Watch out Sony and Bose – I tried new £79 headphones that sound surprisingly good

The team at Nothing are back with some surprisingly cheap headphones that offer a budget alterative to Sony and Bose.

If there’s one thing you can’t complain about with UK tech brand Nothing, it’s that they don’t release new stuff often enough.

We’ve already seen unique Android phones, cheap smartwatches, and great-sounding earbuds launch since the company first arrived on the scene in 2022. Now the team is back with something totally new.

This week I’ve been testing the company’s first stab at over-the-ear headphones. CMF has been a budget sub-brand for Nothing until this point, with the Headphone Pro being the first CMF product to stand on its own two feet.

It makes sense as the CMF vibe is a little different to Nothing’s – it doesn’t quite have the premium feel, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own style.

The main design difference is that there’s no translucent casing showing off the inner workings of the CMF products, and the Headphone Pro are no different.

They remain somewhat opinionated, though, and the look won’t appeal to everyone. I quite liked them, and I thought their unique look was eye-catching.

Looks mean nothing if they don’t sound good, and thankfully, they score well in this regard.

Controls are tactile and clicky, with no haptics. There’s a handy bass-boost slide button, too – a feature I’ve not seen anywhere else, but it is able to fatten up the bottom end just to your liking.

Other controls include a combined roller/button for altering volume, switching tracks, and turning ANC on and off, as well as a dedicated button to invoke the voice assistant on your phone.

The ANC is good – constant sound sources are more or less imperceptible, especially with music playing, although sudden loud noises do make it through.

It’s a really compelling package overall, with a lot going for it for both Android or iOS users.

This is especially true when you take a look at the price, which I can frankly scarcely believe… CMF Headphone Pro – available at nothing.tech for £79

They might not be as feature-packed as headphones from Sony and Bose, but that low cost certainly makes them stand out from the crowd.