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Top down shot of a hand holding the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds in their charging case.
Dave Carr / SoundGuys

Nothing Ear (Open) review

The new front runners in the open-ear market.
By

Published onSeptember 24, 2024

7.3
Nothing Ear (Open)
The bottom line
It's no secret that the open-ear earbuds have their drawbacks regarding sound quality. However, there is hope, largely thanks to Nothing's more ergonomic design and one of its other key features. Combined with an eye-catching design in a durable package, the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds are ideal for those who like to stay aware while staying in shape.

Nothing Ear (Open)

It's no secret that the open-ear earbuds have their drawbacks regarding sound quality. However, there is hope, largely thanks to Nothing's more ergonomic design and one of its other key features. Combined with an eye-catching design in a durable package, the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds are ideal for those who like to stay aware while staying in shape.
Product release date
Sept 24th, 2024
Price
$149.99
Dimensions
Earbud: 14 x 51 x 41 mm
Case: 19 x 125 x 44 mm
Weight
Earbud: 8.1 g
Case: 62.4 g
Waterproof
IP54
What we like
IP54
Allow you to maintain awareness naturally
Excellent EQ options
Multipoint
Stylish design
What we don't like
Slight rattle from earbuds when stored in charging case
No wireless charging
7.3
SoundGuys Rating
7
User Rating
Rating Metric
Our Rating
User Rating
Durability / Build Quality
8.5
7.0
7.0
Value
8.0
7.0
7.0
Design
6.0
-
0.0
Connectivity
6.5
-
0.0
Portability
9.0
-
0.0
Feature
9.0
-
0.0
Comfort
8.0
-
0.0
MDAQS rating
Learn more
Timbre
3.9
Distortion
3.1
Immersiveness
3.4
Overall
3.6

Nothing, the London-based consumer tech company, just entered the world of open-ear earbuds. A style of earbuds popular with athletes, the design places the driver outside your ear canal instead of inside, allowing you to simultaneously hear your music and the world around you. However, staying aware usually comes at a cost of sound quality. So, do the Nothing Ear (Open) suffer the same weakness as other open earbuds? Or are they the first to get it right? Let’s dive in.

Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.

About this Nothing Ear (Open) review: We tested the Nothing Ear (Open) over one week. The earbuds ran firmware version 1.0.1.19, and the Nothing X app ran version 2.4.4. The company provided the unit for this review.

With its open-ear design, the Nothing Ear (Open) is best suited for outdoor cardio enthusiasts and any listener who wants to naturally hear both their music and their immediate surroundings at the same time.

What’s it like to use Nothing Ear (Open)?

Top down photo of the Nothing Ear (Open) with the earbuds out of their charging case.
Dave Carr / SoundGuys
Both the earbuds and charging case feature an IP54 protection rating.

The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds arrive in a pill-shaped white charging case with a clear top and rounded-out, smooth edges. Following the typical Nothing suit, they give off a cool futuristic vibe that wouldn’t look out of place in the Star Wars universe. The earbuds are firmly planted in their case with a strong magnet, but walking around with them in my pocket, there is a rattle. The silver-colored tips at the end of each earbud bump against the plastic piece next to them. It’s not exactly a tin of mints, but it’s still noticeable.

Thanks to an IP54 protection rating for both the case and earbuds, meaning they are protected from dust and splashes of water or sweat, the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds are ready for your next workout. Removing the earbuds reveals the silicon coating around their flexible, hooked-shaped design. I recommend rotating them over and around the back of your ear to get them in place.

Top down shot of the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds in the palm of a hand.
Dave Carr / SoundGuys
The Ear (Open) offers a more ergonomic design compared to other options on the market.

I have to hand it to Nothing; they nailed it with the design on the Ear (Open). Using a more ergonomic design, they’ve been able to get the driver placement much closer to your ear canal than other open-ear models, which plays a big part in sound quality. Using the Nothing Ear (Open) at the gym or while cycling to work, I had no issues with them staying in place. While it isn’t quite like you’re wearing “nothing at all,” they proved comfortable during longer listening sessions.

For better or worse, you’ll hear everything happening around you while using the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds. Weights clanking, approaching cars, dogs barking, and even people’s conversations as you pass them by.

You control the Nothing Ear (Open) via physical pinch controls, one on each earbud, and they’re pretty intuitive. These controls are customizable via the Nothing app, but below is a breakdown of how they operate in stock form.

Action Left earbudRight earbud
Action
Single pinch
Left earbud
Play / pause / answer / hang up
Right earbud
Play / pause / answer / hang up
Action
Double pinch
Left earbud
Next track / reject call
Right earbud
Next track / reject call
Action
Triple pinch
Left earbud
Previous track
Right earbud
Next track / reject call
Action
Pinch and hold
Left earbud
Volume -
Right earbud
Volume +

Should you use the Nothing X app for the Nothing Ear (Open)?

I recommend downloading and installing the Nothing app to get the most out of the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds, specifically for its EQ options. It offers a simple EQ mode with a few presets to select from if you want a little more bass or treble, but I’m a big fan of its advanced customizable EQ, which is a true parametric equalizer that gives you the entire frequency range to work with. Considering that some companies are only willing to offer a Bass and Treble slider or a 5-band adjustable EQ if you’re extra lucky, I think this is an incredibly useful feature that should be included with every companion app.

If you’re keen on tweaking, you can fine-tune each slider to select the exact frequency you want to adjust. For example, you can move the 400Hz slider all the way up to 999Hz to find your perfect sweet spot. You can also change its Q and truly dial these earbuds to your liking. That’s what I’m talking about! Lastly, the Nothing X app also allows you to customize your pinch controls, access Google Fast Pair, multipoint, low lag mode for gaming, and set up your voice assistant for ChatGPT.

The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds required a 5-minute firmware update upon their arrival.

How do the Nothing Ear (Open) connect?

Top down photo of a hand holding a Nothing Ear (Open) earbud.
Dave Carr / SoundGuys
Red dot = right earbud.

The Nothing Ear (Open) connects to your device via Bluetooth 5.3 and supports SBC and AAC for Bluetooth codecs. It also supports Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair and offers multipoint, which allows you to connect your earbuds to two different devices and seamlessly switch between them.

The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds pair via the usual steps as outlined below:

  1. Open the charging case lid
  2. Open the Bluetooth settings on your device
  3. Select the Nothing Ear (Open)
  4. Download and install the Nothing X app to further customize your sound and physical controls.

How long does the Nothing Ear (Open) battery last?

Hold up! Something’s missing: Nothing advertises 8 hours of playback off a single charge and a total of 30 hours with charging case top-ups. Our battery tests are ongoing; check back shortly for our official results!

How well do the Nothing Ear (Open) block out noise?

The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds do not block out noise, which, as discussed, is the entire goal of the open-ear design. By not having a seal over or in the ear canal, outside noise can enter your eardrums without interruption, keeping your awareness levels up while enjoying your music.

Top down photo of a hand holding a Nothing Ear (Open) earbud, showing its innerside.-
Dave Carr / SoundGuys
The open-ear design places the driver outside of your ear canal.

It’s also worth noting that since the open-ear design does not offer passive isolation or block out noise, it’s essential to watch your volume levels when using open-ear earbuds of any kind. If your environment starts to get extra noisy, you may be tempted to crank up the volume to compensate and drown it out, but as you may already know, this always comes with the risk of noise-induced hearing loss.

How do the Nothing Ear (Open) sound?

With some minor EQ adjustments, the Nothing Ear (Open) are the best-sounding pair of open-ear earbuds I’ve reviewed thus far.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the sound of the Nothing Ear (Open) was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.

This chart shows the MDAQS results for the Nothing Open Ear in Default mode. The Timbre score is 3.9, The Distortion score is 3.1, the Immersiveness score is 3.4, and the Overall Score is 3.6).
The Nothing Ear (Open) MDAQS results are impressive, considering their open-ear design.

Let’s remember that these earbuds aren’t designed for critical listening. Generally, we see lower scores in this category due to the driver being placed outside your ear canal. Still, with an overall score of 3.6, the Nothing Ear (Open) MDAQS results are the highest we’ve seen in our open-ear category so far. By this measure, our simulated panel of listeners prefers the sound of the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds over all the recent open-ear buds we’ve tested. This includes the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, the Beyerdynamic Verio 200, Anker Soundcore AeroFit, and AeroFit Pro.

Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).

Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.

Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.

See here for an explanation of MDAQS, how it works, and how it was developed.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Objective Measurements

Loading chart ...

The chart above shows the measured frequency response of the Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds, and how it drastically deviates from our headphone preference curve in the lows and highs. While there is minimal sub-bass response, one of the mentioned trade-offs that comes with the open-ear design, the bump from roughly 60Hz to 160Hz is more low-end than we usually see compared to other models. It aligns briefly with the midrange but takes a hearty swing upwards with its treble frequencies. You won’t find any shortage of detailed high-end clarity in your music while using the Nothing Ear (Open), but again, you always have the option of taming any wild frequencies via the EQ.

Again, if you’re new to the open-ear style, you need to have reasonable expectations. They’re designed with a single purpose in mind: staying aware. This means most listeners won’t get them as their only earbuds; you’ll want a second pair that offers active noise canceling (ANC) if you’re a frequent flyer or want to dull down the rumble of the bus on your daily commute.

Can you use the Nothing Ear (Open) for phone calls?

The Nothing Ear (Open) allows you to take phone calls thanks to two microphones in each earbud. While the audio is certainly not the best quality, you can chat with a friend without a problem in ideal conditions. Take a listen to our samples below to get an idea of what to expect using these earbuds in various environments.

Nothing Ear (Open) microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

How does the microphone sound to you?

252 votes

Nothing Ear (Open) microphone demo (Office conditions):

Nothing Ear (Open) microphone demo (Street conditions):

Nothing Ear (Open) microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Nothing Ear (Open) microphone demo (Reverberant space):

The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds do a decent job at rejecting background noise in our simulated office and street environment; however, like most earbuds, they struggle to reject wind noise. While it’s not an utterly unusable performance by any means, you may want to keep your conversations short if you’re taking phone calls while out and about with these earbuds.

Should you buy the Nothing Ear (Open)?

Top down photo of the Nothing Ear (Open) with the earbuds out of their charging case.
The Nothing Ear (Open) proves to be a decent set of over-ear earbuds.

If you’re keen on the advantages of the open-ear design, the Nothing Ear (Open) is an excellent choice. They’re durable and comfortable, and thanks to a well-thought-out design, they provide the best bass response of all the other open-ear earbuds we’ve tested, something most listeners crave for their workout. Add those fancy EQ features and a slick design, and you’ll get the whole package at a more affordable price than most other open-ear options.

Nothing Ear (Open)
Nothing Ear (Open)
SoundGuys Editor's Choice
Nothing Ear (Open)
Open design • Great controls • Good sound quality • Long battery life
MSRP: $149.99
An open design for continuing to hear the world around you.
The Nothing Ear Open don't go into your ears but instead rest on top of them. This allows you to hear your music but still hear what's going on in the world, making them ideal for certain situations like cycling, going to the gym, or hanging out with friends.

What should you get instead of the Nothing Ear (Open)?

Sticking with the open-ear design, you can check out the Anker Soundcore AeroFit series, which includes the AeroFit ($129.99 at Amazon), and the more expensive AeroFit Pro ($169.99 at Amazon). The earbuds feature a similar hook design and IP protection rating but offer a more compact charging case design. You can learn more about the differences between these two open-ear alternatives in the video below.

Frequently asked questions

With an IP54 protection rating, the Nothing Ear (Open) can handle splashes of water or sweat.

No. The Nothing Ear (Open) are open-ear style earbuds that place the driver outside of your ear rather than in your ear.

They are not. The Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds are designed to allow the sounds of the outside world to enter your eardrums.

Yes, the Nothing Ear (Open) works with either device.

Yes, the Nothing Ear (Open) can connect to two different devices and switch between them seamlessly.

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