Nothing Headphone (a) vs Nothing Headphone (1): Budget ANC battle
Fans of the Nothing oeuvre recently got a new set of headphones, the Nothing Headphone (a), to consider against the older, higher-end Nothing Headphone (1). So if you want to pit the Nothing Headphone (a) vs Nothing Headphone (1), which comes out on top? Let’s dig in.
How has this article been updated?
This article was originally published on March 20, 2026, and this is the first version.
What’s it like to use the Nothing Headphone (a) compared to the Nothing Headphone (1)?
The Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) are remarkably similar outside of a few visual cues.
Since both the Nothing Headphone (1) and Nothing Headphone (a) are of the same line of headphones with similar designs, it’s only too obvious to point out that the experience of using either headphone is extremely similar. The fit, the finish, and the build are very much all cut from the same cloth — the main difference is that the Nothing Headphone (a) has slightly cheaper-feeling build quality, but it’s not something that’s terribly noticeable when you’re actually wearing the headphones.
Both headphones have an ingress protection rating of IP52, which means that the headphones should be able to handle incidental moisture and keep out coarse particles. While it’s not the best choice for constant workouts or taking a trip through Niagara Falls with, both sets of headphones should survive the odd rain shower or humid day — something that isn’t often guaranteed with other ANC headphones.
When you’re listening in a noisy environment, bass overemphasis is a plus.
Each headphone is remarkably similar when it comes to comfort, though that means both good and bad. For example, larger heads may have difficulty fitting these cans — though for most, the large ear cups should be comfortable enough. The Nothing Headphone (a) is almost 20g lighter than the Nothing Headphone (1) (329g), but still a bit hefty at 310g. The difference is minor, but can be more noticeable if you like to listen for extreme lengths of time.
Do the Nothing Headphone (a) or Nothing Headphone (1) have more features?
Though the Nothing Headphone (a) comes with a bag, the Nothing Headphone (1) comes with a fancy case.
Despite the fact that the Nothing Headphone (a) is meant to be a less-expensive entry into Nothing’s line of headphones, you could be forgiven for thinking that it has fewer features. However, it stacks up well against the Nothing Headphone (1) with very little left on the proverbial cutting room floor. You still get the spatial audio modes, Find My support, app-based enhancements such as EQ presets and parametric EQ, and more. The Nothing Headphone (1) offers a much more robust case, and a few goodies in the Nothing X app… and that’s about it.
Both headphones enjoy the community support offered by Nothing, which allows users to share advanced EQ presets among each other.
How do the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) connect?
The Nothing Headphone (1)’s analog connection it only one of two wired options.
Both the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) can connect to sources over SBC, AAC, and LDAC — but the Nothing Headphone (1) “only” has Bluetooth 5.3, where the Nothing Headphone (a) uses Bluetooth 5.4. Not a meaningful difference. Each set of headphones can also use a 3.5mm analog cable, or a USB-C cable for lossless audio over digital. Additionally, both headphones use Bluetooth Multipoint to swap between multiple devices, which you can control through the app. This is all excellent, but a complete and utter draw.
Is battery life better on the Nothing Headphone (a) or Nothing Headphone (1)?
Though we’re still running our battery tests for the Nothing Headphone (a), it seems to be a safe bet that even if our test only shows the headphones last half as long as on the sticker (135 hours): the Nothing Headphone (1)’s 42 hours and 53 minutes will be the weaker of the two headphones. At least, as far as battery life is concerned. But since nobody listens to music for 40+ hours straight, that really shouldn’t factor into your buying decision. At worst, you’ll have to recharge once a week depending upon how often you use your Nothing Headphone (1). If you buy the Nothing Headphone (a)? Probably far fewer times.
Do the Nothing Headphone (a) or Nothing Headphone (1) block noise better?
This is another case of “six of one, half dozen of the other,” as both the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) have fairly weak ANC that relies on excellent isolation to attenuate outside noise. So while the chart tells one story, be aware that you may end up having different results if you wear glasses, have a lot of hair, or have seal-unfriendly features. Though the Nothing Headphone (a) offers a fair bit more low-end attenuation on paper, in practice it’s not necessarily the case that you’ll experience this.
Do the Nothing Headphone (a) sound better than the Nothing Headphone (1)?
Though both the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) have okay sound quality and decent equalization options, the Nothing Headphone (1) is more likely to be preferred by more people.
Objective Measurements
Where the Nothing Headphone (a) is tuned more for mass-market bass fetishists, the Nothing Headphone (1) has a much more reasonable profile. You can see above that the stock tunings for both the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) are similar in the highs, but the main difference is in the bass and mids. The Nothing Headphone (a) has both an overemphasis in the lows, while the mids are underemphasized. This can create the impression of somewhat muffled sound, where the Nothing Headphone (1) that doesn’t have this issue should sound “clearer.”
Neither has a sound that truly appeals to audiophiles, but that may not be important to you. What constitutes a “poorer” response nowadays is nowhere near as bad as what it was twenty or even ten years ago. But through testing we can see that the Nothing Headphone (a) doesn’t quite measure up well against the Nothing Headphone (1) in ways that can be fixed. Even if you use the parametric equalizer in the app, the limited number of filters that don’t quite overlap makes the underemphasis in the mids extremely difficult to address.
How would most people rate the sound from 1 to 5?
If you were to give 200 or so people the Nothing Headphone (a) and Nothing Headphone (1) to rate on a scale of 1-5, you’d wind up with many of them liking each quite a bit. By simulating the responses of actual people using a mountain of data from untrained listeners, we can project what the mean opinion score for each headphone’s sound might be.
Most people would rate the Nothing Headphone (a) as “pretty good” without any other context.
What do the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores mean?
- 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.
The Nothing Headphone (1), on the other hand, posts higher scores than the Nothing Headphone (a) with its latest firmware update. On average, more people like the sound of the Nothing Headphone (1) more than that of the Nothing Headphone (a).
The Nothing Headphone (1), on the other hand, has marked improvement.
Though these scores are decently good, you can push them higher with a little bit of effort into tuning. We were able to achieve marked improvement by using the parametric equalizer, and you can find the QR code with our adjustments on the Nothing X app.
A note on firmware
Nothing took a little bit to get its sea legs underneath it when updating headphones, and you may read about a botched Nothing Headphone (1) update affecting sound quality. Though this issue has been fixed since firmware version 1.0.1.81, you may see a few users upset about it in the community forums. However, it is worth noting that Nothing has addressed the issue since.
So far, the Nothing Headphone (a) hasn’t had any major firmware releases, but we’ll update if there’s any major issues here.
Do the Nothing Headphone (a) or Nothing Headphone (1) have a better microphone?
Though both products are from the same company, each has its own mic array with its strengths and weaknesses. Though you can hear all ten samples on the individual reviews, the below are a good comparison of how each handles common situations. Have a listen for yourself and decide which you prefer — or if there’s no meaningful difference between the two sets of samples. Remember that your network, client, and device may affect call quality through bandwidth limitations and noise reduction.
Nothing Headphone (a) microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
Nothing Headphone (1) microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
Nothing Headphone (a) microphone demo (Office conditions):
Nothing Headphone (1) microphone demo (Office conditions):
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Nothing Headphone (a) vs Nothing Headphone (1): Price and availability
Though the Nothing Headphone (a) is a full $100 less than the Nothing Headphone (1)’s full price, it’s entirely possible that you’ll be able to find it for less online now that it’s a year old. However, there shouldn’t be many situations where it will fall below the price of the newer Nothing Headphone (a). Both products are easiest to obtain online, as the big box stores are hit-or-miss with stock in brands that aren’t household names.
That being the case, we track price history for the products we cover as best we can. Use the below to see if you’re getting a good deal, a typical one, or lament the onset of inflation and the woes it bestows upon your wallet.
Nothing Headphone (a) price history:
Nothing Headphone (1) price history:
Should you get the Nothing Headphone (a) or Nothing Headphone (1)?
This is a tough one. Though the Nothing Headphone (1) is $100 more than the Nothing Headphone (a), neither set of headphones is a poor choice. Really, it mainly comes down to aesthetics, sound quality, and build quality. That extra C-stick gets you better build quality and a more Nothing-esque aesthetic, while the less-expensive Nothing Headphone (a) is simpler in appearance, has great battery life, and a less purist-friendly sound. That’s really the decision you have to make.
