Ear (3)

I would throw in Nothing ear 3. I’ve had it for about 3 weeks and pleasantly surprised by how well it performs. I use it for two primary purposes which is for phone calls, I have meetings throughout the day, and for watching shows/listening to music. It seamlessly connects between my iphone 14 pro and macbook pro and the call quality is amazing. I’ve had issues with my airpod pro 1st gen where it would pick up all of my background noise and whenever I had to get on a meeting I would have to find a quiet space. With Nothing ear, it doesn’t pick up my background noise even when I’m at the playground with kids screaming around! As for music quality, I’m not an audiophile but it works for me.

I would suggest the nothing ear (3) for your criteria. The ANC is by no means top tier but it works well enough. I have the previous gen Ear 2024 myself and it works for me to commute on the always crowded underground metro and even if I’m not listening to music, they do tune out the train noise and the people around me. At most they sound muffled and far away, if that makes sense. The ear (3) has a much improved ANC system according to reviewers and it’s ANC algorithm is quite refined now but it’s not nearly as good as AirPods Pro 2. My ear 2024 has very good microphones though, even when I’m on a call in heavily crowded or windy areas, the person on the other end never had a problem with hearing my voice. The new Ear(3) has microphones in the case itself and a talk button. You just hold it near your mouth and toggle/hold (depending on your preference) and talk into it. Based on the reviews i saw, the case will boost your voice way too much in quiet areas so it’s best to use it only in noisy environments, where it really shines. Ear(3) also has an 8 band parametric EQ so you can really tune these things to sound exactly like you like it. They also have a hearing test where it basically figures out which frequencies you have trouble hearing and then boosts those and from personal experience, it makes a world of difference in the details I’m able to hear but I would recommend keeping the intensity at 20-40 percent otherwise it can over boost certain frequencies. Even when I had AirPods Pro 2 they couldn’t match my older 2023 ear(2) in sound quality because of the hearing test and my own tuning. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of tuning it, you can find presets on Reddit or YouTube and now there’s a section in the app where you can find QR codes of presets on the advance EQ done by audio engineers, audiophiles and regular user. Hope this helps :)

In pure sound quality, soundstage and instrument separation, the nothing ear(3) would be your best bet, their default tuning is kinda V-shaped, as in it boosts bass and treble with recessed mids but it has an 8 band eq in the app so it’s an easy fix to get the widest soundstage and most instrument separation on them. ANC has taken a couple steps forward as compared to the previous generation and it’s a lot more effective now. I personally have the 2 previous generation, and I have to say, with some tuning in the app (it’s got objectively the best EQ of any earbuds currently on the market) I can pick out and focus on instruments even in crowded indie or hip hop tracks much better than I could on AirPods Pro 2. From reviews that I’ve seen of audiophiles and audio engineers, the ear(3) has improved the bass and treble to make it cleaner and the ANC is much better than previous generation. It’s also got LDAC and LDHC for high res audio. But I would be remiss if I don’t tell you that you absolutely have to tune it, the stock tuning on most Nothing audio products is V-shaped but you can also find EQ presets on Reddit or YouTube done by audiophiles and audio engineers and you can just scan a qr in the Nothing app and you’re good to go. I wouldn’t recommend the AirPods pro 3 since they heavily lean into the V-shaped frequency response and that results in a narrow soundstage and terrible instrument separation. Spatial Audio also doesn’t mean anything if vocals and many instruments are recessed in favour of boomy bass or sparkly treble. They also don’t have an EQ so you cannot cut the bass or treble to make the sound cleaner.

Nothing support sounds like it's right on the money with that marketing. Sounds like I shouldn't purchase any more of their products even though I really like the design of my Nothing (a)s.

Fit me way better than the AZ100 as well or the Earfun Pro 4 although they are a great deal.

[nothing earbuds!](https://us.nothing.tech/products/ear-3?Colour=Black) these are super good I got them for my friend that used to have Samsungs. These are equal to the AirPod pros for android, don’t buy anything else, I talk to my friend about 3 or 4 hours a day on the truck and they kill all the background noise.

New Nothing Ear 3(2025). Just got it yesterday and after some adjustments it sounds amazing! I also have Buds 3pro, Airpods 2 pro, Earfun 4 pro. New Nothing 3 is my new favorite. Design rocks too. Fits the best. love it.

Pretty much the same thing happened to me. And shit support. It's not like they're cheap bargain bin earbuds for them to die so quickly

Same thing with me. See my latest post. And please suggest the best earphones, because nothing sucks. After a few months, their left earbud does not charge and drains in 10 minutes. So please suggest some good ones.