Nothing ear 2, the in-ear headphones that want to break the mold

Active Noise Cancellation, Hi-Res Audio and codecs like LHDC or AAC are already almost mandatory features in in-ear headphones over $100. Nothing, the gadget brand founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei with funding from Anthony Michael Fadell (formerly of Apple), Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch) and Steve Huffman (CEO of Reddit), is now trying to surprise us with the Nothing ear 2, the natural evolution of its debut headphones. Here are the details of our review after 1 month of use.

Technical Specifications

Test Methodology

We conducted this review with iOS, Android, PC, MacBook Pro devices, and a Steam Deck in open and enclosed spaces, and even on an airplane.

Noise Cancellation

The Nothing Ear 2 have a calibration feature that uses a noise test to maximize the audio experience. It is important to note that the level of isolation is not that high, in fact during a flight when we still perceived the noise around us, even in the newsroom we still heard the sounds of an office.

Through the application we can select between the following cancellation modes:

It also integrates Custom Noise Cancellation, which is a setting that combines the analysis of our ears with the software to provide an enhanced experience.

If you want to minimize this effect, you can activate the transparency mode or turn off the noise reduction. An interesting addition is that when we change the noise control, it is indicated by a noise in the form of a bang when we turn it off, a sigh when we use the transparency mode and a sort of plug when we activate the noise cancellation.

Audio Quality

To evaluate fidelity, we use Tidal’s HiFi Plus version to evaluate high-resolution audio, masters, Dolby Atmos, and even regular tracks.

Songs sound very clear and the bass is well-balanced, although the lack of the spatial audio offered by the realme Buds Air 5 Pro, for example, is noticeable.

It includes an advanced equalizer that is divided into two sections, simple and advanced.

The first is subdivided into balanced, with emphasis on bass, treble, voice or custom mode, where we can move the mids, bass and treble to taste. Here we can play with the potency of the sound between soft, recommended or strong, as well as the intensity of the sound.

The advanced equalizer section allows us to customize the Q factor and frequency by band, creating profiles to suit our taste.

Nothing ear 2, are they a good option for gaming?

The latency of these headphones is very high, in fact, if you use them with devices like PC’s or portable consoles like the Steam Deck you will feel some delay with what you see on the screen, so we do not recommend them for that. On Android or iOS devices with the app, it goes down a bit, but only when playing casual titles.

The design

They are definitely one of the most beautiful in the category, as they follow the visual DNA promoted by the brand, where all the details are transparent, with distinctive details on each of the earphones. For example, the right earbud has a red dot, the left earbud has a white dot, and the case has a detail that says ear (case). When you put them on charge, they have a white LED that indicates they are charging. It also adds magnets to help attach them to the earbuds and a button on the side of the USB-C port to sync them.

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In calls

The clarity it gives as a hands-free kit is unbeatable because it incorporates Clear Voice technology; in fact, in calls we have made with colleagues from the newsroom, we have noticed that it is able to minimize the noise of traffic and even the motorcycles themselves when they are near us.

Battery life

With the noise reduction turned on and the volume set to about 90%, we were able to get 2 to 3 hours of use, even when using the transparency mode.

If we deactivate one of the two modes supported by the microphones, they can last longer. It is important to highlight that the case allows us to charge them up to 7 times and we can also recharge them wirelessly.

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The Software

The application has one of the cleanest and most original interfaces, as we have already commented, its audio customization section is a delight for audio lovers, however, additional features such as the function to find the headphones, the test of adjustment of the pads, the customization of the dual connection and the menu that has to customize the touches of each of the headphones, allow us to make the permutations that best suit us.

Score: 8.5