Nothing x KEF - Headphone Pro

Got mine for the intro price $78 US and at that price point they are fun,sturdy,relatively light, and very capable. The energy slider does nothing for me but the tactile controls are legit. The ear cups are super comfy and my ears don't sweat with prolonged use. I wish the mids were cleaner but I am happy with the amount of EQ control available especially when you consider the price. Max volume is a little too low for me but overall I like the fit, finish and feel and the sound is consistently good.

Something to note - I am an amateur audiophile at best. Edit - it has been brought to my attentions that users here will not understand that this is a review that is done with keeping the price point in mind. Everything I have said is for a headphone under 100 dollars or equivalent. These are in descending order of my personal priorities: 1)Sound quality - 9/10 They sound really, really good straight out of the box even without touching the “energy slider“ or EQ and personal sound profile. With EQ (-1 dB Bass, +1 dB mids, -1 dB treble), personal sound profile and energy slider turned up a little bit, they sound phenomenal for headphones under 250. Bass is not boomy or muddy at all, it feels controlled and punchy and the highs sound very good. With the energy slider turned all the way up, it reaches stupendous amounts of bass but still not “boomy“, you can still hear vocals and instruments over the all encompassing bass. CMF products usually do have quite punchy and fairly precise bass in general so there’s no surprise there. Stereo imaging is great, I listen to densely layered tracks fairly often ( Kings of Leon, Queen, Wallows, arctic monkeys and the like) and it does an excellent job of creating a sense of ”space“ between each element, be it bassy synths, vocals, cymbals, kick drums, etc. Soundstage is quite wide (easily in the 250-300 dollar price range in other brands) 2) ANC and transparency - 8/10 ANC is decent, nothing special but it did do a great job of blocking out the noise of the underground metro on my daily commute and crowd noise as I pass through busy streets. It does struggle with high pitched sudden noises but with the large earcups have plenty of passive noise cancellation, so where the ANC might struggle, the noise still feels muffled. Transparency is quite good; from an objective point of view, price notwithstanding. I can hear voices very clearly when talking with people and even outside with a lot of ambient noise, there’s no ”overboosting“ of everything. This transparency and ANC for me is comparable to the older generation Bose headphones from a few years ago, which at the time were industry leading in transparency and ANC. I personally had the QC 35 2 for the longest time (which was my last wireless over ear and then I switched to wired). 3) Comfort - 10/10. From my subjective perspective, they feel great to wear for hours on end. I had them on for about a total of 10 hours since yesterday afternoon (3 with just ANC / transparency on) and a couple more total hours with them around my neck. They are quite lightweight but don’t feel flimsy or fragile. The ear cups themselves are a soft pleather with foam that feel very, very soft. Only thing is I noticed that was a drawback of sorts was heat build up in a hour or so of continuous wearing and I have to take them off for a few minutes but that’s universal for all headphones for me (even headphones with velour ear cups). They fold 90 degrees so the ear cups sit flat against your body when it’s around your neck so they feel secure and comfortable. 4) Controls - 10/10 CMF really cooked with this one, I picked up the controls within minutes because they are so intuitive. I even have one of the buttons set to 'no action' because I genuinely didn’t need it at all but you can program it for one of 4 functions. Side note - I’ve seen reviews saying there’s not much use for the bass slider, I wholeheartedly disagree. I listen to a multitude of genres and it’s really helpful when I listen to acoustic heavy music to dial the bass down and then dial it back up for hip hop without having to open the Nothing app. For 80 EUR on prime day deal or 100 EUR or equivalent retail, these are an absolute steal.

Who made you the arbiter of deciding what good headphones are? Also, who looks at a review for a budget ANC headphone and goes, “hmm….. wired open back headphones with high impedance paired with an amp sound so much better, this person doesn’t know what good headphones are.“ Perhaps it’s someone who simply doesn’t or chooses not to understand relative viewpoints and nuances. I wouldn’t review open back headphones and go, “the passive noice cancellation is horrible“ because that’s just plain stupid. I’ll say it again, headphones that are comfortable for you, may not be comfortable for me and vice versa. Do the AKG and Sennheiser have a high clamping force out of the box? Yes they do but they loosen up significantly over time and I have to take breaks anyway due to my being prone to heat build up around the ears with the hundreds of pairs I’ve used in my life. So it pretty much resets every 45mins - 1 hour.

I’ve had mine for about 10 days now and I gotta say, I’ve seen reviews saying the energy slider doesn’t change much but I can certainly feel an insane amount of sub bass with it turned all the way up. So much so that it’s uncomfortable after about 30 seconds. It might be an issue with unit variation or higher rates of product defects but my roommate also got one and his energy slider also works the same as mine. I’ve seen frequency response charts online as well of energy slider turned all the way down vs all the way up and there’s a clear distinction. I also agree that the soundstage doesn’t feel boxed in especially after I tweaked the EQ to boost mids while cutting a bit of bass. Custom EQ does drop volume but it’s not as drastic on mine, I listen at about 50-60 percent volume on these at most, any more is very uncomfortable as opposed to the presets in the EQ which for me, 40-50 percent is more than enough. I’d recommend exchanging it if you can since it could simply be a defective unit where the energy slider is not working.

Yeah if you bought it off Amazon, just exchange it and see if it’s still the same. Take a look at the frequency response charts online - it’s truly an insane and excessive amount of bass when energy slider is turned all the way up, which is drastically different from your experience. There’s people that are very into that but sadly I’m not one of them.

Something to note - I am an amateur audiophile at best. These are in descending order of my personal priorities: 1)Sound quality - 9/10 They sound really, really good straight out of the box even without touching the “energy slider“ or EQ and personal sound profile. With EQ (-1 dB Bass, +1 dB mids, -1 dB treble), personal sound profile and energy slider turned up a little bit, they sound phenomenal for headphones under 250. Bass is not boomy or muddy at all, it feels controlled and punchy and the highs sound very good. With the energy slider turned all the way up, it reaches stupendous amounts of bass but still not “boomy“, you can still hear vocals and instruments over the all encompassing bass. CMF products usually do have quite punchy and fairly precise bass in general so there’s no surprise there. Stereo imaging is great, I listen to densely layered tracks fairly often ( Kings of Leon, Queen, Wallows, arctic monkeys and the like) and it does an excellent job of creating a sense of ”space“ between each element, be it bassy synths, vocals, cymbals, kick drums, etc. Soundstage is quite wide (easily in the 250-300 dollar price range in other brands) 2) ANC and transparency - 8/10 ANC is decent, nothing special but it did do a great job of blocking out the noise of the underground metro on my daily commute and crowd noise as I pass through busy streets. It does struggle with high pitched sudden noises but with the large earcups have plenty of passive noise cancellation, so where the ANC might struggle, the noise still feels muffled. Transparency is quite good; from an objective point of view, price notwithstanding. I can hear voices very clearly when talking with people and even outside with a lot of ambient noise, there’s no ”overboosting“ of everything. This transparency and ANC for me is comparable to the older generation Bose headphones from a few years ago, which at the time were industry leading in transparency and ANC. I personally had the QC 35 2 for the longest time (which was my last wireless over ear and then I switched to wired). 3) Comfort - 10/10. From my subjective perspective, they feel great to wear for hours on end. I had them on for about a total of 10 hours since yesterday afternoon (3 with just ANC / transparency on) and a couple more total hours with them around my neck. They are quite lightweight but don’t feel flimsy or fragile. The ear cups themselves are a soft pleather with foam that feel very, very soft. Only thing is I noticed that was a drawback of sorts was heat build up in a hour or so of continuous wearing and I have to take them off for a few minutes but that’s universal for all headphones for me (even headphones with velour ear cups). They fold 90 degrees so the ear cups sit flat against your body when it’s around your neck so they feel secure and comfortable. 4) Controls - 10/10 CMF really cooked with this one, I picked up the controls within minutes because they are so intuitive. I even have one of the buttons set to 'no action' because I genuinely didn’t need it at all but you can program it for one of 4 functions. Side note - I’ve seen reviews saying there’s not much use for the bass slider, I wholeheartedly disagree. I listen to a multitude of genres and it’s really helpful when I listen to acoustic heavy music to dial the bass down and then dial it back up for hip hop without having to open the Nothing app. For 80 EUR on prime day deal or 100 EUR or equivalent retail, these are an absolute steal.

Exchange it if you can because on mine, the bass gets insanely high when slider is turned all the way up

Something to note - I am an amateur audiophile at best. These are in descending order of my personal priorities: 1)Sound quality - 9/10 They sound really, really good straight out of the box even without touching the “energy slider“ or EQ and personal sound profile. With EQ (-1 dB Bass, +1 dB mids, -1 dB treble), personal sound profile and energy slider turned up a little bit, they sound phenomenal for headphones under 250. Bass is not boomy or muddy at all, it feels controlled and punchy and the highs sound very good. With the energy slider turned all the way up, it reaches stupendous amounts of bass but still not “boomy“, you can still hear vocals and instruments over the all encompassing bass. CMF products usually do have quite punchy and fairly precise bass in general so there’s no surprise there. Stereo imaging is great, I listen to densely layered tracks fairly often ( Kings of Leon, Queen, Wallows, arctic monkeys and the like) and it does an excellent job of creating a sense of ”space“ between each element, be it bassy synths, vocals, cymbals, kick drums, etc. Soundstage is quite wide (easily in the 250-300 dollar price range in other brands) 2) ANC and transparency - 8/10 ANC is decent, nothing special but it did do a great job of blocking out the noise of the underground metro on my daily commute and crowd noise as I pass through busy streets. It does struggle with high pitched sudden noises but with the large earcups have plenty of passive noise cancellation, so where the ANC might struggle, the noise still feels muffled. Transparency is quite good; from an objective point of view, price notwithstanding. I can hear voices very clearly when talking with people and even outside with a lot of ambient noise, there’s no ”overboosting“ of everything. This transparency and ANC for me is comparable to the older generation Bose headphones from a few years ago, which at the time were industry leading in transparency and ANC. I personally had the QC 35 2 for the longest time (which was my last wireless over ear and then I switched to wired). 3) Comfort - 10/10. From my subjective perspective, they feel great to wear for hours on end. I had them on for about a total of 10 hours since yesterday afternoon (3 with just ANC / transparency on) and a couple more total hours with them around my neck. They are quite lightweight but don’t feel flimsy or fragile. The ear cups themselves are a soft pleather with foam that feel very, very soft. Only thing is I noticed that was a drawback of sorts was heat build up in a hour or so of continuous wearing and I have to take them off for a few minutes but that’s universal for all headphones for me (even headphones with velour ear cups). They fold 90 degrees so the ear cups sit flat against your body when it’s around your neck so they feel secure and comfortable. 4) Controls - 10/10 CMF really cooked with this one, I picked up the controls within minutes because they are so intuitive. I even have one of the buttons set to 'no action' because I genuinely didn’t need it at all but you can program it for one of 4 functions. Side note - I’ve seen reviews saying there’s not much use for the bass slider, I wholeheartedly disagree. I listen to a multitude of genres and it’s really helpful when I listen to acoustic heavy music to dial the bass down and then dial it back up for hip hop without having to open the Nothing app. For 80 EUR on prime day deal or 100 EUR or equivalent retail, these are an absolute steal.

Yeah, it’s pretty good, some of the best mics I’ve used on headphones, except for Bose and AirPods Max; those are on a different level. even in the middle of a crowded street, the person on the other side has no problem hearing me. The wind noise reduction could be better, it still works for moderate wind but if there’s a strong wind, it’s not so good. In an office environment it works very well, I use it at work for calls a lot and I’ve never had a problem with it.

So far, I am in love with my Waze Headphones and my Nothing CMF Nothing Headphone Pro. Waze has better ANC. Nothing Headphone Pro has a better soundstage and microphone

hey! probably too late now, but i just got them and can confirm that the ANC works when connected via wire :)

I'm by no means a huge fan of these cmf headphone pros, but I do have to say they are way better the anker q45, in my opinion. I thought the q45 was one of the worst bluetooth headphones as far as sound, but for comfort their large pads were nice, and the anc was great, but these cmf have good comfort too, albeit maybe lesser anc quality... maybe. Cant judge them side by side, sold those q45s as soon as i could

I bought also the CMF Headphone Pro for 80€ in light grey (almost white), it very confortable and hold in place well. Sound and ANC is Okay but I was expecting more from their marketing, a side by side comparaison with my firends QC45/XM4 from 5 years ago show how much you can have for less money. I was not aware you could not use it while charging so I'm returning it. I ordered the refresh W820NB Plus Gen 2 (2025).

Quick little one minute summary but also a shorter TLDR at the end of this These are all my opinions and I encourage and welcome others :). To me the CMF Headphone Pro tries to punch far above its price undoubtedly, with modular cushions, tactile controls (which I loved on the NH1), LDAC/Hi-Res, multipoint, and an insane battery claim. Comfort is good (especially for big heads), ANC is decent for the money, and the colors and design are genuinely fun and are so pretty. But two big caveats hold it back: the headline Energy Slider barely changes bass in real use (so much so I don't believe I ever heard a change at all, which mine might be faulty so I contacted support already), and the Nothing X app’s Custom EQ dramatically reduces volume vs preset EQs. If you judge it through the lens of features, comfort, style, and battery life, it’s a win. If you want higher quality sound or bass while on a more budget-friendly side, look elsewhere — and some people will be like that’s obvious due to the price point — however there are some budget options that really sound fantastic. Design & Build Quality Rating: 4 / 5 A clean, popping, pretty, modern look with swappable pads that twist on/off (handy for style, hygiene, or future replacements after wear and tear). The frame is plastic but sturdy, and the physical interface (roller + buttons + slider) feels more satisfying than finicky touch panels or cheap loose protruding buttons. So it doesn’t feel cheap and plasticky. I cannot judge longevity yet for the shiny finish or if it wears and tears easily. Comfort & Fit Rating: 4 / 5 Head: Clamp force is very solid without squeezing my head and the yokes extend far enough, so it feels stable without pinching. Ears: The ear cup cavity is average so if you have larger ears, the pads can press on the outer ear during longer sessions for sure. For me it's barely enough. Overall to me its lightweight nature has made it super easy to wear for hours, provided your ears aren’t especially large. I didn’t get ear fatigue, any pressure on my head, headaches, or sweating from long sessions. Sound Quality & Tuning Rating: 3.5 / 5 I used LDAC and Tidal for listening. The default tuning is warm and friendly. Bass is present but very light and a bit hollow, the mids can get slightly muddy, treble is smooth but lacks sparkle and energy. Soundstage is better than expected for closed-back ANC at this price, it is just roomy enough to avoid a boxed-in feel but barely. Energy Slider: This is something I was extremely excited for and was disappointed so much. Switching between low and high bass made almost no audible difference across multiple genres and songs (hip-hop, R&B, EDM, rock, acoustic; attached to show what I tested with). For a product that a main selling point is this slider, this is a letdown especially since the baseline bass isn’t that strong to begin with. EQ Note (Important): In the Nothing X app, using the simple Custom EQ often drops overall volume a lot, even with the headphones maxed out. Preset EQs don’t suffer this penalty, so you’re effectively punished for trying to make it your own but it’s a very simple treble, bass, mids EQ which you can see attached. This problem mirrors the Advanced EQ volume-loss quirk I’ve previously encountered on Nothing Headphone (1). Noise Cancellation & Transparency Rating: 3.5 / 5 Hybrid ANC knocks out steady low-frequency hum (fan, HVAC, car noise) fairly well, but it’s not class-leading with voices or sudden highs. I will be traveling on a long haul to Paris soon—I might take these to try further. Transparency is usable for quick chats but sounds a bit artificial. Solid “good for price,” but yeah just decent. Controls, App & Features Rating: 3.5 / 5 Roller: great tactile control for volume—I loved it on the NH1 and I love it here. Energy Slider: Very satisfying to move, functionally weak for bass so it almost becomes just a fidget button that doesn’t do much. Nothing X App: Clean UI, LDAC toggle, firmware updates, but lacks an Advanced EQ to really make it yours, and then the Custom EQ volume drop sucks and makes it so you don’t want to use custom anyway. Battery Life & Charging Rating: 5 / 5 Standout stamina. I think this is the first 5 I might have given and that’s because in regard to battery life this headphone is truly amazing. Such low battery anxiety with this; I am confident I can charge this and head to Paris for my week-long trip and not have to bring a charger. Plus you also have the added fast top-ups due to quick charging. For a student in long study sessions, long drives, flights, and daily commuting, this is a genuine quality-of-life win. Value Rating: 4.5 / 5 At around $99, you’re getting a pretty cool style, comfort, multipoint, LDAC, modular pads, and huge endurance. As a feature-packed headphone for everyday listening, it delivers. For someone looking for some higher-quality sound or some good bass, it doesn’t deliver. I think at $99 it offers great features, good enough sound, good enough ANC, amazing battery. However I think at this price point you would be better off with the Soundcore Q45’s which frequently go on sale from $69–$120. Should you buy the CMF Headphone Pro? Buy it if: You want loads of features—ANC, multipoint, LDAC, great feeling physical controls, modular pads—at a low price. You value comfort + light weight + long battery for long drives/flights more than audiophile fidelity. You love the colors and playful design language. Don’t buy it if: You need premium-tier-esque sound/ANC or good bass. You plan to rely on Custom EQ—the volume drop vs presets is frustrating. You have large ears and are sensitive to ear-cup space. Overall: 3.75 / 5 For the average listener who prioritizes features, comfort, battery life, and style over absolute sound quality, the CMF Headphone Pro is easy to recommend. It’s light, comfy, colorful, and has nice features. It is very great for travel, study sessions, and everyday use. If the Energy Slider did something and Custom EQ didn’t tank volume it would definitely be a little higher. Just set expectations: the Energy Slider does almost nothing, the Custom EQ can tank volume, and this isn’t best in class. Judge it by the right metrics and it shines, so very dependent on what you prioritize, and this can be fantastic for you or not worth it. TL;DR Great for: Comfort, long battery, multipoint + LDAC, fun colors, tactile controls, modular pads, everyday ANC. Not great for: Bass lovers, audiophile clarity, large ears (cup space), EQ users (Custom EQ volume loss). Bottom Line: A feature-rich travel/work companion at a bargain price, not a replacement for premium headphones and not even best in its class. If you want better sound/ANC and tuning at similar money, consider Soundcore Space Q45; if you want style + stamina + comfort, CMF Headphone Pro fits the bill.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, I ORDERED MINE!!

I used it a couple days, it's truly a gamechanger

So I bought both headphones recently, and decided to test them out side by side. I ran their respective audio tests to adjust the equalizer to my hearing as well. I decided not to even play with Dolby Atmos or spatial audio though both headphones support them, turning them on for a split second makes music sound so artificial and bad. I found it interesting that Baseus and cmf have very different results with the audio tests in how they modify the equalizer. Baseus applies the modifications to both left and right ear cups so that you get an even and consistent sound in both ears. CMF applies individual test results to each ear cup, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how good or bad your hearing is. I actually ran the hearing tests a few times on both headphones to ensure that I was getting a consistent result, and not screwing it up. I've probably spent a few hours testing each, listening to the same songs and style of music over and over, sometimes even switching between both headphones to re-listen to a 10-second segment over and over. I think the XH1 has a much higher build quality overall, but that's to be expected for $150 headphones compared to cmf which sell for $100 normally. It is nice to see the hinge is made of metal, and it has a little bit more weight to it. But immediately upon putting on the headphones, and wearing them for a couple hours, the sides of my head just hurt like hell. They feel comfortable at first, but then I feel like there's too much pressure around my ears at my skull. I will say the xh1 has a more accurate and wider sound stage, and better separation overall. But one issue with it is that the bass is completely lacking, and when it does hit, it doesn't sound deep or authentic in my opinion. Versus the CMF headphone Pro has much more realistic bass in my opinion, But overall, a much tighter sound stage with a little less separation. You can still hear all of the finer details in music, but the xh1 excels in that aspect I believe. I am not a bass head, but when I know it should be hitting hard and deep, CMF excelled while the xh1 just sounded dull. Overall, I think I'm going to be keeping the CMF Headphone Pro as daily drivers, especially in the office. They are just so damn comfortable, and I can wear them for extended periods of time without discomfort at all. I really don't think you could go wrong with either headphones to be honest. Ultimately it came down to to comfort being my biggest factor with such a glaring difference between the two for my head. Then secondly the audio quality, which on both are excellent, but slight advantage to the xh1 for clarity and separation.

No problem! I've been wearing the CMF Headphone Pro for 3 days straight now at work for maybe 4-5 hours each day, and it's comfortable. I can truly appreciate how the bass is deep and doesn't muddy the vocals or mids. I'm using the pop EQ setting, with the bass slider at maybe 20%, and my custom hearing test EQ adjustments.

I purchased the Dark Grey based on your review! I'm happy to say that mine have plenty of Bass and turning the slider all the way up makes the bass uncomfortable.