Nothing has quickly built a reputation for making consumer tech that does not look like everyone else’s, and the Headphone (a) continues that trend. These are the company’s more affordable over-ear headphones, arriving below the original Headphone (1) with a much lower launch price but many of the same headline ideas intact. That means the transparent, industrial-inspired design is still here, as are the tactile physical controls that I loved on the first model.
The Headphone (a) does confuse Nothing’s over-ear formula a little. They undercut the original quite significantly on price, while still promising active noise cancellation, LDAC support, a companion app with customization, and enormous battery life figures – the only thing you really lose out on is KEF tuning, which, to be honest, side by side with the Headphone (1) and (a), I can’t really notice.
