settings that suits you personally. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones cost £100 more and don’t have USB-C listening, though they are a little more comfortable, and their sound goes that extra mile in terms of richness and fidelity. Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e are available for £200 and are well regarded, though they lack a wired option, and battery life is a little shorter at 30 hours.
Nothing needs to introduce a little more consistency to the sound, which is possible via software updates. You can get to a really pleasing, rich and balanced playback, but it involves finding the right balance of cancelling, EQ and possibly bass enhancement.
The app is well-designed, though, and battery life, ANC and build are all up to scratch. Having multiple wired and wireless modes is a great bonus and makes them super flexible, while the £299 asking price seems reasonable considering the competition. I’d love to see a little repairability introduced, however.
While it may not quite scale the sonic heights of pricier cans, Headphone (1) is a solid all-rounder with some standout features and a unique design.

Key features

Over-ear wireless/wired headphones
Bluetooth AAC or LDAC codecs, 3.5mm and USB-C digital wired modes
40mm drivers
20 Hz – 40 kHz frequency response
Up to 80 hours of battery life (35 hours with ANC turned on)
Powerful multi-mode EQ
Physical on-body controls
Wear detection, spatial audio and head tracking
6 mics for calls and ANC
Nothing X companion app
IP52 weather proofing
Carrying case

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