Following the launch of the Nothing Headphone (1) in July, the sub-brand CMF By Nothing is back with its own headphone that is much less expensive.
I was able to spend a month testing this headphone.
This review is part of the recently launched Community Review program: More info
Box contents:
The CMF Headphone Pro box come with some accessories: a simple quick start guide, a jack cable (1.2m) for use with the 3.5mm jack input on the headphones, and a simple but perfect carrying case. The case adds virtually no bulk to the headphones, so it doesn't take up too much space in a bag. It protects the headphones when needed and can also be used to store the jack cable so you have everything you need at your fingertips.
However, there is no USB-C cable, as the headphones do not support audio output via this port, this is hardly surprising and is in line with other CMF audio products, which no longer offer USB-C cables.
A minimalist bundle, but sufficient for the price.
Hardware:
While the Nothing Headphone (1) stood out with its premium feel, this headset is made entirely of plastic. However, this does not make it feel cheap, as it is beautifully designed and weighs a substantial 283g. It is certainly not the lightest in its price range, but it is still very comfortable to wear.
The headphones feature a power button that also serves as a Bluetooth pairing button, a USB-C port for charging, a 3.5mm jack input, a Roller for sound and noise reduction control, a customisable button, and the new ‘Energy slider’ for adjusting bass and treble on the fly directly on the headphones.
Some choices are debatable, and I will come back to them later.
It is worth noting the absence of a headphone wear sensor, which is unfortunate but probably done to keep prices as low as possible.
Time to Remix.
But one of the big new features compared to the Headphone (1) is the ability to change the ear cushions, which will allow you to replace them if they become worn over time. Simply rotate them to remove the cushion and do the same to install a new pair.
The ear pads are sold by the brand in green and orange for £25, the official argument being customisation through colour combinations, but it's likely that third-party sellers will expand the options available for these headphones.
I received an extra pair in green, and the combination possibilities can be quite appealing, even if the result may be rather unusual.
Interaction
As for the interaction with the headphones, it is far too standard compared to what had been defined on previous CMF products or the Nothing headphones.
One of the strengths of the Headphone (1) was the separate pairing button, which avoided the need to play with the power button to start pairing. Unfortunately, these headphones only have a single button. Although in many cases this process will only be used a few times, it can be more annoying in situations where you have to change PC frequently and therefore have to re-pair the headphones.
Another big disappointment is the audio prompts that signal actions. What used to be universal sounds have been replaced by spoken ‘power on’ and ‘power off’ or ‘cinema mode’ and ‘concert mode’ when adjusting the spatial audio mode. It almost feels like a low-cost product or even a counterfeit if you are used to what Nothing usually does, but this is not the case.
It is worth noting the presence of the scroll wheel, which remains much more intuitive than sliding on a touch surface. This same scroll wheel can be pressed to change the noise reduction mode, but the press is quite deep and gives no physical feedback other than the button being pressed. An audible ‘click’ would have been better, as on the Headphone (1), so that you know the click has been registered even before the headset's audio prompt.
This is a departure from everything CMF has done so far, and even from Nothing's intuitive strategy for its Headphone (1). Whether this is for budgetary reasons or a genuine departure from the brand, I hope to see improvements in a future iteration.
Audio quality:
For 99€, the CMF Headphone Pro offers balanced audio, but only if the volume stays below 80%. Above that, there is a certain amount of bass distortion, which is quite typical of low-cost models. This is a shame, as the sound level is quite low without pushing it beyond 60%. - 70% to fully enjoy the sound, but we often find that the bass overpowers the vocals, especially in pop music or, for example, in shooting games using the jack plug and 100% volume, the game is unplayable as the shots are pushed to the forefront above all surrounding noise.
This bass specificity will certainly be appreciated for certain genres of music but could be a problem for others.
The AAC and LDAC codecs are included, although I doubt the impact of LDAC on these headphones.
There are quite a few options, including spatial audio mode, which I consider to be a gimmick as the rendering is very different depending on the use case. It can be used with Concert or Cinema mode, but I didn't find the experience enjoyable and continued my testing without it.
Another specific feature of CMF products that we find here is the very specific equaliser options (Pop, Rock, Electronic, Enhance vocals, Classical) and a custom 3-band 12-level equaliser that remains difficult to configure correctly. We note the absence of the advanced equaliser, which is much more sophisticated and could have been helpful, but seems to be reserved for the premium products. It is therefore quite difficult to find a generic profile for listening to a wide range of genres without adjusting the equaliser or getting used to certain sound defects with certain types of music.
Energy slider:
One of the new features dedicated to sound customisation is a slider on the headphones that allows you to adjust the bass or treble (selectable in the app), but the effect is hardly noticeable as the bass is already extremely present at the minimum level. This option was previously available via the Nothing X app and allowed you to ‘enhance the bass’ on five levels, which made it possible to adjust the level to a level that was appreciable and leave it alone. This time, it is not possible to use the app, and the only way to avoid applying the effect is to keep the slider at the minimum, which adds another thing to check when using the headphones. I would have preferred this option to remain in the app. It's a bit of a gimmicky feature, which we like at CMF, but with such an impact on the sound, it's not my favourite.
Battery life:
During my testing period, I mainly used the headphones with a jack plug for PC/console, which requires the headphones to be powered, which is quite surprising, but this is also the case with the Headphone (1).
As for the battery, I observed a 10% drop in battery life after 4 hours of Bluetooth use with ANC at 80%, which seems consistent with the manufacturer's claims.
It should be noted that the promised 100 hours of battery life is only achieved at 50% volume, without ANC and using the AAC codec. However, the battery should still be sufficient for a week's use.
Noise reduction:
In terms of noise reduction, we are quite far from what can be achieved on Headphone (1). Here, we find ourselves with noise reduction that is surprisingly effective, but nothing more. In terms of noise reduction and transparency, it is similar to earphones such as the CMF Buds Pro 2. The transparency is barely sufficient and the noise reduction struggles to cover voices that are too close if the volume is not loud enough, so it is adequate but we could have expected better.
Nothing X:
The headphones can be used with the Nothing X app, which is the central app for CMF or Nothing audio/watch products, which is a very good thing.
It features dual connection management, equaliser, customised audio by AudioDo, control management (although only the button is truly customisable, with single and long press options), spatial audio mode selection, and latency reduction that can be activated to achieve 120 ms latency (according to the specifications provided by the brand).
A new feature specific to this product is the ability to select the time before the headphones go into standby mode when not in use, which is a welcome option that further expands the possibilities in terms of customisation.
Conclusion:
For the price of 99€, the CMF Headphone Pro is not perfect, but it is a well-balanced package in terms of the bundle, features and sound.
Don't expect exceptional sound, but it will be more than adequate for most uses if you are not coming from a high-end headset or are demanding in terms of sound quality.
The easily replaceable ear pads are a plus, as they allow you to use these headphones for a long time, as they are one of the parts that wear out the most over time.
The pouch, although very simple, is perfect for protecting the headphones and carrying the accessories everywhere without taking up more space than the headphones alone.
It's also great to have a jack plug and cable so you can use them on a variety of devices, even those without Bluetooth, such as consoles.
I hope that the next iteration will feature a more comprehensive and generic equaliser, even if the current solution seems to be the CMF signature for audio products.
You can buy CMF Headphone Pro now : More info
