CMF Buds Pro 2 vs Nothing Ear (3): Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v2.0

Updated Feb 19, 2026 05:59 PM

This review is in Early access

See CMF Buds Pro 2 Review

TypeIn-ear

Noise CancellingYes

EnclosureClosed-Back

Bass Amount Very Emphasized (8 dB)

WirelessTruly Wireless

TransducerDynamic

Treble Amount Slightly Underemphasized (-3 dB)

MicYes

Sound Signature Boosted Bass

TypeLocked

Noise CancellingLocked

EnclosureLocked

Bass Amount Locked

WirelessLocked

TransducerLocked

Treble Amount Locked

MicLocked

Sound Signature Locked

Our Verdict

CMF Buds Pro 2

Nothing Ear (3)

Full comparison details regarding individual product score sets can be found in the section below

Variants

Buds Pro 2 (Blue)
Buds Pro 2 (Dark Grey)

Ear (3) (Black)
Ear (3) (White)

Review

See Nothing Ear (3) Review

Check Price

Blue

Buds Pro 2

Black

Ear (3)

Dark Grey

Buds Pro 2

White

Ear (3)

Light Grey

Buds Pro 2

Orange

Buds Pro 2

Main Differences for

Sports And Fitness

Threshold

0.10

Sports And Fitness

7.9

0.0

No major differences between these headphones for sports and fitness. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Sports And Fitness

7.9

0.0

Travel

7.7

0.0

Office Work

7.4

0.0

Wireless Gaming (In Development)

5.4

0.0

Wired Gaming (In Development)

5.3

0.0

Audio Reproduction Accuracy

7.2

0.0

Noise Isolation

8.2

0.0

Microphone (In Development)

6.8

0.0

Frequency Response Consistency

9.0

0.0

Sound

Sound Profile

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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Normalization Frequency

500 Hz

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Bass Amount

Very Emphasized (8 dB)

Locked

Treble Amount

Slightly Underemphasized (-3 dB)

Locked

Sound Signature

Boosted Bass

Locked

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Frequency Response Consistency

9.0

N/A

Consistency L

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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Consistency R

Preview Graph

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Std. Deviation

0.45 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Preview Graph

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Raw FR R

Preview Graph

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Bass Profile: Target Compliance

6.2

N/A

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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RMS Deviation From Target

8.6 dB

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Low-Frequency Extension

20 Hz

Lock Hz

Low Bass

9.39 dB

Lock dB

Mid Bass

9.27 dB

Lock dB

High Bass

6.32 dB

Lock dB

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Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

8.4

N/A

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

Preview Graph

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RMS Deviation From Target

2.11 dB

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Low Mid

2.98 dB

Lock dB

Mid-Mid

-0.42 dB

Lock dB

High Mid

-0.95 dB

Lock dB

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Treble Profile: Target Compliance

6.9

N/A

Treble Profile: Target Compliance

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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RMS Deviation From Target

4.33 dB

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Low Treble

-5.17 dB

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Mid Treble

-0.55 dB

Lock dB

High Treble

-5.88 dB

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Peaks/Dips

8.1

N/A

Peaks/Dips Graph

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Peaks

1.02 dB

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Dips

1.78 dB

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Stereo Mismatch

7.3

N/A

Frequency Response Mismatch

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Phase Response Mismatch

Preview Graph

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Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.45 dB

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Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch

0.71 dB

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Weighted Phase Mismatch

2.0°

Lock°

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Group Delay

7.6

N/A

Group Delay

Preview Graph

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Weighted Group Delay

1.0 ms

N/A

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Cumulative Spectral Decay

CSD

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PRTF

0.0

N/A

PRTF

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PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)

N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.)

N/A

PRTF Distance

N/A

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Harmonic Distortion

9.0

N/A

Harmonics Levels

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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THD Ratio

Preview Graph

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WHD @ 94 dB SPL

0.09%

Lock%

WHD @ 104 dB SPL

0.19%

Lock%

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Electrical Aspects

Impedance

SAMPLE

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Sensitivity @1kHz-1V

N/A

Bluetooth Max SPL

108.0 dB

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Virtual Soundstage

2.0

N/A

Virtual Soundstage

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Head Modeling

Locked

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Locked

Room Ambience

Locked

Head Tracking

Locked

Virtual Surround

Spatial Audio

Locked

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Test Settings

Firmware

0.0.8.1

Locked

Power

Locked

Connection

Bluetooth

Locked

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

Locked

Test Instrument

Audio Precision APx517B

Locked

EQ

Dirac Opteo

Locked

ANC

High

Locked

Tip/Pad

Silicone (small)

Locked

Microphone

Integrated

Locked

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Design

Style

Design Picture 2

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Type

In-ear

Locked

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Locked

Wireless

Truly Wireless

Locked

Transducer

Dynamic

Locked

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Comfort

7.0

N/A

Comfort Picture

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Weight

0.02 lbs

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Clamping Force

0 lbs

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Controls

7.6

N/A

Controls Picture

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OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Locked

Ease Of Use

Decent

Locked

Feedback

Good

Locked

Call/Music Control

Yes

Locked

Volume Control

Yes

Locked

Microphone Control

Locked

Channel Mixing

Locked

Noise Cancelling Control

On/Off

Locked

Talk-Through

On/Off

Locked

Additional Controls

Voice Assistant

Locked

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Portability

9.5

N/A

Portability Picture

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L

1.3" (3.4 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

W

1.1" (2.7 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

H

0.8" (2.1 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Volume

1.18 in³ (19.28 cm³)

Lock in³ (Lock cm³)

Transmitter Required

Locked

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Case

7.5

N/A

Case Picture

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Type

Hard case

Locked

L

2.1" (5.4 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

W

2.1" (5.4 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

H

0.9" (2.3 cm)

Lock" (Lock cm)

Volume

4.09 in³ (67.07 cm³)

Lock in³ (Lock cm³)

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Build Quality

7.5

N/A

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.5

N/A

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

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Side Picture

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Headshots 2

Front Picture

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Rear Picture

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Top

Top Picture

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In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range

7.9

N/A

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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Noise Cancelling

Yes

Locked

Overall Attenuation

-20.56 dB

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Bass

-19.75 dB

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Mid

-21.56 dB

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Treble

-20.44 dB

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Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios

8.5

N/A

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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Airplane Noise Attenuation

-20.35 dB

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Airplane Noise Isolation Audio

Office Noise Attenuation

-18.91 dB

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Office Noise Isolation Audio

Street Noise Attenuation

-21.92 dB

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Street Noise Isolation Audio

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Noise Isolation - Voice Handling

ANC Wind Handling

ANC Wind Handling Graph

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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ANC Wind Noise

Show Text

Leakage

8.5

N/A

Leakage

Preview Graph

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Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

30.57 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

Locked

In-Line

Locked

Boom

Locked

Detachable Boom

Locked

Mic

Yes

Locked

Recording Quality

6.0

N/A

Microphone Frequency Response

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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Recorded Speech

LFE

570.18 Hz

Lock Hz

FR Std. Dev.

4.1 dB

Lock dB

HFE

6,001.45 Hz

Lock Hz

Weighted THD

0.381

N/A

Gain

-23.77 dB

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Noise Handling

7.4

N/A

SpNR

Preview Graph

SAMPLE

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SpNR

20.04 dB

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Noise Gate

Always On

Locked

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.0

0.0

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

8.0

0.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

7.1

N/A

Battery Type

Rechargable

Locked

Continuous Battery Life

6.5 hrs

Lock hrs

Additional Charges

3.0

Lock

Total Battery Life

26 hrs

Lock hrs

Charge Time

0.75 hrs

Lock hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Standby mode

Locked

Audio While Charging

Yes

Locked

Passive Playback

Locked

Charging Port

USB-C

Locked

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App Support

7.5

N/A

App Picture

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App Name

Nothing X

Locked

iOS

Yes

Locked

Android

Yes

Locked

macOS

Locked

Windows

Locked

Equalizer

Graphic + Presets

Locked

ANC Control

Presets

Locked

Mic Control

Locked

Room Effects

Locked

Playback Control

Locked

Button Mapping

Yes

Locked

Surround Support

Yes

Locked

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Connectivity

Wired Connection

0.0

N/A

Cable Picture

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Analog Audio

Locked

USB Audio

Locked

Detachable

Locked

Length

N/A

Connector

No Wired Option

Locked

Latency - Analog

N/A

Latency - USB

N/A

Recorded Latency

N/A

Recorded Latency Connection

No Wired Audio

Locked

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Bluetooth Connection

8.9

N/A

Bluetooth Version

5.3

Locked

Multi-Device Pairing

2 Devices

Locked

Quick Pair (Android)

Yes

Locked

Quick Pair (iOS)

Locked

Line Of Sight Range

334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Lock ft (Lock m)

Latency - SBC

194 ms

Lock ms

Latency - aptX

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

N/A

Latency - LDAC

287 ms

Lock ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Codec

SBC

Locked

AAC Support

Yes

Locked

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Wireless Connection (Dongle)

0.0

N/A

Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Latency - Dongle

N/A

Recorded Latency

N/A

PC Compatibility

Analog

Locked

Wired USB

Locked

Non-BT Wireless

Locked

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PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Locked

PS4 Wired USB

Locked

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Locked

PS5 Analog

Locked

PS5 Wired USB

Locked

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Locked

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Locked

Xbox One Wired USB

Locked

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Locked

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Locked

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Locked

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Locked

Base/Dock

2.2

N/A

Type

Charging Case

Locked

USB Input

Locked

Line In

Locked

Line Out

Locked

Optical Input

Locked

RCA Input

Locked

Dock Charging

Yes

Locked

Power Supply

USB-C

Locked

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Check Price

Blue

Buds Pro 2

Black

Ear (3)

Dark Grey

Buds Pro 2

White

Ear (3)

Light Grey

Buds Pro 2

Orange

Buds Pro 2