We can all agree that the Headphone 1 is such a head turner & it makes a lot of people curious that they come and ask “What is this cassette thingy”?
Simple Headphone 1 review from a notanaudiophile person Let’s go.
Design : Typical Nothing design where it makes people question what the product is. The black one is a little muted but the white one screams loud.
- The roller, Helps you increase/decrease the volume, Press and hold for Noise control & single tap for play/pause
- The paddle, Goes right/left for skip/previous on tracks additionally if we do the same while holding it we can scrub through our media in supported apps (I tested on YT Music & it worked flawlessly)
- The paddle, Goes right/left for skip/previous on tracks additionally if we do the same while holding it we can scrub through our media in supported apps (I tested on YT Music & it worked flawlessly)
- And 2 buttons, The inside one is the pairing one while the outside one is for AI & Channel Hop which I never used ( I wish Nothing had given an option to use it for a different actions as per user needs (we have a few options), Like the ability to switch between devices (happens automatically) as per the user.
These buttons were the most favourite part of my headphone experience, Period. I’ve never seen anything like this that is satisfying, has clicking sounds and you’ll never keep fiddling around the buttons when you’re wearing the headphones. You always know what is where.
We also have a Type-C port as well as a 3.5mm jack for making things easier with the wired world.
BUT, I had some problems with the design : The Fit adjuster, the thing is there are no clicks or lockins for that, It’s a smooth travel, Tho’ it feels very good but you always have to fiddle around the adjuster for that perfect fit & that’s annoying as we can’t do that number rememberance like ‘My perfect fit is at level 2 or 3’. & The fact that when the headphones are on my neck it makes it for a very uncomfortable experience & the cups doesn’t turn around both ways which I feel is a bummer.
Build and package : It’s french kiss, Mostly I love those premium materials, that heavy feel & the fact that the it’s aluminium at structural points, Means the stem won’t break over the period of time that most headphones suffer at. The outer shell however is plastic which is glossy & transparent, but Nothing out of the box ships it with a pre-applied screen protector which is nice but there’s no replacement available & IDK if the offline market will support anything like this for the membrane protection film.
The other thing is for the case it comes with. The case is good but the problem is with the chain/runner it has, It’s very poor as it doesn’t have a smooth opening/closing which spoils the experience if you plan to carry it around + it’s a big as well.
Sound : When I first started using this didn’t quite like the sound compared to like my Ear 2 or my OPPO Enco Air 3 Pro which are both TWS. But in under 2 days of using the headphone for around 3 hrs daily, I got comfortable with the sound. The only two things I disabled were “Spatial Audio & Bass Enhancement” (Tested only in LDAC)
After that I liked how these sound. Now you may have a complete polar opposite opinion on the tuning of the Headphone 1 but I’m someone who isn’t an Audiophile & someone who prefers a balanced/close to balanced sound without too much bass or trebble, Tho’ I’ll mention that I found the mid bass lacking a little, Not the best sound but good. For the variety, This time I did quite a different tests with these, I listened to podcasts, I wore this to my GYM while working out, I took meetings with this, wore this while driving & while listening to songs this time the library was bigger & more scaled with different genres of songs.
It’s weird that I didn’t find it as loud as the other headphones I’ve tried, that’s why nearly 80% volume also doesn’t feel that high (last ss)
ANC & Transparency : I felt the ANC is good but it doesn’t give that opaque feeling, Like it doesn’t really cut down 100% of the noise.
Like my GYM speaker sound still makes it way through & only vanishes if the volume is above 70%. The cancelation value is 42 decibles. For the “Transparency Mode” I think it works well but the sound I feel, the noise I hear is a lot more than what actually is happening when I remove the Headphones, Specially the wind noise.
EQ : There are 3 tabs in the EQ section Simple, Advanced & Explore
Now, The simple mode as the same goes is quite simple & has the company given presets - Balanced, More Bass, More Trebble, Voice & Custom
Advanced tab has all sorts of profile creations & the fact that we can tune our headphones in quite detail
Last one has been added recently where it’s named as “Curated by Nothing” where you are given choice to import other people’s presets & a direct link to their new “Playground website” which has a vast library.
Battery life & mics : Battery life is very good. I charged it weekly with a daily usage time of 4 ish hrs give or take.
Full charge takes 2 hrs but you do get that quick charge 5 min = 5hrs of playback, No ANC but if you do use ANC then it lasts 2.5hrs with that 5 min charge.
Mics are okay, I wish they were better cuz sometimes while in meeting or when taking a stroll the other party complains about my audio not being very good.
I feel this is quite a good try for a first timer, But I do feel 21,000 INR is kinda on the expensive side & it was a very good deal around 15,000 INR a while ago in BBD.
So, If you are looking to buy this wait for a price drop on these or try the Headphone 1 from somewhere & then decide if the sound signature & the overall headphone experience is according to you or not because 21k is a big amount & I the things I liked about the headphone 1 might not be liked by you.
Otherwise, As a product & my experience with it, I feel it’s a good one Nothing has pulled.
This device was received under the “Community review program” but they had no pre-approval rights & they are seeing this the same time as you.
Opinions are true & based only on my experience with the device for over a month.
Also, This might not be the most high quality review of mine but sadly I’m very ill rn & this was the best I could do. So, Apologies in advance & I won’t let this happen again.
