The Nothing Headphone (1) sees the trendy smartphone brand take a first stab at the extremely competitive wireless noise-cancelling headphone market. With their £244/$299 price tag, they sit right in the middle of a sector that’s long been dominated by Sony, Bose and others. We’ve also seen some other excellent options including the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 attempt to break the trend, with varying levels of success.
Nothing has a bit of a reputation for doing things its own way, and the Headphone (1) is arguably the finest example of that. I’ve been testing them for the last couple of months to see if they impress.
Right off the bat, I know that some folks haven’t been too fond of the way these cans look, but I’ll admit that I love them to pieces. It’s a lovely look, and is typical of Nothing’s clever blend of a modern yet industrial feel.
The build quality is strong too, with a pleasant blend of aluminium on the earcups, plus the large, domed plastic pieces on the earcups and some rubberised portions for good measure. I’ve never had a pair of headphones attract so much attention and so many questions from passers-by, not least when I was with a tech-focused crowd at Gamescom with them. If Nothing’s aim was to get people talking, then they definitely have.