Having just published a review of Nothing’s excellent premium smartphone debut, the Phone (3), I think it’s safe to say I’ve developed a taste for the company’s boldly unique and bullshit-free take on tech. And while I skipped its flagship over-ear set of headphones, the Nothing Headphone (1), in favour of the banger Sony WH-1000XM6, I couldn’t help but jump on the opportunity to check out its budget label offering, the CMF Headphone Pro. I mean, just look at them!
Tastes will obviously vary, and I respect everyone else’s right to be wrong, but damned if these aren’t the most attractive sub-$200 cans I’ve ever seen. The set I was sent for review came in a tasty light green colourway, but black and white are also available, and there’s a further avenue of customisation with optional, replaceable ear cushions. This is not only a great feature for the fashion-forward who want to mix up the colours like I have with these loud, red jobs, but a win for longevity and user-repairability that feels very on-brand for Nothing/CMF.
A pair of replacement pads will set you back $39 and they’re super easy to twist on and off, in case you want to change up the look on a whim.
These things definitely punch above their weight in the looks department, keeping things sleek and simple and saving on frills. I’m a big fan of the assortment of physical buttons, and lack of dodgy touch controls, and especially chuffed with a surprise dial that I can’t say I’ve seen on any other set of consumer headphones – but more on that in a bit.
As a glasses-wearer, over-ear headphone comfort can be a concern, and with a pretty basic band and extendable arms this set threatened to be a pair that I couldn’t wear for too long before pressure resulted in discomfort. But the secret sauce here is those big, sexy ear pads. They’re wide, but also a lot thicker than most other headphones I’ve used, which means the body and electronics of the cups aren’t being pressed right into my ears, and the end result is that they’re decently comfy.
Of course, all-important question – how does the CMF Headphone Pro sound for that very approachable $179 price point? The short answer is, pretty bloody good. Powered by 40mm custom nickel-plated drivers, there’s an impressive bass response present, accompanied by an un-amazing but still shockingly competent mid-to-high that I’ve been perfectly happy listening to on a daily basis. Does it compete with my $699 Sony pair? Of course not, but I didn’t miss my XM6s anywhere near as much as I thought I would leaving them at home every day.
The only minor shortfall would be the Active Noise Cancelling, which is fine but not even close to what’s possible on a pricier set. Playing your music loudly enough will definitely bridge the gap to a disturbance-free commute, but I wouldn’t rely on these to single-handedly mute the world around you.
Easily the coolest thing about the listening experience on the CMF Headphone Pro though, is the Energy Slider. This is that mystery dial I mentioned up top, which sits on the left ear cup, and its sole function is to pump up the bass. Pushing it up quite literally adds extra oomph to your sound, so you’re able to give your music some extra juice when the situation calls or dial it back a little for those softer moments. Alternatively, it can be set to do a similar thing to treble, if you’re not much of a bass head. Either way, it’s exactly the kind of goofy but undeniably fun touch that Nothing/CMF products are known for.
You’ll still do more granular tweaking and setup in the Nothing X app, which drives all of the company’s headphone and smart watch products. Following the trend, it’s a clean, smart interface with some handy features, including the ability to customise a number of the buttons and dials on the headset to perform just about any function you could hope for. EQ options are basic but fine enough, but I quite like the audio personalities function which asks you to listen to a number of frequencies in each ear and report which ones are actually perceptible, to create a sound profile that accounts for your own hearing.
Nothing rates the battery life on the CMF Headphone Pro at a whopping 100 hours, or 50 when using ANC, both of which are impressive numbers. After a couple weeks of using these, I’m still cruising on about 10% battery life without having put them on charge once, even out of the box, so I’m inclined to vouch for those claims.
Final Thoughts
I said this about the Nothing Phone (3), but we need to bring back the days of technology that’s genuinely new and novel with every release. Like most tech things, headphones are becoming overly homogenised at the mid and top end, so I’m glad to see Nothing continue to have fun with it at every price point.
Review unit supplied by the manufacturer
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