The Nothing Headphone (1) are the company's first over-ear wireless headphones. They have 40 mm drivers designed in partnership with KEF and carry over the brand's distinctive transparent design from their earbuds offerings like the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). With features like active noise cancelling (ANC), multi-device pairing, an IP52 rating, and a companion app for sound customization, they aim to compete with established options from Sony, Bose, and Apple, albeit at a slightly cheaper price point.
Our Verdict
The Nothing Headphone (1) are good for sports and fitness. Unlike many portable over-ears, they have an IP52 rating, so they can withstand a sprinkling of rain on your gentle jog outside. They're impressively stable on the head, so they'll stay on for most light to moderate workouts, although they might come loose during more vigorous activity. They're decently comfortable, but some may find the ear cups too shallow and snug, and they can also make your ears feel hot after a while. They support up to two devices at once using Bluetooth multi-point, so you can easily swap between your PC at home and your phone for workouts.
Excellent noise isolation.
IP52 rating is unusally good for over-ears.
Some may find the ear-cups too small, and they can get hot.
The Nothing Headphone (1) are very good for travel. They have an excellent battery life of over 33 hours with ANC enabled, so you'll be able to make it through long journeys off a single charge. The ANC system itself does an amazing job blocking out noise, although it's not the best when it comes to keeping out bass-range noise like rumbly engines. They're decently comfortable, but people with larger ears might find the ear cups too small, and the cans can make your head and ears feel a bit sweaty after a while. The carrying case will keep them safe while transporting them.
Excellent noise isolation.
Stylish, funky design.
IP52 rating is unusally good for over-ears.
Mic is only okay.
Some may find the ear-cups too small, and they can get hot.
The Nothing Headphone (1) are good for office work. Their excellent noise isolation system does a very good job blocking out mid-range noise like the sounds of chatty coworkers or tapping on keyboards. They're also decently comfortable, although they might make your ears a little sweaty over longer periods. Their mic is okay. It's good enough for conference calls, though you probably won't want to use it in very noisy settings, as the aggressive noise handling system can make your voice sound garbled if used in places like subway trains. The button-based control system is good, though it may take a little getting used to if you're coming from a touchpad set of Bluetooth headphones.
Excellent noise isolation.
Stylish, funky design.
Mic is only okay.
Even with Low Lag Mode enabled in the Nothing Headphone (1)'s companion app, we were unable to get latency lower than 240 ms, which is probably too long for many gaming situations. In general, we don't think these headphones are suitable for serious gaming, though their Bluetooth connection means they'll work in a pinch.
The Nothing Headphone (1) are alright for wired gaming. The headphones are decently comfortable, so you can wear them for long gaming sessions, although if you have larger ears, you might notice some discomfort. The overall sound profile is slightly warm by default, with a subdued treble that can reduce ear fatigue over long playtimes. But there's enough rumble in the bass and presence in the mids to ensure explosions and dialogue alike sound immersive and accurate. That said, people who wear glasses may experience a notable drop off in the bass response. These cans have to be powered on to be used, even via their wired connection. Thankfully, 33 ms latency is still usable for gaming, though expert gamers may prefer a passive analog connection with near 0 ms latency. You can also use these headphones via a USB-C connection, but be warned, you may need to restart them once plugged in for your PS5 or laptop to recognize that connection.
Excellent noise isolation.
Low-latency connection via cable.
Mic is only okay.
Some may find the ear-cups too small, and they can get hot.
The Nothing Headphone (1) have good audio reproduction accuracy. They don't deviate much from their slightly warm sound profile, apart from a few narrow peaks and dips in the treble range that can make sounds like cymbals sound a touch bright or dull depending on their pitch. The left and right drivers are well matched in both frequency and phase, so objects are correctly located in the stereo field, and there are no audible issues with group delay. Of course, as closed-backs, they don't produce audio that sounds like it's coming from two angled speakers in a room. But distortion is incredibly low, so you can listen at unsafe levels without introducing artifacts to your audio.
The Nothing Headphone (1) have excellent noise isolation. Their main weakness is in blocking out bassy sounds like rumbly engines. But they do a fantastic job in both the mid-range and treble regions, making them a great choice for use in places like offices or on the street. That said, these cans are sensitive to seal, which affects their noise isolation performance. So it's worth taking the time to ensure a good fit with every wear, especially if you wear glasses. On the plus side, these headphones leak very little audio, and the audio that does leak out sounds thin and weak.
The Nothing Headphone (1) have an okay microphone. Their mic system performs better in use than test results suggest, largely because these cans have a very aggressive noise suppression system that suppresses everything it doesn't recognize as a human voice, which prevented us from getting reliable results. Still, the recordings we made sound okay, but we wouldn't recommend using the mic in very noisy places like subway cars, as the noise system will make your voice difficult to understand.
The Nothing Headphone (1) show poor frequency response consistency, mainly because of how much the bass response can drop when wearing glasses. Their shallow ear cups and soft foam pads make it hard to maintain a consistent seal, and for users who wear glasses, the fit around the frames often causes a noticeable loss in low-end response. If you have larger ears, you may also find the ear cups to be uncomfortably small.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Mar 24, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
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Updated Oct 30, 2025:
The Comfort was modified to compare the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).
- Updated Oct 10, 2025: Review published.
- Updated Oct 03, 2025: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Nothing Headphone (1) comes in two color variants: 'Black' and 'White.' We tested the 'White' variant (here's a photo of its label), but we expect all color variants to perform similarly.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Nothing Headphone (1) are the brand's flagship over-ears, but price-wise are positioned more or less in the mid-range of the ANC-equipped, over-ears market. That means they compete against both premium brands like Apple and Bose, as well as more budget-conscious brands like Anker. Like the rest of Nothing's headphone line, the Headphone (1) stand out with the unique, funky design and the incredibly detailed EQ available in their companion app, which includes extras like ChatGPT integration when paired with a Nothing phone.
The Nothing can't quite match more expensive flagships like the Apple AirPods Max, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Wireless, or the Sony WH-1000XM6 for noise isolation performance, though they still do an excellent job, especially given they're the brand's first pair of over-ears. On the other hand, when compared to Anker's more budget-conscious offerings, the Nothing hold their own, performing about as well as the Anker Soundcore Space Q45 at blocking out noise. The Anker are cheaper than the Nothing, but their build quality isn't as good. All in all, the Nothing are something of a nice midpoint between the best of the budget brands and the best of the premium brands. You get eye-catching design, strong across-the-board performance, and nice quality-of-life features such as a fully parametric EQ, but the ANC isn't yet on par with the traditional market leaders.
For more headphone options, check out our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones, the best headphones for travel, and the best over-ear headphones.
The Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 Wireless and the Nothing Headphone (1) are both flagship portable Bluetooth over-ears from their respective brands. The Sennheiser have been out longer, so can more often be found on sale, meaning they're usually the better deal. That said, the Nothing's ANC pulls ahead of the Sennheiser, so if noise isolation is a priority, they're the cans to pick. Other than that, these headphones are mostly distinguished by their designs: the Sennheiser take the traditional understated approach that we've come to expect from the brand, while the Nothing's bold, transparent design is more eye-catching. If you wear glasses, get the Sennheiser, as glasses wearers may find the Nothing's frequency response changes quite drastically, with a big drop in bass.
It may seem a little strange to compare the Nothing Headphone (1) with the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless headphones, since the Sony cans are a couple of generations and several years older. But Sony's newer flagships are much more expensive than the Nothing, making the XM4 a fairer comparison. Still, the Sony are just about the better cans, since they edge out the Nothing in noise isolation performance, and their sound doesn't change as much as the Nothing's between wears, especially if you wear glasses. The Sony also fold up smaller, which can be handy when you're out and about with just a coat to stow your headphones in. That said, the Sony's mic is worse than the Nothing's, and their design is plainer, although you may prefer that.
Though priced quite differently, the Apple AirPods Max and the Nothing Headphone (1) are worth comparing, because they're both flagship portable over-ears from brands that have become known for their design language as much as their technology. The Apple are the better-performing headphones, with superior noise cancelling and more accurate audio reproduction. That said, the Nothing aren't far behind: if they blocked out bass-range noise a little better, their ANC performance would be roughly on par with the Apple. Given their cheaper price, the Nothing may be the better value cans, if not the better headphones overall. That said, if you have an iPhone or Nothing phone, get the headphones that match the respective brand to get the most out of your technology.
While the Bose QuietComfort Headphones Wireless and the Nothing Headphone (1) share a similar over-ear design and target the same mid- to high-end ANC market, the Bose are ahead in most practical areas. They deliver slightly stronger ANC and are more comfortable thanks to their deeper ear cups and softer padding. The Nothing stand out mainly for their unique and funky transparent design, as well as the highly customizable EQ options available in their companion app. The Bose only offer a three-band graphic EQ compared to the Nothing's fully parametric 8-band option. Still, the overall performance is close. So for most people, getting whichever you can find cheaper makes the most sense. But if you have a Nothing phone, you may appreciate the extra features the Nothing cans offer, like access to ChatGPT integration.
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Test Results
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