The retro-inspired Nothing Headphone (1) are polarizing on sight but pleasing on sound

I’m an ’80s baby, so tech that reminds me of Swatches, transparent Gameboys, and making mixtapes for a girlfriend on my dual cassette deck stereo is top tier. The new Nothing Headphone (1) does that and more. My first nostalgic thought was the character Radio Raheem from Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing,” because you will be walking around with your “radio” prominently displayed.

You can’t miss someone wearing these, but did Nothing hit or miss with its first attempt at over-ear headphones? Like Radio Raheem, will your experience be a mix of love and hate?

Nothing has been nothing short of spot-on with its most recent Ear, Ear (a), and Ear (Open) earbuds releases, but parlaying those wins into headphones is a different beast altogether, so let’s see if they do the right thing and give you some over-ears worth walking the block (or gym) in.

Price, availability, and specs

The Nothing Headphone (1) released in July 2025 at the price of $299 in black or white colorways. You can pick up a pair from Nothing’s website and Amazon.com. In the US, I’ve also seen them on Walmart.com and Keff’s website.

What I liked about the Nothing Headphone (1)

Standout design, solid controls, and tweakable sonics

Let’s begin with the standout features: the design elements. Starting with the hard case, you might notice that it has a similar indentation for the thumb on the top of the case, same as the cases Nothing’s earbuds come in. The felt-covered hard case feels great, though the zipper can be a bit finicky. Open the case and you find the headphones inside. A pocket on the case’s lid houses two cables: one 3.5mm aux cable and a USB-C cable.

Getting to the headphones, the bold design choices made with the Nothing Headphone (1) may be polarizing. Each can looks like an old-school, transparent Walkman, with small details behind the top plastic to mimic a cassette player. The company is known for some subtle and not-so-subtle design flourishes, which you’ll find here.

One can has KEF branding while the other has a red chip under the plastic, with Nothing branding above it. The red is functional because it lets you know it’s the right side earcup. All of this is set in rectangular ear cup backs with a host of controls built into the right side.

There’s a quick actions button in the upper right-hand corner that allows you to control six different features two ways: single press and press and hold. I have it set to invoke my voice assistant and to activate my EQ preset. You also get a cool roller that controls volume and gives you customizable options like the quick actions button. Again, with the details, there’s a satisfying “ticking” sound as you scroll left or right, controling the volume.

Also on the right earcup is a paddle control that doubles for skipping tracks and fast-forward/rewind. The bottom of that right ear cup is where you’ll find the power switch. No pressure switch, which I appreciate, and next to that is where the USB-C and 3.5mm ports are found. You’ll find the pairing button on the inside of the right earcup, which I found to be a bit of an odd placement if you’re trying to pair with a device while wearing the headphones.

Other than that, all the controls have been a joy to use these last two weeks.

Nothing short of a solid first effort

I’m a big fan of the cost vs. quality paradigm of Nothing’s previously released earbuds. They’re feature-packed, and out of the box, they’ve been a joy to listen to, even more so with the Nothing X app’s robust EQ options. I can’t say that with the Nothing Headphone (1). Out of the box, the Simple EQ default, the “Balanced” option, was a bit muddy for me. This is where those robust EQ options come into play — some headphones don’t take too well to EQ adjustments, but the Headphone (1) did.

“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” by Paul Simon and a track from the Get Out OST, “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga,” you get a sense of the depth and width of the vocal sound stage, and it’s entertainingly similar to that of a pair of open-back headphones.

“Violin Duel” from the Chevalier OST was an engagingly gorgeous orchestral arrangement as it flowed through the Headphone (1). I thoroughly enjoyed the texture and control in the attack and decay of some of the more energetic string sections.

While I was enjoying the delightful sound stage presented by the headphones, I also noticed the quality of sound separation. The stereo imaging and immersion, the nuance and texture at this price point are nothing to sneeze at. I threw some frenetic Jazz at it with Charles Mingus’ “Moanin’,” and it handled the horn improvisations with aplomb. The upright bass that plays throughout the song is engaging and has solid weight to it, while the chaotic horns never overpower other instruments or the vocals that are peppered sporadically in the mix.

I listened using both an iPhone 16 Pro Max and a Google Pixel 9, and both sounded great over Bluetooth. The Pixel has the advantage due to LDAC compatibility, but AAC via the iPhone was still a solid experience. The Pixel also had the advantage when it came to wired playback. Kind of — wired sound from both was a truly immersive experience and was appreciably better across frequencies than the experience via Bluetooth.

That said, there was a quirk with the iPhone that may be due to me running the iOS 26 public beta. With the iPhone, after plugging up the USB-C, as soon as I turned the volume up two notches from 0%, it sounded somewhere around 90% of max, and I was unable to control the volume in steps either from the phone or headphones. The Pixel behaved as expected over wire, allowing me to step through the volume incrementally.

People are always asking me which over-ear headphones I recommend for gym use, and because most don’t have an IP rating, I give them recs with that caveat in mind. Nothing Headphone (1) is IP52, which means that it’s protected against dust ingress and can stand up to light exposure to water, like sweat. So these definitely get the green light for gym use unless you’re truly a profuse sweater. Then you should go with a set that has a higher IP54 water ingress rating, like Nothing Ear, Ear (a) or Ear (open).

Rounding out the tech, the microphone call quality was solid under favorable conditions. With very heavy urban ambient noise, quality may decrease. The noise-cancelling was also quite good — ANC does a great job of quieting urban noise like cars and trains, along with conversation and other sounds in the midrange. This is due in part to the solid amount of passive noise cancellation you get from the earpads.

Battery life holds up to claims, as I got around 30 hours in my testing with both LDAC and ANC on, playing around 60-70% of maximum volume. The way I listen will drain my battery faster, along with certain genres of music.

What I didn’t like about Nothing Headphone (1)

Chipped cans and rough Bass Enhancement

The ergonomics of the Nothing Headphone (1) are such that they don’t feel heavy on the head at all after extended periods of listening, despite their size. They don’t fold up, though, so you’re going to take up a good amount of space in your bag when you travel, or during everyday carry. The way they’re designed, expect the paint to chip over time as the earcans tend to smack each other at their lower, inside corners when you remove them from the case.

The extended bass feature in the Nothing X app was great with the earbuds, but with certain music, at higher volumes, you’re going to get distortion with it activated while using these headphones. My two main sub-bass test tracks were too much for Nothing when using the feature — even with the volume set to around 60-70% max output.

Should you buy Nothing Headphone (1)?

Yes — with a caveat

Sony and Bose premium headphones both cost around $150 more than the Nothing Headphone (1). Then there’s Sennheiser’s aging but still highly relevant Momentum 4 Wireless, which you can currently find online at the same price as Nothing’s offering. Finally, you have lower-cost offerings from Soundcore and Earfun to contend with.

I think the biggest challenge to Nothing is Sennheiser because it handles bass better at the same price, but it’s getting a bit long in the tooth and may be refreshed sooner rather than later. I prefer its design over the other options, but that will be a highly personal choice. Ultimately, I think the Nothing Headphone (1) is a great first effort, even though it’s a bit pricey at $299. As we’re already halfway through the year, though, they’re an excellent purchase if a $50 price drop happens around the holidays.

Battery Life

Up to 80 hours with ANC off, 35 with ANC on

Wireless?

Yes

Microphones

4 mic ENC architecture

Compatible With

Android, iOS