Nothing Headphone (a) Review: Ranked 10th Against 28 Headphones

THE SCORECARD

How the Nothing Headphone (a) scored

• Build quality and fit

  8.25/10

  It is basically the same as the Headphone (1) but lacks its metal finish; I found its spacious pads and balanced clamp comfortable, though the pads are still firm.

• Battery life

  10/10

  Nothing rates it for 135 hours with noise cancelling off, 75 hours with it on, and over 60 hours with LDAC and noise cancelling enabled.

• Controls

  9.5/10

  The tactile roller, paddle, switch and multifunction button are excellent, but wearing detection is missing.

• Connectivity

  9/10

  It supports Bluetooth 5.4, SBC, AAC, LDAC Hi-Res, multipoint, USB-C audio and AUX listening.

• Call quality

  7.25/10

  Voice pickup gets quite low with background noise, and overall call quality was worse than the CMF Headphone Pro.

• App customization and extra features

  9/10

  Nothing's clean app includes spatial audio, bass enhance, presets, a three-band EQ and an advanced eight-band EQ.

• Noise canceling

  7.5/10

  It handles low-frequency plane-engine noise slightly better than the Headphone (1), but Sony ULT WEAR offers stronger cancellation.

• A transparency mode

  7.75/10

  It has little hiss and minimal wind pickup, but clarity is below the Headphone (1) and voices can become muffled in noisy places.

• Sound extras

  9/10

  I measured 99.2 decibels, found leakage low, and could listen through AUX or USB-C.

• Sound quality

  8/10

  Its bass-heavy stock tuning can be cleaned up in the advanced EQ, producing punchy bass, clear vocals and smooth treble.

The Pros and Cons

How comfortable and durable is the Nothing Headphone (a)?

I scored build quality and fit 8.25 out of 10, just 0.25 behind the Nothing Headphone (1). The headband and ear pads feel pretty much the same, although the Headphone (a) loses the metal finish.

The pads are spacious and the clamp is balanced for my large head, so I found them comfortable. The CMF Headphone Pro is more comfortable for me, but the Nothing has better build quality. Just be wary of the glossy black version: it picks up fingerprints and had noticeable scratches after day 1.

A hard case is also missing. You get a pretty measly soft case that looks almost like a paper bag.

Battery, controls and wired listening are standout features

Battery life is where this headphone goes properly big. I gave it 10 out of 10: Nothing advertises 135 hours with noise cancelling off and 75 hours with it on. With LDAC and noise cancelling enabled, I still got over 60 hours. A 5-minute charge gives 5 hours of playback with noise cancelling on, and I could use the headphones while they charged.

The controls earned 9.5 out of 10. There is an on-and-off switch, a roller for volume and play/pause, a paddle for track skipping and fast-forwarding or rewinding, plus a multifunction button. I prefer these tactile controls to touch controls in certain situations.

For connectivity, I scored them 9 out of 10. Multipoint works, LDAC Hi-Res can be used with multipoint, and there is a gaming mode, although it did not change latency much in my testing. USB-C and AUX are the better options for the lowest latency, but AUX requires the headphones to be powered on.

Are the ANC and transparency good enough?

Noise cancelling gets 7.5 out of 10. The Headphone (a) blocked low-frequency plane-engine noise slightly better than the Nothing Headphone (1), while the Headphone (1) did slightly better with voices, mid frequencies and high frequencies. Sony ULT WEAR is stronger for noise cancelling and slightly cheaper.

Transparency is okay rather than special, scoring 7.75. There is barely any white-noise hiss and wind pickup is minimal, but the overall clarity is below the Headphone (1). In busy surroundings, voices can be muffled and harder to pick up. Sony ULT WEAR sounds brighter, but its transparency makes things easier to hear.

Calls are the main weak point. I scored call quality 7.25 out of 10 because voice pickup became quite low once background noise was introduced. To my surprise, the CMF Headphone Pro was better overall for calls.

Sound quality improves a lot with EQ

I gave sound quality 8 out of 10. The Headphone (a) arrives noticeably bass boosted, unlike the more balanced Nothing Headphone (1), but its advanced eight-band EQ lets me get the two sounding quite similar after adjustment. Nothing also released a firmware update that cleaned up the stock tuning slightly.

My preferred EQ cleans up the bass and slightly boosts the upper mids and upper treble. The result has bass impact without as much boom, clear forward vocals, detailed but smooth treble, and a moderate soundstage. If sibilance bothers you, I do not think it will be an issue here.

Against Sony ULT WEAR, I found the Nothing's bass tighter and easier to refine. Sony gives richer vocals, more sparkle and a slightly more open sound without treble boosting, but I would pick the Headphone (a) for sound quality.

Nothing Headphone (a) vs CMF, Sony and Sennheiser

The Nothing Headphone (1) has noticeably better calls, a clearer transparency mode and slightly better sound, but I think the Headphone (a) makes more sense if you want to spend less.

Sony ULT WEAR is more comfortable, has stronger noise cancelling and clearer transparency. The Headphone (a) has more than double the battery life, while call quality is similar. I think the Sony is slightly better value, depending on what matters most to you.

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 can get close in price when on sale. Its call quality and sound are better, although not by a massive margin. The Nothing has more spacious ear pads, while the Sennheiser gives cleaner bass that still reaches deep in a subtle V-shape tuning.

For pure value, I still think the CMF Headphone Pro wins. It is about half the price, a little more comfortable for me, and better for calls. Its build is not on the same level, and its noise cancelling and transparency sit just behind the Headphone (a).