Nothing Headphone (a) review: One banger after another

So today I have the new Nothing Headphone (a) with me. 

If there’s one thing you need to know about Nothing’s “(a)” series, it’s that this lineup is meant for affordable, low-cost version of the Nothing’s flagship products. In this case, the new Headphone (a) borrows heavily from the Headphone (1)—while missing out on a couple of features that make Headphone (1) a flagship pair of headphones.

The good news is that Nothing has been surprisingly generous with how much the Headphone (a) borrows from its more expensive sibling. I mean, seriously. And for some 27,000 rupees, this could very well be the best pair of wireless headphones in Nepal right now.

Nothing Headphone (a) review: Specifications

• Design: Over-ear fit, all-plastic build
• Dimensions and weight: 177 x 190.4 x 78 mm, 310 grams
• Water resistance: IP52 splash resistance
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 (multi-point support)
• Sound driver: 40 mm dynamic drivers
• Audio codecs: AAC, SBC, LDAC
• Noise cancellation: Yes (hybrid ANC up to 40 dB)
• Battery: 1,060 mAh (up to 75/135 hours of music playback with ANC on/off)
• Control: Physical buttons (Paddle, roller, buttons for playback, volume and other controls)
• Companion app: Nothing X (Android | iOS)
• Price in Nepal: NPR 26,999

Nothing Headphone (a) review:

Design and fit

• Over-ear fit
• 310 grams, IP52 splash resistant

Okay. “Design” has always been what sets Nothing apart from the rest and I’m glad Nothing didn’t try to walk a road untraveled with the Headphone (a). 

It looks similar to the Headphone (1) with a squarish earshell, the exact same button placements—and of course—how could Nothing forget its signature “transparent” aesthetics? 

Their build quality is slightly different, yes, with the Headphone (1) getting that cold metal finish in its earcups, while this guy is plastic-made through and through. I’d actually argue that this supposed “downgrade” isn’t a “downgrade” at all since the switch to plastic has helped the Headphone (a) lose some weight that it needed to so desperately. 

Even though I still find myself taking them off after every hour or so, since they press on to my ears a bit too aggressively than I’d like. And because this is a typical closed-back headphone with no airflow, “being able to put it on for hours at a time” was simply out of the question for me. 

Anyway, the Headphone (a) comes in a few “hip” color options. 

I was eyeing its yellow finish in particular, but it’s so immeasurably tragic that it’s only available in a single bubblegum pink color in Nepal. What are we doing, man? Come on. 

Physical buttons ftw!

At least controlling these headphones is so much fun. 

There are all sorts of buttons, and my God, they’re responsive! A sharp sense of déjà vu hit me the moment I started getting around it because the CMF Headphone Pro (review) that I used a little while ago had impressed me with all its physical controls as well. 

The Headphone (a)’s buttons—they all sit on the right—and besides a regular button you click, there’s also one that rolls called “Roller”, and one you push to either side called “Paddle”. I love that I can fully customize them in the app, and two functions on these headphones caught my eye more than anything else. However, both of them work with a Nothing phone only.

There’s one called “Channel Hop”, which would let me switch between different audio sources with a simple click. That means I could be listening to a podcast on YouTube and switch to my Spotify playlist right from my headphones—without ever having to reach for my phone. It sounds so cool, but what sucks is that it only works with Spotify and Apple Music for now. 

The Headphone (a)’s paddle is pretty cool, by the way. 

‘Cause besides changing tracks, I can even scrub through them—aka fast forward or rewind—with a long-press. So if I want to rewind the chorus to “फूलथुङ्गे रानी” again and again and again, I can do it so right from the headphones. Without ever having to reach for my phone.

Sound quality

• 40 mm dynamic drivers, Tuning by Nothing
• AAC, SBC, LDAC codecs
• Personal Sound Profile, Spatial audio support

Alright.

Let me talk about its audio quality next—and I’ll tell you one thing right away. My expectations for the Headphone (a)’s sound quality were quite low, actually. 

That’s because the CMF Headphone Pro that was on my ears not too long ago didn’t really impress me when it comes to audio. It didn’t sound bad, but it didn’t sound great either due to two things: a narrow soundstage and low max volume. Thankfully, the Nothing Headphone (a) doesn’t suffer from the same problem, which was clear to me the moment I put these on.

The Headphone (a) gets more than loud enough, and it’s got a wide soundstage to give me that sense of depth… and space… no matter what I’m listening to. 

From psychedelic rock songs like “The Great Gig in the Sky” by Pink Floyd, to Mariya Takeuchi’s city pop classic “Plastic Love”, I love the separation of instruments… and that immersiveness in the song these headphones reproduce. Nothing has clearly tuned its 40mm drivers with a bit of a bass bias, which made some of the mids and treble notes—like cymbal crash or Clare Torry’s haunting vocals in that Pink Floyd—sound a little off.

That’s why I tried EQing this thing, and guess what?

Say hello to parametric EQ!

On top of a traditional, fixed-band graphic equalizer, the Headphone (a) also supports a parametric equalizer (PEQ). That’s like going to a general physician for your skin problems versus seeing a dermatologist. The physician might be able to treat you just fine, but the skin doctor will clearly have better insight into your condition. 

Am I great at analogies or what?

I can target exactly what frequencies I wanna boost or cut (aka “gain”) and by how much (aka bandwidth or “Q-factor”). I’m still getting the hang of parametric EQ, and I learned a lot about it from this iZotope article, so definitely check that out if you’re more curious.

And hey—if you feel intimidated by the parametric equalizer, don’t worry. There are a couple of pre-built PEQs in the Nothing X app itself, or I can directly apply other user’s equalizer by downloading their EQ profile from Nothing Community. 

The Headphone (a) even goes a step beyond stereo sound with spatial audio support. I can choose between a concert-like effect or a cinema-like effect, and… I’ve chosen to turn it off altogether ‘cause I’m simply not a fan of spatial sound. Sorry, Nothing. 

Noise cancellation and call quality

• Up to 40 dB adaptive ANC
• 4 microphones in total (with 2 mics on each side)

Okay, the active noise cancellation (ANC) on these Nothing headphones is pretty interesting. The Headphone (a) can supposedly cut down up to 40 dB of ambient noise, and my first impression was like “hmm… this is quite nice. And quiet.” 

“Oh, and that prompt sound effect when I enable noise cancellation is also pretty cool.” 

But as I put in more hours with the Headphone (a), I began noticing a few of its quirks. Like how there’s this soft (but noticeable) white noise if I listen real closely, and I guess I was expecting a little more out of these semi-flagship headphones. Especially with more challenging noises like the passing traffic, for example. 

And while its call quality is great—pretty much everywhere you’ll possibly pick up a call—I gotta say I’m a bit let down with its transparency mode too. It doesn’t sound as natural as I expected it to; there’s like… artificial detail added to everything I’m listening to, so I’m really hoping this is something Nothing is aware of and is working on a fix.

Battery life

• 1,060 mAh battery
• Up to 135 hours of playback (without ANC)
• 5 minutes of charge = 8 hours of playback

Finally, there’s battery life. Which is by far the biggest flex of the Nothing Headphone (a), if you ask me. Bigger than its funky design, bigger than its customizable audio. 

That’s because Nothing is promising (a frankly ridiculous) 135 hours of playback with noise cancellation turned off! Or 75 hours with ANC enabled. 

I’ve even enabled the LDAC codec, which is supposed to eat up more battery, and after putting 10 hours into this thing, the Headphone (a)’s battery indicator dropped 15% only. That much battery life is enough to make you forget you’d ever need to plug it in every once in a while—and what’s even better is that a quick 5-minute topoff gives me 8 hours of playback as well. What more could I ask for?

Nothing Headphone (a) review: Conclusion

So that was the all-new Nothing Headphone (a). 

And if there’s one takeaway I’d like to leave you with, it’s that this is a great pair of headphones—despite a few flaws. It sounds great, that unmistakable “Nothing” design + all the physical buttons is something I’m sure most of you will appreciate, while its battery life is simply the best I’ve seen on a pair of headphones. The best.

Plus, if you look at the Nepali market, the Headphone (a) doesn’t even have a real competition. There’s the JBL Tune 780NC, Soundcore Space One Pro, and Sony’s WH-CH720N, but none of them are as feature-rich or as much of a complete package as this guy. Making it yet another Nothing-made headphone that I find so easy to recommend.

Songs referenced in this Nothing Headphone (a) review:

• Sujan Chapagain – फूलथुङ्गे रानी
• Pink Floyd – The Great Gig in the Sky
• Mariya Takeuchi – Plastic Love

Nothing Headphone (a) review: Pros and cons