I replaced my AirPods Max with these $299 Nothing headphones - they're my new daily driver now

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Nothing Headphone 1 are disposable for preorder present astatine $299.
• These over-ear headphones diagnostic a 40mm dynamic operator made successful concern with KEF, Spatial Audio playback, ANC, and more.
• You'll person to truly respect the plan and customizability of the headphones to marque the astir of them.

Nothing's archetypal over-ear headphones are arsenic ambitious, polarizing, and divisive of a merchandise arsenic you'd expect from the brand. The penning was ever connected the partition -- from the infinitesimal the London-based tech institution debuted with a brace of earbuds with a transparent design. 

Yet, somehow, I recovered myself taking a measurement backmost erstwhile I unboxed the Headphone 1.

To an extent, Headphone 1 correspond the pinnacle of Nothing: a playful, finely tuned brace of headphones with Teenage Engineering influence, a seamless bundle acquisition that leaves nary iOS oregon Android idiosyncratic behind, and a consciousness and decorativeness that could divided immoderate country into two. 

Also: The 12 champion headphones of 2025

The plan volition undoubtedly crook heads and commencement conversations, but it's the audio show that volition marque everyone halt and listen. It did for me. But is it worthy the $299 listing price? Here's my verdict aft a week of testing.

Let's commencement astatine the beginning. There are efficaciously 4 parts to the Headphone 1: the padded headband, representation foam earcups, squircle frames, and transparent modules that location the drivers, batteries, and different interior components. Together, you're looking astatine astir 329 grams of aluminum, plastics, and foam that doesn't measurement down connected the caput an uncomfortable amount.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

For reference, my AirPods Max measurement 385 grams, and some the clamping unit and value of the earcups are noticeably heavier. The lightness of the Nothing headphones tin beryllium attributed to the soft-touch integrative passim the body, which looks large but, to enactment it bluntly, tin consciousness cheap. The hollowness of the squircle frames, for example, tin beryllium heard erstwhile they inevitably clink unneurotic erstwhile folded down. 

For what it's worth, Nothing says the headphones person undergone implicit 50 rigorous reliability tests. They're besides IP52-rated for immoderate level of particulate and h2o absorption (up to 15 degrees of h2o sprays). Most over-ear headphones aren't formally tested oregon designed for immoderate grade of h2o resistance, truthful it brings immoderate bid of caput knowing the Headphone 1 tin withstand abbreviated bouts of airy rain.

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There are immoderate finer touches passim the Headphone 1 that I'm much enthusiastic about, specified arsenic the representation foam receptor cushions that effort to shield disconnected tegument oils, the "left" and "right" labels on the headband, and the 3.5mm headphone jack for existent lossless listening. The zippered carrying case, which is 1 of the slimmer ones I've tucked successful my backpack, is besides casual to appreciate.

Just cognize that you'll person to readjust the headband region each clip you enactment it successful and region it from the case, and determination are nary region indicators to consistently lucifer your caput shape.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

To run the headphones, you'll person to familiarize yourself with 3 controls, each of which are tactile and reasonably intuitive.

• Roller: Dialing the roller near oregon close adjusts the measurement level. Pressing it triggers play/pause, and a agelong property toggles betwixt Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode.
• Paddle: Pushing the Paddle near oregon close skips tracks, portion a agelong propulsion rewinds oregon fast-forwards.
• Button: A customizable fastener connected the outer framework of the close earcup launches your connected device's astute adjunct oregon Channel Hop erstwhile paired with a Nothing Phone 3, which switches betwixt aggregate media platforms, specified arsenic your euphony player, video player, oregon podcasting app.

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I recovered the controls to beryllium precise straightforward to use, and I overmuch similar the tactile feedback of them implicit modular tap/touch gestures, arsenic those tin much often pb to misinputs. The lone sound I person is the ergonomics of the buttons, arsenic they're a spot excessively acold down my receptor to usage successful a earthy motion. I often recovered myself reaching down with my thumb, trying to get a consciousness for which fastener is which, and past awkwardly scrolling and pressing.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The audio show of the Headphone 1 is wherever they genuinely impress. Nothing's embedded a 40mm dynamic driver, designed with a nickel-plated diaphragm and azygous dome texture, to onslaught a wide spectrum of heavy lows and wide highs. 

I've been jamming to the new F1: The Movie soundtracks, which thin heavy connected techno motifs similar footwear drums, synth stabs, and punchy layering, and the headphones person done a commendable occupation with cleanable separation and spatial depth. 

Also: Why I urge these wireless headphones implicit pricier flagship models

In Layman's terms, I was capable to intelligibly separate the layers of instruments from the vocalist oregon rapper, which often poses trouble for midrange headphones (and adjacent immoderate models that outgo more). And with each track, I could consciousness the hypnotic precision much truthful than the complexity, thing that Nothing had hoped to execute by partnering with British audio shaper KEF.

While I'm nary bass caput -- I've kept Nothing's Bass Enhancement standard to a minimum connected the companion app, I did find determination to beryllium immoderate blurring betwixt percussions, basslines, and different deep-sounding instruments. Did it negatively interaction the listening experience? Not unless I was lying down, eyes closed, and nitpicking the details. In astir each different scenario, from bureau commutes to jogging astatine the park, I was vibing from commencement to finish.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

It helps that the headphones' progressive sound cancellation and transparency modes are truthful reliably effective. The erstwhile rejects ambient dependable truthful that my ears don't consciousness pressured wrong the cups, and the second reproduces voices, vertebrate chirps, and different sounds successful an integrated way. 

I was particularly sold erstwhile I conversed with my wife, took the headphones connected and off, and hardly noticed the quality successful her voice. I conscionable privation the headphones did conscionable arsenic good with blending my speaking dependable into the playback, arsenic it often comes disconnected arsenic shallow and echoey.

Also: I replaced my QuietComfort Ultra with these midrange headphones - and I'm sticking with them

As acold arsenic artillery beingness goes, the Headphone 1 lasted maine astir 4 days of dense usage (ANC connected and measurement astatine astir 65%). That's a small little than the Nothing's 37-hour standing (or 80 hours with ANC off), but inactive precise awesome compared to the likes of the AirPods Max (20 hours), Sony WH-1000XM6 (30 hours), and Bose QuietComfort Ultra (24 hours). These are easy the longest-lasting wireless headphones I've tested to date.

ZDNET's buying advice

That's to say, Nothing's archetypal brace of over-ear headphones, the Headphones 1, person a batch going for them. They dependable great, past long, and person conscionable capable customization options wrong the app to tailor to your listening needs. At $299, the Headphone 1 undercut their closest flagship competitors by astatine slightest $100. Heck, they marque my $549 AirPods Max consciousness similar road robbery.

I'll request a fewer much weeks, and possibly immoderate cross-country flights, for a definitive instrumentality connected the funky, transparent design. But if you're conscionable arsenic bored with the aforesaid monochrome look of accepted headphones arsenic the folks astatine Nothing, I'd urge giving this brace a shot.