Nothing Headphone 1 First Impressions: Promising sound with striking design

Nothing Headphone 1

If the Nothing Phone (3) is the first premium flagship phone from the company, the Headphone (1) is its first headphone and premium audio product. And it appears that the company didn’t want to leave any scope for criticism with its first-ever headphones. The Nothing Headphone 1 feels familiar at first glance, yet confidently different once you start using it. I’ve been trying it out for a short while, and here’s how the initial experience has shaped up.

Nothing Headphone 1 colours

Design and build: Undeniably Nothing

Nothing has always cherished the transparent design language with its products, and the Headphone 1 is no different. From afar, the Nothing Headphone 1 immediately grabs attention — not just because of its transparent accents, but also because of how radically different it looks from conventional wireless headphones in its class, and even a segment above. I like to call it a retro-modern design language, which gives a look and feel of an old cassette’s transparent shell — something we ’90s kids can relate to. For those who can’t, take a look at the image below.

Headphone 1

With machined aluminium earcups on either side, the white colour variant I’m using looks bold and aesthetically pleasant. And it is a little less attention-grabbing too — just the way I prefer my products to be. But if you want people to notice the headphones, go for the black one — it looks elegantly bold and beautiful.

Despite the bold design language, the build is surprisingly lightweight and comfortable. The clamping force isn’t too aggressive, and the padding feels adequate for prolonged listening. What adds to the usability is the physical control system — a roller dial for volume and a paddle button for playback control. This combination feels tactile and intuitive, especially when compared to fidgety touch-sensitive controls that many brands favour. There’s also a shortcut button that hasn’t been fully explored yet, but it seems to work best when paired with the Nothing Phone 3 — more on that in the full review.

Audio quality: More KEF than you can imagine

Nothing has partnered with KEF for the audio tuning, and KEF’s touch is pretty evident here. And it’s not just about slapping the name on the product. Nothing has worked closely with KEF to fine-tune the drivers and sound signature, and that’s something that really stands out. The moment I turned on the headphones, connected them to the phone, and started listening to some music, I was quite surprised by the soft sound signature — the kind you usually find in the more premium segment.

Nothing Headphone 1 buttons

The 40mm dynamic drivers — developed with KEF — offer a balanced, bass-friendly (not heavy) output out of the box. Vocals sit cleanly in the mix, while the low-end has a nice punch without being overbearing. Even without ANC turned on, the earcups provide decent passive isolation thanks to their snug fit and PU cushioning. But the only thing I didn’t quite like is that the highs feel a little muted by default.

To solve that, Nothing has updated the app to offer presets as well as custom equalisers. I tried them, and they work fine — but pushing the highs past a certain level maxes out the 40mm driver. That said, for most use-case scenarios, the Headphone 1 delivers premium and polished sound output — just like one would expect from high-end headphones.

Speaking of ANC, the hybrid active noise cancellation works well in early tests. It isn’t on the level of what you get from Sony’s flagship models, but it’s on par with headphones in this segment. For the price of ₹21,999, it’s competitive. The Transparency Mode, however, is where I’d like to see some improvements. It’s hard to gauge external sounds clearly when the headphones already seal your ears quite tightly — so turning it on doesn’t immediately feel like a big difference.

Nothing Headphone 1

Another highlight is head tracking, a feature that adjusts the spatial sound field as you move. It’s still early days, but the implementation seems responsive and adds an element of immersion while listening to supported content. Nothing says that they are processing the spatial audio on-device and not on the phone. This allows them to track head movement more accurately. During my testing, the spatial audio worked as expected and was responsive as well.

Initial impressions

It has just been a while since I started using the Headphone 1, and during the short amount of time I’ve spent with it, the Headphone 1 feels as premium as the company claims. The soft — yet clear and detailed — sound signature feels impressive, and the ANC performance is adequate too. Overall, the Headphone 1 feels promising.