By This Hour Technology Desk
Nothing is positioning its Headphone 1 Pro as more than a conventional premium pair of wireless over-ear headphones. The $399 model combines expected flagship features, including active noise cancellation and selectable sound profiles, with a physical Flat EQ switch designed to turn off equalization and spatial-audio processing in the companion app.
That choice places the Headphone 1 Pro in an unusual space. Most buyers of consumer headphones are offered more ways to tailor sound to taste; Nothing is also offering a route intended to reduce those alterations. The distinction matters because the usefulness of an unprocessed sound mode depends heavily on what the listener is doing. A person checking a mix may value a more restrained presentation. Someone listening casually may prefer a sound profile that adds more of the qualities they enjoy.
The available account describes the Headphone 1 Pro as Nothing’s flagship over-ear offering after the company released the lower-priced Headphone A and Ear 3A earbuds. It also frames the new model as the company’s strongest headphone so far, while stopping short of a finished verdict because the reviewer had only limited time with it. That provisional status shapes nearly every conclusion about its sound, noise cancellation and competitive standing.
A hardware switch changes the listening proposition
The most distinctive feature is the Flat EQ control. Via the Nothing X app, the setting is said to disable both EQ and spatial-audio processing. Rather than burying the option in a menu, Nothing places it on a small switch on the inside corner of the left ear cup, separated from the main controls. The reported placement should make inadvertent changes less likely while the headphones are in use.
The stated purpose is to provide studio professionals with a way to hear material without the headphone’s normal processing. The report links the concept to a partnership with Metropolis Studios in London, described as a recording and mastering facility. Yet the source does not establish how broadly the switch will be adopted by recording or mastering professionals, nor does it demonstrate that the setting yields a universal studio reference.
In listening described by the reviewer, the default Balanced profile placed the midrange and treble forward. Vocals came across as prominent, while cymbals had extra edge. Switching to Flat EQ reportedly brought those ranges closer to the bass level and removed some of the perceived openness or air in the presentation. For ordinary listening, the reviewer preferred using the app’s advanced parametric EQ to trim some high-frequency sharpness rather than enabling Flat EQ.
Those impressions make clear that “flat” is not a synonym for “better.” The source itself presents two competing ways to view the option. It may help users who want fewer processing choices in the path while they work. But it may sound unappealing or simply wrong to listeners accustomed to a more shaped tuning. It also raises a narrower technical question left unresolved in the report: whether headphones intended for studio work need a flat presentation at all.
The apparent tension is not a factual conflict so much as a question of use. A switch can be valuable precisely because it gives a listener another reference point, even if that reference is not the preferred setting for music playback. Nothing’s decision to make the change physical, rather than only software-based, signals that it sees the option as a central part of the model’s identity. The evidence supplied, however, does not show how the mode performs across different mixing tasks or listener preferences.
Three drivers, with separate jobs across the range
Nothing has also departed from the single-driver approach commonly used in major wireless headphones. The Headphone 1 Pro reportedly uses three drivers per side: a 40mm dynamic driver for bass, a separate midrange driver and an xMEMS solid-state driver for high frequencies. The underlying idea is straightforward: assigning different frequency ranges to specialized drivers can allow each component to focus on a narrower job.
The report characterizes the intended benefit in the upper range as faster, cleaner attack. That is an engineering claim and a listening goal, not a guarantee that every recording will sound superior. The supplied account does not include controlled comparisons against single-driver alternatives, measurements or longer-term testing. It instead offers an early listening impression alongside the description of the hardware.
On formats and connections, the model is said to support LDAC as well as wired and wireless high-resolution audio at up to 24-bit/96kHz. Wired lossless audio over USB-C is listed at up to 24-bit/192kHz. These capabilities broaden the ways in which users can connect the headphones and choose audio files or streams, though the report does not test whether listeners will perceive differences between those modes.
Auracast is another feature aimed beyond solitary playback. Through Nothing X, the headphones can reportedly work either as an Auracast transmitter or a receiver. In practical terms, that means the product is designed to participate in shared or received broadcast-audio setups, depending on the selected role. The report treats this as a feature that should be more common at the flagship level, but it does not detail compatibility testing, range, setup reliability or the types of source devices used.
That combination of a multi-driver arrangement, high-resolution support and Auracast makes the Headphone 1 Pro a broader technical proposition than a standard Bluetooth headset. Still, features on a specification sheet do not settle the more consequential question for buyers: whether the product is comfortable, reliable and satisfying across daily listening. The review’s abbreviated testing period leaves that question only partly answered.
Noise cancellation draws praise, but not a clean win
The early assessment of active noise cancellation is favorable in specific circumstances. The reviewer found it especially effective against low-frequency rumble, citing air-conditioning systems and airplane noise, and judged its handling of street traffic to be good. With music playing, the account says the reviewer felt adequately isolated from surrounding noise.
There is an important qualification. The review says the Headphone 1 Pro did not equal the reviewer’s three leading competing models for noise cancellation: Sony’s XM6, Bose’s Ultra Headphones Gen 2 and Apple’s AirPods Max 2. Elsewhere, its conclusion characterizes Nothing’s ANC as comparable to major competition. These statements need not be read as a direct contradiction. The first is a narrower ranking based on the reviewer’s short experience; the second is a broader judgment that the gap was not decisive in normal use with music.
Buyers should nevertheless treat both characterizations as subjective and preliminary. No standardized noise-reduction results are included, and the source does not specify how the headphones perform in a wider set of environments, with different fits, or over extended travel. What can be said from the available reporting is more limited: the reviewer considered the ANC a substantial improvement for Nothing and found it strong on the low-frequency sounds tested.
The model carries an IP52 rating and is rated for up to 30 hours of battery life with ANC enabled, or up to 68 hours with ANC switched off. Those are stated ratings, not independent endurance results. Battery life in particular can vary with volume, connection mode, codec choice and the use of other processing, none of which is explored in the supplied material.
Controls earn approval while the case leaves a weak point
The physical design appears closely tied to Nothing’s existing headphone look, according to the report. Its tactile buttons received a positive assessment, as did the volume roller. The reviewer’s praise centered on the ability to use the controls without accidental activations, a recurring problem for touch-sensitive interfaces. The separated Flat EQ switch follows the same design logic: a control should be intentional rather than easily triggered.
The included folding hard case drew the sharpest design criticism. It protects the ear cups when closed but leaves the headband exposed, using that section as a handle. A hard shell offers some protection, but the omission is significant for a product intended to travel in a bag. The report does not address how the exposed headband holds up over time, so it would be premature to turn that concern into a durability finding.
Nothing’s proposition is therefore unusually split between audience and use case. For a buyer drawn to a recognizable design, physical controls, lengthy quoted battery life and solid early ANC impressions, the Headphone 1 Pro appears to compete directly in the premium wireless category. For someone focused on production work, the Flat EQ switch and separated drivers are the more unusual parts of the offer. Neither claim is fully tested in the available account.
The report has not been independently corroborated. It is based on a single early review and a short testing period, with no separate confirmation of performance, compatibility, endurance or professional-studio usefulness. The strongest supported conclusion is that Nothing has introduced a $399 over-ear flagship with an unconventional control for disabling processing; whether that idea becomes a practical advantage will require fuller comparisons and longer use.
For further context on this subject, see Nor’easter floods US Northeast and leaves more than 100,000 without power.
Reporting notes
What is confirmed: Reported features include three drivers, ANC, LDAC, high-resolution wired and wireless audio, Auracast, IP52 protection and tactile controls.
Why this matters: The switch gives a consumer wireless headphone an unusual option aimed at listeners who want a less processed reference sound.
What remains unclear: There are no independent tests of sound, ANC, battery endurance, compatibility or the Flat EQ mode’s usefulness in studio work. This report is based on one source and has not been independently corroborated.
