Verdict
At a glimpse , a four - star military rank might seem generous for a product that makes a piece of a pig ’s ear of midrange reproduction and does n’t really put the ‘ NC ’ into ‘ ANC ’ . But the Buds Pro 2 are a likable and engaging product nonetheless , and if you ’re operating on a exacting budget you could do a wad worse …
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Colour , fabric , close . These are n’t the only thing you need to think when creating or , for that subject , buy some audio equipment – but they ’re a good property to come out .
CMF in this instance is a submarine sandwich - brand of Nothing , created with the explicit design of bringing a routine of the British sword ’s off - nonplus design to an even more accessible price - point .
There ’s no deny the price of the Buds Pro 2 is jolly accessible . But , of course , a pair of true radiocommunication in - capitulum earphone only represents value for money ( no matter how much it cost ) if the carrying out is a match for the color , material and coating …
Availability
The CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2 true radio in - ear headphones are on sale now , and in the United Kingdom they ’re yours for £ 59 . They sell for $ 59 in the United States and will set you back around AU$99 in Australia .
Obviously this is a lancinating price for a duet of well - nail down TWS , but the Buds Pro 2 are by no mean the only game in town . Our current budget - orientate favourites , theSony WF - C500 , are even more low-priced – so what can the CMF bring to the table ? Apart from a great selection of colours , I mean ?
Design
Fundamentally , there ’s nothing about the way Buds Pro 2 are design that ’s conk to startle anyone . Early on , a company has to decide if its true wireless in - ear headphones are going to be the twisty pebble type or the dangly stem alternative – CMF has decided to go with the latter .
At 33 x 20 x 24 mm and 4.9 g each , they ’re small , light and quite easy to get comfortable in the capitulum . The charge typeface in which they travel ( and armorial bearing ) is an equally manageable 53 x 53 x 22 mm and 46 deoxyguanosine monophosphate – so as a package the Buds Pro 2 are no kind of load . An IP55 rating against moisture and junk stand for that not only are they convenient to enrapture and use , they can be transported to and used in any realistic environs .
There are three sizes of silicone earbuds included in the package , and they ’re the same people of colour as the charge casing and earbuds themselves . you may select between sullen grey or light grey ( which isthisclose to being a pick between black or white ) , a quite mysterious aristocratic or a very lively orange finis .
The intention of the earbuds includes a small capacitive touching - surface at the top of each stem , which is pretty stock . What ’s not pretty standard is the inclusion of a turn / push telephone dial on the charging lawsuit itself – it ’s neatly mix and makes a lot of sense on those occasions when your work force might be bury in your pockets against the chill of the distinctive British summertime .
The specific subprogram of each Seth of controls can be dictated in the Nothing X restraint app that ’s free for iOS and Android – and in summation , the app admit EQ adjustment , noise - cancellation , energizing of multi - level connectivity , firmware upgrade notifications and all the other usual option .
Features
You ’ve got to hand it to CMF : there ’s nothing about the feature article - set of the Buds Pro 2 that indicates they ’ve been in any way built down to a price .
Wireless connectivity , for illustration , is viaBluetooth 5.3and as well as the common SBC and AAC codec compatibility , these earbuds are compatible with LDAC too . Which means that ( when unite to an appropriate reference participant ) lossy 24 - bit/96kHz content can be streamed .
And once on board , it ’s delivered to your ear by a twofold - driver arrangement consisting of an 11 mm atomic number 22 - surface polyurethan bass number one wood and a 6 mm micro - planar tweeter of titanium - coated polythene terephthalate . We are far from entranceway - level district here .
Within the control app there ’s a defeatable low lag manner to optimise you gambling experience , an ear - tip primed test ( never a bad thing ) and the facility to enable or turn off the spacial audio effect . you’re able to also shift Ultra Bass on or off , as well as enquire some EQ presets ( including DIRAC Opteo ) or make one of your own .
Active noise - cancellation , meanwhile , can be turn off or specified for one of four positions ( High , Mid , Low and Adaptive ) . There ’s also a Transparency position .
And where active noise - cancellation is concerned . Its effect is mild in the extreme , to the point in time that I feel myself checking the app to confirm it ’s activate more than once during the course of this review . Its effect on international sounds is not even remotely say , which makes the fact that the Transparency mount is quite effective seem thwarting . No one bribe earbuds primarily to forget out ambient sound , of line – well , almost no one – but when a spec - plane includes ANC you ’re entitled to expect a bit more noise - cancelling than is available here .
Battery life is quote at 11 hour ( with ANC off ) or 6.5 hour ( with it on ) , with another three full electric charge in the case – apparently if you care to listen loud , or constantly useLDAC(or both ) , those numbers need to be revised downward . In all honesty , you take to revise them down a little , regardless – in my time with the Pro Buds 2 I was never quite able-bodied to get within affecting aloofness of any of these name . What I can confirm , though , is that a ten - minute charge should be enough for another two or three hour of legal action .
There are three mics in each earbud . They take concern of ANC and telephony , of course , as well as voice - assistant interaction . And there’sGoogle Fast Pairand Microsoft Swift Pair uncommitted to those with the appropriate seed devices .
Sound Quality
If it ’s vigour and a tangible sense of excitement you need from your low-priced straight wireless in - ear headphones , you ’ve follow to the right spot . A good time is what the Pro Buds 2 sound like they ’re interested in , and it ’s an attitude that ’s quite infectious .
So treat them to something with a spot of verve about it ( Boys in the Band by Lambrini Girls , say , or Jalen Ngonda ’s If You Do n’t Want My Love ) and the CMF fairly lick it up . With EQs leave alone , and Ultra Bass shift off , the earbuds adjure a robust , punchy and quite attacking strait , drive forth on a solid groundwork of hearty downcast - frequency presence .
Bass is varied and well controlled as well as being full - figured , so rhythmic expression is very comme il faut and there ’s undeniable impulse to the presentation . active headroom is considerable too , so the Buds Pro 2 can account changes in intensity and volume confidently . All of which goes a retentive way towards an piquant and energetic delivery .
At the diametrical end of the frequency kitchen stove there ’s a similar level of ebullience , a similar level of detail retrieval and a standardised sense of enthusiasm . Treble sounds attack sharply but never get conduct by , and there ’s plentifulness of light and shade where detail levels are concerned .
Other undeniable positive admit the satisfying and fairly expansive soundstage the CMF can produce , the attention to depleted - stratum harmonical variations they exhibit , the convincingly natural key at either end of the frequency mountain range , and the evident sense of involution the Buds Pro 2 can generate .
maltreat down in tempo and intensity to a digital audio frequency file of Sam Morton ’s Kaleidoscope and all of the above remains true – except , of course , for the jubilant levels of attack the Buds Pro 2 antecedently demonstrated . Detail tier stick around high , soundstaging stay consistent , and each end of the frequency reach remains balanced and sure-footed .
It ’s in between that the problems lurk . As I ’ve mentioned , the CMF specification - sheet reveals an 11 mm bass driver and a 6 mm micro - planar tweeter – but there ’s no expressed mention of the midrange . It ’s the bigger driver that ’s responsible for midrange reproduction , I ’m certain – but it ’s not especially in force at it . The midrange here is more or less vague and indistinct where the ease of the frequency selective information is crisply focused , and it ’s not quite as detailed as the stuff happening on either side of it either .
Which mean that voice are n’t as denotative as they might be , and the fluency and positivity the Buds Pro 2 demonstrate elsewhere becomes rather hazy and approximate . It ’s here , more than anywhere else , that the CMF sound like they do n’t cost all that much money .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
You visualize some wireless hi - reticuloendothelial system audio fervour on a budget
You ’re interested in listen midrange faithfulness in a noisy - ish environment
Final Thoughts
The CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2 are not perfect – but I will confess to being quite surprised at just how crystalline and gratifying a listen they are , in many ways , in the context of the request damage .
I had rather foolishly take over they ’d get nowhere near theSony WF - C500 – so I can only hear not to make supposition …
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every pair of earpiece we brush up thoroughly over an extended period of time . We habituate industry - standard tests to compare features properly . We ’ll always recite you what we find . We never , ever , admit money to reexamine a product .
regain out more about how we try out in ourethics policy .
FAQs
There ’s no wireless charging support for these buds , but you do get firm charging .
