CMF by Nothing's first headphones bring noise cancellation, a cool design, and a unique 'Energy Slider' all for an impressive price

• CMF by Nothing Headphone Pro launches for £79 / $99 / AU$179
• Modular design with swappable ear cushions and tactile controls
• 40mm drivers, hybrid noise cancellation, and LDAC hi-res streaming

Nothing's sub-brand CMF has launched its first ever pair of over-ear headphones, and as we've come to expect from CMF, it's taken an interesting approach. In addition to the usual features, the headphones have been made with a modular design that enables you to swap out the standard ear cushions for more colorful options.

We're big fans of tactile controls, so it's nice to see CMF shares our enthusiasm. The CMF Headphone Pro has a roller to control the volume, adjust the ANC and play and pause media (it's not quite the same as the excellent Roller on the Nothing Headphone (1), but it's the same principle); the new Energy Slider enables you to crank the bass and treble up or down on the fly "based on the energy of the song that you're listening to"; and there's a button, called Button, that you can customize.

CMF Headphone Pro: key features and pricing

The drivers here are 40mm with nickel-plated diaphragms for reduced distortion and feature a 16.5mm copper voice coil, a "precision" bass duct and a dual-chamber design that promises to deliver a deep, full sound.

The headphones also use Audiodo technology to create a personal sound profile that's uniquely tailored to your ears. And there's hybrid active noise cancellation to keep the outside world quiet.

You can listen wired or wirelessly and the headphones have dual wired and wireless Hi-Res Audio certification. Over wireless, you can listen via LDAC, as well as regular Bluetooth, naturally.

Battery life is an impressive 100 hours, with 50 hours of talk time for chatting and calling. ANC reduces that somewhat but you can still expect a very respectable 50 hours of listening – that's better than most of the best noise cancelling headphones.

Fast charging gives you up to 4 hours from a five-minute recharge and a full charge over USB-C takes less than two hours.

The CMF Headphone Pro headphones go on sale from 29 September in the UK and EU, and on the 7th of October in the US. They come in a choice of dark gray, light green and light gray, and have a listed price of £79 / $99 / AU$179.

The interchangeable cushions will be available on the same dates, with a choice of orange or light green. The price is £19 / $25.

We're already working on our full review of these, so hold tight and we'll let you know if they're as much of a bargain as they look on paper.

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