Nothing Ear (open) review: bass, bass and more bass

Forget about isolating yourself from the outside world with the Nothing Ear (open). The purpose of open-ear headphones is that you can hear your surroundings despite listening to music – for example when jogging or cycling. Unlike in-ear headphones, you don’t insert anything into your ear canal.

Simple design and comfortable to wear

Visually, Nothing remains true to its design philosophy. The Ear (open) is characterised by a lot of white as well as black and transparent elements. A little silver is added at the ends. At 19 millimetres, the case is comparatively thin for such small headphones, but very long. However, it fits easily into pockets large enough for a smartphone.

I can’t put the Nothing Ear (open) on as elegantly or smoothly as other headphones. I can place it over my ear with one hand, but I almost always have to grab it to make sure it’ll fit. In the right position, it feels very comfortable with its flexible silicone middle section. When I move around during a workout, it stays in place and doesn’t slip off because of sweat like some in-ear models. At 8.1 grammes, it’s heavier than most in-ear headphones, but you can hardly feel it. Sometimes, I have to check whether it’s even still in my ear.

The Ear (open) sometimes clashes with the temples on my glasses. Nevertheless, this doesn’t cause any problems even after several hours of use. I can put on and take off a bicycle helmet without the headphones getting caught. Unfortunately, this can’t always be prevented when putting on and taking off T-shirts or sweaters.

My smartphone recognised the Ear (open) immediately thanks to Fast Pair. If this isn’t the case, classic pairing is possible via the Bluetooth menu – and pressing the pairing button on the housing. Nothing uses Bluetooth 5.3 on its newest headphones and also supports Dual Connection – that’s simultaneous connection to two output devices. For example, you can listen to music on your smartphone and still take part in a video call on your computer.

Sweat or splashing water won’t harm the Ear (open) – it’s protected by IP54. You’re all set for workouts in the rain.

Amazing bass

Nothing has installed 14.2 millimetre drivers in the Ear (open). The titanium coating on the membrane reportedly provides three decibels more volume than traditional paper ones. But even in noisy environments, I don’t have to turn the volume up to the max – despite the headphones not having active noise cancellation.

This is certainly also down to the fact I mainly use open-ear headphones to listen to music. Unlike when listening to podcasts or radio plays, I don't mind putting up with a little background noise. It’s exactly what these types of headphones are designed for.

If there’s no other music around me, I’m very satisfied with the sound of the Ear (open). Unlike in-ears, audio doesn’t originate directly in my ear, but from just outside it. This makes it seem more natural – I don’t feel isolated from the outside world. The playback of instruments and voices is clear and distinct. The highs and mids are well balanced – they’re neither a uniform mishmash of sound, nor does anything really stand out.

And then there’s the bass, amplified by an algorithm. Although you can’t feel it, you can hear it very well for such a small and, above all, open device.

The lack of bass in open-ear headphones currently seems to be the area where manufacturers are making the most progress. Recently, fellow editor Florian Bodoky was very impressed by the new Shokz Open Run Pro 2 and its bass performance. However, those headphones rest on the skull and also use bone conduction technology to transmit audio. With the Ear (open), there’s only two small speakers hanging in front of your ear.

With the equaliser in the Nothing-X app, I can adjust the sound of the Ear (open) to my preferences. The controls can be tweaked for treble, mids and bass. In advanced mode, there’s even eight frequency bands to choose from.

The Ear (open) supports two widely used codecs, AAC and SBC, but you’ll have to do without special HD codecs.

Nothing has been promoting its Sound Seal System, a kind of reverse ANC. Opposing sound waves are played to prevent the person sitting next to you from listening in. In my review, the feature proved less than effective. If I listen at what I feel is room volume, the person sitting next to me may not understand every word of a podcast, but they can recognise exactly which songs I’m vibing to. Other open-ear headphones provide better shielding. I wouldn’t listen to private voice messages with the Ear (open) on the bus, for example.

Clear Voice Technology delivers significantly better results. An AI improves my voice quality in phone calls, I’m very clear to the person on the other end. However, ambient noise has a perceptible influence despite the AI and a microphone shielded from the wind. As soon as things get loud, I have a much harder time understanding the other person with the Ear (open).

Push controls

The short transparent bit between the round speakers and the white connector reacts to pressure. In the Nothing X app, I can set what action is triggered by pressing the right or left side once, twice or three times. There’s also a fourth option: press-and-hold.

You can expect the usual headphone controls. Start and stop playback, skip to the next or previous track, start the voice assistant or adjust the volume. There’s no automatic pause when removing the Ear (open), it lacks the necessary skin contact that in-ear headphones have.

Longer battery life

The Ear (open) headphones are fitted with 64 mAh rechargeable batteries, with which they achieve a playback time of around eight hours. Quite a while for such small headphones. If you're using the microphone too i.e. make calls, the battery life is reduced to about six hours. The case battery has a capacity of 635 mAh. This increases the battery life, recharging included, up to 30 hours – 24 if you’re making calls.

The headphones, or rather their charging case, can only be charged via USB cable. The Ear (open) doesn’t support wireless charging. Still, in ten minutes, it’ll recharge enough to play music for around two hours.

Price and availability

The Nothing Ear (open) goes on sale on 1 October 2024. The recommended retail price is 139 francs or 149 euros.