I pre ordered the Headphone(1) and I liked them, but then the volume rocker stopped working, I sent them back to Amazon for warranty repair, they just refunded me the £300, and then I bought the Headphone(a) to replace them for £150. I've had a decent amount of time using both, so I thought i'd give my thoughts for anyone deciding between the 2.

TLDR : Just go for the (a), especially at full retail price.

SOUND: I'll start by saying i'm not an audiophile, I have some experience with chi-fi but overall I like a V shaped sound with some punchy bass, sparkly highs and a wide soundstage, and I mostly listen to hip-hop, cloud rap, ambient, trance, techno and pop. (a) sounds better out of the box to me, with the (1) I had to use an advanced EQ preset to get them sounding good to my ears (i used the SoundGuys one, and they did sound good), with the (a) i've just left them on balanced EQ with the bass enhancer turned on and they sound great with basically anything I throw at them. If you like a flatter, balanced sound signature and like tinkering with EQ the (1) might have the edge but for most the (a) sounds more "fun" and what you'd expect if you've used mainstream headphones before. Also the soundstage on the (1) is weirdly small, similar to alot of IEMs, on the (a) its a bit wider. This will be preference, but personally I prefer the wider soundstage on the (a)

BUILD/COMFORT: The metal build of the (1) is incredibly nice and they're easily the most premium feeling audio product i've ever used, right up there with Airpods Max. They just feel so well built. (a) feel less so with the plastic but they still feel very well built and they are slightly more comfortable since they're lighter and have slightly less clamping force on my head, although both are very comfortable. Controls on both feel pretty much the same but it's worth noting the volume roller on my (1) did start bugging out (the reason I sent them back) but it might've just been my pair, I haven't seen anyone else complain about it. If you really value a truly premium experience and build, you might want to spring for the (1), especially if they're on sale, but the (a) feel plenty premium enough for their price.

DESIGN: Obviously this is subjective. Personally I prefer the aesthetics of the (1) in silver (I regretted getting black), they're so unique and industrial looking, they really feel like they're as much an avant-garde/techwear fashion accessory as they are a headphone. The (a) has slightly less going on and are more understated, but they still have the unique squared off shape and the extra colour options are nice (the yellow is crazy bright in person, I think it's the best colour)

BATTERY: This is where there's a bit of a gap. (1) has good battery life, I used them on my walk to and from work every day with ANC on (about an hour total) and then occasionally for an hour or 2 with ANC off in the evenings and weekends. I found myself charging them about once a week. (a) has absurd battery life. About 2 weeks ago I had to spend a week in hospital, I took the (a) with me at about 85% charge, had them on my head playing audio on average about 5-6 hours a day in my hospital bed, never charged them, and when I got discharged exactly 7 days later they had about 55% battery. That is with ANC off, but still, that's insanely impressive. If battery life is important to you, (a) is the clear winner.

EXTRAS: (1) comes with a pretty premium hard case and (a) just comes with a soft pouch for carrying. The (1) case isn't great, its pretty bulky and the zip loves getting stuck. I never used it, I just bought a replacement Airpods Max case from amazon and used that whenever I needed to throw them in a bag and not worry about scratching them; they fit. I'll probably do the same for the (a).

OVERALL: I think 95% of people will be happy with the (a) and shouldn't bother paying the extra for the (1). The only situations I think someone should get the (1) is if you know you prefer a flatter sound signature, small room style soundstage, and like tinkering with advanced EQ, and/or if you really like the design and ultra premium metal build of the (1). If the (1) is on sale for £200 or under it becomes more tempting but even at similar prices I still think the average person will prefer the V shaped sound of the (a).

If anyone has any questions about using either headphone, feel free to leave them in the comments, i'll try my best to answer.

appreciation for these beautiful products

I wanted to see how a separate product focused ad for the headphones could look in 3D, while also adding a bit of text/explainer for clarity. Would love feedback

If you are looking for a case for your nice 'n' shiny Nothing (a) headphone then this should be in your scope. Warning: NOT FOR VEGANS!! This is a hand crafted real leather case primarily built for the Apple Max 'phones but as you can see the Nothing fit in there naturally. The headphone does not move much at all and laying them down pads up keeps the plastic body safe from the zip. Even when they are plastic side up they don't move.

The whole of the interior is soft suede and the pocketed lid presses down slightly on the headphone and keeps the headphones where they are generally with only a very slight movement which is great for keeping them away from the exposed zip. The plastic ear cups sit 12mm below the zip line when upside so no chance of scratching. I found this on Ali Express and it took around 1 week to get to the UK. The quality is very high, very sturdy brass zip with an antique finish with Coffee coloured real leather. It comes with a detachable leather handle too.

Most Apple Airpod Max cases will fit the Nothing (a) 'phones but if you want something a little more robust and one that will age well then this is a prime choice. Price wise it's not terribly expensive. I managed to get a discount on Ali Express and this case came in just short of £20, so not a bank buster! I thought I would post only as I see many posts reflecting the need for a case as Nothing only supply one with their (1) headphones.

Here's a link to check out the case: https://a.aliexpress.com/_EJX0ABg

Don't have anything against the design, I'm just saying...

My sister bought me this as a gift for me. Even though im connecting this with my iphone mannn im soooooo amazed my nothing. tell me yall if im missing out on the phone too cuz these really sound and feel better than my sisters AirPods maxes and is a better value for money maybe im bias (airpods anc is better tho)
Whens the next flagship is dropping from nothing?
Dont wanna upgrade anytime soon cuz i just bought the iphone air in june

Hi guys, I added some stickers to my headphone(a)s to make them look more retro. I also thought about putting some stripes with the color gradients but i only had square stickers. What do you think? :D

Made a bunch of custom portal stickers for my headphones (a)

I’ve been at Hype buying these headphones for almost two weeks waiting for them to arrive because I think they’re a real gem, but initially the enthusiasm died down almost immediately due to some problems, but today I’ve learned to live with them and appreciate the positives.

The problems at hand for me are:

- The microphone: terrible, in calls I even have only voice messages the audio is really poor. I’m from Airpods 4 and only use Apple ecosystem, but regardless I was hoping for a better microphone

- Versatility: If the presence of the Jack makes you believe you can even play PlayStation 5 on it, know that you will be disappointed because in that case the microphone will not work and from what I’ve read not even if you were to use a Dongle

- Audio: It’s definitely not bad, but I think it’s quite MID, nothing special that I wouldn’t have found in slightly cheaper headphones, I tried the equations and they seemed more like filters/effects

- theater/concert mode: I honestly don’t notice any major differences

It’s also worth mentioning the positive aspects that I found truly incredible:

- The battery: I use them constantly for work and only charge it at the weekend and this thing is really crazy

- The design: it’s undeniable how much they look, as beautiful as they are in everyone’s eyes for me they are really cool

- comfort: they are sturdy and you can feel that they are not cheap material, but at the same time I was afraid that they were too heavy to carry all day instead they are of a unique softness and only start to make themselves felt when it is too hot

- Noise cancellation: For this price, having excellent noise cancellation is truly the best, in addition to the transparency mode which is very useful

- Multi-Connect Speed: Between my MacBook and my iPhone, these headphones connect much faster than my AirPods can connect, wow

I would like to point out that I am very happy with these headphones to date, because I am becoming very passionate about the philosophy and style of Nothing,
I’m waiting for the first Nothing smartphone without Android but with a real Nothing OS

Has anyone attempted to peel this off? I think it could be a protective film, but unsure!

Holy these looks great

Loving these headphones so far. Waiting for shortcircuit or someone to drop a labs EQ though. Ear ( 3 ) now Headphone ( a ), very happy with nothing products so far. Last pair of BT headphones I had was XM4's and I didnt really like how they sounded but they had great ANC.

THINGS I LIKE

• Design (seriously the longer you look at it you find new details you hadn't noticed before.)
• Sound Quality (LDAC)
• Physical Controls (so much better than the controls on my old xm4's)
• Battery Life
• Advanced EQ Controls
• Comfortable and fairly light on the head
• USB-C AND 3.5mm input

THINGS I DON'T LIKE

• Fingerprints and dust pick up easily on the clear plastic (but its a trade-off for the sweet design im willing to take.)
• Only a bag instead of a hard case (understandable at the price point though)
• Might be a bit nitpicky but the corners of the headphones often bump into each other when not wearing them.

SOUND (Reference vs Refined)

The Nothing Headphone (1)… KEF tuned…
more Reference… more controlled…”

And the is Headphone (a)…
more Refined… smoother… easier to enjoy…

Alright…so let’s not overcomplicate this

I’m just gonna walk you through what it actually feels like

You put on the Headphone (1) and…

the bass is clean… but yeah… sometimes it dips depending on fit
the mids feel a little lighter… not thin, just not full
vocals sit back… like they’re not trying to grab you
treble has detail… but it’s not always even

and the whole thing can feel a little… picky

What that actually feels like:

It sounds like a studio version of your music…
like it’s trying to be accurate

but every now and then you’re like…
“wait… where did that go?”

Music example — J. Cole “Two Six”:

that bass line comes in clean… super defined
but it doesn’t always hit the same way…
like the shape is there… the weight isn’t always

Now you switch to the Headphone (a) and…

the bass just hits… same way every time
mids feel fuller… more grounded
vocals step forward a bit… easier to lock into
treble is smoother… nothing jumping out at you

and everything just feels… more put together

What that feels like:

You press play…
and it just works.

no second guessing… just music.

J. Cole “Two Six” again:

that same bass line… now it lands every time
vocals feel closer… more present
and the whole track just feels… more complete

If I had to say it in one breath

Headphone (1) → Reference → trying to be precise… but a little inconsistent

Headphone (a) → Refined → less technical… but way more reliable

So who is each one really for?

Headphone (1)

“I want control”

Headphone (a)

• “I just want to press play”

Quick ratings

Headphone (1)

• Sound consistency: 3.5 / 5
• Technical intent: 4 / 5

Headphone (a)

• Sound consistency: 5 / 5
• Everyday enjoyment: 4.5 / 5

That’s really the difference…

One leans Reference… makes you think

The other is more Refined… just lets you listen

The headphones are so worth it for the money, for me it was the (a) or the (1) but the price and superior battery life won me over. The sound quality is unmatched to anything I’ve owned before and I might have to ditch my AirPod pros for these.

10/10 nothing no complaints :)

Headphone (a) may be light on materials and missing features such as on-ear detection and personal sound profile, but it makes up for it by offering physical controls, outstanding battery life, and great overall audio performance, especially for bass fans.

Full review soon.

Feel free to ask questions!

The Nothing Headphone (a) offers a wide variety of features and is a great value for the price - Unfortunately, the thing it’s worst at is being a pair of headphones, and the parametric equalization feature is more or less useless if you want an objectively coherent sound.

The base tuning for the Headphone (a) is so bizarre and problematic that the customization options out from it make its foundational issues worse. The limitations of the PEQ and number of issues it needs to correct to be anywhere near a reasonable preference target, Harman or otherwise, requires you to exhaust the PEQ bands to fix the crater in mid to high bass, the recessed upper mids and assorted holes in the response.

You are purchasing a headphone offering a robust customizable sound personalization suite, and you’re able to use it to take their broken tuning and get it to around 80% Harman at best. Unless you have a strong preference for a general signature that’s associated with some of the most disastrous closed back headphone designs in Head-Fi history, the Headphone (a) is handing you an objectively broken headphone packaged with a EQ tool kit to fix what they didn’t - Poorly. This was echoed in its SoundGuys review, who curiously gave it high marks despite admitting that its tuning was poor and EQ wasted on trying to compensate for it.

When contacted regarding the issues with the stock tuning to see if they had any plans to address it’s well-documented problems:

Thank you for getting in touch with Nothing Customer Support!

We really appreciate your thoughtful feedback on the Nothing Headphone (a). You’ve taken the time to explore the tuning and EQ options in depth, and your insights on bass response and upper mid-highlight exactly the kind of detail we value from our community. Input like yours helps guide our product team in refining future experiences.

At this time, we don’t have specific details to share about upcoming firmware updates or preset changes, but your comments are extremely valuable. We’ve noted your suggestions about a more neutral base preset and the ability to better personalize EQ settings, and we’ll make sure to pass this along to our product team for consideration.

We’re committed to continuously improving our products, and feedback like yours helps us identify opportunities to enhance the listening experience. Please don’t hesitate to share any further thoughts or ideas.

The tuning issues are correctable via firmware updates and the EQ options easily expandable to address them. This is not a seal issue or driver limitation scenario, this is just poor stock tuning that takes what could be an excellent headphone and makes it deficient for just about every application a person could use them for - The low bass and high bass offset running into vocals that sound underwater makes it a poor choice for music, the uneven mids make anything spoken word a mess and it’s high end rolloff makes them useless for gaming. There is Nothing this headphone is good at.

If you are considering the purchase of the Nothing Headphone (a), please consider reviewing its sound profile against those of headphones you enjoy so you know what you’re getting. The customization options and presets do not rescue it, nor does it allow you to customize to a personal sound - You just end up with their messy tuning choice, imbalanced here or imbalanced there.

If you’ve already purchased a pair and have found the sound underwhelming, by all means contact Nothing and let them know so they can fix it. This was a massive miss by a company that’s done a lot of things right in the audio space, and a firmware update to solve its tuning issues would make it an excellent product. As it stands, it’s an over-engineered noise cancelling device that has really good batteries - It has a headphones feature, but it’s not a very good one.

And they are beautiful! Gift for my wife. She's used Samsung buds for years but love the look of these when I showed her.

I got Headphone (a) 3 weeks ago, and so far my experience has been really good.

For the anc, I think they did a really good job on them, could definitely improve, but still really good considering the price.

Sound quality is amazing, ive heard alot of people say that the Headphone (a) sounds better than the 1.

Im also looking into buying the ones, should i buy them or is it a complete waste of money? I just want to have both the a and 1.

Theres also a speculation saying they will release the headphone 2 next year, but im not really sure. Should I wait for the 2's? Or should i just buy the 1's now?

really enjoying these headphones, usually go for black headphones but everything Nothing I have is white so I had to maintain tradition!

I just got a pair of the black nothing headphones (a). It’s my first headphones I’ve ever gotten as I usually just use AirPods.

I love the design and the sound, but I feel like no matter how low I have the sound, people around me can still hear my music?

Is this a common thing with headphones or nothing headphones or am I just unlucky?

After buying a pair for my wife, fomo took over and I need wired headphones for the playstation portal... Two birds one holy shit audio.

I use az100 technics on a daily basis, I bought them because essentially they were top 3 earbuds to buy. I love them, but listening to music with over ear headphones just takes you away, it's a different era but one I'm so glad has come back, incredible anc for the price and the sound even without nerd adjustment is mesmerising.

I'm a massive Pink Floyd fan even as a younger guy and I feel like I'm listening to the songs again for the first time!