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CNET
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
What Makes Cheap Earbuds a Real Value? Here's How I Find the Hidden Gems
A few months ago, Final Audio, a boutique Japanese brand, sent me its new, relatively low-priced ZE3000 SV noise-canceling earbuds to test. I was curious: Would this be a hidden gem among the dozens, even hundreds, of budget headphone options out there? Even as a full-time reviewer of these products, I can't keep up with all of them. So I did what I always do. I charged them up, then swapped out the default medium-size tips for the largest set of included ear tips and hoped I'd get a tight seal, which is crucial for getting optimal sound quality. If I can't get a tight seal, I'll swap in a pair of my go-to tips from other earbuds brands I've tested (Sennheiser and Bowers & Wilkins tips are a good match for my ears) and note that in my review. In this case, Final Audio's largest tips worked well. No issue there. I ran through some of the usual tracks I use for evaluating headphones, an eclectic mix that includes Spoon's Knock Knock Knock, Athletes of God's Don't Wanna Be Normal, Orbital's Dirty Rat, Bjork's Hollow, Drake's Passionfruit, Pixies' Vault of Heaven, Florence and the Machine's Choreomania, various Foo Fighters songs, plus some tracks from Car Seat Headrest's The Scholars, CNET home audio editor Ty Pendlebury's favorite new album (it is well recorded). The ZE3000 SV lacked a few features, like sensors that pause your music when you take a bud out of your ears and resume playing when you put it back in. The noise-canceling and voice-calling performance weren't top-tier. But the earbuds seemed well-tuned and pleasant-sounding, with a natural quality to the sound, with good depth and bass punch. They were also nicely designed. Overall, they seemed like a step up from many budget earbuds I've tested. Then things took an unexpected turn. I noticed that an online earbuds sleuth had claimed that the ZE3000 SV weren't unique and cost more than they should. Some Reddit users picked up on his post and were critical of Final Audio. But were the accusations really true? And had the company actually done anything wrong? As I dug deeper into this little mystery, I got a revealing glimpse behind the curtain of how budget headphones are made and how any given brand can distinguish its low-cost models from those of rivals. Below, I'm going to fill you in on how companies make their budget earbuds and on the trade-offs involved, from features to cost to who does the actual work. I'll also give you an in-depth comparison of designs from budget earbuds mavens Earfun and Soundpeats and my detailed, hands-on impressions of the Final Audio ZE3000 SV and a lower-cost model that on the surface shares some distinct similarities. A daunting array of choices As consumers, we face dizzying choices when it comes to audio products. In-ear or over-ear. Wired or wireless. High-end or entry-level. Headphones or portable speakers. Often we end up with a small collection across some or all of those categories, some that we use every day, others that sit in a drawer for long stretches at a time. My colleague Katie Collins has written that everyone needs three different types of headphones, each one serving a different purpose. But that can add up to a chunk of spending, so we're also always on the lookout for a bargain. Decent quality without breaking the bank. In premium territory, there's Apple, the dominant player in the true-wireless earbuds market with its category-defining AirPods and Beats products. According to market researcher Canalys, in the first quarter of this year, it held a 23% share of that market worldwide, and in North America, its share is more than double that at "over 50%." The AirPods Pro 2 and other higher-end noise-canceling earbuds from Bose, Sony and other big-name audio brands start at around $250 (list price) and go all the way up to $400 or more. A lot of people can't afford those prices, or maybe just don't want to spend that much on a device that's pretty easy to lose. I've lost or damaged only a handful of earbuds in over 10 years of testing them, but my kids sure are skilled at misplacing or destroying them. While the number of true-wireless earbuds shipped each year continues to grow — 331 million devices in 2024, up 12% from the year before, according to Canalys — Apple's share has been drifting downward, with some of the biggest growth coming from non-established audio brands, many of them based in China, that make "cost-effective" earbuds that come in at half the price of AirPods or less — sometimes much less. I can check out only so many budget earbuds and headphones, so I tend to keep coming back to a handful of value brands that produce affordable products that punch above their weight, so to speak. These include Earfun, Anker (Soundcore), Soundpeats and Baseus. I've also dabbled in QCY, Acefast, Oladance, Tranya, Tozo and Tribit, which I think makes better Bluetooth speakers than earbuds and headphones. This is just a small fraction of the no-name audio brands you'll find on Amazon, some of them with nonsensical names like TSYUCXH, KZ ZSN and Rorsou. I've had a few folks suggest I try the $29 Beribes headphones, which have accrued 45,000 user reviews on Amazon and look eerily similar to the Tozo HT2, which I've tried and which aren't bad for around $35. There is no shortage of budget earbuds confronting consumers. This is just a small sampling. David Carnoy and Zooey Liao / CNET Prices for budget headphones and earbuds have remained fairly steady, with only slight increases amid President Donald Trump's shifting tariff threats. A couple of value headphone companies I spoke with said that if tariffs stay at their current levels, they didn't anticipate prices rising significantly on their models, which suggests profit margins on budget buds may be a little better than I thought. Once you spend a little time in this world — or too much time, in my case — you start to notice that a lot of the products look and sometimes sound pretty similar. There are AirPods clones with stems, and stemless "dot-style" buds like the Final Audio ZE3000 SV. You also encounter plenty of "sports" models with ear hooks that mimic the ear-hook design of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and newer Powerbeats Pro 2. Occasionally, you'll see near-exact copies of popular earbuds like the AirPods, but for the most part, these so-called knockoffs simply — and sometimes rather blatantly — follow the design cues of popular models. Earbuds design: Off the shelf versus from the ground up Diving into budget earbuds waters can be a murky experience. While cheap earbuds continue to improve, not all are created equal, and I still run into a lot of low-cost buds that sound pretty poor. By that, I mean they lack clarity and definition, distort at mid to higher volumes, and have middling noise canceling and voice-calling performance. That said, it's becoming increasingly easy to find budget models that meet the criteria of being good enough and that offer a good fit along with decent sound quality and overall solid performance. Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET Some value products are developed from the ground up (from scratch) by a company's own team of designers and engineers. But the reality is that the majority of earbuds on the market are based on off-the-shelf designs or "pre-developed product packages" crafted by Chinese factories. That means many earbuds you'll find on Amazon, while looking slightly different, are based on the same "package." The challenge for me as a reviewer is trying to discern what's different about all these similar models, especially when the changes from generation to generation are incremental at best. What I find interesting is that now even major audio brands like Bose are doing their own versions of pre-developed product packages, licensing out their designs and technology to other brands to help recoup development costs. Earlier this year, Skullcandy released its Method 360 ANC buds with Sound by Bose, which were developed in collaboration with Bose and lean on the technology and tuning that Bose developed for its own earbuds. I described them as "$100 Bose earbuds in disguise" because the buds themselves share a very similar design aesthetic to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, though their charging case resembles the one Skullcandy uses for its $60 Dime Evo earbuds. "Sound by Bose allows us to bring our audio technology to products in markets, categories or price points where we don't currently offer solutions," says Nick Smith, president of audio technology business and chief strategy officer at Bose. We've also seen a proliferation of cheap earring-like clip-on buds. That happened after Bose popularized this design with its $300 Ultra Open Earbuds and factories in China went into overdrive to create cheap knockoffs. While clip-on earbuds first started appearing in Asia several months (or even longer) before the Ultra Open Earbuds were released, Bose not only vastly improved upon the design and performance of early clip-on models, but it also did a bang-up job marketing them as a "totally new kind of wearable device." Since the clip-on open earbuds don't feature active noise canceling and their open design compromises sound quality, their performance bar is lower, making it easier for value brands to create compelling alternatives to the Bose buds for much less. Once new clip-on models upgraded their drivers and added their own versions of Bose's flexible hinge, enhancing their comfort level, the gap narrowed significantly between Bose's premium clip-on model and those from far cheaper value brands. For example, Baseus' new MC1 Pro cost around $65, and while they aren't as good as the Bose, they're not that far behind and cost way less. "To offset acoustic limitations, emerging vendors are collaborating with audio labs to optimize sound quality, with some products nearing traditional TWS [true-wireless stereo] standards," Cynthia Chen, research manager at Canalys (now part of Omdia), said in a statement. She noted that open earbuds are the fastest-growing segment of the true-wireless earbuds market and are accelerating the shift from functional audio devices to value-driven, lifestyle-oriented products. Open buds are "where technology meets fashion," she said. Two popular budget earbuds with similar specs: What separates them? Over the years, I've become well-versed in Anker's Soundcore buds (of which there are many) and Earfun's offerings, and awarded the EarFun Air Pro 4 an Editors' Choice award in 2024 as a value standout. Most companies don't want to delve too deeply into the details of their product development. When I asked Anker's PR rep about how it developed its products, he came back with: "We respectfully decline to comment." CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Earfun, however, was more forthcoming. Despite its products looking like they might be based on pre-developed product packages, Helen Shaw, the company's marketing manager, tells me they aren't and that EarFun creates "ground-up" products based on its original designs with custom molds, circuit boards and various components. "All EarFun products are independently developed, with its own R&D team, and the core R&D team has previously served the world's first-line audio brands, such as Sony, JBL and Philips," Shaw says. "Self-developed mode" adds more time to the development process, and it typically takes a year or more to complete a product. As an example, she said that its next-gen Air Pro 4 Plus would be available in September or October, a little more than a year after the Air Pro 4 was released in August 2024. "This is relatively rare among the current cost-effective headphone brands," Shaw tells me. "Other brands basically find factories to directly OEM, change the logo and change the ID." ("OEM" is industry jargon for companies that do the actual manufacturing of products on behalf of the brands that put their names on the final products.) By doing so, they can save manpower and capital investment and can quickly go to market (in six months instead of a year, for instance). But the disadvantage is that they don't tightly control the production process. As a result, there can be quality control issues, with imperfections creeping into the products, which can lead to performance problems; sound quality can vary from earbud to earbud even though they're the same model. EarFun doesn't release quite as many earbuds as Anker does each year, and its priciest true-wireless earbuds, the Air Pro 4, list for $80 and usually sell for closer to $60. In contrast, Anker's new-for-2025 Liberty 5 buds list for $130 and typically get discounted to $110 or a little less. The Liberty 5 are a tad sleeker and more premium-looking than the EarFun Air Pro 4 and have improved noise-canceling and voice-calling capabilities. But it's debatable which is the better value and some people will tell you they like the older Liberty 4 Pro, which has dual drivers and sometimes is on sale for less than the Liberty 5. As a reviewer, it gets even trickier when the specs of two models from competing brands look nearly identical. Take for example the new-for-2025 Soundpeats Air5 Pro. They're powered by the same Qualcomm chip found in the EarFun Air Pro 4, have the same size drivers and cost essentially the same. I was curious to hear why each company thought its product was better, given their similarities. EarFun's Shaw was quick to point out that the Soundpeats Air5 Pro lacked a few features that were in its Air Pro 4 buds. These included ear-detection sensors, wireless charging, Google Fast Pair and Auracast, which allows you to tune into audio broadcasts over Bluetooth, say from a TV at your gym. She also said that the EarFun team spent nearly half a year "customizing the ear caps" and included five pairs of ear tips to help ensure a tight seal and comfortable fit for a variety of ear sizes. (I certainly agree that ear tip design is a critical, sometimes overlooked element of earbuds design; I also value ear-detection sensors.) "For the active noise canceling and sound-quality performance, both have the brand's tuning style and different results," she says. "It depends on the user's preference." A Soundpeats representative defended the company's Air5 Pro, citing its potential advantages: "At first glance, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro and the EarFun Air Pro 4 appear very similar. Both are powered by the Qualcomm QCC3091 chip, offer high-resolution audio support, feature similar driver sizes and are available at comparable price points. However, the real-world experience can differ, and this is where Soundpeats demonstrates a clear advantage." Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET She said that the Air5 Pro offered up to 55 decibels of "AI-powered" adaptive noise cancellation, compared with 50 decibels on the EarFun Air Pro 4. It also featured anti-wind noise technology, which helped maintain audio clarity in outdoor settings. Combined with the buds' six-microphone setup and CVC 8.0 (Qualcomm's Clear Voice Capture technology with background noise reduction), this added layer of noise control gave the Soundpeats "a slight edge in preserving both audio and call quality in noisy environments." She also noted that from a comfort standpoint, the Air5 Pro were lighter at 4.8 grams per earbud compared to 5.2 grams for the EarFun. Additionally, the Air5 Pro's "ergonomic shape and integrated triangle vent help reduce in-ear pressure, allowing for longer, more comfortable use." Personally, I'd give the slight edge to the Earfun Air Pro 4 due to those extra features. However, from a performance standpoint, they're both at a similar level, with small differences separating them. That makes them challenging to evaluate, especially when everybody has different ears and audio tastes. Online drama and an earbuds origin story CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Based in Kawasaki City, Japan, Final Audio is geared toward audiophiles and specializes in earphones and headphones that range from its flagship $4,000 D8000 planar magnetic open-back headphones to those aforementioned entry-level ZE3000 SV buds that are priced near the top of the "budget" range at $100. I'm always on the lookout for under-the-radar products that might be a good value, and the ZE3000 SV seemed like they might be a good candidate based on my experience with earlier Final Audio products. Judging from how they looked, I was under the impression that the ZE3000 SV buds were developed from the ground up. Curious to see exactly what their specs were and whether there was any online buzz about them, I did a quick search and came across an eyebrow-raising post in the message boards at entitled Reviewer Poorting finds that $100 ANC earbuds Final ZE3000 SV is almost the same product as $33 Roseselsa Ceramics X. Poorting had published a video on BiliBili tearing down both earbuds and comparing their components. Truth be told, I'd never heard of the Roseselsa Ceramics X earbuds before I saw that post comparing them to Final Audio's ZE3000 SV buds, though it appears the Ceramics X have a small cadre of fans. (Note that they currently cost $38 instead of $33.) "The Ceramics X was released in March 2024 and the ZE3000 SV in December 2024," wrote the message board poster, named Helias. "I guess Final found the same OEM who made the Ceramics X and asked it to produce the ZE3000 SV with minimal modifications. Final saved tons of R&D cost here, and is obviously having a greater profit margin than Roseselsa. However, in terms of performance, I'm afraid I don't see proof that the Final offers much more than the Roseselsa." Hmmm, I thought. I guess the Final Audio earbuds weren't developed from the ground up after all. But I also wasn't convinced they were exactly the same product. I thought there might be more to the story, so I went to Amazon and bought the Ceramics X, then dashed off an email to the Final Audio PR rep. I told her that I liked the ZE3000 SV but came across a post online claiming they were the doppelganger for the much cheaper Roseselsa buds. "Can you ask someone at Final about it?" I inquired. She said the folks there weren't aware of the post until I alerted them to it. As it turns out, the post was correct. The ZE3000 SV, which have become hard to find online (perhaps because Final Audio has held back distribution after becoming aware of the little online drama surrounding them), were based on a pre-developed product package. However, the PR rep said that while the ZE3000 SV and the Roseselsa Ceramics X share a common base and appear visually similar, there are significant differences. The Final Audio ZE3000 SV (left) and the Roseselsa Ceramics X. Numi Prasarn and Zooey Liao / CNET "Roseselsa made only minimal changes, limited to tuning and finish," she says, "whereas Final implemented more substantial modifications in areas critical to sound and performance." She explained that with the rapid growth of true-wireless earbuds and the huge surge in demand, many factories in China were offering earbuds packages that included the molds, circuit boards and various components. This setup benefited factories, as they could sell the same package to multiple brands and recoup development costs more easily. Factories gave brands like Final Audio two options. They could use the package as is, slap their logo on it and essentially white-label it, or the brand could invest in customizing it by changing the mold, structure or internal components. The ZE3000 SV, which wasn't designed to be "as complex as Final's ground-up flagship models," fell into the custom option category. The company opted for "a reliable base package" it had already tested and then made several customizations in line with its sound and design philosophies. For starters, Final altered the look of the buds with an angled top and added its own matte, pebbled finish. On the inside, it swapped in new drivers, redesigned the rear acoustic chamber and programmed the buds with its own proprietary noise-canceling algorithm. It also included its own ear tips, which, as I've noted, are important for a secure, comfortable fit and tight seal. Finally, it developed a dedicated companion app for the buds. What it didn't change was the main circuit board, front acoustic chamber, system software and the exterior shell of the case. Now that I had the Ceramics X, I was able to compare the two models myself. With that matte, pebbled finish and with Final slicing off the top of each bud to give them a little more interesting, angled look, the ZE3000 SV definitely looked a little more premium, though the Ceramics X design seemed just fine to me, particularly considering their low price. I noticed some differences in sound quality and noise-canceling performance. The Final's noise canceling was a tad superior — it did a slightly better job muffling the sound of an HVAC in my kitchen. And although the Ceramics X sounded impressive for its low price, the ZE3000 SV was slightly smoother sounding with slightly better treble performance, slightly more natural sounding mids and a tad more depth and openness. I found the ZE3000 SV's tonal balance more pleasing overall, but the Ceramics X's sound certainly impressed me for the price. As far as their companion apps go, both are adequate, though not great. The Final Connect app offered a seven-band equalizer to tweak the sound, while the Roseselsa RoseLink app had three preset EQs to choose from: Pop, HiFi and Rock. Both buds support the AAC, SBC and LDAC audio codecs for Bluetooth streaming (Android devices support LDAC). They also offer Bluetooth multipoint pairing, allowing you to pair the buds with two devices simultaneously. Both also have a low-latency mode for gaming and video watching. In the end, to my eyes and ears anyway, the Final ZE3000 SV earbuds are a small step ahead of the Ceramics X. You can argue over whether Final Audio's customizations are worth the extra $60 or so — many people would say probably not — but Final had improved upon the base package. It didn't have to spend as much to develop the product from the ground up, but there were still extra costs involved. Maybe prefab isn't so bad Five years ago, the gap between premium and budget true-wireless earbuds was fairly wide. Higher-end components, particularly when it comes to drivers, built-in amplifiers, DACs (digital-to-analog converters) and chipsets impact sound quality, overall performance and feature sets. Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET While Apple, Bose, Sony and other big audio brands continue to offer top earbuds that are well-designed and feature not only excellent sound quality but also superior noise canceling and voice-calling performance, you can find plenty of earbuds options between $40 and $100 that are surprisingly decent. The hard part is finding cheaper models that manage to rise above the rest of the budget pack and stand out as under-the-radar gems — whether it's because they offer an overall strong combination of fit and performance, or whether they simply stand out for their sound quality. Budget earbuds are often made in the same Chinese factories that manufacture earbuds from first-line audio brands, and some lower-end models from those known brands likely share some of the same off-the-shelf components found in no-name, value earbuds. Since I test the majority of earbuds for only a few weeks at a time (though some of my favorite models I continue to wear more regularly), it's always hard to tell how reliable and durable some of these cheaper earbuds are and whether they'll truly hold up over time. Alas, with just about whatever earbuds you use, their battery life degrades over time, and eventually the buds have to be replaced (since you can't swap in new batteries), sometimes sooner rather than later, especially if you wear them for several hours a day, as a lot of AirPods users do. There's a tendency to look down on products that haven't been designed from the ground up, even in the land of earbuds where lookalikes are common, whether they're self-developed or not. But my travels through this world have taught me that there's more nuance and variation to product development than I thought. In some ways, what Final Audio did with the ZE3000 is similar to what I did when I added a two-car garage to our house a few years ago. To save some money, I looked at some prefab designs at a place that sold prefab sheds and garages. I could take one of the standard models — there were four or five styles to choose from — or I could pay more to customize the design, adding dormers for the second floor and upgrading the windows and some of the construction materials. I opted to customize it — it cost about 25% more — but it ended up looking significantly better while still costing much less than building a structure from scratch. It also went up remarkably quickly, as a small crew of Amish men from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, erected it in two days. If you saw it, you might not even think it was based on a pre-developed product package. CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Visual Designer | Zooey Liao Art Director | Jeff Hazelwood Creative Director | Viva Tung Video | Numi Prasarn Video Editor | JD Christison Project Manager | Danielle Ramirez Editor | Corinne Reichert Director of Content | Jonathan Skillings
CNET
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
What Makes Cheap Earbuds a Real Value (or Not)? I Dug In to Find Out
A few months ago, Final Audio, a boutique Japanese brand, sent me its new, relatively low-priced ZE3000 SV noise-canceling earbuds to test. I was curious: Would this be a hidden gem among the dozens, even hundreds, of budget headphone options out there? Even as a full-time reviewer of these products, I can't keep up with all of them. So I did what I always do. I charged them up, then swapped out the default medium-size tips for the largest set of included ear tips and hoped I'd get a tight seal, which is crucial for getting optimal sound quality. If I can't get a tight seal, I'll swap in a pair of my go-to tips from other earbuds brands I've tested (Sennheiser and Bowers & Wilkins tips are a good match for my ears) and note that in my review. In this case, Final Audio's largest tips worked well. No issue there. I ran through some of the usual tracks I use for evaluating headphones, an eclectic mix that includes Spoon's Knock Knock Knock, Athletes of God's Don't Wanna Be Normal, Orbital's Dirty Rat, Bjork's Hollow, Drake's Passionfruit, Pixies' Vault of Heaven, Florence and the Machine's Choreomania, various Foo Fighters songs, plus some tracks from Car Seat Headrest's The Scholars, CNET home audio editor Ty Pendelbury's favorite new album (it is well recorded). The ZE3000 SV lacked a few features, like sensors that pause your music when you take a bud out of your ears and resume playing when you put it back in. The noise-canceling and voice-calling performance weren't top-tier. But the earbuds seemed well-tuned and pleasant-sounding, with a natural quality to the sound, with good depth and bass punch. They were also nicely designed. Overall, they seemed like a step up from many budget earbuds I've tested. Then things took an unexpected turn. I noticed that an online earbuds sleuth had claimed that the ZE3000 SV weren't unique and cost more than they should. Some Reddit users picked up on his post and were critical of Final Audio. But were the accusations really true? And had the company actually done anything wrong? As I dug deeper into this little mystery, I got a revealing glimpse behind the curtain of how budget headphones are made and how any given brand can distinguish its low-cost models from those of rivals. Below, I'm going to fill you in on how companies make their budget earbuds and on the trade-offs involved, from features to cost to who does the actual work. I'll also give you an in-depth comparison of designs from budget earbuds mavens Earfun and Soundpeats and my detailed, hands-on impressions of the Final Audio ZE3000 SV and a lower-cost model that on the surface shares some distinct similarities. A daunting array of choices As consumers, we face dizzying choices when it comes to audio products. In-ear or over-ear. Wired or wireless. High-end or entry-level. Headphones or portable speakers. Often we end up with a small collection across some or all of those categories, some that we use every day, others that sit in a drawer for long stretches at a time. My colleague Katie Collins has written that everyone needs three different types of headphones, each one serving a different purpose. But that can add up to a chunk of spending, so we're also always on the lookout for a bargain. Decent quality without breaking the bank. In premium territory, there's Apple, the dominant player in the true-wireless earbuds market with its category-defining AirPods and Beats products. According to market researcher Canalys, in the first quarter of this year, it held a 23% share of that market worldwide, and in North America, its share is more than double that at "over 50%." The AirPods Pro 2 and other higher-end noise-canceling earbuds from Bose, Sony and other big-name audio brands start at around $250 (list price) and go all the way up to $400 or more. A lot of people can't afford those prices, or maybe just don't want to spend that much on a device that's pretty easy to lose. I've lost or damaged only a handful of earbuds in over 10 years of testing them, but my kids sure are skilled at misplacing or destroying them. While the number of true-wireless earbuds shipped each year continues to grow — 331 million devices in 2024, up 12% from the year before, according to Canalys — Apple's share has been drifting downward, with some of the biggest growth coming from non-established audio brands, many of them based in China, that make "cost-effective" earbuds that come in at half the price of AirPods or less — sometimes much less. I can check out only so many budget earbuds and headphones, so I tend to keep coming back to a handful of value brands that produce affordable products that punch above their weight, so to speak. These include Earfun, Anker (Soundcore), Soundpeats and Baseus. I've also dabbled in QCY, Acefast, Oladance, Tranya, Tozo and Tribit, which I think makes better Bluetooth speakers than earbuds and headphones. This is just a small fraction of the no-name audio brands you'll find on Amazon, some of them with nonsensical names like TSYUCXH, KZ ZSN and Rorsou. I've had a few folks suggest I try the $29 Beribes headphones, which have accrued 45,000 user reviews on Amazon and look eerily similar to the Tozo HT2, which I've tried and which aren't bad for around $35. There is no shortage of budget earbuds confronting consumers. This is just a small sampling. David Carnoy and Zooey Liao / CNET Prices for budget headphones and earbuds have remained fairly steady, with only slight increases amid President Donald Trump's shifting tariff threats. A couple of value headphone companies I spoke with said that if tariffs stay at their current levels, they didn't anticipate prices rising significantly on their models, which suggests profit margins on budget buds may be a little better than I thought. Once you spend a little time in this world — or too much time, in my case — you start to notice that a lot of the products look and sometimes sound pretty similar. There are AirPods clones with stems, and stemless "dot-style" buds like the Final Audio ZE3000 SV. You also encounter plenty of "sports" models with ear hooks that mimic the ear-hook design of the Beats Powerbeats Pro and newer Powerbeats Pro 2. Occasionally, you'll see near-exact copies of popular earbuds like the AirPods, but for the most part, these so-called knockoffs simply — and sometimes rather blatantly — follow the design cues of popular models. Earbuds design: Off the shelf versus from the ground up Diving into budget earbuds waters can be a murky experience. While cheap earbuds continue to improve, not all are created equal, and I still run into a lot of low-cost buds that sound pretty poor. By that, I mean they lack clarity and definition, distort at mid to higher volumes, and have middling noise canceling and voice-calling performance. That said, it's becoming increasingly easy to find budget models that meet the criteria of being good enough and that offer a good fit along with decent sound quality and overall solid performance. Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET Some value products are developed from the ground up (from scratch) by a company's own team of designers and engineers. But the reality is that the majority of earbuds on the market are based on off-the-shelf designs or "pre-developed product packages" crafted by Chinese factories. That means many earbuds you'll find on Amazon, while looking slightly different, are based on the same "package." The challenge for me as a reviewer is trying to discern what's different about all these similar models, especially when the changes from generation to generation are incremental at best. What I find interesting is that now even major audio brands like Bose are doing their own versions of pre-developed product packages, licensing out their designs and technology to other brands to help recoup development costs. Earlier this year, Skullcandy released its Method 360 ANC buds with Sound by Bose, which were developed in collaboration with Bose and lean on the technology and tuning that Bose developed for its own earbuds. I described them as "$100 Bose earbuds in disguise" because the buds themselves share a very similar design aesthetic to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, though their charging case resembles the one Skullcandy uses for its $60 Dime Evo earbuds. "Sound by Bose allows us to bring our audio technology to products in markets, categories or price points where we don't currently offer solutions," says Nick Smith, president of audio technology business and chief strategy officer at Bose. We've also seen a proliferation of cheap earring-like clip-on buds. That happened after Bose popularized this design with its $300 Ultra Open Earbuds and factories in China went into overdrive to create cheap knockoffs. While clip-on earbuds first started appearing in Asia several months (or even longer) before the Ultra Open Earbuds were released, Bose not only vastly improved upon the design and performance of early clip-on models, but it also did a bang-up job marketing them as a "totally new kind of wearable device." Since the clip-on open earbuds don't feature active noise canceling and their open design compromises sound quality, their performance bar is lower, making it easier for value brands to create compelling alternatives to the Bose buds for much less. Once new clip-on models upgraded their drivers and added their own versions of Bose's flexible hinge, enhancing their comfort level, the gap narrowed significantly between Bose's premium clip-on model and those from far cheaper value brands. For example, Baseus' new MC1 Pro cost around $65, and while they aren't as good as the Bose, they're not that far behind and cost way less. "To offset acoustic limitations, emerging vendors are collaborating with audio labs to optimize sound quality, with some products nearing traditional TWS [true-wireless stereo] standards," Cynthia Chen, research manager at Canalys (now part of Omdia), said in a statement. She noted that open earbuds are the fastest-growing segment of the true-wireless earbuds market and are accelerating the shift from functional audio devices to value-driven, lifestyle-oriented products. Open buds are "where technology meets fashion," she said. Two popular budget earbuds with similar specs: What separates them? Over the years, I've become well-versed in Anker's Soundcore buds (of which there are many) and Earfun's offerings, and awarded the EarFun Air Pro 4 an Editors' Choice award in 2024 as a value standout. Most companies don't want to delve too deeply into the details of their product development. When I asked Anker's PR rep about how it developed its products, he came back with: "We respectfully decline to comment." CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Earfun, however, was more forthcoming. Despite its products looking like they might be based on pre-developed product packages, Helen Shaw, the company's marketing manager, tells me they aren't and that EarFun creates "ground-up" products based on its original designs with custom molds, circuit boards and various components. "All EarFun products are independently developed, with its own R&D team, and the core R&D team has previously served the world's first-line audio brands, such as Sony, JBL and Philips," Shaw says. "Self-developed mode" adds more time to the development process, and it typically takes a year or more to complete a product. As an example, she said that its next-gen Air Pro 4 Plus would be available in September or October, a little more than a year after the Air Pro 4 was released in August 2024. "This is relatively rare among the current cost-effective headphone brands," Shaw tells me. "Other brands basically find factories to directly OEM, change the logo and change the ID." ("OEM" is industry jargon for companies that do the actual manufacturing of products on behalf of the brands that put their names on the final products.) By doing so, they can save manpower and capital investment and can quickly go to market (in six months instead of a year, for instance). But the disadvantage is that they don't tightly control the production process. As a result, there can be quality control issues, with imperfections creeping into the products, which can lead to performance problems; sound quality can vary from earbud to earbud even though they're the same model. EarFun doesn't release quite as many earbuds as Anker does each year, and its priciest true-wireless earbuds, the Air Pro 4, list for $80 and usually sell for closer to $60. In contrast, Anker's new-for-2025 Liberty 5 buds list for $130 and typically get discounted to $110 or a little less. The Liberty 5 are a tad sleeker and more premium-looking than the EarFun Air Pro 4 and have improved noise-canceling and voice-calling capabilities. But it's debatable which is the better value and some people will tell you they like the older Liberty 4 Pro, which has dual drivers and sometimes is on sale for less than the Liberty 5. As a reviewer, it gets even trickier when the specs of two models from competing brands look nearly identical. Take for example the new-for-2025 Soundpeats Air5 Pro. They're powered by the same Qualcomm chip found in the EarFun Air Pro 4, have the same size drivers and cost essentially the same. I was curious to hear why each company thought its product was better, given their similarities. EarFun's Shaw was quick to point out that the Soundpeats Air5 Pro lacked a few features that were in its Air Pro 4 buds. These included ear-detection sensors, wireless charging, Google Fast Pair and Auracast, which allows you to tune into audio broadcasts over Bluetooth, say from a TV at your gym. She also said that the EarFun team spent nearly half a year "customizing the ear caps" and included five pairs of ear tips to help ensure a tight seal and comfortable fit for a variety of ear sizes. (I certainly agree that ear tip design is a critical, sometimes overlooked element of earbuds design; I also value ear-detection sensors.) "For the active noise canceling and sound-quality performance, both have the brand's tuning style and different results," she says. "It depends on the user's preference." A Soundpeats representative defended the company's Air5 Pro, citing its potential advantages: "At first glance, the Soundpeats Air5 Pro and the EarFun Air Pro 4 appear very similar. Both are powered by the Qualcomm QCC3091 chip, offer high-resolution audio support, feature similar driver sizes and are available at comparable price points. However, the real-world experience can differ, and this is where Soundpeats demonstrates a clear advantage." Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET She said that the Air5 Pro offered up to 55 decibels of "AI-powered" adaptive noise cancellation, compared with 50 decibels on the EarFun Air Pro 4. It also featured anti-wind noise technology, which helped maintain audio clarity in outdoor settings. Combined with the buds' six-microphone setup and CVC 8.0 (Qualcomm's Clear Voice Capture technology with background noise reduction), this added layer of noise control gave the Soundpeats "a slight edge in preserving both audio and call quality in noisy environments." She also noted that from a comfort standpoint, the Air5 Pro were lighter at 4.8 grams per earbud compared to 5.2 grams for the EarFun. Additionally, the Air5 Pro's "ergonomic shape and integrated triangle vent help reduce in-ear pressure, allowing for longer, more comfortable use." Personally, I'd give the slight edge to the Earfun Air Pro 4 due to those extra features. However, from a performance standpoint, they're both at a similar level, with small differences separating them. That makes them challenging to evaluate, especially when everybody has different ears and audio tastes. Online drama and an earbuds origin story CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Based in Kawasaki City, Japan, Final Audio is geared toward audiophiles and specializes in earphones and headphones that range from its flagship $4,000 D8000 planar magnetic open-back headphones to those aforementioned entry-level ZE3000 SV buds that are priced near the top of the "budget" range at $100. I'm always on the lookout for under-the-radar products that might be a good value, and the ZE3000 SV seemed like they might be a good candidate based on my experience with earlier Final Audio products. Judging from how they looked, I was under the impression that the ZE3000 SV buds were developed from the ground up. Curious to see exactly what their specs were and whether there was any online buzz about them, I did a quick search and came across an eyebrow-raising post in the message boards at entitled Reviewer Poorting finds that $100 ANC earbuds Final ZE3000 SV is almost the same product as $33 Roseselsa Ceramics X. Poorting had published a video on BiliBili tearing down both earbuds and comparing their components. Truth be told, I'd never heard of the Roseselsa Ceramics X earbuds before I saw that post comparing them to Final Audio's ZE3000 SV buds, though it appears the Ceramics X have a small cadre of fans. (Note that they currently cost $38 instead of $33.) "The Ceramics X was released in March 2024 and the ZE3000 SV in December 2024," wrote the message board poster, named Helias. "I guess Final found the same OEM who made the Ceramics X and asked it to produce the ZE3000 SV with minimal modifications. Final saved tons of R&D cost here, and is obviously having a greater profit margin than Roseselsa. However, in terms of performance, I'm afraid I don't see proof that the Final offers much more than the Roseselsa." Hmmm, I thought. I guess the Final Audio earbuds weren't developed from the ground up after all. But I also wasn't convinced they were exactly the same product. I thought there might be more to the story, so I went to Amazon and bought the Ceramics X, then dashed off an email to the Final Audio PR rep. I told her that I liked the ZE3000 SV but came across a post online claiming they were the doppelganger for the much cheaper Roseselsa buds. "Can you ask someone at Final about it?" I inquired. She said the folks there weren't aware of the post until I alerted them to it. As it turns out, the post was correct. The ZE3000 SV, which have become hard to find online (perhaps because Final Audio has held back distribution after becoming aware of the little online drama surrounding them), were based on a pre-developed product package. However, the PR rep said that while the ZE3000 SV and the Roseselsa Ceramics X share a common base and appear visually similar, there are significant differences. The Final Audio ZE3000 SV (left) and the Roseselsa Ceramics X. Numi Prasarn and Zooey Liao / CNET "Roseselsa made only minimal changes, limited to tuning and finish," she says, "whereas Final implemented more substantial modifications in areas critical to sound and performance." She explained that with the rapid growth of true-wireless earbuds and the huge surge in demand, many factories in China were offering earbuds packages that included the molds, circuit boards and various components. This setup benefited factories, as they could sell the same package to multiple brands and recoup development costs more easily. Factories gave brands like Final Audio two options. They could use the package as is, slap their logo on it and essentially white-label it, or the brand could invest in customizing it by changing the mold, structure or internal components. The ZE3000 SV, which wasn't designed to be "as complex as Final's ground-up flagship models," fell into the custom option category. The company opted for "a reliable base package" it had already tested and then made several customizations in line with its sound and design philosophies. For starters, Final altered the look of the buds with an angled top and added its own matte, pebbled finish. On the inside, it swapped in new drivers, redesigned the rear acoustic chamber and programmed the buds with its own proprietary noise-canceling algorithm. It also included its own ear tips, which, as I've noted, are important for a secure, comfortable fit and tight seal. Finally, it developed a dedicated companion app for the buds. What it didn't change was the main circuit board, front acoustic chamber, system software and the exterior shell of the case. Now that I had the Ceramics X, I was able to compare the two models myself. With that matte, pebbled finish and with Final slicing off the top of each bud to give them a little more interesting, angled look, the ZE3000 SV definitely looked a little more premium, though the Ceramics X design seemed just fine to me, particularly considering their low price. I noticed some differences in sound quality and noise-canceling performance. The Final's noise canceling was a tad superior — it did a slightly better job muffling the sound of an HVAC in my kitchen. And although the Ceramics X sounded impressive for its low price, the ZE3000 SV was slightly smoother sounding with slightly better treble performance, slightly more natural sounding mids and a tad more depth and openness. I found the ZE3000 SV's tonal balance more pleasing overall, but the Ceramics X's sound certainly impressed me for the price. As far as their companion apps go, both are adequate, though not great. The Final Connect app offered a seven-band equalizer to tweak the sound, while the Roseselsa RoseLink app had three preset EQs to choose from: Pop, HiFi and Rock. Both buds support the AAC, SBC and LDAC audio codecs for Bluetooth streaming (Android devices support LDAC). They also offer Bluetooth multipoint pairing, allowing you to pair the buds with two devices simultaneously. Both also have a low-latency mode for gaming and video watching. In the end, to my eyes and ears anyway, the Final ZE3000 SV earbuds are a small step ahead of the Ceramics X. You can argue over whether Final Audio's customizations are worth the extra $60 or so — many people would say probably not — but Final had improved upon the base package. It didn't have to spend as much to develop the product from the ground up, but there were still extra costs involved. Maybe prefab isn't so bad Five years ago, the gap between premium and budget true-wireless earbuds was fairly wide. Higher-end components, particularly when it comes to drivers, built-in amplifiers, DACs (digital-to-analog converters) and chipsets impact sound quality, overall performance and feature sets. Getty Images / Zooey Liao / CNET While Apple, Bose, Sony and other big audio brands continue to offer top earbuds that are well-designed and feature not only excellent sound quality but also superior noise canceling and voice-calling performance, you can find plenty of earbuds options between $40 and $100 that are surprisingly decent. The hard part is finding cheaper models that manage to rise above the rest of the budget pack and stand out as under-the-radar gems — whether it's because they offer an overall strong combination of fit and performance, or whether they simply stand out for their sound quality. Budget earbuds are often made in the same Chinese factories that manufacture earbuds from first-line audio brands, and some lower-end models from those known brands likely share some of the same off-the-shelf components found in no-name, value earbuds. Since I test the majority of earbuds for only a few weeks at a time (though some of my favorite models I continue to wear more regularly), it's always hard to tell how reliable and durable some of these cheaper earbuds are and whether they'll truly hold up over time. Alas, with just about whatever earbuds you use, their battery life degrades over time, and eventually the buds have to be replaced (since you can't swap in new batteries), sometimes sooner rather than later, especially if you wear them for several hours a day, as a lot of AirPods users do. There's a tendency to look down on products that haven't been designed from the ground up, even in the land of earbuds where lookalikes are common, whether they're self-developed or not. But my travels through this world have taught me that there's more nuance and variation to product development than I thought. In some ways, what Final Audio did with the ZE3000 is similar to what I did when I added a two-car garage to our house a few years ago. To save some money, I looked at some prefab designs at a place that sold prefab sheds and garages. I could take one of the standard models — there were four or five styles to choose from — or I could pay more to customize the design, adding dormers for the second floor and upgrading the windows and some of the construction materials. I opted to customize it — it cost about 25% more — but it ended up looking significantly better while still costing much less than building a structure from scratch. It also went up remarkably quickly, as a small crew of Amish men from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, erected it in two days. If you saw it, you might not even think it was based on a pre-developed product package. CNET composite: Zooey Liao/Joe Maldonado; Getty Images, Amazon Visual Designer | Zooey Liao Art Director | Jeff Hazelwood Creative Director | Viva Tung Video | Numi Prasarn Video Editor | JD Christison Project Manager | Danielle Ramirez Editor | Corinne Reichert Director of Content | Jonathan Skillings
Tom's Guide
7 days ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
I review noise-cancelling headphones for a living — here's my top picks for every budget
I love headphones. They're one of my favorite ways of listening to music thanks to their immersive soundscapes and, when compared to earbuds, less invasive fits. They also provide better sound at lower prices than cheap speakers. The best noise-canceling headphones are the pinnacle of the form factor, letting you listen to your music without disturbance in even the busiest of environments. But which model should you be buying based on your given budget? It's easy to say what the best headphones are, but not everyone is looking at the $400-$500 price range. To help you out, I've selected my favorite headphones in a range of different budgets. The 1More Sonoflow Pro are a very solid set of cans that won't set you back a huge amount of money. At $87, they're about as cheap of ANC headphones you can buy before you get to the stuff that's best left in the Amazon warehouse. Their design isn't unique, but there are some nice color options to choose from plus the carrying case is a nice addition often not found at this price point. They're built well too, and feature some solid cushioning for a pretty comfortable fit. They sound excellent for the price and rival some expensive options from more premium manufacturers. Get some music playing and the ANC is robust enough to silence a keyboard, a busy office, or an air conditioning unit. For $80 the Sonoflow Pro feel like a bargain. If you're in the $50-$100 price bracket, these are the cans for you. The 1More Sonoflow Pro are about as cheap as noise-cancelling headphones get before the quality of the ANC starts to nose dive. They're one of the only sub-$100 pairs of ANC cans with a protective hard case, and you can find them in a number of funky colors. There's also what appears to be a perma-20% discount at Amazon — just remember to tick the little button by the price on the product page to slice nearly $18 off. The Sennheiser Accentum are a wonderful pair of headphones at a very good price. They're the step up in ANC and sound quality that you'd expect by breaking the $100 barrier, although thanks to some fairly consistent deals, you'll often find them for much less than their $189 MSRP. The battery life is exemplary. With ANC turned on, you'll get 50 hours of staying power in return, meaning they last longer than pretty much any of the top headphones you can buy today. Overall, they're a great pair of headphones if you're looking to grab something in the $100-$200 space, although I'd perhaps recommend waiting for them to appear in a deals event like Prime Day. Or just buy them at the time of publishing — there's a very solid deal on them at the moment. The Sennheiser Accentum might be a cheaper pair of headphones, but they've got all the best bits of Sennheiser's product line. 50 hours of battery is pretty impressive, the ANC is very good, and the sound is exemplary. The updated Accentum Plus are slightly more impressive but also more expensive — these are a better balance between price and performance. This is a great option if you've got more than $300. They sound unlike anything else in the sub-$400 price bracket, packing in a spacious stereo soundstage that's incredibly immersive. They're one of my favorite pairs of headphones of all-time as a result, and I might even recommend them over something more expensive. Battery life is exemplary, coming in at 60 hours with ANC turned on, and the noise cancelling itself is very good considering it's Cambridge Audio's first attempt at over-ear headphones. I did find the headband a bit stiff, but it wasn't enough to dull the luster of what are some of the best headphones I've ever tested. In the $200-$300 price bracket, they're a must-buy. These are about as good as headphones under $400 can sound. They're a HiFi system that lives on your head, with excellent soundstage and a very neutral sound profile. Battery life of 60 hours is excellent too, and it's all topped off with voice commands courtesy of What We Do in the Shadows' Matt Berry. As a guitarist, I have a big soft spot for anything that comes out of a Marshall design room. I've loved the brand's amplifiers for a long time, and that love's only compounded when I gaze upon its consumer audio gear. The Monitor III ANC headphones are, I think, my favorite Marshall product, thanks to their features and battery life that make them a more compelling option than some of their more established competition. They have a 'rock n' roll' sound signature that's more heavily weighted towards fans of guitar and bass-heavy music, but almost everyone is going to be well-served by their top-notch audio quality. The earcups have been specially engineered to be as comfortable as possible as well, and I've been able to wear them for hours and hours on end as a result. This is the price bracket when some of the Sony and Bose flagships start to appear to try and vie for your attention, but I'd still argue the Monitor III are a better bet in the $300-$400 space. The design of the Marshall Monitor III should be enough to set them apart — but the rest of the package underlines their excellence. They sound really good, and there are useful features in the app so that you can customize them. They're very comfortable, and 70 hours of battery life really hammers home the value. The PX7 S3 are the best headphones that you can buy right now, without a question in my mind. They outperform the XM5, XM6, and the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones with some of the best sound around and a supremely comfortable fit, all while featuring a standout luxury design. The ANC is very good, and the protective case that comes in the box is one of the best around, too. There are some features that remain "coming soon," like spatial audio, but the package as it stands is a truly epic pair of headphones. If you're shopping for headphones in the $400-$500 price bracket, you're in the perfect spot. This is the point when anything more expensive becomes more focused on sound quality rather than features. My favorite wireless headphones, bar none. They're comfortable, sound absolutely incredible, and offer plenty of battery life. There's really not all that much else to say about them — if you've got the $449 for a pair, you're not going to find anything better. The Focal Bathys contain some excellent features if you're an audiophile looking for your next pair of wireless headphones. An excellent, comfortable fit is first on the menu thanks to Focal's use of plush foam and luxurious leather. That also means these are no-go for vegans — sorry, guys, no luck beyond $550 for you. Sound is the name of the game here, and to that end, they absolutely succeed. They sound heavenly, with an audiophile sound signature that's just as interested in giving you plenty of bass as it is providing excellent detail. The DAC mode steps things up, enabling more high-definition playback. Competition from Bowers & Wilkins and Bang & Olufsen is strong at this price point, but the Bathys provide a wonderful experience that's well-worth the high sticker price. These are my pick for the $500-$700 price point. Focal's effortlessly cool Bathys might be incredibly expensive, but they're also an excellent pair of headphones. They're comfortable for one, and their sound is mind-blowing. USB-C DAC mode is a nice addition as well for audiophiles looking for some headphones to use both wireless and wired interchangeably. This is a money-no-object pick for all intents and purposes — the Dali IO-8 are a truly game-changing pair of headphones. They sound immaculate, balancing impeccable detail with incredibly articulate and full-sounding bass for a sound signature that's unlike just about anything else you can put on your head. They're small, so large heads might not like them much, but they're otherwise a comfortable pair of headphones. ANC isn't the name of the game, but it's more than serviceable, and to me, the lack of an app makes them super simple to use. They're an incredibly expensive, that's for sure, but they're easily some of the best wireless headphones you can buy when you start to look at the really big bucks. Want to spend even more and get even better sound? Look at the mind-blowingly expensive Dali IO-12. Your ears will thank you, but your wallet will scream. They might be some of the most expensive wireless headphones that you can buy, but they're also excellent. They're comfortable despite their smaller size and while their ANC that doesn't wow, they've got some of the most delicate, articulate sound this side of a wired pair of cans. 35 hours of battery life is fine, and they're leather-clad, so there's no option for vegans, but they're something truly special.
Phone Arena
15-07-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
At 50% off, the JBL Live 770NC offer up to 65 hours of battery life at a bargain price
If you're looking for new, good-sounding headphones but the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 still feel too steep — even with their massive $170 discount — and you can't spend more than $100, you may want to check out Amazon's deal on the JBL Live 770NC. The retailer is currently offering a generous 50% discount on these puppies, letting you score the white model for just under $100. That's a phenomenal deal because not only do these headphones usually cost around $200, but they also offer a lot in return. $100 off (50%) Amazon is currently selling the JBL Live 770NC at a massive 50% discount, dropping these capable headphones below the $100 mark. These puppies deliver good sound, a comfy fit, pretty effective ANC, and up to a whopping 65 hours of playtime. Act fast and save on a pair while you can! Buy at Amazon Sure, they might not be the absolute best wireless headphones you can buy right now, but at just $100, they're an unmissable deal. With a comfy design featuring large, cushioned earcups and a well-padded headband, they deliver good sound with punchy bass that lets you enjoy long listening sessions without any discomfort. Plus, the JBL Headphones app lets you customize the sound with an easy-to-use EQ, giving you a listening experience tailored just for you. Another highlight is their active noise cancellation, which does a pretty good job at blocking pesky noises, even though it's not among the best on the market. And when we add a battery life that offers up to 50 hours with ANC on and up to 65 hours with it turned off, the JBL Live 770NC really punch above their weight. All in all, these headphones are worth every penny, especially while selling for 50% off. So, don't hesitate! If they fit the bill for you, tap the offer button at the beginning of this article and score a pair at a bargain price now while the offer is still up for grabs! Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- The Hindu
Nothing Headphone 1 Review: Absolutely worth a look
To start with, I must say full marks go to the Nothing design team for once again creating a device that looks unapologetically different. The Nothing Headphone 1 is the company's first foray into the over-the-ear category. The headphones are eye-catching without being too flashy. With its see-through plastic panels and sculpted aluminium framing, it manages to be both a callback to old-school tech and a bold vision of the future. But beyond the head-turning design, the question remains: does it deliver enough performance and justify its ₹21,999 price tag to go toe-to-toe with heavyweights like Sony, Sennheiser and Apple? To get the full answer, let's dive into the details. Design First impression? These headphones look like they dropped out of a futuristic arcade. The transparent casing reveals non-functional, but visually intriguing internals, framed by precision-cut aluminium. It's all very 'Nothing' — in the best way. The aesthetic lands somewhere between a Nintendo Walkman hybrid and something you'd expect to see on the set of Blade Runner. What's more, the headphones feel substantial without being heavy. Weighing in at 329g, the Headphone 1 is heavier than some competitors but wears its weight well. The adjustable telescopic arms, memory foam earcups, and a generously cushioned headband create a comfortable seal that holds up through long editing sessions and travel days alike. The earcups rotate flat but don't fold, which affects portability, though the included softshell case, with its thumb-indented design and cable pouch, helps. One small gripe: the corners of the square-shaped earcups can bump against each other when hung around the neck, potentially causing cosmetic wear. That said, durability has been clearly prioritised. The Headphone 1 has passed over 50 reliability tests, including drops, twists, sweat exposure, and extreme temperatures. And here's something rare for premium over-ear headphones — an IP52 rating. That means these cans are resistant to dust and dripping water, making them commuter- and gym-friendly. This is a clear win over rivals that offer no such protection. (For top technology news of the day, subscribe to our tech newsletter Today's Cache) Controls Forget unreliable touch surfaces. The Headphone 1 embraces tactile input, and we're here for it. You get a volume roller on the right earcup that clicks satisfyingly, a paddle to skip or scrub tracks, and a customisable button for switching ANC modes or activating your voice assistant. It's functional, intuitive, and actually fun to use. Nothing Phone 3 users get a few ecosystem extras like Channel Hop (to toggle between audio apps) and Essential Space, which lets you long-press the button to record voice notes that are automatically sorted on your phone. There's also integration with widgets like the AI-powered News Reporter, providing a screen-free, smart experience. However, these features are currently limited to the latest Nothing phones — a point worth noting if you're not already in their ecosystem. Sound Under the hood, the Headphone 1 features 40mm dynamic drivers tuned in partnership with KEF, a revered name in high-fidelity audio. And it shows, to an extent. The default tuning leans dark, with powerful but slightly overbearing bass. Vocals sometimes feel recessed, and the treble lacks a bit of sparkle — a pattern that showed up consistently in our test tracks like Seven Nation Army and Fluorescent Adolescent. Thankfully, this is where the superb Nothing X app steps in. You get an 8-band EQ with Q factor adjustment, allowing for detailed frequency shaping. There are four presets (Balanced, More Bass, More Treble, Voice) and even a Bass Enhance slider for dynamic low-end tweaking. It takes some tinkering, but the results are worth it. Mids gain clarity, treble returns, and the overall sound becomes far more immersive and balanced. Speaking of immersion, Nothing includes spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, which simulates 360° audio positioning that adjusts to your movements. It's particularly effective with movies and gaming. Paired with adaptive bass enhancement, which intelligently boosts low-end response based on content, you get a listening experience that feels fuller and more engaging. The Headphone 1 also holds Hi-Res Wireless Audio certification, supports LDAC, and can play back 24-bit/96kHz audio. This is a rarity in its price segment and a key selling point for audiophiles. Noise Cancellation & Microphones Noise cancellation on the Headphone 1 is driven by a hybrid ANC system with six microphones that scan your environment and your ear seal in real-time. It cuts external noise by up to 42dB, and in practice, it holds its own against the best. Low-frequency hums and midrange chatter are impressively blocked out, and the passive isolation is excellent thanks to well-designed earcups. Mic performance is equally solid. The four-mic array, enhanced with AI-powered Clear Voice Technology, isolates your voice even in windy or crowded settings. Whether you're using Zoom or taking calls outdoors, your voice comes through without any muffled mumbling or warbly noises. One feature that shouldn't go unnoticed is on-head detection; the headphones automatically pause when removed and resume playing when worn. It's a subtle but welcome convenience. Battery Life Battery life is a real highlight. With ANC on, you get up to 35 hours — I even stretched it past 42 hours in testing at moderate volumes. Turn ANC off, and you're looking at up to 80 hours of playback. That's comfortably ahead of competitors like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the Bose QC Ultra. Even better, a quick 5-minute charge gives you 2.4 hours of ANC playback — ideal for last-minute top-ups before heading out the door. Connectivity-wise, Bluetooth 5.3 with dual-device pairing lets you switch seamlessly between, say, your laptop and phone. You also get Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, and wired fans are covered too, with included USB-C and 3.5mm audio cables. Verdict The Nothing Headphone 1 is more than just a pretty face. It's a confident debut in a fiercely competitive segment. While it doesn't dethrone the likes of Sony's WH-1000XM5 or Sennheiser's Momentum 4 in pure sonic fidelity, it comes impressively close while bringing a refreshing design ethos and a few smart tricks of its own. If you're someone who values bold aesthetics, loves fine-tuning their sound, and appreciates intuitive, tactile controls, these headphones are absolutely worth a look. Just be prepared to invest a little time in the EQ settings to get the most out of them.
