Nothing Ear and Ear (a) overview

Nothing’s Ear line of earbuds was an on the spot bestseller due to its semi-transparent design and Nothing’s elite advertising and marketing however the product’s prowess is greater than surface-deep.

Having used the Nothing Ear (2) extensively since their launch, this reviewer can vouch that these are among the many most comfy earbuds on the market, and so they sound fairly nice too.

So naturally, I used to be curious in regards to the new ones. Meet the Nothing Ear and Ear (a) – the corporate’s new two-pronged assault on the booming wi-fi earbud market.

The Nothing Ear is the flagship mannequin, coming in at $149/£129/€149 (matching the Ear (2)). This implies the Nothing Ear replaces the Ear (2), which changed the Ear (1). It is a complicated naming scheme that may certainly develop into much more so subsequent yr when Nothing might want to title the Ear’s successor – Ear (2025) or some such will in all probability should be used.

The Ear (a), in distinction, is available in at a extra inexpensive $99/£99/€99. Each buds ship with the identical retail package deal with S, M, and L-sized ear ideas and a USB-C cable.

The Ear and Ear (2) have the identical package deal

You possibly can have each the Ear and Ear (a) in Black and White, and the (a) comes on this enjoyable yellow shade with DHL vibes. The instances are a bit totally different – the Ear packs an equivalent case to the Ear (2), whereas the Ear (a) is available in a smaller case that lacks wi-fi charging.

Each instances have a built-in 500mAh battery, whereas every bud has a 46mAh battery. The instances have USB-C ports for quick charging – Nothing advertises 10 hours of listening with ANC off in simply 10 minutes on the cable – and the aforementioned 2.5W wi-fi charging on the Ear. The Ear case is IP55 resistant, whereas the Ear (a)’s solely complies with IPX2, so that you should not drop both within the pool.

So, what’s the identical and what’s totally different? Each fashions are equivalent in measurement and have the identical ideas and 11mm drivers. The flagship Nothing Ear’s driver has a ceramic diaphragm to the (a) PMI and TPU for superior richness, readability, and sound accuracy. The Ear additionally helps LHDC 5.0 (1 Mbps, 24-bit/192kHz) and LDAC (990 Kbps, 24-bit/96kHz) for greater high quality Bluetooth streaming, whereas the Ear (a) makes do with simply LDAC.

Each Ear and Ear (a) have energetic noise cancellation as much as 45dB – an enchancment on paper over Ear (2)’s 40dB, however all three fashions assist Bluetooth 5.3.

The Nothing X app is the place to configure the buds’s sound, their controls, and perform software program updates. Each fashions had a few updates whereas we have been testing them.

Every bud’ stem helps pinch gestures. They work nice and by no means set off by chance – one thing we won’t say for stemless earbuds, the place it is advisable contact the bud itself.

The Nothing X app

The Nothing X app is extra refined for the Ear than the Ear (a). There’s an 8-band equalizer you can set your self, together with the Easy choices discovered on the (a) as nicely.

One other Ear-exclusive, which leverages the ceramic diaphragm is the non-public sound profile. It is an upscaler based mostly in your private listening to profile, which the app determines by providing you with quite a few sound assessments at totally different frequencies to gauge your sound profile. It then adjusts EQ values in actual time to tailor the music to your profile.

You have got a selection of three settings – Softer, Advisable, and Richer, and you may alter the depth of the profile with a 0-100% slider.

Tuning the sound on the Nothing Ear

The Nothing Ear (a) will get a primary equalizer the place you possibly can select between the preset Balanced, Extra Bass, Extra Treble, and Voice, or create a customized profile by adjusting sliders for Mids, Bass, and Treble. We predict it’s best to actually have the identical prolonged EQ on the Ear (a), sans the Private Sound Profile.

Barebones tuning on the Ear (a)

Lastly, the Ear and Ear (a) have a built-in ChatGPT on the go, which you need to use with a pinch, nevertheless it requires that you’ve a Telephone (1), Telephone (2), or a Telephone (2a).

Sound high quality and battery life

Earlier than we discuss high quality, we now have to say that the Ear and Ear (a), identical to the Ear (2) earlier than them, are among the many most comfy buds this reviewer has ever had on. Nonetheless, a part of the reason being the unfastened match.

Regardless of which ear ideas you select, the Nothing Ear buds match a bit unfastened. It isn’t a comfortable match like on the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 or the Sony WF-1000XM5. That is to not say that the buds will fall off, they sit very securely, they merely do not create a real vacuum together with your ear the best way different buds do.

Which means that your ears do not damage after lengthy hours of utilizing the Nothing Ear, nevertheless it additionally means the buds do not create as a lot noise isolation as different buds.

Headphone match is a really private factor, however this reviewer is pleased with the looser match as a result of it is extra comfy.

Lively noise cancellation is excellent when coping with fixed sound, although not spectacular in a quiet workplace surroundings. It is a bit let down by the poor passive isolation. We won’t say we observed a distinction to the Ear (2) when testing aspect by aspect.

ANC on earbuds nowadays can solely go thus far – except for outliers such because the Sony WF-1000XM5, which has tighter-fitting foam ideas.

A phrase on battery life. We obtained round 4 hours with ANC turned on and quantity at 100% on the Ear and about 25 minutes extra on the Ear (a).

Okay, sound high quality. The Nothing Ear is a classy-sounding product. There’s quite a lot of quantity on faucet, even within the default setting. Going full 100% is impressively clear, with no distortion, however the greater frequencies come out a bit of too sturdy, with an over-boosted presence and brilliance, which simply results in fatigue with longer periods.

We performed round with the EQ and managed to reel these in, which reveals a balanced and potent soundstage. Bass is excellent and the ceramic drivers can take quite a lot of it – you possibly can increase with confidence that it will not overwhelm and muffle the remainder of the sound. ANC helps right here, including a really feel of isolation.

The Nothing Ear is a transparent step up from the Nothing Ear (2), regardless of the slight discount in driver measurement (11mm vs 11.6mm). It has a extra dynamic sound with fuller, stronger quantity, and the bass is boomier. It is merely extra refined and extra highly effective.

The Ear (a) is a bit of muffled in comparison with the Ear. It would not sound as crisp and is round 10% to fifteen% quieter, although its quantity is not inadequate in isolation – the Ear is just very loud.

Let’s discuss in regards to the Private Sound Profile on the Nothing Ear. It is a very spectacular characteristic however one which’s not for everybody. It upscales the already large sound on the Ear to a different degree. At 100% impact power, it is simply overwhelming and results in ear fatigue in a matter of minutes. However the quantity of quantity you achieve, with out distortion could be very, very spectacular.

Nonetheless, the characteristic is not for everybody. This reviewer discovered it overly artificial and too synthetic. It devoids music of its real studio high quality and makes really feel made in a lab. The characteristic virtually eliminates the baseline oomph from the decrease frequencies, including to the factitious sound, and also you get some hissing and digital noise on the finish of songs. Strive it and see the way it suits, however I am going to reiterate – it’s totally spectacular, particularly on vocals and devices.

Conclusion

The Nothing Ear is an enormous step up from the Nothing Ear (2). It is simply as comfy and appears simply nearly as good, however you get higher battery life and improved audio high quality.

The brand new ceramic drivers make a world of distinction to the soundstage that is felt when in comparison with the Ear (2) and Ear (a). These new flagship buds must be on anybody’s listing of premium TWS earbuds. We might wager they’re probably the most comfy by far!

The Ear (a) can also be an important possibility for the much less choosy purchaser who’s on the lookout for fashion and luxury. However in case you have the Ear (2), then the Ear (a) would not make quite a lot of sense.