It\u2019s not a night and day difference across the board. A less complex track like Max Richter\u2019s \u201cOn the Nature of Daylight,\u201d for example, sounded very similar between Nothing\u2019s earbuds. I\u2019d still just about pick the Ear 2s over the Ear 1s, but it was more of a toss-up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Nothing Ear 2\u2019s noise canceling performance has seen similar improvements to the Ear 1\u2019s. I had no problem listening to podcasts as the London Underground screeched around me, and it did an acceptable job on my local rattly bus. But I did experience a weird bug with the adaptive noise cancellation mode that would intermittently create a whooshing sound, almost like an imaginary train was rolling past me in a station. Setting the ANC mode to \u201chigh\u201d rather than adaptive completely eliminated the problem, but theoretically, that means you miss out on the battery-saving benefits of the adaptive mode. When I reached out to Nothing, I was told it wasn\u2019t aware of this apparent bug. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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In my tests, the Nothing Ear 2\u2019s microphone quality was broadly in line with the Ear 1s. Although the three-microphone array picked up my voice slightly more crisply in a quiet room, the second I introduced background noise, my voice started to sound similarly muffled and muddy. Side by side with Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Buds Live, my voice was more audible with Samsung\u2019s earbuds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Ear 2 earbuds (left) versus the Ear 1s on the right.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Convention dictates that I include at least one photo of me wearing the earbuds no matter how much I hate it.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The Nothing Ear 2 earbuds are yet another reminder that specs aren\u2019t everything. On paper, this is an incremental update to the Ear 1 earbuds, with a very similar design and battery life, some improved durability, and a couple of additional software features.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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But in practice, the overall package feels a lot higher quality. Yes, part of this is because I didn\u2019t encounter any major bugs during my time with the Ear 2s (the adaptive noise cancelation bug notwithstanding), but mostly it\u2019s because they simply sounded way better across most of the tracks I listened to. They feel like a second-generation product.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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At $149, the Ear 2 earbuds represent a well-rounded pair of midrange earbuds. They\u2019ve got all the style of the Ear 1s but without their rough edges. The likes of Sony, Apple, and Samsung may still rule the roost when it comes to more premium earbuds, but the Nothing Ear 2s are a capable alternative if you\u2019re on a (slightly) tighter budget, even if they\u2019re not quite the steal they would have been at under $100.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Photography by Jon Porter \/ The Verge<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n