Last year, Nothing and its subsidiary CMF put out their debut over-ear headphones. While the Nothing Headphone (1) launched alongside the brand’s flagship smartphone (our review here) in July 2025, CMF’s budget offering took a while to arrive in India, hitting the market earlier this month. The Headphone Pro promises a wide soundstage produced by 40mm drivers, intuitive physical controls, efficient noise cancellation, and some modularity. It is priced very competitively, currently fetching Rs 7,000 on Flipkart (although the price will rise to Rs 8,000 once the introductory offer ends). We’ve been using the headset since it crossed our desks over a week ago. Here is our in-depth review of the CMF Headphone Pro.
In This Article
CMF Headphone Pro Review: Design
First, let’s take a look at what you get inside the Headphone Pro’s retail box:
- Headphones
- 3.5mm cable
- Soft pouch
- User manual
CMF’s clean and minimal design philosophy is very much visible on its debut over-ear headphones. The round earcups are attached to ear cushions, which can be twisted and swapped with new pieces – a throwback to the modularity of CMF Phone 1. This opens the door to a lot of colour-combination customisations. The cushions are well-padded, and their vegan leather finish feels soft on the ear. The same goes for the padding along the metal headband. The overall fit is very comfortable. We wore these headphones for the better part of the day and did not experience a hint of fatigue. The earcups can swivel outwards, but they aren’t collapsible – something to consider if you travel a lot.
The plastic earcups may not exude the most premium vibe, but CMF has absolutely nailed the control array. For starters, the earcups aren’t touch-sensitive, which means you don’t need to worry about any accidental triggers while adjusting the headset. Secondly, the physical button array is very well thought out.
The left earcup houses the power button, an ‘Energy’ slider (for bass/treble), a 3.5mm port, and a power light between 2 microphones with wind meshes. The opposite earcup contains a USB-C port, a low battery/charging indicator, a customisable key that’s set to trigger the voice assistant by default, a volume roller that doubles as a play/pause and ANC/transparency button, and another meshed microphone.
For us, the lack of an IPX4 rating on these headphones is a bigger tradeoff than their plastic build. They are rated IPX2 for water resistance, which means they can handle exposure to light sweat. We did not feel confident wearing these headphones to the gym and putting them through an intense workout. Taking them out in light drizzle was out of the question.
CMF Headphone Pro Review: Performance
Pairing the CMF Headphone Pro to a smartphone or a PC is a very seamless process. There’s Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair support on board. This makes the headphone pop up on your device as soon as you turn it on. There are 3 codecs on offer – AAC, SBC, and LDAC. Bluetooth 5.4 ensures a 10m functional range once the headphone is connected to your device.
The Headphone Pro uses 40mm drivers to deliver its audio output. The diaphragm has a PEN+PU polymer dome and Nickel plating. The resulting soundstage is wide, lush, and full of amazing details. The mid and high frequencies get enough room to express themselves. This lends the soundstage a very pleasant ‘pop’. The low-end is prominent but doesn’t shroud over the entire spectrum. You get just enough dosage of bass to enjoy the thump without losing the finer details in the background. You can crank the volume up to 100% without feeling any harshness or distortion in the output.
The Energy slider on the left earcup boosts the bass by default, but you can set it to adjust the treble using the Nothing X app. A dollop of extra bass sounds like a good idea in theory, but it is quite hard to pull off as it can muddle the output. This is the case here as well. In small doses, the added bass does bring a punch, but it quickly takes over and dominates the mix once you push the slider to its limit. We found the treble boost option much more useful, especially while listening to podcasts.
Creating a custom EQ profile requires installing the Nothing X app. The 3-band equaliser is on par with what we’ve seen on CMF’s TWS offerings. On top of that, you get 5 preset EQ profiles – Pop, Rock, Electronic, Enhance Vocals, and Classical. The companion app also lets you take a quick test to calibrate the sound according to your hearing. The new profile is saved on the headphone itself, so you don’t have to take the test again when you pair it with a new device.
If you’re interested in gaming, there’s a handy low-latency mode on offer. You will need to enable it from the companion app, as there is no option to assign this function to one of the customisable buttons. Nevertheless, it puts up a good performance, completely eliminating the lag between gaming visuals and audio output. You can also enable the Dual Connection mode from the companion app if you want to pair the headphones to another device. The media handoff isn’t exactly seamless. We had to pause the music on one device to channel the audio from the other.
The cutthroat midrange segment doesn’t allow a headphone to coast on its soundstage alone – it needs to have decent ANC chops too. Luckily, the CMF Headphone Pro does not disappoint in this regard. To begin with, it offers a decent level of passive noise cancellation with its excellent seal around the ears. Long-pressing the volume roller springs ANC into action. Nothing claims this headphone can nullify up to 40dB of surrounding sounds. We were satisfied when we put it into practice. The headphone was able to get rid of distracting sounds emanating from distant chatter, humming ACs, and passing hawkers. Wearing these headphones inside a bus helped get rid of the annoying engine and traffic sounds.
The 3-mic ENC architecture ensures a great calling experience on the CMF Headphone Pro. The mesh around the microphones prevents any wind interference. The speaker’s voice is captured in good detail and relayed to the other without any off-putting boxiness. The ENC can get overwhelmed in noisy outdoor conditions, but as far as indoor calling goes, these headphones are rock-solid for jumping on calls and meetings.
The 720mAh Li-ion battery pack can go up to 100 hours on a full charge. Of course, this means disabling the ANC, sticking to the AAC audio codec, and not going beyond the 50% volume level. During the review period, we used the Headphone Pro for 5-6 hours per day, keeping the ANC on at all times, oscillating within the 60-100% volume range, and employing the LDAC codec for HD listening. We weren’t able to deplete the battery after a week of use, ending the period with 20% charge left in the tank. A Type-C charger takes up to 2 hours to fully replenish the battery pack. A 5-minute quick charge offers up to 8 hours of playtime (with ANC turned off).
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Verdict
The CMF Headphone Pro nails the basics to perfection. For Rs 7,000, you get a comfortable fit, intuitive controls, and a vibrant soundstage. This trifecta alone is worth the money, but CMF goes the extra mile in offering amazing ANC and handy features like Dual Connection, Low Latency Mode, and Personalised Sound. Going by the performance, you wouldn’t think the Headphone Pro is a first-generation product. Of course, the tech outfit has made some tradeoffs to keep the price in check. For starters, the headphones are made out of plastic, which isn’t the most glamorous choice in terms of material. Secondly, the IPX2 protection can only safeguard these headphones against very light exposure to sweat.
Buy on Flipkart for Rs 6,999 (India)
Pros
- Swappable ear cushions
- Physical controls
- Lush soundstage
- Good ANC
- Great calling experience
Cons
- IPX2 rating isn’t optimum for exposure to rain and heavy sweat
