Smartphone company Nothing now has quite the line of audio accessories and now counts a new adaptive ANC (active noise cancellation) over-the-ear headphone from its sub-brand CMF. The Headphone Pro offers remarkable specs for less than $100, with features like 40dB of noise cancellation, LDAC (Lossless Digital Audio Codec) and Hi-Res certification for both wired and wireless audio, along with an “Energy Slider” to adjust EQ.
The CMF Headphone Pro doesn’t at all resemble Nothing’s boxy over-the-ear Headphone 1 cans. While that design was rather eccentric and austere, CMF’s model has a softer, more conventional look with a rounded headband reminiscent of Sony’s WH-1000XM5s. Another prominent feature is the large, interchangeable ear cups that appear to have generous padding.
CMF’s new cans come with adaptive ANC that reduces outside sounds by 40dB or up to 99 percent and automatically adjust the level according to outside noise. Though battery life is a generous 100 hours with ANC disabled, it gets cut in half to 50 hours with ANC turned on. That’s still more than Sony’s new WH-1000XM6, even without ANC enabled. You can get an additional four hours of service with just a five minute charge, and the Headphone Pro can be directly charged by some smartphones via a USB-C cable.
Control-wise, the Headphone Pro is nicely analog, with buttons instead of the touch controls found on other headphones. Those include Bluetooth/power button on one side and an action button on the other that’s customizable via Nothing’s X app. There’s a multifunction rocker for volume, playback and control of ANC/ambient sound. Then there’s the Energy Slider that lets you make treble and bass adjustments without the need to dive into the X app’s EQ settings.
Nothing’s CMF sub-brand will soon spin off into its own budget brand, the company announced recently. That doesn’t seem to have happened yet, but you can now order the CMF Headphone Pro for just $84 in light grey, dark grey and light green, with shipping set for October 6. The company will soon offer interchangeable ear cushions as well in orange or light green for $25 a pair.