NOTHING Ear (2024) vs AirPods Pro 2 vs Sony WF-1000XM5 Review | Better than I thought! 😲
In my previous review, I mentioned that the new Nothing Ear had the best active noise cancelling and sound quality of any earphone from Nothing. It is also the most customisable. Many of you asked how they compared to the AirPods Pro 2 and the Sony WF-1000XM5. These are two of the most popular earbuds right now, and we will look at their performance in terms of microphone pickup, active noise cancelling and sound. Following that, I'll compare the Nothing Ear to each of them individually to help you make a better purchase decision.
Microphone Quality Comparison
The Nothing ear has the best call quality among them. In a quiet room situation it’s a tough fight because the AirPods do sound clearer, but in noisy conditions, the Nothing Ear fared much better than both the AirPods and the Sonys. The issue with the AirPods is that it doesn’t handle its own noise reduction anymore, so on iOS, you’ll need to toggle voice isolation mode during phone calls. And for the Sonys it somehow has trouble with filtering noise from my voice.
👉 Listen to the microphone samples.
(Microphone comparison in both quiet and noisy conditions in loud cafe and strong wind noise.)
Active Noise Cancelling Comparison
When compared to active noise cancelling headphones such as the WF-1000XM5 and AirPods Pro 2, assuming a secure seal, the Nothing Ear reduces noise the least. In practice, however, a good, stable seal is important for noise cancelling, and I find it difficult to get a seal that stays on the AirPods. It works better with the Nothings because the buds seem to lock in better. The Sonys are a wild card at this point. Some individuals can plug them in properly, while some cannot, affecting noise cancelling power.
Transparency Mode Comparison
If you need great transparency for general awareness and to have conversations with people while wearing earbuds, the AirPods are the greatest option because they have the least occlusion, making it feel like you're not wearing any earbuds at all. The Sonys are nearly as impressive, but the voice is affected by some occlusion. The Nothing Ears, on the other hand, do not increase ambient sounds as much, and the voice has a lot of occlusion.
Sound Quality
Going by the frequency sweeps, we can see that the Nothing Ear has the heaviest bass signature of the three. If you prefer a fuller, thicker sound, this should be your go-to, and you can even boost the bass even further. Personally, I really enjoy the Nothings. The LFE tracks have a strong sense of excitement and musicality. However, it has darker highs than the Sonys and AirPods, and its bass bleeds into the mids, making vocal sounds more veiled. The AirPods sound the most crisp and brilliant, the Nothing sounds the most bassy, and the Sonys sound the flattest.
Hence, it really depends on what type of music you prefer. If you enjoy the bass of the Nothing Ear, that's fantastic. However, if it's not your preference, a quick remedy would be to either lower Bass Enhance, or to turn it off altogether for more crisp in the mids. What I enjoy about them is that they're really versatile, allowing you to tweak the sound in a variety of ways.
NOTHING Ear or AirPods Pro 2?
When comparing the Nothing Ear to the AirPods Pro 2, most individuals would find the Nothing Ear to be a preferable option due to its flexibility. You can use it seamlessly on both iPhone and Android devices. The AirPods Pro 2 offers advanced features exclusive to Apple devices, such as customizable sound with Headphone Accommodations, Spatial Audio with Head Tracking, seamless audio switching between connected Apple devices like your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and the ability to share audio with another AirPods user. I love that feature because it lets both me and my wife watch Netflix together on our iPhones, very important on public transport and long flights.
However, only Apple devices support this. On Android, you cannot do any of these things. You can't even get firmware updates! In contrast, the Nothing Ear is fully supported by apps for both Android and iOS. So, even if you switch phones, you won't miss out on features like advanced EQ settings, bass enhancement, sound personalisation, customisable controls and ChatGPT. Yes, it cannot easily transition between three or more devices because multipoint pairing is up to two devices only, with the exception of one product that pairs three, but multipoint works on iOS, Android, or a mix of iOS and Android.
In terms of performance, if you're on Android, the Nothing Ear works better for calls because it handles its own noise reduction, whereas the AirPods rely on the iPhone. On Android, it also supports Hi-Res streaming via the LDAC codec, which has much lower compression than AAC and is better suited for streaming lossless files. So, if you have a variety of ecosystems and want greater flexibility, the Nothing Ear is a better option. If you're knee-deep in the Apple ecosystem, then getting the AirPods Pro 2 make sense. Its sound is also crisper, the transparency is clearer, and the active noise cancelling is more intense, provided you have a good fit.
For me personally, I prefer the AirPods for the audio-sharing, the smaller case, the ability to have full access to the controls with just one earbud because there are some people who do want to use just one only for calls. Whereas the Nothing Ear only offers selected controls when using just one side. All very compelling reasons to get the AirPods Pro 2 instead.
NOTHING Ear or Sony WF-1000XM5?
Choosing between the Nothing Ear and the Sony WF-1000XM5? That’s a tougher choice. Because the Sony’s just as full featured, and just as platform blind. Both are Hi-Res certified with LDAC support and multipoint pairing too. What the Sonys have that the Nothings don’t is things like DSEE Extreme which automatically upscales your audio so it sounds even better over Bluetooth, Speak to chat uses the microphones in the buds to listen for your voice, and activates transparency when you start speaking.
Furthermore, the Sony has sidetone, which activates transparency during phone calls for a more natural call experience, the Nothings don’t have that, and its case is tinier than the Nothing making it easier to fit in my coins pocket. In terms of performance, its noise cancelling’s more powerful, and its transparency sounds much clearer than the Nothings.
Why opt for the Nothings over the Sonys? Its microphone pickup is far better, especially in loud environments where you feel to be in a quiet room but are not. Whereas on the Sonys, I had to repeat myself until that guy said, "You know what? I'll send you a text. The Nothing's graphic EQ is far better and more customisable, and it even allows you to tune specific frequencies to tweak with Q-factor controls, whereas the Sony's 5 band graphic EQ pales in comparison. Its sound personalisation feature is superior since it takes a reading of your hearing abilities upon which you can decide your preference, rather than simply measuring your sound preference, like Sony's Find My Equaliser does.
Conclusion
In some aspects, Nothing is better, but in others, Sonys are my preference. Personally, I prefer the Sonys because they fit better into my ear. These are like stoppers that fit into my ear canal, allowing it to keep more noise cancelling power. And it also maintains the bass in, whereas the Nothing, like the AirPods, tends to slip out after a while, leading to loss of bass and noise cancelling. However, I've been told that not everyone can get a good seal with the Sonys like I do. If you want a lighter fit that fits a wider range of ears while also providing superior call quality, choose the Nothing Ear.
If you’d like to check the latest prices of these headphones, click on the Amazon links below.
Check latest price:
NOTHING ear - https://amzn.to/4aQCgXp
Sony WF-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/3JGI1uN
AirPods Pro 2 USB-C - https://amzn.to/3UoeJG8
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