Nothing Ear (2)

Eight months in and these are still my daily drivers. The transparent design never gets old — I get asked about them regularly. But more importantly, the sound is the best I've heard under $200. With LHDC enabled on my OnePlus phone, hi-res Tidal tracks are genuinely impressive with real spatial detail. The ANC works great in my office and on buses. It won't compete with Bose on a noisy subway, but at $130, the value is extraordinary.

The sound quality and design made these an easy purchase at $135. In five months the only consistent frustration is the touch controls — I accidentally pause my music or skip tracks probably once or twice a day from incidental contact. I've reduced the sensitivity in the app to medium, which helps but the problem isn't fully solved. On balance, the audio quality and price make it worth tolerating. I've heard friends' Sony XM5s and yes the ANC is better, but not $150 better.

I bought these primarily for my 45-minute train commute. The design is beautiful and the sound quality is genuinely excellent. But the ANC on a loud commuter train is simply not enough. I can hear passengers' conversations and the track noise. At max ANC it's better but still intrusive. My old Sony WF-1000XM3 from 2019 blocked more train noise than these 2023 earbuds. For office and casual use they're great. For noisy transit, the ANC ceiling is too low for my needs.