Nothing Ear (2) Evaluate: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

At a look

Knowledgeable’s Score

Execs

• Nice sound
• Excellent personalised sound
• Cheaper than predecessor within the UK
• Cool design

Cons

• Hello-Res perform damaged on Nothing Cellphone (1)
• Audio-visual lag on video
• Dodgy multipoint connection

Our Verdict

The Nothing Ear (2) sound nice and have strong noise cancelling, plus further options at a really aggressive value. Nonetheless, the brand new high-quality audio mode doesn’t work properly on the corporate’s personal smartphone.

Worth When Reviewed

$149

Finest Costs Right this moment: Nothing Ear (2)

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

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

This Hello-Res mode is buggy on the Nothing Cellphone (1) however not on some other telephone I examined, so mockingly I can solely advocate the Ear (2) to anybody who doesn’t personal the one telephone Nothing at the moment 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), regardless that Nothing shall be at pains to level out refined design variations right 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 correct bud to distinguish them.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The case is a little bit smaller than the Ear (1)’s and is comprised of a hardy see-through plastic. I dropped the case a few instances, but it surely 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 concerning 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 comfy to put on at 4.5g every and though I typically wrestle with the match of a few of the greatest wi-fi earbuds, as I’ve slim 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.

For those who favor, 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 Cellphone (1)

The Ear (2) sound superb. They’ve acquired good bass and may drive rock and rap tracks very properly, even when the treble is a little bit overpowering at instances.

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

Once I performed Impediment 1 by Interpol on Spotify, the monitor sounded solidly reproduced. The identical monitor by way of hi-res music app Qobuz all of a sudden 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 employ.

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

Henry Burrell / Foundry

The pulsing synth sounds of UK Grim by Sleaford Mods have glorious stereo separation and the bass response is full sufficient the place lesser earbuds distort. Acoustic guitars on All people’s Gotta Dwell by Love are superbly 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 value 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, but it surely was value it.

The app takes you thru a 5 minute listening to take a look at that checks at what frequencies you may hear a beep above static noise. The result’s the software program boosting audio information 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 must re-do the take a look at should you swap units or unpair the buds, and there’s additionally an achieved equaliser perform should you favor 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 is going to solely take impact in case your telephone or pill helps this hi-res streaming customary.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

I examined the Ear (2) on a number of units together with a Nothing Cellphone (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 Cellphone (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 Cellphone (1) – on different Android units (the toggle will not be an choice on iOS) the perform works completely, leaving audio as-is when wanted after which streaming in hi-res when out there.

In its present state, the high-quality audio toggle appears to offer audio from Cellphone (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 machine the place it benefitted the music or video when utilizing Nothing’s telephone.

It’s not a dealbreaker for any telephone however that one, oddly. When you’ve got the Cellphone (1) then it is best to word that the hi-res function at the moment will not be at the moment usable. Streaming audio over common AAC and SBC codecs is totally high-quality.

Wi-fi connection over Bluetooth 5.3 is strong when the supply machine is close by, however cuts out when you’re two rooms away, in my testing.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Noise cancelling & good options

• Strong ANC
• Buggy multipoint
• Audio lag with video

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

As with the audio choices, there’s a pleasing stage of management given to the consumer within the Nothing X app with ANC, which affords 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 private sound profile and tended to maintain the default ANC settings on however the work put into genuinely helpful and achieved options right here from what’s a small start-up is noteworthy. The transparency mode can also be good for once you need the buds in however concentrate on your environment.

You can too join Ear (2) to 2 units directly because of Multipoint tech, so that you will be related to your telephone and laptop computer or pill concurrently and obtain the audio paying from both supply. Once more, a considerably uncommon function at this value level, however I discovered it a little bit unreliable. Linked to an Android telephone and a MacBook Air, I might typically lose the connection to the MacBook and need to manually reconnect.

I additionally skilled an audio/video lag when watching YouTube movies with Ear (2) related to the Mac that I’ve not seen with some 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 telephone calls. You can too hyperlink the buds on arrange to make use of with Google Assistant utilizing voice match for palms free assist from the Massive G.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Battery life & charging

• 4 hours with ANC
• About 4 fees 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 type for longer than a few hours until 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 total when absolutely charged and recharging the earbuds, however once more this can be 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 function that’s typically onerous to search out at this value level.

Worth & availability

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

You possibly can purchase them globally direct from Nothing.

A detailed competitor in value and options is the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 at $149/$139/€149, however having used each I might decide 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 large on the $249/£249/€299 Apple AirPods Professional 2, or the $249/£249/€279 Sony WF-1000XM4, although you’ll find the latter at an honest low cost in 2023.

Try our chart of the greatest wi-fi earbuds to see extra choices, and should you want one thing cheaper, we’ve got a chart of price range wi-fi earbuds.

Verdict

The Nothing Ear (2) don’t have the very best battery life round, the Multipoint is a little bit dodgy and the Hello-Res function is mockingly damaged when used with the corporate’s solely telephone, however for the value, this product excels on each different stage. And hopefully, this stuff will be mounted with firmware updates.

If you’d like a pretty pair of wi-fi earbuds with strong noise cancellation and genuinely glorious sound high quality, these are among the many greatest – notably after they value almost half of what Apple, Sony, and Bose are charging for comparatively comparable earbuds.

Specs

• Lively 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