Nothing Ear (a) Might be the Best ANC Wireless Earbuds for Your Money, Here’s Why

The Nothing Ear (a) wireless earbuds, priced at $59 (was $109), deliver impressive performance without breaking the budget. Many consider them the go-to pick for active noise cancellation in this price range, and after a closer look, you’ll see why. Nothing built these earphones with an incredibly clean, transparent stem that showcases the internal components.

Each bud weighs approximately 4.8 grams, and the charging case is so small that it fits easily into a pocket. The case’s design is inspired by pill packaging, and it does an excellent job of remaining tiny and useful. You get three sizes of silicone tips that match the color of the buds, which is a nice addition; these not only help you establish a snug fit, but they also allow you to use your buds for long periods of time without them becoming unpleasant.

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Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds, 45dB Hybrid Noise Cancelling Earbuds, Hi-Res Audio, Advanced Equaliser,…

• Powerful 11 mm Driver: We’ve engineered an even more compact driver that delivers twice the power of Ear (2). In Nothing Ear (a) wireless earbuds,…
• 45 dB Smart Active Noise Cancellation: Nothing Ear (a) earbuds continuously monitors the seal between the earbud and your ear canal. If noise leakage…
• Clear Voice Technology: Crystal-clear calls, anytime, anywhere. Nothing Ear (a) ear buds isolates your voice from background noise, making on-the-go…

The sound is produced by 11mm dynamic drivers in each earbud, and the audio provides a pleasant sound with lots of bass presence, but it is not so overbearing that you become lost in the mids or higher frequencies. The companion app has a basic EQ for any modifications you may want to make, and if you have an Android, you can use the LDAC codec to stream at greater resolutions when your connection allows it. They also support AAC and SBC to ensure compatibility with almost anything else.

Active noise cancellation can reach up to 45 decibels and includes a variety of modes, including high, mid, low, and adaptive, in which the buds adapt to the seal in your ear and begin filtering out noise as they go. Transparency mode allows outside noise to be heard when necessary. The buds include six microphones that work together to make calls extremely clear, and background noise is virtually non-existent during discussions.

Battery life is one area where the Ear (a) earbuds excel, as with ANC turned off, you can get up to 9.5 hours from the buds alone or roughly 42.5 hours with the case. Even if you do turn on the noise cancellation, the playback will last for a long time before requiring another charge, and a short top-up of 10 minutes will provide you with a pleasant bit of extra time. The case itself charges via USB-C, but they’ve opted out of wireless charging to keep costs down.

The controls are all handled via pinch movements on the stems, which take some getting accustomed to but are really responsive once you’ve played around. You can control the volume by swiping, pinching to play or pause, or holding in to switch between ANC modes or access your voice assistant. They also have Bluetooth 5.3, which ensures a rock-solid connection, and multipoint pairing, which allows you to connect up to two devices and switch between them.

The Ear (a) earbuds are designed to survive some rough handling, with an IP54 classification for dust and water resistance, so you should be alright using them in the gym or outside in light rain. The case is not as durable, but it is adequate for general use. Nothing also includes a few extras, such as low-latency option for gamers to decrease annoying audio lag.