Web: Nothing Ear (stick)

Nothing Ear (stick) - special headphones. The feature is not about the amazing music experience or uniqueness. Their magic is in the design and countercultural philosophy of the brand. Did you like these headphones? No. Would I buy these headphones? Yes. Why so, now I will tell.

If you don’t know anything about the Nothing brand: the company appeared relatively recently, in 2020. The founder is Carl Pei, who previously created the OnePlus brand. Despite the fact that the brand is only a couple of years old, it has already managed to mark the release of its own smartphone Nothing Phone (1) and a couple of earphone models.

We have the cheapest headphones of the brand on our review - earbuds without active noise cancellation, a direct competitor to Apple AirPods 3 and Huawei FreeBuds 4. And there are also “plugs”, they are even cooler and look no less stylish.

Traditionally, let's start with the packaging. Nothing Ear (stick) comes in a small, glossy cardboard box with an abstract print. Looking at it for several minutes, I could not come to an opinion what it is. To get to the headphones, you need to pull on a small tab. Packed soundly, even had to make a little effort.

On the other side of the box, under exactly the same tongue, there is a pencil case made of, apparently, recycled cardboard (remember the environment), which contains a USB-C to USB-C cable and instructions. There is nothing interesting in the package anymore. Disappointing that there was no place for the power supply. Personally, I found only one with a suitable connector - from the MacBook Pro. But I did not dare to charge the device with it.

Taking out a case in public places, you will definitely catch the surprised looks of passers-by. I've even been told a couple of times what it is. Nothing Ear (stick) lie on a plastic substrate, which is closed by a transparent case. On top is the charging connector, painted red. There are no superfluous inscriptions outside - only the name of the Nothing brand.

To get the headphones, you need to turn the transparent case. After covers with a hinged lid, it seems a little strange, but you get used to it in just a few minutes.

The main disadvantage of this form factor is that after a couple of days of active use, you begin to notice grains of sand, threads and other dirt that got under the plastic case. And even though nothing is visible from a distance, bringing the case closer to your eyes, you realize all the design flaws.

I don’t know what gods the Nothing engineers prayed to, but they managed to develop a reliable device. During use, nothing began to backlash, creak and demonstrate the weakness of the structure in a different way. But how resistant the transparent plastic case will be to falls, I did not check. But it seems that the cover will survive landing on a carpet or boot. But a meeting with tiles or asphalt can be fatal for him.

Unlike the more expensive model, Nothing Ear (stick) are not in-ear headphones, but earbuds. How this affects the sound quality, I'll tell you a little lower,

A few words about the design and ergonomics of the "ears" themselves. Externally, the headphones repeat the design of the case. The "leg" is located under a transparent plastic through which you can see the contacts, usually hidden from the user's eyes. Not to say that this particularly affects the appearance, but in the first days after the start of use, you will regularly take out the headphones just to see what's inside. 10 out of 10 on the stickiness scale.

The size of each earbud is reminiscent of M&M's with a nut inside. The opinions of our editors regarding how firmly the device is held in the ear are divided. Therefore, the general advice before buying is to borrow headphones from friends and walk around in them for at least a couple of hours.This time is definitely enough to understand whether the Nothing Ear (stick) will suit you or not.

And you shouldn’t put M&M’s dragees in your ear for the test. It will be problematic to get it.

Another problem: after continuous wearing for 3-4 hours, unpleasant sensations appeared in the ears. For urban use, this problem is not so fatal: you will constantly take out the headphones to, for example, order coffee or exchange a few words with colleagues. But for long flights, headphones, alas, are not suitable.

Connecting headphones is easy and simple. It is enough to open the case, insert the headphones into your ears and check if Bluetooth works on your phone. No need to go into the settings or hold down the buttons to connect. In our case, everything worked, as they say, out of the box. Nevertheless, the kit comes with a fairly detailed instruction, however, in English. In Russia, headphones are not officially sold.

Nothing Ear (stick) has its own application, unified with the older version. However, in our case, it will be useless for 95% of cases. With it, you can see the percentage of charge for each earbud and case, as well as adjust the equalizer to your own preferences. But I did not touch anything - everything works fine.

There are no complaints about the sound quality (even strange). It is clear what to expect from headphones of the middle price category, and even without active noise reduction, you should not expect any super quality. However, Nothing Ear (stick) sounds good.

We listened to many different genres, but it was not possible to single out one special one. Headphones sound equally juicy and loud both in hip-hop and rock, and in jazz with pop. The only thing that was not always enough was the sound volume. But only hardened music lovers will be able to realize this, especially when listening to music on the street.

At the same time, there are a number of noticeable disadvantages, which cannot be ignored. First, when putting on headphones in absolute silence, periodically you will hear a barely noticeable noise that appears for a few seconds, and then suddenly disappears.

Secondly, the headphones let in too many extraneous sounds. Being in the subway, especially in old cars, the music will have to be played almost at the highest volume. We hope you understand that this is quite harmful to hearing.

Thirdly, the management is implemented extremely inconveniently. On the leg there is a small touch panel that responds to pressing, and a small vibration motor reports that your action is recognized. With Nothing Ear, you can forget about gloves. Because the device does not want to recognize pressing them in any.

Fourth, each earpiece has three microphones. However, in the conditions of city noise, it will be quite difficult for your interlocutor to hear what you are talking about.

About the battery. According to the manufacturer, the headphones can work on a single charge up to 7 hours. A strong statement, and it was not possible to squeeze out 7 hours, but they live quietly for 3-4 hours at a volume of at least 50%. In addition, when using a case, this time increases to 29 hours. And the last one is close to the truth. I did not charge the headphones for three days, continuing to use them actively.

What I learned after a week with Nothing Ear (stick):

Do not buy these headphones if you often take the subway or fly;

Before buying, be sure to test the headphones;

Be prepared that people will pay attention to the unusual design;

Despite the presence of three microphones, in noisy places, the interlocutors will not hear you well;

Headphones hold a charge perfectly, do not discharge even in the cold;

The sound, as for earbuds, pleases, but you should not expect anything super-outstanding.

These are features of most earbuds that must be taken into account in Nothing Ear (stick). But why did we say at the beginning of the review that we would still like to buy such “ears” for ourselves? It's all about emotions.

When you take out a transparent case in the subway car, the eyes of several passengers rush to you. Nothing Ear (stick) exudes premium and originality even with a price tag of 9 thousand rubles. Headphones are like no other device from competitors in this price category. And this can be a good reason to buy them.

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