Products
Nothing Ear
Nothing Ear (a)
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 19, 2025 09:29 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 20, 2025 02:10 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
TypeIn-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Emphasized (3 dB)
WirelessTruly Wireless
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
Our Verdict
Nothing Ear
Nothing Ear (a)
Overall, the Nothing Ear are better than the Nothing Ear (a) but only incrementally. These have more in common than they have differences, but the Ear have a greater IP rating, custom sound based on your hearing, a longer battery life, LHDC codec support, and a slightly better mic. On the other hand, the Ear (a) boast similar ANC performance and sound, which is appealing if you don't use the mic or need a long battery. Still, it's clear that minor omissions to the feature set in the app and codec selection make the Ear (a) the budget-oriented alternative, but if you have no plans to take advantage of those, they're possibly a better buy.
Variants
- Ear (Black)
- Ear (White)
- Ear (a) (Black)
- Ear (a) (White)
- Ear (a) (Yellow)
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Black
Ear
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Black
Ear (a)
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White
Ear
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White
Ear (a)
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Yellow
Ear (a)
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Main Differences for
Sports And Fitness
Sports And Fitness
Threshold
Sports And Fitness
8.0
8.0
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
1,100 Hz
1,150 Hz
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
Emphasized (3 dB)
Treble Amount
Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)
Balanced (-1 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
7.8
8.8
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.93 dB
0.52 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
9.4
9.0
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
2.3 dB
2.9 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
2.19 dB
2.74 dB
Mid Bass
2.45 dB
3.45 dB
High Bass
2.41 dB
2.3 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.8
9.2
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.62 dB
1.21 dB
Low Mid
2.19 dB
1.35 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.27 dB
-1.22 dB
High Mid
0.98 dB
0.24 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
7.9
8.4
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.43 dB
2.98 dB
Low Treble
-0.92 dB
-0.17 dB
Mid Treble
-3.13 dB
-2.65 dB
High Treble
-6.69 dB
-9.26 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.9
8.0
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.21 dB
1.12 dB
Dips
1.56 dB
1.5 dB
Stereo Mismatch
7.4
7.7
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.58 dB
0.42 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
0.88 dB
0.77 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.6°
1.8°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
Compare High-Res
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PRTF
0.0
0.0
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Harmonic Distortion
9.0
9.1
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.09%
0.07%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.20%
0.20%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
N/A
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
103.0 dB
103.9 dB
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
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Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No
No
Test Settings
Firmware
1.0.1.54
1.0.1.46
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Balanced
Balanced
ANC
High
High
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
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Type
In-ear
In-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
7.5
Comfort Picture
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Weight
0.02 lbs
0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
7.7
7.7
Controls Picture
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OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Portability
9.5
9.4
Portability Picture
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L
1.3" (3.2 cm)
1.4" (3.5 cm)
W
1.0" (2.5 cm)
1.2" (3.0 cm)
H
1.0" (2.5 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)
Volume
1.22 in³ (20.00 cm³)
1.60 in³ (26.25 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.0
Case Picture
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Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
2.2" (5.6 cm)
2.5" (6.3 cm)
W
2.2" (5.6 cm)
1.9" (4.7 cm)
H
0.9" (2.2 cm)
0.9" (2.3 cm)
Volume
4.21 in³ (69.00 cm³)
4.18 in³ (68.43 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
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Stability
7.5
7.5
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
7.4
7.0
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-18.97 dB
-18.00 dB
Bass
-16.40 dB
-14.31 dB
Mid
-18.25 dB
-19.28 dB
Treble
-22.89 dB
-21.07 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
7.4
7.3
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-17.84 dB
-18.01 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-17.62 dB
-16.57 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-18.93 dB
-18.91 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
8.3
7.7
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
31.76 dB
35.5 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.2
4.6
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
783.39 Hz
931.62 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.6 dB
6.81 dB
HFE
6,736.4 Hz
4,431.55 Hz
Weighted THD
0.368
N/A
Gain
-11.56 dB
19.46 dB
Noise Handling
7.7
7.0
SpNR
SpNR
26.21 dB
33.33 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
8.0
7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
6.6
6.1
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
7.5 hrs
≈ 5.5 hrs
Additional Charges
3.7
≈ 3.5
Total Battery Life
35.3 hrs
≈ 24.5 hrs
Charge Time
0.8 hrs
≈ 1 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
Yes
Passive Playback
No
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
7.5
7.5
App Picture
Compare High-Res
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App Name
Nothing X
Nothing X
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
Adjustable
Presets
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
0.0
0.0
Cable Picture
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Compare High-Res
Analog Audio
No
No
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
No
No
Length
N/A
N/A
Connector
No Wired Option
No Wired Option
Latency - Analog
N/A
N/A
Latency - USB
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency Connection
No Wired Audio
No Wired Audio
Bluetooth Connection
8.7
8.9
Bluetooth Version
5.3
5.3
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
207 ms
188 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
366 ms
286 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
No
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
No
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
2.2
2.2
Type
Charging Case
Charging Case
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C
USB-C
Check Price
Black
Ear
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Black
Ear (a)
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White
Ear
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White
Ear (a)
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Yellow
Ear (a)
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Nothing Ear
Nothing Ear (a)
Comments
Nothing Ear vs Nothing Ear (a): Main Discussion
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