CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones Review: The New Standard for Affordable ANC?

There’s a familiar cycle in the world of personal audio. You start with a pair of cheap, wired earphones that came with a phone, then graduate to a slightly better, but still disappointing, pair of budget wireless buds. They promise the world—crystal clear sound, noise cancellation, epic battery—but often deliver a muffled, unreliable experience. The frustration builds. You start eyeing the flagship models from the big brands, the ones with price tags that make you wince. Is it really necessary to spend hundreds of pounds just to enjoy your music on the morning commute or take a clear call in a busy coffee shop? For years, I believed the answer was a reluctant “yes.” The gap between the cheap and the cheerful, and the expensive and the exceptional, felt like a chasm. That’s the problem we’ve all faced: finding that sweet spot where innovative features, powerful performance, and an accessible price point converge. The CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones aim to be the solution to that very problem, a direct challenge to the idea that you have to compromise on quality when you’re on a budget. We decided to put them through their paces to see if they truly bridge that gap.

What to Consider Before Buying Noise Cancelling Earphones

Noise-cancelling earphones are more than just an accessory; they’re a key solution for creating a personal bubble of focus and immersion in an increasingly loud world. Whether it’s to concentrate in an open-plan office, lose yourself in a podcast during a roaring train journey, or simply find a moment of peace at home, Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology is a game-changer. The primary benefit is the significant reduction of low-frequency ambient sounds—the drone of an airplane engine, the hum of air conditioning, the distant rumble of traffic—allowing you to enjoy your audio at lower, safer volumes without distraction. This not only enhances your listening experience but can also reduce stress and improve focus.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone who frequently finds themselves in noisy environments: daily commuters, frequent flyers, students studying in bustling libraries, or office workers seeking to block out chatter. They value audio clarity and the ability to disconnect from their surroundings. However, these might not be the best fit for those who need to maintain constant situational awareness for safety reasons, such as cyclists or runners on busy streets, although many models now include a “Transparency Mode” to mitigate this. For those users, open-ear bone conduction headphones might be a more suitable alternative. If your primary need is for competitive gaming, a dedicated low-latency gaming headset might also be a better choice.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Fit & Comfort: This is arguably the most critical factor for in-ear headphones. The product should come with multiple sizes of silicone or foam tips to ensure a snug, secure seal. A poor seal not only causes discomfort and makes the earbuds prone to falling out, but it also severely degrades both sound quality and the effectiveness of the noise cancellation. Look for lightweight designs and ergonomic shapes that won’t cause ear fatigue after hours of use.
• Audio Performance & ANC Quality: Don’t just look at driver size. Consider support for high-resolution audio codecs like LDAC or aptX HD if you stream high-fidelity music. For noise cancellation, the decibel (dB) rating can be a useful indicator—higher numbers generally mean stronger cancellation. More advanced systems also offer adaptive ANC that adjusts to your environment automatically.
• Battery Life & Connectivity: Check the battery life for the earbuds themselves and the total playback time with the charging case. A good benchmark is 5-6 hours on the buds and over 24 hours total. Also, look for modern Bluetooth standards (5.2 or higher) for a stable connection and features like multi-point pairing, which allows you to connect to two devices simultaneously—a huge convenience for switching between a laptop and a phone.
• Ease of Use & Controls: How do you control playback, calls, and ANC modes? Some use touch controls, others physical buttons. Look for a companion app that allows for customization of controls and sound equalization (EQ). Features like a thoughtfully designed case, as seen with the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones, can dramatically improve the day-to-day user experience.

Navigating the vast market of noise-cancelling earbuds can be overwhelming, with features and prices varying wildly. Making an informed choice is key to finding a pair that truly suits your lifestyle.

While the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: A Tactile Treat with a Unique Twist

Unboxing the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones is a refreshing experience in a market dominated by look-alike white plastic cases. Our Dark Grey model has a sophisticated, matte finish that feels premium and resistant to fingerprints. The case itself is compact and solid, but the star of the show is immediately apparent: the large, customisable Smart Dial. This isn’t just a design flourish; it’s a functional, tactile wheel that clicks satisfyingly as you turn it. In a sea of products that have offloaded all control to fiddly touch sensors and smartphone apps, this physical dial feels both retro and revolutionary. Getting started was a breeze. We downloaded the “Nothing X” app, flipped open the case, and the earbuds were instantly ready for pairing. The buds themselves are lightweight and magnetically snap into the case with a reassuring click, making them easy to retrieve and secure. The overall first impression is one of thoughtful, user-centric design that punches well above its price point. It feels like a product designed by people who are tired of the same old earbud experience and wanted to build something genuinely different and more intuitive.

Deep Dive: Performance and Everyday Usability

A great first impression is one thing, but true wireless earbuds live and die by their daily performance. We spent weeks using the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones as our primary audio device—on commutes, in the office, at the gym, and for calls—to see if the initial promise held up under real-world pressure. We scrutinised everything from the sound signature to the ANC effectiveness and the practicality of that much-hyped Smart Dial.

The Smart Dial: A Genuinely Game-Changing Innovation

Let’s be clear: the Smart Dial on the case is not a gimmick. It is, as one user rightly called it, “one of the most needed inventions to a case.” In daily use, it fundamentally changes how you interact with your earbuds. Instead of fumbling for my phone or trying to remember complex tap gestures on the earbuds themselves, I could simply rotate the dial to adjust volume. A press-and-rotate action allowed me to cycle through ANC modes. It’s intuitive, tactile, and incredibly satisfying. The Nothing X app allows you to customise its function further, letting you assign it to control playback, activate a voice assistant, or even switch to a low-latency gaming mode. This physical, reliable control method is a revelation. I found myself resting the case on my desk during work, using the dial as a de facto media controller without ever waking my phone screen. It’s a simple idea executed flawlessly, adding a layer of convenience that flagship brands should be taking notes on. The case itself is also well-designed; as another user noted, the buds are easy to get out, and strong magnets guide them perfectly onto the charging pins every time. This thoughtful design philosophy makes the entire experience, from charging to control, feel seamless. If you value clever, practical features that make your life easier, this innovative control system alone is worth the price of admission.

Sound Signature and Customisation: A Bass-Lover’s Paradise

Out of the box, the sound profile of the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones is unapologetically bass-heavy. This aligns perfectly with what many users have reported. One review described the bass as “thunderous,” and we’d have to agree. For genres like hip-hop, EDM, and pop, this tuning is incredibly fun and energetic, providing a powerful low-end punch that makes music feel immersive and dynamic. The integration of Dirac Opteo and Ultra Bass Technology 2.0 clearly prioritises a powerful, impactful sound. However, as noted by several users, if you’re an audiophile seeking a neutral, flat response for listening to classical or acoustic music, this default tuning might feel overwhelming. As one user aptly put it, “you might love them if you’re a bass head, but if not stay away.”

Thankfully, the Nothing X app provides some recourse. The equaliser allows you to adjust bass, mids, and treble. We found that slightly reducing the bass and boosting the mids and treble resulted in a much more balanced sound profile, revealing the clear detail that the drivers are capable of producing. The support for the LDAC codec is a massive bonus at this price, allowing for Hi-Res Audio streaming over Bluetooth from compatible devices, which provides a noticeable uptick in clarity and detail. The Spatial Audio effect adds a sense of width and cinematic scope, which works surprisingly well for movies and gaming. While we echo the user’s sentiment wishing for a more granular 10-band EQ, the available customisation is sufficient to tame the bass and tailor the sound to your preference. For the price, the audio quality, especially with a little tweaking, is simply exceptional. You can see its full feature set and user reviews to gauge if this sound profile fits your taste.

Drowning Out the World: 50 dB ANC and Call Quality

CMF by Nothing makes a bold claim with its 50 dB Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, and we were eager to test it. In the real world, these earbuds deliver. While they may not completely silence the world in the same way as premium models from Sony or Bose that cost four times as much, the performance is staggering for a budget-friendly pair. On a busy train, the low-frequency rumble was reduced to a faint hum. In a noisy office, background chatter faded away, allowing me to focus entirely on my music. This was confirmed by a user who owns several high-end earbuds and stated that while the ANC isn’t as good as those, “when playing music at low volume it’s very effective and at the price I have no complaints.”

The system also features Smart Active Noise Cancellation, which detects noise leakage caused by a poor fit and compensates for it, a feature typically found on much more expensive devices. The Transparency Mode is equally impressive, using the 6 HD microphones to pipe in external sound clearly and naturally, making it easy to have a quick conversation or listen for announcements without removing the buds. Speaking of microphones, the Clear Voice Technology 2.0 really shines during calls. In our tests, my voice came through clearly to people on the other end, even with moderate background noise and a stiff breeze, thanks to the dedicated Wind-Flow structure. This makes the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones a reliable companion not just for music, but for work and communication too.

Marathon Battery Life and All-Day Comfort

One of the most impressive specifications on paper is the 43-hour total playback time, and our real-world testing confirms this is no exaggeration. We used the earbuds for several hours each day for a full work week—for music, podcasts, and numerous calls—and the case still had plenty of charge left. One user’s claim that they “haven’t charged them since I got them over a month ago” with daily use seems entirely plausible. This marathon battery life removes any charging anxiety and makes them perfect for travel or for users who are simply forgetful about plugging things in. The fast-charging feature is also a lifesaver, providing hours of playback from just a few minutes of charging.

When it comes to comfort, our experience was largely positive. The earbuds are lightweight, and with the three included tip sizes, we were able to find a secure and comfortable fit for hours of listening without fatigue. However, it’s important to acknowledge that fit is subjective. One user with larger ears found them excellent, while another warned they are a “Huge monster of plastic” and “incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE,” particularly for those with smaller ears. This is a crucial point to consider; if you have historically struggled with the fit of larger earbuds, these might pose a challenge. For the majority of users, however, they provide a comfortable and stable fit, even during light exercise like jogging. The stable Bluetooth connection ensured we experienced no dropouts, even when walking around the office away from our phone. To see if the design and size are right for you, you can check the product dimensions and detailed images online.

What Other Users Are Saying

After our extensive testing, we dug into the wider user feedback to see how our experience compared. The sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, especially concerning the value proposition. One user declared them a “no Brainer” for under £50, calling them “EXCEPTIONAL” compared to other cheap brands they’d tried. Another user, who previously used Apple AirPods, was “seriously impressed,” stating that the CMF buds “blow my Air Pods out of the water!” in terms of noise cancelling and battery life.

The most common point of praise is the incredible performance-to-price ratio. As one customer aptly put it, “This is a definitely a must buy! For the £45 paid these punches well above it’s weight and really surprised they are not over £100+.”

However, the feedback isn’t universally perfect, which gives a balanced picture. The most frequent criticism, which we confirmed, is the bass-heavy sound signature. The other significant negative point raised by a user was the physical size, who found them “completely oversized” and painfully uncomfortable. This highlights the importance of personal ear shape and size when choosing any in-ear device. These mixed but mostly glowing reviews paint a picture of a product that offers phenomenal value, provided its sound profile and physical fit work for you.

How Do They Compare? Alternatives to the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones

While the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones are a formidable contender, they exist in a crowded market. Here’s how they stack up against three distinct alternatives for different user needs.

1. Jabra Evolve2 85 Wireless Headset Noise Cancelling

The Jabra Evolve2 85 is in a different league entirely, both in form factor and price. This is a premium, over-ear wireless headset designed for the professional who demands uncompromising call quality and focus. Its key advantages are the professional-grade microphone boom arm, Microsoft Teams certification, and superior passive noise isolation from the earcups. While the CMF buds are excellent for general use and calls, the Jabra is the superior choice for an office worker or remote professional whose day is filled with critical voice and video calls. If your primary use case is business communication and you have the budget, the Jabra Evolve2 85 is the professional’s tool.

2. TOZO NC3 Hybrid ANC Wireless Earbuds 55H Playtime

The TOZO NC3 is a more direct competitor, occupying a similar budget-friendly space. It boasts some impressive stats, including a massive 55-hour total playtime and an IPX8 waterproof rating, making it technically fully submersible and a fantastic choice for athletes or anyone concerned about water damage. Its ANC is rated at 45 dB, slightly less than the CMF’s 50 dB, but still very effective. The choice between the two comes down to priorities. If you need the absolute best waterproofing and slightly longer battery life, the TOZO NC3 is an excellent pick. However, the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones counter with the innovative Smart Dial, LDAC support for higher-resolution audio, and arguably a more unique design ethos.

3. ink-topoint Sleep Headphones Headband

This alternative serves a very specific niche: listening to audio while sleeping or resting. The ink-topoint Sleep Headphones integrate ultra-thin speakers into a soft, comfortable headband. For side sleepers, regular earbuds like the CMF Buds Pro 2 can be painful and impractical. This headband design solves that problem completely, allowing you to listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or calming music as you drift off to sleep without any discomfort. It’s not designed for critical listening or powerful noise cancellation on a commute. If your main goal is to find an audio solution for bedtime or relaxation, this headband is unequivocally the better and more comfortable choice.

Final Verdict: Are the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones Worth It?

After extensive testing, we can confidently say that the CMF BY NOTHING Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earphones are not just good for the price; they are simply a fantastic pair of wireless earbuds, full stop. They deliver a suite of features—powerful and effective ANC, Hi-Res audio support, stellar battery life, and clear call quality—that were, until recently, the exclusive domain of products costing three or four times as much. The Smart Dial is a genuinely brilliant piece of design that elevates the user experience from good to great.

They aren’t perfect, of course. The default sound is aggressively bass-forward and will not appeal to audio purists, and the physical size may be a deal-breaker for those with smaller ears. However, these are manageable trade-offs for the immense value on offer. We recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a massive upgrade from basic earbuds, to bass-lovers, and to tech enthusiasts who appreciate thoughtful, innovative design without the exorbitant price tag. They challenge the status quo and prove that a premium experience can be accessible to everyone. If you’re ready to experience a new level of audio performance and convenience, you should absolutely check the latest price and secure your pair today.