I’m not an audiophile, but I do know what makes headphones great for me. The Nothing Headphone 1 do most of that. Where does it fall short? Let me explain..
We’ll start with the build quality. I think they’re built well. They have heft to them from the aluminum and components used in the part of the headphones that rests on your ears. This creates a premium feel, but there’s a con to it. I noticed that wearing glasses and using the headphones creates a pressure. Initially it isn’t a problem, but during that extended use the headphones become uncomfortable as they press onto the frame. This aside, they’re some of my favorite headphones for light to moderate usage. The rest of the frame is a lightweight plastic, which helps with making the headphones lighter. Not only that, but the cousins are made from memory foam to further help with comfort. Sadly, this didn’t alter my long-term experience. Do I think it’s worth the pain though?
Yes.
Moving onto what is easily my favorite feature, the physical switches. There are buttons for each feature. The volume wheel feels good and is easy to use. You can push it to pause and play music as well. (Nice touch!) Accompanying that is a paddle used for scrubbing through music and changing the track you’re listening to. I mostly use it to restart the song I’m listening to. (I over listen, don’t dare judge me!) There’s a pairing button, channel switch button, and the on / off switch.
The channel switching button hasn’t been something I’ve used, or really want to. It let’s you change from different audio sources and I rarely do that. (Examples: Spotify and audible)
The battery life has been pretty good. While I didn’t have an average for how long they lasted through each charge, I can say they weren’t something I’d charge every day or two. That’s something I can appreciate, especially while commuting through the city, or going even further away.
Lastly, the sound quality. It’s good, or at least it is in my experience. Knowing that I’m not big on audio related tech is a major thing for some. However, I think the general tech enthusiast will enjoy it. I’ve noticed that I needed to crank the bass up to level two and I explored the “sound guys” audio profile. That leads me to something what I enjoy. This product is one of many driven by community and is an excellent example of how people coming together can amplify what a product is capable of. It’s truly special and I enjoy it a lot. I think others will too.
My conclusion is this: The Nothing Headphone 1 are nice sounding headphones with a community that helps to make the product shine. They’re durable, and comfortable for reasonable listening sessions. Saying that, they can push in my glasses and create discomfort, but I won’t totally hold that against them. I think they’re worth it for the price and I hope that others share the same sentiment. But they aren’t perfect, especially for everyone. Thanks for stopping by and reading my review.
