Nothing Headphone (a) Review: Smart Subtractions

Last year, Nothing transplanted its trendy and transparent take on tech from smartphones to headphones. Now, it’s making the latter a little cheaper in the form of a new budget-friendly set of noise-canceling headphones branded as the Nothing Headphone (a).

The price is most of the story here, and the conclusion most will reach isn’t that complicated. The built quality isn’t as slick and the sound quality isn’t as sharp, but if you want the look of the Headphone (1) with less of a hit to your wallet, then the Headphone (a) is going to be an easy sell.

The Headphone (a) is available at a price of $199. That puts them right between the CMF Headphone Pro and Headphone (1) in terms of price. You might even be able to save a few bucks if you shop around as well. 

The Headphone (a) combines the cheap price of the CMF Headphone Pro with the luxury-grade looks of the Headphone (1). As with the former, there’s a range of colorful variants on offer. Then, like the latter, there’s a throwback transparent design and a set of robust physical keys that are used to control playback.

This time around, you can even use one of the buttons to remotely control the camera shutter on your smartphone.  

For as much as the Headphone (a) takes after its premium-grade counterparts, the build quality is not as nice. The headband is a close match, but the earcups are made of much cheaper – or at least cheaper-feeling – materials. The Headphone (a) is decently durable though, with an IP52 rating for water and dust damage and relatively lightweight at just 310g.

Nothing's new nifty noise-canceling cans will play nice with all the usual fast-pairing standards across both Android and Windows, so setting them up is as friction-free as these things get. 

As with the rest of Nothing’s audio accessories, the Headphone (a) can be used straight out of the box but integrates with the Nothing X app. This can be used to tinker with the sound profile and equalizer settings, toggle things like noise-canceling, and tweak the control scheme.  

When it comes to codecs, the Headphones (a) supports both LDAC, Hi-Res, and Spatial Audio. It’s nice to see those here, though more ambitious audiophiles seem more likely to settle on the flagship Headphone (1) than what’s on offer here.

The noise-canceling, though not terrible, is merely okay. Most of what you're getting here is the passive benefits of an over-ear design. If you're listening to music at a decent volume, you'll probably feel pretty isolated while wearing the Headphone (a). However, if you're looking to rely on them for a long-haul flight, you're probably going to find them a little lacking. 

Courtesy of the 40mm drivers inside, the Headphone (a) mostly manages to sound as good as it looks. What’s more, that listening experience comes with more longevity than most. 

Fully-charged, the Headphone (a) offers around 75 hours of playback with ANC enabled (or 135 hours with ANC disabled) on a single charge. In practice, those lofty figures mostly translate into reality. I was able to go weeks without having to charge back up. 

Subject to our usual testing playlist, the Nothing Headphones A performed surprisingly well. As you might expect, their results put them roughly between the Headphone (1) and the CMF Headphone Pro. They nailed the layered soundscapes in Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” and Opeth’s “The Funeral Portrait” but were a little less exceptional when it came to broader soundscapes like Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.”

The microphone setup on the Nothing Headphone (a) is more noteworthy. Listening back to the samples, I was surprised by just how close it sounds to the Headphone (1). If call quality is a priority, I don’t think the Headphone (a) is gonna replace your Jabra’s anytime soon, but they’ll get the job done in a pinch. It definitely sounds better than what you can get out of the microphone on the CMF Headphone Pro.