CMF Headphone Pro

Design and Build

The Headphone Pro goes for a spherical, minimalist look compared to the Nothing Headphone (1). It’s mostly plastic-made and comes in three colors: dark gray, light gray, and light green. You also get swappable ear cushions that are slightly larger and softer than those on the Headphone (1). These cushions should be very good for someone who is on their headset all day. On that note, the CMF Headphone Pro weighs around 283 grams.

In the box, you’ll find a velvet-like pouch for storage and a 3.5mm cable. The odd part, though, is that even with the wired connection, the headphones still need to be powered on, so the battery will still drain.

Sound and Audio Features

At its core, the CMF Headphone Pro has 40mm dynamic drivers with nickel-plated diaphragms. These headphones support Hi-Res Audio and the LDAC codec, which pushes up to 990 kbps for wireless streaming. CMF has included an “Energy Slider” on the left earcup that physically adjusts bass and treble levels. Sliding it up will give you a punchier low end. And slide it down, things will start mellowing out. Its scrollable volume changer is also a pretty nice touch.

You also get different sound styles like Pop and Techno to choose from, or you can fine-tune things yourself through the Nothing X app. The Personal Sound feature, powered by Audiodo, adapts to your hearing profile in real time. The CMF Headphone Pro even supports spatial audio, but skips the head-tracking feature.

Noise Cancellation and Transparency

CMF claims 40dB of noise reduction with Adaptive ANC from its three mics on each side. This should handle noise really well, especially when paired with music. But some reviews suggest that it can't fully block out high-frequency sounds. The transparency mode is also apparently less refined than what you'd get on the Headphone (1). There are three ANC presets that adapt based on your environment, and CMF says it can cut up to 99% of background noise.

Controls and Usability

The left earcup has the 3.5mm port, basic buttons, and the Energy Slider. On the right, there's a USB-C charging port, a volume roller, and a customizable button. The roller lets you control volume, play or pause music with a short press, and toggle ANC with a long press. The button can be set up as an AI shortcut to access ChatGPT, switch listening modes, or mute the mic. But sadly, there's no wear sensor, so music won't pause when you take the headphones off. You have to manually stop playback every time.

Battery and Charging

This is perhaps the most eye-grabbing section of this headset. CMF claims up to 100 hours of playback without ANC, dropping to 50 hours with ANC enabled. That's quite absurd because you're still looking at days between charges for a wireless headphone. Fast charging is solid too. Five minutes plugged in gives you four to five hours of playback. And you can charge the headphones directly from your smartphone using a USB-C cable, which is convenient if you're traveling light.

Connectivity

Finally, the CMF Headphone Pro has Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity and a low-latency mode that reduces end-to-end delay to under 120 milliseconds for gaming or video. You also get the usual features, like “dual connection,” which lets you pair with two devices at once.

It supports Google Fast Pair on Android, standard pairing on iOS, and Microsoft Swift Pair on Windows. Water resistance isn't exactly a strong suit for the Headphones Pro, as they are only rated IPX2, but so are most headphones in this range.