Nothing Ear (stick)  Headphones Review

The Nothing Ear (stick) have a somewhat similar look to the Nothing Ear (1). They have a transparent stem that allows you to see the circuit boards, and the earbud itself is a sleek white. They only come in one color variation: 'White.'

These headphones are very comfortable. They have a one-size-fits-all design, so their comfort is dependent on the shape of your ears. They sit in your concha, so they don't apply much pressure to your ear. They're also lightweight, making it easy to wear them for long periods without discomfort.

These buds have alright controls. They're simple to use, and all of the controls rely on pinching the ear stems. You can remap controls and add features like voice assistant in the app. While there are chimes to let you know the number of pinches you've performed, there are no voice prompts or audio cues for adjusting the volume. The buds also need to be placed in the case to turn them off or to manually enter pairing mode.

On either bud:

• Single pinch: Plays and pauses audio. Also accepts and ends calls.
• Double pinch: Skips to the next track.
• Triple pinch: Skips to the previous track. Also rejects calls.
• Double pinch and hold: You can assign this command to voice assistant or volume control in the companion app.

On the left bud:

• Pinch and hold: Lowers the volume.

On the right bud:

• Punch and hold: Raises the volume.

These buds are very portable, thanks to their sleek and lightweight design. They're small enough to tuck away into most pockets and bags without a problem.

The carrying case is a clear tube with a white interior. It rotates for you to access the buds and is quite similar in design to that of the Monster Clarity 101 AirLinks Truly Wireless. You can see a video of how it works here. Overall, the case looks nice and feels good, but the plastic seems a bit cheap. It also sticks out when you place it in your pocket, and it isn't as compact as that of the Apple AirPods (3rd generation). While eye-catching, a cylindrical case is more likely to roll away than the flat case of other products by the manufacturer, like the Nothing Ear.

These buds have a great build quality. They have a similarly plastic feel as the Nothing Ear (1) but feel a bit more solid. They're also certified IP54 for resistance against dust and water splashes, which is higher than the IPX4 rating of their sibling headphones.

These buds have decent stability, although their one-size-fits-all design means that they can be prone to falling out of your ear if you don't get a good fit. They'll stay in place during a jog in the park but can fall out if you're doing more rigorous activities like push-ups.

• Nothing Ear (stick) earbuds
• Charging case
• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• Manuals

Using firmware 1.0.1.76, these buds have a somewhat neutral sound profile and deliver more bass than when first released. However, although they have a 'Bass Lock' feature, which is an auto EQ that's advertised to detect bass loss while you're using the earbuds, the buds don't deliver quite as much bass as in-ear headphones like the Nothing Ear (1) due to their one-size-fits-all earbud design. Still, mixes have some warmth and punch to them. Vocals and instruments are present, too, although they're weak due to a dip in the mid-range. Their companion app also offers a graphic EQ and presets to help you customize their sound.

Depending on how you wear the earbuds, you may experience more or less bass, as their one-size-fits-all design can cause bass variation. If you have a smaller ear concha, the buds will sit at a downward angle and increase the bass slightly. If you have a larger concha and the ideal fit, you'll experience bass more representative of our sound profile graph. You can see a comparison of different passes (using the original frequency response we measured) and their variation here.

The Nothing Ear (stick)'s frequency response consistency is acceptable. They have deviations in bass and treble delivery due to their one-size-fits-all design, making it tricky to get a consistent sound.

The bass accuracy is great. While they have an auto EQ to help improve their bass delivery, they lack low-bass due to their earbud design. In songs with a thumpy bassline, like New Person, Same Old Mistakes by Tame Impala, the rumble and boom is noticeably light, making the track sound somewhat hollow. That said, they can reproduce more mid to high-bass, which helps keep some punch and warmth in audio.

The mid accuracy is great. The low-mid is flat and balanced, resulting in present vocals and instruments. However, the dip in the mid to high-mid pushes these sounds to the back of the mix and weakens them. In songs like No Plan by David Bowie, the vocals sound a little distant throughout the mix.

These buds have excellent treble accuracy. The range is flat and neutral, making voices and instruments sound bright without becoming harsh. Sibilants like cymbals are also clear and present.

The peaks and dips performance is decent. The low-bass is uneven, resulting in less thump at low frequencies but more rumble at higher frequencies. A peak across in the low-mid muddies vocals and instruments, while a dip in the mid-mid affects the right driver more prominently and pushes vocals and instruments to the back of the mix. A peak between the low to mid-treble affects the right driver more so, making vocals and instruments sound a little harsh, and turning sibilants like cymbals piercing.

The Nothing Ear (stick)'s imaging performance is good Although this manufacturer has only produced a couple of headphones, they tend to have good ergonomics and quality control. Our unit's L/R drivers have a tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. They're also well-matched, although there's a small peak in the phase response in the mid-treble. However, while we could hear a small amount of warping during our sweeps, it isn't easy to notice with real-life content. However, keep in mind that imaging can vary between units.

The passive soundstage performance is bad, but that's normal from earbuds. Thanks to their fit, they can create a more open sound, but your audio still doesn't seem immersive seems like it's coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed in the room around you.

The Nothing Ear (stick)'s weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. There's some distortion present at high volumes throughout the mid-bass to mid-mid, but it's hard to hear with real-life content. That said, most frequencies otherwise fall within good limits, resulting in somewhat clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the headphones. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.

The noise isolation performance is bad, but that's normal from earbuds of this style. They don't fully form a seal around your ear, so they allow you to hear your surroundings fairly well. However, firmware update 1.0.2.85 added a noise reduction feature you can access via the companion app. The buds struggle to block out background noise across the range even when using this feature. However, we noticed it takes a while for the buds to reduce noise, and lengthening the amount of time our sweeps take resulted in a minor but noticeable improvement in noise isolation in the mid-range. You can see a comparison between our results below and when the sweep is lengthened by over 10 seconds to 43 seconds here. However, this amount of noise isolation still won't be enough to completely block out voices, which occupy the mid-range. If you're looking for earbuds with a better noise isolation performance, try the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live or the Nothing Ear instead.

The leakage performance is satisfactory. Leakage is concentrated mostly in the mid-to-treble range and sounds very thin. That said, it's loud, and others around you can definitely hear it, even at moderate listening volumes.

The integrated mic's recording quality is fair. The response is a bit uneven, but your voice still sounds full-bodied, clear, and bright, although robotic.

The mic's noise handling performance is good. The mic can separate speech from ambient noise well. If you're taking a call from a noisy environment like a busy street, your voice is still understandable.

The battery performance is passable. The manufacturer advertises them to have seven hours of continuous playback time, and we measured just under that. Battery life varies depending on use, and the manufacturer advertises that firmware 1.0.1.76 improves battery life when on a call. Luckily, the carrying case holds three extra charges, which is handy in a pinch. You can also use one bud while the other charges, but unfortunately, there are no power-saving features in their companion app to help conserve battery life.

Unlike the Nothing Ear (1), these buds are compatible with Nothing X, an excellent companion app for Android and iOS users. You can see a video of how it works here. If you have a Nothing Phone (1), these settings are built into this device, meaning you won't need this app.

This app allows you to see the battery life of each of the buds independently, adjust the graphic EQ or advanced EQ, select one of the EQ presets, remap controls, and update the firmware. Additionally, firmware update 1.0.2.85 added a 'Noise Control' tab, which allows you to toggle between 'Noise Reduction' and 'Off.' You can also turn on or off features like in-ear detection and 'Low Lag Mode.' You can access 'Find My Earbuds,' which plays a chime that can help you locate them.

These buds have satisfactory Bluetooth connectivity. Unlike the Amazon Echo Buds (3rd generation), they don't support multi-device pairing. However, they do have Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair for quick pairing with your Android devices. Unfortunately, they have high latency on PCs and Android devices, and your audio and visuals can fall out of sync while streaming video. That said, their latency on iOS devices is lower. While they have a 'Low Lag Mode' to help lower latency, it doesn't significantly change PC or iOS latency. It helps lower latency on Android devices to more acceptable levels. Keep in mind that some apps seem to compensate for latency.

These headphones come with a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging up the case. However, you can't use it for audio.

These headphones are compatible with PCs via Bluetooth. You'll have full audio and mic compatibility. However, it's the only way to connect these buds to your PC.

The Nothing Ear stick comes with a tubular charging case. It has a USB-C port so that you can charge it. However, it doesn't support wireless charging.