The CMF Headphone Pro are the first over-ears released in Nothing's budget-oriented CMF sub-brand. Their approach leans pro-consumer, with easily replaceable first-party ear cups and prominently advertised stress-testing of ports, a headband extension, and more, suggesting a focus on longevity and durability. They also ship with features you'd find on more premium products, like adaptive ANC and a comprehensive app.
Our Verdict
The CMF Headphone Pro are okay for sports and fitness use. If you're planning on doing some gym work while remaining mostly upright, they should be stable enough to remain on your head. That said, any abrupt or intense movements like running will likely see them slip or fall from your head. They also have an IPX2 rating against a little water exposure, and Nothing advertises salt spray resistance testing as part of the headphones' durability stress-testing.
IPX2 rating against minor water exposure.
Not stable during vigorous movements.
The CMF Headphone Pro are good for travel. They have ANC that performs impressively and a battery that supports its functionality for over 38 hours. The headphones also support a wired connection if you want to watch a TV show or movie available on your plane's in-flight entertainment system. They're comfortable to wear over long periods of time, though individuals with more squared-off heads or larger ears may find the headband or earpads restrictive. Unfortunately, the headphones only come with a soft carrying pouch that provides no structural protection, so it's worth taking a moment to carefully stow them when traversing between connecting flights.
Supports analog connection.
Long 38-hour battery life.
No hard case.
The CMF Headphone Pro are decent for office work. They have impressive noise isolation performance overall, though their ANC doesn't do much to improve their mid-range attenuation, so you may notice chatty coworkers' conversations. On the plus side, the headphones have a transparency mode for quick conversations without needing to take your cans off. And there's an integrated mic that reproduces your voice well enough for business calls, even with some background noise.
Long 38-hour battery life.
ANC doesn't improve mid-range noise attenuation.
The CMF Headphone Pro don't support a low-latency codec or 2.4GHz dongle connection, so they're unsuitable for wireless gaming.
The CMF Headphone Pro are adequate for wired gaming. The major drawback of these headphones for gaming is their lack of mic support over a wired connection. If you have a dedicated mic or don't use voice chat/comms much, then this isn't an issue. They have low enough latency that you won't experience noticeable A/V desync in fast-paced action games. And their warm sound signature renders explosions convincingly without overwhelming detail in dialogue.
Low audio latency when wired.
Mic won't work when wired.
The CMF Headphone Pro have decent audio reproduction accuracy. Their frequency response generally matches their warm tuning, though minor fluctuations in the treble might render some upper harmonics like sibilants as dull or sharp depending on the frequency band. Unfortunately, their stereo matching isn't perfect either, with a right driver bias in the fundamental region of most voices and instruments, causing a slight shift to the right in the stereo image. It's important to note that stereo matching varies between units, and it's unlikely that most people would notice our stereo mismatch in content. On the plus side, there's no audible harmonic distortion.
The CMF Headphone Pro have impressive noise isolation performance. Their earpads are primarily responsible for the mid- and treble-range attenuation, while the ANC system does the most in the bass range. Unlike top-of-the-line ANC products, there's a noteworthy lack of ANC activation in the mid-range, and the bass-range performance isn't the greatest, so voices and rumble may be more audible than the best performers. Still, once you factor in masking from your own audio, you won't notice much of either.
The CMF Headphone Pro have a passable microphone system. It reproduces your voice intelligibly in phone calls and recordings. However, there's some roll off in the frequency range where higher-register vocals sit, rendering them slightly less. Still, the system does a good job isolating you from noise; it handles consistent noise with ease, and manages to keep you audible during sustained, loud background noise, though some artifacts are introduced due to post-processing.
The CMF Headphone Pro have disappointing frequency response consistency. For most head shapes and physical characteristics, your listening experience should match our measurements. However, our long-haired test subject encountered much less bass delivery and an overemphasized mid-range relative to the other test subjects. If you think this'll bother you, it might be worth tying your hair up and away from your ears.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The CMF Headphone Pro come in 'Light Green,' 'Light Grey,' and 'Dark Grey' colorways. We tested the 'Light Green' version and took a photo of the label. You can also purchase detachable ear cups in 'Orange' directly from Nothing.
If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update the review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
While the CMF Headphone Pro sit at a lower target price point than the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) from the same brand, they're compelling in their own right, trading blows with the next step up. Despite the comparative lack of nice-to-haves like a parametric EQ and wired USB-C audio, the CMF manage to match the Headphone (a)'s build quality and comfort while surpassing their noise isolation performance by a bit, all at a lower price. That said, you may still lean toward the Headphone (a) if you like the design of the Nothing Headphone (1), but not their price tag. Looking beyond Nothing and the CMF sub-brand, the most natural next comparison comes in the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless. The Anker are typically more expensive, but that comes with better mic noise handling and overall noise attenuation. Still, the CMF are an attractive switch-up when you factor in the headphones' unique design, focus on durability, and replaceable earpads.
If you'd like to explore more options, consider checking out our picks for best headphones, the best noise cancelling headphones, and the best budget wireless headphones.
The CMF Headphone Pro and Nothing Headphone (a) are over-ears made by the same brand. The CMF targets the budget price point, while the Nothing is more mid-range. Despite this, the CMF have compelling features that make them a good pickup if you don't need the USB-C wired audio and more comprehensive app features available to the Nothing. They're similar in build, comfort, noise isolation, and microphone performance, and though you likely shouldn't exercise with either of them, the Nothing are more stable. That said, you may find it worthwhile to spend a little more for the Nothing if you like their unique look and find their whopping near-80-hour battery life attractive.
The CMF Headphone Pro and Nothing Headphone (1) are over-ears by the same brand that sit in two widely different price classes. The Nothing are a flagship headphone with notably better noise isolation performance, more features in the Nothing X app (like a parametric EQ), and wired USB-C connection support. They also have better stability and come with a hard case. Still, the CMF are a powerhouse at this price point, with performance that matches competitors in the budget space, but without sacrificing as much in build or microphone functionality.
The Anker Soundcore Space One Pro aren't worth the extra spend over the CMF Headphone Pro for most people. The additional cost gets you better comfort if you have bigger ears, thanks to roomier ear cups, slightly better noise isolation performance overall, and more consistent audio if you have thicker hair. However, the CMF offer nearly identical performance in most other respects, like battery life, build quality, and app features. Plus, they have an IPX2 rating.
The Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless and CMF Headphone Pro are both budget over-ears. If you're looking to save a bit extra and don't mind sacrificing build quality, the Anker are the pickup for you. They also come with a hard case and have a slightly longer 44.3-hour battery life compared with the CMF's 37.2. That said, they don't support the higher-quality LDAC codec or Spatial Audio like the CMF. The CMF also have a more striking design, which could be a positive or a negative, depending on your tastes.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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