Let’s deal with the looks first. Because that is what you will notice immediately about the Headphone 1. It’s classic Nothing, which means it is different. And this “different” is going to attract attention, something I found out as soon as I took the Headphone 1 out of the box in my office a few days ago. The first person who saw it didn’t vibe well with its design. The second person who saw it, absolutely loved it. The third person who saw it said, “hmmm, this is cool. Could have been better but I don’t mind it.”

You get the drift? There are two things to note here. One, the Nothing Headphone 1 is going to be noticed immediately whenever you are in the middle of people. And two, people are going to have varied opinions on its design. Some will love the edginess it offers, while some would wish for more classic contours and shape. Personally, I love it for its distinctiveness, and its shape which is somewhat closer to what we have previously seen on Bower & Wilkins.

Now that the first impression is out and the design is somewhat done — there are details, but about them in a while — let’s talk about the Headphone 1. This is a very important product for Nothing because it is the company’s first foray into full-size audio products. The competition is more mature here with the likes of Sony, Sennheiser and Bose playing in this category. The stakes are also higher because consumers expect and demand more from full-size cans. Nothing knows this and hence has upped its game significantly.

This reflects in the specifications of the Headphone 1. Ignore the price for now because this is a premium product that matches what others offer at a 2X price. Inside the cans there are 40mm drivers. Active noise cancellation is supported. There are six microphones, with 4-mic environment noise cancellation, there are sensors that track head for spatial audio as well as for on-head sensing. In other words, you take it off and the Headphone 1 senses it and pauses audio. Put it on again and the music starts playing. Low-latency mode during gaming is supported. Similarly, there is support for LDAC and Hi-Res audio. There is IP52 rating for protection against dust and moisture. Simultaneous connectivity to two devices is supported. Yes, the Headphone 1 is a loaded product.

Different design, premium materials, some smart choices

Design deserves a bit more discussion because there is a lot going on here. First of all: the Headphone 1 feels as well-built as any other premium headphone out there. I mean I find it better built than my old Bose QC-35 II, which I still use as my daily driver. In its price segment, it is definitely the best built pair of headphones.

The earcups of the Headphone 1 have aluminium casing. The part that houses drivers though is made of plastic and has the transparent cover, similar to what we see in Nothing phones. Inside, we have the techno-industrial pattern, which too we have seen on Nothing phones. The design of these patterns seems inspired by the old cassette player. The headband is wrapped in plastic but the hinges where it meets the earcups is made of metal alloy, which feels durable and premium. The earcups have soft but supple foam wrapped in a PU sheet. The same is under the headband, which helps greatly with comfort when you are wearing the Headphone 1.

The overall fit and finish of the Headphone 1 is fantastic. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious sign of cost-cutting, which is a welcome sight given how plasticky most of the headphones feel in this price range.

The mix of metal and plastic means the Headphone 1 weight is neither on the light side — for example QC 35 II is around 226 grams — nor too heavy such as the Dyson Ontrac that tips scales at little over 450 grams. Instead, it has a weight of around 329 grams. You do feel it while wearing it but it is also quite comfortable, even for hours. The clamp force with the Headphone 1 is just right, and the earcups will — likely — engulf ears fully for most people. Although, some with large ears may feel the Headphone 1 resting on the edges.

When it comes to design, Nothing has made a few smart choices in buttons. Touch controls are too finicky in headphones so it is lovely to see that Nothing is using buttons. In total there are five buttons, all on the right cup. First there is a hard-to-see — just the way it should be — pairing button on the inside edge of the right cup. Press it and the Headphone 1 gets into the Bluetooth pairing mode. Talking of which, the Bluetooth connectivity is superb. Nothing rates it at 10 meters, and in my use I found it to be apt. I could walk around my (smallish) apartment with the Headphone 1 and not lose connectivity, unlike other headphones that I have tried in the last few years.

So, buttons! On the bottom edge, we have the power on-off slider. Then, we have the Roller on the outer edge. This can be used for volume up and down. The same button can also be used to pause or play music if you press it. Below it you have a joystick like toggle — Nothing calls it Paddle — that you can move left or right to skip or go back to a track while listening to music. Or you can move left or right and hold it to fast forward or go back in a track. Finally, there is a small round button on the right edge. This is a multi-functional button which can be customised through the Nothing X app. By default, pressing it will turn on the virtual assistant on your phone.

Using the buttons is easy. They are reachable without any effort. Their distinct shapes and placement means your fingers are not going to find them confusing. Of all these buttons, I love Roller. It’s an imaginative and inspired design choice and I wish other companies will borrow, copy and steal it.

Having said that, I do see room for improvement. Currently, on the Headphone 1 there is no button to switch between the paired devices. I often used the Headphone 1 with a Sony Bravia and the iPhone connected to it at the same time. And I wished that the round button that triggered the virtual assistant could be used to toggle between paired devices. Given that this is a programmable button maybe in future Nothing will update Headphone 1 firmware to add this functionality. But currently, the Headphone 1 switches to a paired device automatically depending on whether the device is sending audio signals or not. Or you can manage the connections through the Nothing X app.

Fun sound, magical battery life

With headphones, design is just one part of the story. A bigger and more important aspect is their performance. For performance, I believe there are four core areas: audio quality, battery life, active noise cancellation (ANC) performance, and performance during calls. The Headphone 1 is largely, and relative to its price, excellent to good on these aspects. Let’s get into details.

First the ANC. On this aspect I would say the Headphone 1 is middling. They are quite good at cutting down low-frequency sounds like humming or engine noises. But with sounds that have a pitch — for example a ringtone or people talking — they offer a dampening effect but the noise still filters in. I have experienced better noise cancellation from Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 headphones. Just to give you an idea: I believe that the AirPods Pro 2, which are excellent at ANC, and latest over-the-ear Bose and Sony flagships have better ANC.

Over the years I have stopped expecting much from the sound of wireless headphones. It seems they have hit a plateau. So, I did not go in with a lot of expectations as I tried the Headphone 1. But it pleasantly surprised me. In a good goodie way. In a really good, measurably good way. The sound, which has been created with the help of iconic audio brand KEF, is tuned for modern pop music and Bollywood. So, it offers authoritative bass which is forcefull without being muddy. The amount of bass is just right, at least to my ears it sounded that way. It is enough to make you feel, and not just listen to, a bass-heavy song like Bad Guy by Billie Eilish.

In fact, I absolutely love the way the Headphone 1 handles lows, something that also makes it a great device to pair with a television. To see what it can do for my movie watching, I did what I do with all other headphones I try: I watched Dunkirk, the film that won 2 Oscars for sound mixing and soundtrack. As the movie opened with leaflets falling from sky and the low rumble of war in the background, I could hear just how well the Headphone 1 handled low and bass-y sounds. When the beach was bombed, the sound reverberated in my ears as the bombs hit the sand. The Headphone 1 was excellent throughout the film, deftly dealing with the layered soundtrack that ebbs and flows and ebbs and flows.

The same qualities also make the Headphone 1 a good pair of cans to listen to modern pop — think Ed Sheeran and Coldplay — and Bollywood songs. To give you an idea of how Headphone 1 deals with different genres, here is a table. Some of these songs are random picks while some have been picked because they have complex and distinct sound signatures. On these songs I rate headphones as: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Okay, Poor. And as you see this table, keep in mind that I am yet to find a wireless headphone where I can put an excellent rating.

Overall, I feel that the Headphone 1 is extremely good for the kind of music most people listen to nowadays. Bhul Bhulaiya sounds fantastic on it. For Rock, which is mostly 60s and 70s music, I found it somewhat laidback. And in some songs that rely on distinct vocals, such as Jailhouse Rock by Elvis or Umbrella by Rihanna, I found them flatter than what I would have preferred. And of course, these are not the cans for classical music — none of the wireless headphones are. But overall, as a pair of cans that you can use daily in office, while travelling, or while unwinding with some Bollywood music, the Nothing Headphone 1 definitely hits the mark.

The good sound performance is also helped by fairly effective spatial audio, which makes the Headphone 1 soundstage wider than it actually is. For closed headphones, the Headphone 1 sounds pleasantly roomy. Although, the spatial audio works best in the Fixed mode. If you enable head-tracking, it is too wayward and too aggressive. I mostly kept the tracking switched off.

I like the default amount of bass and clear mids that the Headphone 1 offers. If you want more bass, you can bump it up through the Nothing X app. Though Bass Enhancement works only if you switch off spatial audio. So you win some and lose some. Personally, I find the spatial audio and wider soundstage more preferable to extra bass.

During calls, the Headphone 1 excels. It renders crisp audio on both ends of the call and its 4-microphone array to suppress background noise during calls works wonderfully well. Then there is the battery life, which I find superb. Without ANC the Headphone 1 is rated to last around 80 hours of playback while with ANC the number is supposed to be around 35 hours. In my use, I easily got more than that. Most of the time, at least with my kind of usage that had the Headphone 1 paired with my TV and the iPhone, I ended up getting battery life of around 45 hours. Charging is through a USB C port and it is fast. Just 5 minutes of charging gives enough battery to last a little over 2 hours while the full-charge takes around 2 hours.

Best headphones around Rs 20,000?

Yes — and absolutely yes — for all practical purposes. I do wish these had a slightly more dampening noise cancellation, the kind that makes your ears go blank, but yet as an overall package the Nothing Headphone 1 succeeds. I like what Nothing and KEF have done with the sound signature and soundstage of the Headphone 1. It is very difficult to get a sound from wireless headphones that can be considered somewhat good, and Nothing has succeeded here. And more so if most of the time you are going to listen to contemporary music or need a pair of headphones that will let you enjoy binge-watching.

While the Headphone 1 sound is going to be pleasing for masses, I am sure users will also love features like on-head sensing, extra bass option, superb battery life, fantastic build quality as well as the way the Headphone 1 handles calls. Then there is the price, which too I believe is more than right. The Headphone 1 has been priced at Rs 21,999 in India but at launch it is available at a special price of Rs 19,999. This is an excellent price for a fully-loaded and feature-rich headphone that can go toe-to-toe against more expensive headphones in sound quality. Even if you don’t own a Nothing phone, at this price I believe you would do well to take a very close look at the Nothing Headphone 1 if you are out in the market hoping to buy a pair of headphones.

– Ends