Nothing's CMF line has been pretty successful at offering ultra-budget versions of not just its phones but also its headphones. The company launched its first pair of over-ear cans last year, the Nothing Headphone 1. Its budget CMF brand is now following suit with the new CMF Headphone Pro ($99). With excellent audio response, long battery life, and tactile controls, these are the best $100 wireless headphones I've ever heard and are our new Editors' Choice for those on a budget.

Design: Attractive, Despite Inexpensive Plastic

It's clear that the CMF Headphone Pro headphones are built from cheaper materials than more expensive options. There's a lot of plastic, and it doesn't feel particularly strong.

However, often those who make cheaper headphones don't just use cheap materials—they also make products that look generic. Thankfully, that's not the case here. The CMF Headphone Pro headphones offer a relatively unique and interesting design with some helpful touches that make them more durable and easier to use.

For example, the headphones have removable ear cushions, a feature often reserved for more expensive options. CMF is positioning this as style-related, since it lets you mix and match colors. The company sent a pair of orange ear cushions to use alongside my blue-green headphones. But it also impacts durability, as ear cushions can wear out over time. They have an IPX2 rating, but that only protects against a few water drops, so if it starts raining, you’ll probably want to put them away.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

Overall, I kind of like the look of the headphones. Again, it's not the most premium look out there, but it's certainly fun and colorful, which is always welcome in a sea of black headphones. They're not the most portable, though. The earcups can swivel, so the headphones can lie flat—but they can’t fold, unlike many other options.

I found the headphones to be relatively comfortable thanks to their plush padding on both the earcups and the headband. The clamp was tight enough to keep the headphones firmly on my head, but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. They did move a little on my head, which impacted sound from time to time, but it wasn’t a big deal, and they certainly never got close to falling off.

There's a nice selection of controls on the headphones, which seem to be largely borrowed from the Nothing Headphone (1). On the left earcup, you'll find a power button that doubles as a Bluetooth pairing button, a bass boost slider, and a 3.5mm port for wired listening. On the right earcup, there's a volume wheel that can be pressed to play or pause audio, or held down to switch between noise modes. Lastly, the right earcup also houses a voice assistant button and a USB-C port for charging.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

I really like how tactile these controls are. It's easy to find the ones you need when you need them, and I'm glad that they're borrowed from the Headphone (1). You can also customize some of the controls. By default, the slider boosts bass, but it can also boost treble; the voice assistant button controls noise modes, spatial audio, or the microphone. You can set both single-press and press-and-hold functions.

The headphones feature 40mm drivers capable of producing frequencies from 20Hz to 20kHz. They connect via Bluetooth 5.4, plus, they support Bluetooth Multipoint for two simultaneous connections. They support the AAC and SBC Bluetooth codecs, and, incredibly for headphones at this price point, LDAC for hi-res audio.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The accessories that come with the headphones are indicative of their price point, though. You'll get a 3.5mm audio cable for wired listening and a soft carry bag, but no hard case. Additionally, there's no charging cable in the box, so while most people probably have one, if you don't, you'll need to buy one.

Battery Life: Top-Notch

The battery life on offer here is excellent. You'll get up to 50 hours of listening time with ANC on, or up to 100 hours with it off. That not only beats plenty of headphones at this price point, but also most headphones at any price point.

When it comes time to charge, two hours will get you to 100%.

App Experience: Could Use Improvement

The headphones work with the Nothing X app, which I find to be well-designed and easy to use. When you connect the headphones, you'll be able to see their battery level and access controls like noise modes and spatial audio straight from the main screen. You'll also find cards for other settings like tweaking the controls, setting up Bluetooth multipoint, and creating a personal sound profile, which is done through a quick hearing test.

(Credit: Nothing/PCMag)

You'll also get access to an EQ, but it's only Nothing’s Basic EQ, and not the Advanced EQ that comes the Nothing Headphone (1) that lets you tweak the Q (the width of the curve). The basic EQ lets you change bass, mid, and treble frequencies (which are unlabelled), and there are presets you can use if you don't want to customize the EQ yourself. I would have liked access to the Advanced EQ, and it's slightly strange that this feature is gated behind more expensive headphones.

Noise Cancellation: Decent, But Not Spectacular

The noise-cancellation tech built into the CMF Headphone Pro is good for the price, but not as good as that of more expensive options. It was able to cut out low-frequency rumble from a plane engine, but left most of the higher frequencies intact, leaving a thin white noise behind. To be clear, this is still helpful, and it's easier to block out that noise with even medium-volume music. But don't expect to be able to block out plane noise altogether. 

This was even more true on a city bus, where the headphones effectively cut out the low rumble from the engine but left the noises from the doors opening and closing, and the suspension, completely audible and nearly at the same volume, as if noise cancellation was disabled. And there was more of the same in a busy cafe, where the rumble from background chatter was reduced, but nearby conversations and higher frequency noises were just as audible.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The transparency mode isn't very good, but it's also not as bad as some other options at twice the price. It wasn't able to produce high frequencies very well, resulting in a somewhat unnatural sound. But it worked fine for quick conversations and didn't add much background hiss.

Perhaps I'm being unfair in how critical I am of these headphones' ANC and transparency modes. Again, they're still just as good, if not better, than other headphones in their price range. Just don't expect anything approaching the more expensive options out there.

Sound: Excellent for the Price

I had to stop myself from comparing these headphones to much more expensive models because, frankly, they sound a whole lot better than you would ever expect from a pair of headphones at $100. While they don't sound as good as the Editors' Choice $449 Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, they certainly compete with headphones in the $200-$300 range when it comes to audio response, but they cost a whole lot less.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The bass response, for starters, is very good. They deliver deep and impactful bass, even with the bass boost slider turned all the way down. With the default “Pop” EQ, and that slider turned down all the way, tracks like “Silent Shout” by The Knife, which rely heavily on sub-bass content, sound full and rich. The mids were slightly de-emphasized, as to be expected of headphones like this, which appeal to consumers rather than audiophiles. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially when it's coupled with crisp, detailed highs that easily produce nice-sounding percussion.

The great bass response was emphasized even further on “Loyalty” by Kendrick Lamar. This track relies on sub bass, though through a more distinct bass line that’s played throughout much of the verse and chorus. On this track, the headphones deliver that bass about as well as any other headphones I've heard, easily reproducing all but the lowest bass notes and even adding rumble and body to those low notes to help ensure it doesn't feel disconnected. The bass doesn't overshadow other aspects of the track either—Lamar and Rihanna’s vocals are rich, while percussion has good clarity.

More acoustic tracks, like "Drover" by Bill Callahan, expose some of the headphones' weaknesses, but even those are few and far between. On this track, the driving kick drum has plenty of body, but at times it feels a little too much. While the acoustic guitar sounds relatively natural, it's missing some of the sparkle that helps it cut through the mix. I’m really nit-picking here, though—I would expect to see many more complaints about headphones in this price range on this track. Everything still sounds nicely balanced, and the cymbals offer good sizzle to make for a dynamic and exciting track.

Orchestral tracks like the opening scene to The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams sound good too. However, I do find that on this track, the soundstage isn't quite as wide as it might be on more expensive options. It isn't horrible, though, and there is still enough room for the different sections to sound distinct enough for an enjoyable listening experience.

(Credit: Christian de Looper)

The headphones provide two spatial audio modes: “Concert Mode” and “Cinema Mode.” I found that both of them are lacking. Concert Mode sounds a little muddy and mid-heavy without really adding much immersion, while Cinema Mode just sounds bad, over-emphasizing dialog in a way that doesn't really sound natural. I like that there are different modes for music and movies, but they still have to sound good for me to want to use them—and I don’t really use even the best spatial audio approaches for music.

I will note that I found the headphones sound better with the custom EQ enabled, but with no adjustments made. The Pop EQ, which is the default, is fine, but it doesn't quite offer the best of the CMF Headphone Pro. It’s also worth quickly mentioning the bass slider, which frankly is a gimmick at best. I get that people like emphasized bass, but the headphones sound good without resorting to tricks like this, and I recommend most people simply avoid it.

The headphones also have a personalized sound profile feature that involves a hearing test, and is supposed to tune the audio to compensate for any hearing loss, even if minor. Although the results of it weren’t bad for me, I preferred how the audio sounded before taking the test. It made for a slightly muddy sound in the left channel, resulting in an uneven feel. I kept it off most of the time.

One weak aspect of the headphones is the built-in microphones. While they pick up my voice, there is little clarity and a little too much muddiness. It isn't quite to the point of sounding underwater, but it's getting there. Again, on voice calls, the people you're talking to should be able to hear you, but the microphones certainly leave a lot to be desired.