Nothing Ear (2) not only inherits the unique appearance design of Nothing Ear (1), but also improves the sound quality and support LHDC 5.0 codec with Hi-Res Wireless certification.
Nothing Ear (2) specs and features:
- Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC/LHDC codec
- 4 – 6 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- Charging case can charge earbuds fully 5 times
- IP54 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- 40dB adaptive ANC and transparency mode
- $149 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries
Appearance Design and Comfort
The charging case is made of transparent material except for the shaft, cover magnet, button and battery circuit area. The structure of the earbuds and magnetic contacts in the case is clear at a glance. The Nothing Ear (2) earbuds inside are visible through the transparent lid.
Same as the previous generation, Nothing Ear (2) earbuds adopts the common long stem in-ear design on the outline, but the outer layer of the earbud stem is all transparent material, and the internal components are clearly visible. Also, the pressure sensor inside can be seen through the sides of the earbud stem.
Thanks to the “bean-shaped” sound chamber design, the sound chamber of Nothing Ear (2) fits comfortably with the auricle without excessive foreign body sensation. The weight of a single earbud is only 4.5g, which will not bring a strong sense of weight to the ears.
Connectivity, APP and Control
The earbuds uses the Bluetooth 5.3 chip and supports SBC/AAC/LHDC 5.0 codec. Just open the charging case and the earbuds will automatically enter pairing mode. Then select “ear (2)” from your phone’s bluetooth device list to quickly connect.
Also, the Ear (2) support multipoint connection function, which can connect two bluetooth devices at the same time.
Nothing Ear (2) also support Nothing X App, you can see the battery level of the earbuds and charging case in the App, and customize the settings for the wireless earbuds.
Nothing X App is powerful but also very personal. First of all, the overall interface design of the app is extremely simple and has a certain “sci-fi industrial style”. When connecting and setting up the headset, the App will have cool animation effects.
In the app, users can perform equalizer setting, noise cancellation control, eartip fit test, touch control modification, and more. You can perform noise cancellation switching, play/pause music, previous/next song, answer/hang up call by performing gestures in the touch area of the earbuds.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike the touch control of Nothing Ear (1), Nothing Ear (2) uses a pressure sensor solution. Only after a certain pressing pressure is detected, the gesture will be successfully triggered, which greatly reduces the chance of false touch.
ANC Mode and Transparency Mode
The noise cancellation performance of the Nothing Ear (2) is mediocre – usable but not great. After turning on the ANC mode in multiple noisy scenes, I found that the Ear (2) can significantly reduce environmental noise. Its 40dB noise cancellation depth can basically meet the needs of subways, offices and other scenes. However, they cannot completely block out the noise of the air conditioner when it is running. If I’m using Sony LinkBuds S or TOZO Golden X1 right now, I forget that the air conditioner is on.
Also, Nothing Ear (2) also has a very interesting design – the prompt sound of ANC on is a sound effect similar to “inhale and hold”. The sound effect of the transparency mode is a “breathing” sound.
Transparency mode is also nice. Sounds a little stuffy, but generally usable. Transparency mode on Nothing Ear (2) picks up brighter ambient noise when you need it, allowing you to hear your surroundings. Play music at a moderate volume, which doesn’t help much when talking to others.
Latency and Battery Life
Nothing Ear (2) has poor latency performance. Without the low latency option in Nothing X App, the default latency is terrible. This makes it unusable for devices that do not support the Nothing X App, such as computers or audio players.
With the low latency option enabled, it should be acceptable for casual gaming or watching videos.
The battery capacity of the charging case is 485mAh, and the earbud is 33mAh. After the ANC mode is turned off, the single battery life is up to 6 hours (AAC≈6h, LHDC=4h), and the total battery life is up to 36 hours. The battery life after turning on the ANC mode is about 4 hours (AAC).
Sound Quality: Significant improvement over than Nothing Ear (1)
Nothing Ear (2) is a pair of wireless earbuds with good sound quality, which has significantly improved compared to Nothing Ear (1). They share the same 11.6mm dynamic driver design, but the diaphragm has been updated to use graphene and polyurethane. In addition to SBC and AAC, the earbuds also support LHDC 5.0 (LHDC-V). While still a lossy codec, LHDC 5.0 supports sample rates up to 192kHz and bit rates up to 1Mbps.
Bass boost is still applied to the low-frequency, but it seems to stop lower in the frequency range than before, making it more localized to the lower bass region. The bass is also less expansive than before, with quicker attack and decay, sounding punchier and more precise.
The mid-frequency also show a significant improvement of the Ear (2). The mids of the Ear (1) are a bit crowded, sounding more fuzzy, and are just there to support the bass and highs regions. The mids on the Ear (2) sounded fuller and in sync with the rest of the spectrum. There’s a stronger sense of detail and separation here that was missing before.
Having said that, the mid-frequency of Ear (2) is still not perfect. The mids are dropped a bit, causing some male vocals to lose all presence in the mix.
High-frequency is still a moot point for Ear (2). The highs are too bright, and the thump of cymbals or higher-pitched female voices will go through your ears. The mid-highs are also slightly accentuated, which results in male vocals being nasal and female vocals more forward.
In addition, in the settings of the Nothing X App, you can also enable a sound quality “black technology” for Nothing Ear (2) – Hearing Test. After the hearing assessment, a compensation chart is drawn up based on the assessment results and a personalized solution for the sound is calculated. With Personalized Sound, you can actually hear what you couldn’t hear before for a better listening experience.
Verdict
The sound quality of the Nothing Ear (2) is definitely better than the Nothing Ear (1). In fact, it’s one of the best-sounding wireless earbuds in its price range, though it suffers from a bit too bright of highs.
Check Nothing Ear (2) price:
- Check latest price on AliExpress
- Check latest price on Amazon US
- Check latest price on Amazon Germany
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries