The retro-inspired Nothing Headphone (1) are polarizing on sight however pleasing on sound

I am an ’80s child, so tech that jogs my memory of Swatches, clear Gameboys, and making mixtapes for a girlfriend on my twin cassette deck stereo is prime tier. The brand new Nothing Headphone (1) does that and extra. My first nostalgic thought was the character Radio Raheem from Spike Lee’s “Do The Proper Factor,” as a result of you’ll be strolling round together with your “radio” prominently displayed.

You possibly can’t miss somebody sporting these, however did Nothing hit and miss with its first try at over-ear headphones? Like Radio Raheem, will your expertise be a mixture of love and hate?

Nothing has been nothing wanting spot-on with its most up-to-date Ear, Ear (a), and Ear (Open) earbuds releases, however parlaying these wins into headphones is a special beast altogether, so let’s examine in the event that they do the correct factor and offer you some over-ears value strolling the block (or gymnasium) in.

Worth, availability, and specs

The Nothing Headphone (1) launched in July 2025 on the value of $299 in black or white colorways. You possibly can decide up a pair from Nothing’s web site and Amazon.com. Within the US, I’ve additionally seen them on Walmart.com and Keff’s web site.

What I favored concerning the Nothing Headphone (1)

Standout design, stable controls, and tweakable sonics

Let’s start with the standout options: the design parts. Beginning with the arduous case, you would possibly discover that it has the same indentation for the thumb on the highest of the case, similar because the circumstances Nothing’s earbuds are available in. The felt-covered arduous case feels nice, although the zipper is usually a bit finicky. Open the case and you discover the headphones inside. A pocket on the case’s lid homes two cables: one 3.5mm aux cable and a USB-C cable.

Attending to the headphones, the daring design selections made with the Nothing Headphone (1) could also be polarizing. Every can appears like an old-school, clear Walkman, with small particulars behind the highest plastic to imitate a cassette participant. The corporate is thought for some delicate and not-so-subtle design thrives, which you will discover right here.

One can has KEF branding whereas the opposite has a pink chip below the plastic, with Nothing branding above it. The pink is practical as a result of it lets you recognize it is the correct facet earcup. All of that is set in rectangular ear cup backs with a bunch of controls constructed into the correct facet.

There is a fast actions button within the higher right-hand nook that lets you management six completely different options two methods: single press and press and maintain. I’ve it set to invoke my voice assistant and to activate my EQ preset. You additionally get a cool curler that controls quantity and provides you customizable choices like the fast actions button. Once more, with the main points, there is a satisfying “ticking” sound as you scroll left or proper, controling the quantity.

Additionally on the correct earcup is a paddle management that doubles for skipping tracks and fast-forward/rewind. The underside of that proper ear cup is the place you will discover the facility swap. No strain swap, which I admire, and subsequent to that’s the place the USB-C and three.5mm ports are discovered. You will discover the pairing button on the within of the correct earcup, which I discovered to be a little bit of an odd placement should you’re attempting to pair with a tool whereas sporting the headphones.

Apart from that, all of the controls have been a pleasure to make use of these final two weeks.

Nothing wanting a stable first effort

I am a giant fan of the fee vs. high quality paradigm of Nothing’s beforehand launched earbuds. They’re feature-packed, and out of the field, they have been a pleasure to take heed to, much more so with the Nothing X app’s strong EQ choices. I can not say that with the Nothing Headphone (1). Out of the field, the Easy EQ default, the “Balanced” choice, was a bit muddy for me. That is the place these strong EQ choices come into play — some headphones do not take too effectively to EQ changes, however the Headphone (1) did.

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Sneakers,” by Paul Simon and a monitor from the Get Out OST, “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga,” you get a way of the depth and width of the vocal sound stage, and it is entertainingly much like that of a pair of open-back headphones.

“Violin Duel” from the Chevalier OST was an engagingly beautiful orchestral association because it flowed via the Headphone (1). I completely loved the feel and management within the assault and decay of among the extra energetic string sections.

Whereas I used to be having fun with the pleasant sound stage offered by the headphones, I additionally seen the standard of sound separation. The stereo imaging and immersion, the nuance and texture at this value level are nothing to sneeze at. I threw some frenetic Jazz at it with Charles Mingus’ “Moanin’,” and it dealt with the horn improvisations with aplomb. The upright bass that performs all through the music is partaking and has stable weight to it, whereas the chaotic horns by no means overpower different devices or the vocals which can be peppered sporadically within the combine.

I listened utilizing each an iPhone 16 Professional Max and a Google Pixel 9, and each sounded nice over Bluetooth. The Pixel has the benefit as a consequence of LDAC compatibility, however AAC through the iPhone was nonetheless a stable expertise. The Pixel additionally had the benefit when it got here to wired playback. Sort of — wired sound from each was a really immersive expertise and was appreciably higher throughout frequencies than the expertise through Bluetooth.

That stated, there was a quirk with the iPhone that could be as a consequence of me operating the iOS 26 public beta. With the iPhone, after plugging up the USB-C, as quickly as I turned the quantity up two notches from 0%, it sounded someplace round 90% of max, and I used to be unable to manage the quantity in steps both from the cellphone or headphones. The Pixel behaved as anticipated over wire, permitting me to step via the quantity incrementally.

Persons are at all times asking me which over-ear headphones I like to recommend for gymnasium use, and since most do not have an IP ranking, I give them recs with that caveat in thoughts. Nothing Headphone (1) is IP52, which implies that it is protected towards mud ingress and may stand as much as gentle publicity to water, like sweat. So these undoubtedly get the inexperienced gentle for gymnasium use until you are actually a profuse sweater. Then it’s best to go along with a set that has a better IP54 water ingress ranking, like Nothing Ear, Ear (a) or Ear (open).

Rounding out the tech, the microphone name high quality was stable below favorable circumstances. With very heavy city ambient noise, high quality might lower. The noise-cancelling was additionally fairly good — ANC does an ideal job of quieting city noise like automobiles and trains, together with dialog and different sounds within the midrange. That is due partially to the stable quantity of passive noise cancellation you get from the earpads.

Battery life holds as much as claims, as I obtained round 30 hours in my testing with each LDAC and ANC on, enjoying round 60-70% of most quantity. The way in which I hear will drain my battery sooner, together with sure genres of music.

What I did not like about Nothing Headphone (1)

Chipped cans and tough Bass Enhancement

The ergonomics of the Nothing Headphone (1) are such that they do not really feel heavy on the pinnacle in any respect after prolonged durations of listening, regardless of their dimension. They do not fold up, although, so you are going to take up a great quantity of area in your bag if you journey, or throughout on a regular basis carry. The way in which they’re designed, anticipate the paint to chip over time because the earcans are likely to smack one another at their decrease, inside corners if you take away them from the case.

The prolonged bass function within the Nothing X app was nice with the earbuds, however with sure music, at greater volumes, you are going to get distortion with it activated whereas utilizing these headphones. My two foremost sub-bass take a look at tracks had been an excessive amount of for Nothing when utilizing the function — even with the quantity set to round 60-70% max output.

Do you have to purchase Nothing Headphone (1)?

Sure — with a caveat

Sony and Bose premium headphones each value round $150 greater than the Nothing Headphone (1). Then there’s Sennheiser’s growing old however nonetheless extremely related Momentum 4 Wi-fi, which you’ll be able to presently discover on-line on the similar value as Nothing’s providing. Lastly, you’ve gotten lower-cost choices from Soundcore and Earfun to cope with.

I feel the largest problem to Nothing is Sennheiser as a result of it handles bass higher on the similar value, nevertheless it’s getting a bit lengthy within the tooth and could also be refreshed sooner somewhat than later. I want its design over the opposite choices, however that will probably be a extremely private selection. Finally, I feel the Nothing Headphone (1) is a superb first effort, regardless that it’s kind of dear at $299. As we’re already midway via the 12 months, although, they’re a superb buy if a $50 value drop occurs across the holidays.

Battery Life

As much as 80 hours with ANC off, 35 with ANC on

Wi-fi?

Sure

Microphones

4 mic ENC structure

Suitable With

Android, iOS