The brand Nothing seems to have a very stylish chip on its shoulders when it comes to the world of modern consumer technology design.Through smartphones, old earbuds, and the latest Nothing TRUE I want you to know the difference.
And with this obsession with design, it’s no surprise that Nothing’s products stand out in a fairly crowded marketplace. But are fancy features and aesthetics alone enough to capture your interest?
We took the time to check it out with the brand’s latest offering, earbuds titled Nothing Ear (Stick). offers a slightly different perspective. But is it worth your time?
step into the future
Looking like the oversized lipstick case of the future, the Nothing Stick’s case stands apart from the AirPods-style housing most headphone providers have adopted. The earbuds are housed inside a tube and pop out with a twist mechanism.
It’s a satisfying experience, especially for those who can’t help but tinker and play.
The charging case is unique, and bold in the same charging case world, but the innovation comes with one major inconvenience – dirt.
With its rotating design and white interior lining, the Nothing Stick case easily collects dirt from just sitting at your desk. Also, the rotating mechanism makes it very difficult to clean. It’s not the end of the world, but it does put a damper on an otherwise great case.
Unlike most earbuds, these don’t have rubber tips. This means a looser fit in your ears and no noise canceling at all. You’ll notice a lot of sound leaking out when you’re sitting in a room, or in any noisy place in general.
Likewise, the lack of rubber tips means these earbuds sit loosely in your ears. It all comes down to a complete genetic gamble that is the shape of your ears.
If you’re lucky (like me), the Nothing Stick will sit comfortably in your ear and stay there even when the song justifies it, whether you’re running, walking, or light headbapping. This loose fit and the lightweight nature of the earbuds made them comfortable to wear for hours. This cannot be said for most earphones these days.
However, quite a few people have reported that the earbuds fall off easily and have a loose fit. I experienced a feeling of wearing.
As with most Bluetooth earbuds, touch controls are available here, but they’re very cumbersome. Squeeze the arm of either earbud to activate the controls, which is surprisingly tricky to do smoothly. Pause, play and answer/hang up calls with a single press. Press twice to skip, press three times to return.
how do they sound?
Nothing created a unique look here, but let’s not judge a book by its cover. What do those buds sound like? It’s not perfect, but the Nothing Ear (Stick)’s sound performance is certainly impressive for the price.
With these earbuds, Nothing created what is known as Bass Lock Technology. This, in theory, prevents sound leakage that an open design normally causes. With this technology, the software detects low frequency loss and tries to equalize it.
If you’re in a quiet environment without a lot of background noise, this works very well with the earphones, providing a solid punch of bass.
many deep bass effects Fred Again’s Rumble It’s clearly discernible and saves you from the muddy effect found in cheap headphones.
Similarly, aggressive drums Song for the Dead from Queens of the Stone Age still punch through, play through Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics It has never been dampened and still shines in all its bass glory.
However, this is in a quiet environment. On my daily bus ride home, songs were frequently drowned out or muddy as the earphones tried to compensate.
Grit for heavier songs like nirvana In bloom Lost and Quiet, More Subtle Tracks truman sleeps To Philip Glass Completely drowned out and need to turn up the volume.
This is a trade-off that comes with the open design of headphones. They are lighter and make for a more comfortable fit for some.
You can use the Nothing X app to tweak the sound of your headphones.Like the headphones themselves, the app is more about looking good than it offers a lot of features, and the only thing that matters is the equalizer.
This allows you to prioritize bass, mids, and treble, or choose from a number of pre-made equalizations. We used the balanced sound option for most of our testing period on the headphones.
verdict
For the £99 price tag, it’s hard to dispute the value of the Nothing Ear (Stick). It offers solid audio performance and a playful design rare in modern headphones.
However, there are a few key factors that quickly make these the wrong earbuds for certain groups. It is an important factor in the
Realistically, these earbuds are best used in certain situations. I could comfortably use it for hours while working in the office or at home, and the open design let me hear my surroundings. While commuting to work or walking around town, I found the noise canceling really lacking.
Alternative proposal
Sony WF-1000XM4
Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are often touted as the best in-ear headphones on the market, and with such claims, it’s no surprise that they’re also the best in-ear headphones on the market. high.
They are often sold for just under £200, but list price is £250.
At this price, you’re guaranteed incredible audio, market-leading noise-cancellation, and extremely solid battery life.
AirPods 3rd generation
If you’re an Apple user, it’s best to buy earbuds directly from the brand.
In our review of the Apple AirPods 3rd Generation, we were impressed with its great audio performance, long-lasting comfort, and the inclusion of spatial audio.
Offering a similar fit to Nothing Ear (Stick), AirPods fit a wider range of ears.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2
Samsung users have plenty of alternative earbuds to choose from, but we recommend the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.
These earbuds offer active noise cancellation, blocking out most of the noise around you. This is combined with impressive audio performance similar to a pair of AirPods.
However, the IPX2 rating means you shouldn’t get too close to puddles.
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