Almost two years after the first models, the Nothing brand has arrived with its third pair of wireless headphones to accompany your smartphone. no phone (1). On Wednesday, the English brand of OnePlus alumni presented its Nothing ear (2), its new version of high-end headphones.
After the ear (stick) With its lipstick-like case, but with a few missing features, Nothing draws the ears (2) that enhance some iconic attributes and are now IP54 (splash and dust) certified. All at a contained price (149 euros).
Nothing’s ears (2) are available on the Nothing website for 149 euros. They will be on sale on partner sites from March 28.
The advantages
original design
The lugs (2) take up the design of their predecessors with this transparency of the temples and the case. The latter is slightly more compact than the former and fits in the palm of your hand or in a pocket. It also shows signs of strengthening to be more solid. The casing is also IP55 certified to resist water jets and dust infiltration.
Each headset has pressure controls on the stem (one, two, three presses, long presses, etc.). They can be set to start or pause, volume up or down, skip forward or back to a title, choose noise reduction. Too bad you don’t have full control over the choice of shortcuts.
The earbuds are quite discreet in the ear and stay in place well thanks to their silicone tips. It is possible to do a fit test for a few seconds from the Nothing X application (iOS and Android) to find out which tips correspond to your ears (three sizes S, M and L available). We appreciate the quick pairing when approaching the headphones with Google Fast Pair for Android smartphones and Microsoft Swift Pair for Windows.
quality audio
This is one of Nothing’s promises since its creation: excellent sound quality. Here we have a headset that is lighter than the ear (Stick) thanks to a mixture of polyurethane and graphene in the design. Bass is present enough without being intrusive or hammered. The sound is clear and the voices are well raised. From the application it is possible to choose equalizer presets (voice, balanced, more bass, more treble) or customize everything through a test.
In addition, the headphones are Hi-Res Audio certified and support the LHDC 5.0 codec. The sound is quite immersive and detailed whether you’re listening to classical, pop, rock or live music. The stage is very wide.
The audio quality of the calls is quite good both for your interlocutor and for hearing it, with a fairly clear sound and without interference. Integrated Clear Voice technology makes it possible to be heard even in a somewhat noisy environment, such as a crowd or if it’s windy.
For gamers, please note that the options offer a reduction in latency to activate. If you have a Nothing phone (1), this will be done automatically by launching a game on the device.
The ability to connect various devices.
A rather rare point in models under 150 euros, the ears (2) finally offer the possibility of connecting to two devices simultaneously. This will allow them to stay connected to their smartphone and computer, and switch from one to the other as needed. However, you should think about going through the app’s settings to turn the feature on and automate it. However, be careful, this can have (slight) consequences on autonomy.
customizable noise reduction
Ears (2) offer active noise reduction. It’s not the most impressive on the market, and yet it’s quite effective, although it doesn’t completely insulate you from the outside like Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 or Sony’s WF-1000XM4. If you’re in an environment that’s too noisy, it will struggle to be your true ally and doesn’t benefit from auto-adjusting to fit. At 150 euros, don’t expect mountains and wonders. But it is adjustable according to your hearing (test to perform). Nada also offers a Transparency mode.
The app allows for many settings, such as activating in-ear detection that cuts off the reading if the earpiece is removed from your ear, customizing your hearing spectrum.
our reservations
Sawtooth autonomy
Nada advertises 6 hours per earphone without activating noise reduction, which is about average, and up to 36 hours of battery life in total. After a few days of use and several hours of listening, we didn’t need to recharge them often, never forgetting to put them away to recharge. And if it had to be done, it can be done via USB-C via the current port or wirelessly with a Qi-compatible charger. On the other hand, it takes more than 1h15 to fully recharge everything (30 minutes, however, to reach 80-85%).
The Perfect Equalizer
It is true that the test allows you to adapt listening to your hearing with a “custom” mode. But we would have liked to be able to do it manually and that’s not possible. The only thing allowed is to follow the recommendation or enrich everything, with more or less intensity.
Conclusion
The Nothing Ears (2) improves marginally on the first generation, but still stands out from the Stick Ears by providing a few perks, like now-customizable Active Noise Cancellation. We love audio that can be adjusted to fit your ear canal with a simple test. The sound is of quality, precise and detailed, quite immersive. Ears (2) take advantage of compatibility for Hi-Res Audio enthusiasts and enjoy compatible content.
Newcomers don’t particularly shine in one area or another and won’t necessarily come out of the mass of a market drowning in referrals. They are efficient and comfortable to use, and they do what is asked of them very well. For less than 150 euros, they are necessarily among the best in the segment with serious advantages. Nothing wow, but good value for money, if less impressive than the ears (1) which sold for €99 when they came out.
Source: BFM TV
