In this review we will analyze CMF by Nothing Buds Pro: the cheap true wireless earphones from Carl Pei’s company
Nothing, the company founded by Carl Pei, has made headlines for its minimalist and innovative approach to design. With the CMF Buds Pro, Nothing has entered the budget-friendly true wireless earphone market, promising a quality audio experience at an affordable price. Let’s discover them together!
Design and Construction Quality | CMF by Nothing Buds Pro review
The CMF Buds Pro stand out for their design, faithful to the company’s approach based on colours, materials and finishes (CMF). The minimalist and modern aesthetic, embodied in a plastic body with silicone ear tips, is available in two classic colors and one more particular one: black, white and orange.
Comfort is the focus, as the earphones boast a design suitable for prolonged use. The ergonomic eartips ensure a comfortable fit, improving the overall user experience. The build quality is sturdy, offering a feeling of solidity and durability. The design is simple but elegant, and the earbuds are comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The build quality is generally good, but the case could be a little sturdier.
While unboxing is no spectacle, Nothing takes a pragmatic approach. The packaging is minimalist, reflecting the ethos of reducing waste and environmental impact. A simple but effective arrangement of two pieces of cardboard with cutouts for the case and cable shows a commitment to simplicity and sustainability.
Esperienza Audio | Review CMF by Nothing Buds Pro
The CMF Buds Pro impress with their audio power, offering a clear and balanced sound profile that includes deep bass and crisp highs. Touch controls on the headphones provide convenient volume adjustment. The addition of active noise cancellation (ANC) further elevates the audio experience, effectively attenuating ambient noise.
The single liquid crystalline polymer + polyurethane driver does its dirty work. The V-shaped intonation produces an energetic sound, with well-controlled bass and lively treble, attenuating the mid frequencies.
Microphone performance is average. Our voice is slightly muffled, lacking the clarity and naturalness present in higher-end earphones.
The CMF Buds Pro feature the active noise cancellation, which works in tandem with six built-in microphones. As already mentioned, you can choose between three levels of ANC control, turn it off completely or enable transparency mode. At the highest level, the ANC performance on the CMF Buds Pro is very good, especially considering the price range.
The latency emerges as something that can compromise the experience of the most demanding users, with audio delays ranging from 200 to 300 ms. The low latency mode in the Nothing X app appears to have minimal impact. This will certainly be a point to focus on with a view to updates.
Bluetooth 5.2 ensures fast and stable connectivity and we had no interference problems. The inclusion of the AAC codec improves audio quality, surpassing the standard SBC codec. The hassle-free connection process contributes to a truly great user experience.
Features | CMF by Nothing Buds Pro review
The CMF Buds Pro introduce a series of features suited to different user needs. In addition to standard controls like touch gestures for music playback and call management, these headphones include in-ear sensing, which pauses music when removed. There transparency mode allows you to hear ambient sounds without removing the earphones: a truly interesting and useful feature.
The Nothing X app completes the earphones, offering customization options like EQ adjustments and customizing touch controls. However, the app fails to provide the advanced parametric EQ found in other Nothing headphones, limiting audio customization capabilities.
The CMF Buds Pro excel in battery life, boasting an impressive 11 hours of battery life with ANC off and 6 hours with ANC on. These figures exceed expectations for earphones in this price range, offering extended use without frequent charging.
Conclusion | CMF by Nothing Buds Pro review
Nothing’s CMF Buds Pro emerge as an eye-catching offering in the affordable true wireless earbuds segment. Their qualities lie in a well-studied design, quality audio, robust construction and remarkable battery life. While they have some drawbacks in microphone quality, latency and app features, overall they have proven to be the most interesting products in Nothing’s audio lineup. With a focus on simplicity, sustainability and performance, the CMF Buds Pro are aimed at users looking for guaranteed features in high-end earphones, without spending a fortune.
Thanks to code “23AE06” you can get them for only €50.4 on Aliexpress.
Points in favor
- Elegant, minimalist design
- Convenience of use
- Balanced audio quality
- Effective active noise cancellation
- Exceptional battery life
Points against
- Average microphone quality
- High latency
- Case a little awkward to carry around