Nothing ear (2) black review: Same premium feel with balanced sound

Apart from the change in colour scheme, there is no major difference in the packaging of the ear (2)’s black variant from the earlier white variant. The box is small and minimalistic, which houses the earbuds inside a transparent light black case that is made of good quality plastic. However, I can’t help but admire how artistic the charging case looks, with the interplay of the transparency on the top and the opaque lip at the bottom, which is matte black in colour and has clearly been designed to reduce fingerprints and scratches on the case.

Nothing ear (2) box contents

The buds also look extremely beautiful, with the stems being transparent to showcase the inside circuits and related machines. Apart from the buds, the box package contains two sets of ear tips in small and large sizes (medium-sized ones are fitted on the earbuds), a charging cable and user and safety guides.

The medium-sized earbuds fit my ear canals perfectly and never came out during my exercise sessions or walks. Weighing 4.5 gm, the earbuds were slightly heavier than the OnePlus Nord Buds 2r that launched recently at less than half of the ear (2)’s price. However, they were still light enough for me.

Same as the ear (2) white version, the black variant also packs the same functionalities – ANC (Active Noise Cancellation), 11.6 mm drivers that support AAC, SBC and LHDC 5.0 codecs, Bluetooth 5.3, IP54 for buds / IP55 for case’s water and dust resistance, and in-ear detection. The earbuds also pack Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair and dual connection that allows connecting to two devices at the same time, Clear Voice Technology with three microphones in each bud, LED charging status, and a Low Lag Mode.

A closer look at the Nothing ear (2)

The TWS also come with a personal sound profile, which basically adjusts the equaliser in real-time for audio content via the ear tip test.

Nothing has also changed the controls in the ear (2), as the previous tap gestures for play/pause/change/end tracks make way for a force-touch system, similar to what's on Apple’s AirPods Pro (2nd Gen). This seems better and more accurate than simple touch controls, in my opinion.

The touch controls are also customisable through the companion Nothing X app, which allows you to choose to control playback and volume, switch between ANC and transparency modes, and invoke the voice assistant. The earpieces also have in-ear detection to automatically play and pause music when put on or taken off, and this also worked every time during my review.

Thanks to Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, connecting the ear (2) to Android smartphones or Windows laptops was a breeze. If one wants extra functionalities to tweak the sound signature, one will have to download the Nothing X app. Fair disclaimer, I did not test this device on an iPhone.

Sound quality

During my review, I used the Nothing ear (2) with the OnePlus Nord 3 5G and the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G. This means that I was not able to listen to the LHDC codec, which only works with Nothing smartphones. I used the AAC codec and listened to music via YouTube Music and Amazon Music streaming apps.

Personalisation settings inside the Nothing X app

In my opinion, the sound quality was rich and clear with a nice separation between the bass and the vocals. However, I was a little disappointed with the loudness and always had to crank up the volume to make everything sound better, and frequently had to go over the 90 percent level to generate the best sound in terms of detail and attack.

But I must say, the mids and trebles were very nicely done, so listening to vocals or instrumental music will be very pleasurable on these earbuds.

Now, the "advanced equalizer” settings in the Nothing X app that Nothing launched with the black variant offers customisation to another level to offer a better audio experience. This is an eight-band equaliser with full Q factor and frequency control, which gives more advanced and deep functions/parameters to customise the sound with a higher level of precision. Nothing claims this gives the user even more freedom to control/tune how they want to hear their music. So much audio tuning is rarely offered by any other manufacturer at this price range, and kudos to Nothing for this.

And the updates do make a difference.

Using this equalizer boosted the bass levels significantly, compared to the previous version of the app. But I am not sure whether every user will be able to tweak so many settings inside the app. Users can continue using the existing three-band 'Simple' EQ or the new 8-band 'Advanced' EQ, as per their convenience, Nothing claims.

Overall, Nothing has done a great job on the sound signature here, which is a balanced one.

ANC on the ear (2), while acceptable for a headset priced at this level, was not perfect. For both outdoors and indoors, the ambient sound reduction wasn't much, with plenty of indoor sounds such as the hum of an AC and whizz of the ceiling fan still slightly audible. This was combined with a rather strong vacuum effect with the ANC, which may come across as a sign of good noise cancellation for many, even though it's actually the opposite.

Verdict

All in all, the Nothing ear (2)’s black variant combines an out-of-the box design that feels premium with a balanced sound signature, that has become more polished after the update. It offers excellent voice clarity with improved bass and decent ANC at a price of Rs 9,999. On the flip side, so much sound tuning via the app may seem too complex for some users.