Nothing Ear (2) review

The Nothing Ear (2) are a weirdly named and distinctive trying set of wi-fi earbuds that punch above their modest $149/£129/€149 worth level with wonderful sound high quality.

In comparison with the Ear (1) from 2022, the Ear (2) have a smaller charging case, twin system connection, and Hello-Res Audio compatibility.

This Hello-Res mode is buggy on the Nothing Telephone (1) however not on every other cellphone I examined, so mockingly I can solely suggest the Ear (2) to anybody who doesn’t personal the one cellphone Nothing at present makes.

Design & construct

• Cool clear design
• Pinch controls
• Three in-ear tip sizes

The Nothing Ear (2) look precisely just like the Nothing Ear (1), although Nothing will likely be at pains to level out refined design variations all the way down to how the elements are organized within the clear buds themselves.

It’s no unhealthy factor that they’re virtually equivalent as they appear nice. The white bud and stem design is indebted to Apple’s AirPods however the black distinction clear sides (full with AirPod-esque pinch controls) pop properly, and there’s a white dot on the left and a purple on the appropriate bud to distinguish them.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The case is slightly smaller than the Ear (1)’s and is constituted of a hardy see-through plastic. I dropped the case a few occasions, nevertheless it solely has minor scratches and didn’t crack. It’s one of many coolest trying instances on wi-fi earbuds because it feels as if Nothing cares in regards to the case’s aesthetics the place rival designs are purely purposeful. Heck, the identical extends to the precise earbuds design, too.

The buds are mild and cozy to put on at 4.5g every and though I typically wrestle with the match of among the greatest wi-fi earbuds, as I’ve slender ear canals, however the Nothing Ear (2) match me very properly with the medium ideas (there are small and huge additionally included). The information, like AirPods Professional, are extra oval than circle, which helps loads.

If you happen to desire, the Nothing Ear (Stick) buds have an open design with no silicone ideas.

Sound high quality

• Glorious music sound
• Nice personalised audio
• Buggy hi-res if on Nothing Telephone (1)

The Ear (2) sound superb. They’ve acquired good bass and might drive rock and rap tracks very properly, even when the treble is slightly overpowering at occasions.

Most genres sound nice however in busy rock tracks the mid tones can get misplaced. This is perhaps all the way down to the character of the compressed audio I used to be listening to on Spotify, although.

After I performed Impediment 1 by Interpol on Spotify, the observe sounded solidly reproduced. The identical observe through hi-res music app Qobuz out of the blue opened new particulars to me, such because the readability of the rhythm guitar within the verses. It makes a distinction which music streaming service you utilize.

Although this step up in high quality is all the way down to the audio supply quite than the earbuds, the Ear (2) are adequate to audibly reproduce the higher high quality, and that is notably spectacular at this worth level.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The pulsing synth sounds of UK Grim by Sleaford Mods have wonderful stereo separation and the bass response is full sufficient the place lesser earbuds distort. Acoustic guitars on Everyone’s Gotta Stay by Love are fantastically wealthy, as are the strings on a number of renditions of Bach and Chopin.  

Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid Full bops with a good, managed sound. The Nothing Ear (2) are among the many greatest sounding earbuds of their worth vary, beating the Ear (1) and the $149/£139 Samsung Galaxy Buds 2. Ear (2) sound extra animated.

Higher nonetheless is Nothing’s private sound profile in it’s Nothing X companion app. I needed to undergo the arrange course of twice earlier than I felt the impact was good, nevertheless it was value it.

The app takes you thru a 5 minute listening to check that checks at what frequencies you may hear a beep above static noise. The result’s the software program boosting audio recordsdata in frequencies your ears may wrestle to listen to (it’s an age factor). I used to be very impressed with the richness and readability the mode affords music, and it’s customisable too.

You need to re-do the check if you happen to swap gadgets or unpair the buds, and there’s additionally an completed equaliser operate if you happen to desire to toy about with out the algorithms. It may possibly’t match the NuraTrue earbuds, however they’re understandably dearer.

I noticed all this goodness with out the Ear (2)’s high-quality audio mode turned on. It’s a toggle within the Nothing X app and turning it on or off reboots the earbuds. It makes use of the LHDC 5.0 audio codec, and the app warns it would solely take impact in case your cellphone or pill helps this hi-res streaming normal.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

I examined the Ear (2) on a number of gadgets together with a Nothing Telephone (1) with a preview construct that allowed the codec to work, after which with the general public launch of the app. Sadly, the mode made all audio sound worse when utilizing the Telephone (1).

I even tried this on a second pair of Ear (2) after reporting this to Nothing. Most oddly, the audio degradation solely occurs on the Telephone (1) – on different Android gadgets (the toggle isn’t an possibility on iOS) the operate works completely, leaving audio as-is when wanted after which streaming in hi-res when obtainable.

In its present state, the high-quality audio toggle appears to present audio from Telephone (1) to Ear (2) a scratchy high quality and tracks have a static about them that makes the buds sound damaged.

Tracks sound much better with it off, and I couldn’t discover a situation on any app and on any system the place it benefitted the music or video when utilizing Nothing’s cellphone.

It’s not a dealbreaker for any cellphone however that one, oddly. If in case you have the Telephone (1) then you need to word that the hi-res characteristic at present isn’t at present usable. Streaming audio over common AAC and SBC codecs is completely nice.

Wi-fi connection over Bluetooth 5.3 is stable when the supply system is close by, however cuts out when you find yourself two rooms away, in my testing.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Noise cancelling & good options

• Stable ANC
• Buggy multipoint
• Audio lag with video

One other feather within the Ear (2)’s cap is the stable lively noise cancelling (ANC). It’s a degree under the best-in-class ANC on the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 and fewer full than the AirPods Professional 2, however once more, for the worth the standard right here is greater than satisfactory.

As with the audio choices, there’s a pleasing degree of management given to the person within the Nothing X app with ANC, which gives excessive, mid, low, and adaptive settings, plus a toggle for a personalised ANC that once more takes your personal listening to into consideration.

I discovered this much less helpful than the non-public sound profile and tended to maintain the default ANC settings on however the work put into genuinely helpful and completed options right here from what’s a small start-up is noteworthy. The transparency mode can be good for whenever you need the buds in however pay attention to your environment.

It’s also possible to join Ear (2) to 2 gadgets directly due to Multipoint tech, so that you may be linked to your cellphone and laptop computer or pill concurrently and obtain the audio paying from both supply. Once more, a considerably uncommon characteristic at this worth level, however I discovered it slightly unreliable. Linked to an Android cellphone and a MacBook Air, I’d typically lose the connection to the MacBook and should manually reconnect.

I additionally skilled an audio/video lag when watching YouTube movies with Ear (2) linked to the Mac that I’ve not seen with every other wi-fi earbuds. It was fairly noticeable and annoying.

Higher is the clear voice tech Nothing has put within the buds, which callers reported made me completely audible on cellphone calls. It’s also possible to hyperlink the buds on arrange to make use of with Google Assistant utilizing voice match for fingers free assist from the Huge G.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Battery life & charging

• 4 hours with ANC
• About 4 expenses with case
• USB-C or wi-fi recharge

Nothing guarantees six hours of playback on a full earbud cost with ANC turned off. I don’t put on wi-fi earbuds of any form for longer than a few hours except I’m on a prepare or aircraft journey, so I didn’t have any battery angst with the Ear (2), however the drop off is such that it begins to get dicey at round 4 hours with ANC on.

The case delivers 36 hours of playback general when totally charged and recharging the earbuds, however once more it is a determine Nothing says is with ANC off. You possibly can recharge eight hours of playback into the buds/case with a ten minute cost. There’s a small USB-C cable within the field however no adapter (as you’ll discover with all wi-fi earbuds).

As with the Ear (1), the Ear (2) case has Qi wi-fi charging in-built, a characteristic that’s typically arduous to search out at this worth level.

Worth & availability

The Nothing Ear (2) value $149/£129/€149 – a really aggressive worth for wi-fi earbuds with ANC, wi-fi charging, multipoint, and hi-res compatibility.

You possibly can buy them globally direct from Nothing.

An in depth competitor in worth and options is the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 at $149/$139/€149, however having used each I’d choose the Ear (2) for his or her higher design, match, and sound high quality.

Nothing’s personal Ear (Stick) are cheaper at $99/£99/€99 however lack ANC with an open design. The Nothing Ear (1) continues to be on sale at $149/£149/€149.

To get a considerably higher product than Ear (2) you’ll have to spend massive on the $249/£249/€299 Apple AirPods Professional 2, or the $249/£249/€279 Sony WF-1000XM4, although you could find the latter at an honest low cost in 2023.

Take a look at our chart of the perfect wi-fi earbuds to see extra choices, and if you happen to want one thing cheaper, now we have a chart of price range wi-fi earbuds.

Verdict

The Nothing Ear (2) don’t have the perfect battery life round, the Multipoint is slightly dodgy and the Hello-Res characteristic is mockingly damaged when used with the corporate’s solely cellphone, however for the worth, this product excels on each different degree. And hopefully, this stuff may be fastened with firmware updates.

If you would like a gorgeous pair of wi-fi earbuds with stable noise cancellation and genuinely wonderful sound high quality, these are among the many greatest – notably after they value practically half of what Apple, Sony, and Bose are charging for comparatively comparable earbuds.

Specs

• Energetic Noise Cancelling
• Wi-fi: Bluetooth 5.3, LHDC 5.0
• Voice management: Sure
• Contact controls: Sure
• Battery life: 36 hours whole with out ANC
• Ear ideas and wing ideas: Three sizes
• IP54 sweat and climate resistant buds
• IP55 case
• Weight: 4.9g per earbud, 51.9g case