Nothing’s Headphone (a) surprised me: the €160 cans I’d pick over Headphone (1) for gaming

Nothing Headphone (a) for gaming: budget ANC cans that punch way above their price

On paper, Nothing’s Headphone (a) looks like a classic “lite” model: cheaper materials, a few missing features, lower price tag. The surprise is that, for around €160, this thing doesn’t just hold its own against the pricier Headphone (1) – for a lot of gaming setups, it actually makes more sense.

This review pulls together in‑depth test reports and measurements from multiple sources and looks at them through a gaming lens: long sessions, voice chat, latency, and everyday comfort. Treated like a gaming headset that just happens to sound good for music, the Headphone (a) is a very interesting option.

Why this “phone brand” over‑ear belongs on a gaming blog at all

Most lifestyle Bluetooth headphones fall flat the second you try to game on them. Too much latency, mushy bass that buries footsteps, weak mics, mediocre comfort after three hours of raids – you know the story.

Nothing’s Headphone (a) doesn’t magically turn into a dedicated wireless gaming headset, but it checks a bunch of boxes that gamers actually care about:

• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) that’s genuinely useful for blocking out fans and traffic
• A low‑latency mode for gaming and video
• LDAC support for higher‑quality audio on Android
• A surprisingly deep EQ with an 8‑band parametric option
• Physical controls instead of random touch gestures
• Battery life so long it feels like a cheat code (up to 135 hours without ANC)
• Wired 3.5 mm input for consoles, handhelds and airplane seats

The big question is where it cuts corners compared to a classic gaming headset – and whether those trade‑offs matter for how you play.

Design & comfort: lighter, cheaper… but still smart

Nothing stays on brand here. The Headphone (a) looks like a cousin of the Headphone (1), with that industrial, semi‑transparent vibe – only now the earcups are plastic instead of aluminum, and the outer shells are solid colors: white, black, pink, or a loud yellow.

The plastic does make the premium factor drop a bit compared to the Headphone (1), but it also keeps the weight reasonable at around 310 g. That’s not ultra‑light by gaming‑headset standards, yet testers consistently report that the clamp force is relaxed and the memory foam pads do a good job of spreading the weight out.

There are a couple of important comfort caveats for long gaming nights:

• Leatherette pads look nice, age fast: the synthetic leather on the earcups tends to pick up skin oils quickly. You get shiny spots and they can look greasy if you’re not wiping them down.
• Heat & sweat: reviewers mention that the pads can get sweaty in warmer rooms. For chilled PC sessions it’s fine; for intense summer gaming, expect to take them off for air a bit more often than with breathable fabric pads.
• Fit is secure but not “gym tight”: the seal is good enough for ANC, but the headband doesn’t clamp like a steel trap. Great for comfort at the desk, less ideal if you plan on using them for workouts or wildly nodding through boss themes.

An IP52 rating gives some peace of mind: a bit of dust or sweat isn’t going to kill them, and a dash to the door in light rain is no big deal. For a device that will see desk, couch, commute, and maybe the occasional LAN party, that’s a handy baseline.

Controls & app: physical buttons done right

The control scheme is one of the coolest things about Nothing’s headphones, and the Headphone (a) keeps it almost entirely intact from the more expensive model.

• Roller: a big wheel on the earcup that you roll for volume and click to play/pause or switch ANC modes.
• Paddle: a physical rocker switch to skip tracks or scrub through content.
• Extra button: user‑assignable (things like voice assistant or even acting as a camera shutter for your phone).
• Dedicated power and pairing buttons on the side.

If you’ve ever mis‑swiped on a touch panel mid‑match and accidentally paused your audio, you know why this matters. Physical controls you can feel without looking are a big quality‑of‑life win for gaming.

All of this ties into the Nothing X app (on Android and iOS), where you can:

• Configure what the buttons and roller clicks do
• Switch between ANC, Transparency, and standard modes
• Toggle the low‑latency mode
• Enable or disable the Bass Enhance / Dynamic Bass Enhancement feature
• Choose between LDAC and the standard Bluetooth codec
• Use either a simple EQ or an advanced 8‑band parametric EQ
• Activate Spatial Audio (more on that later)

The one missing feature compared to the Headphone (1) that you really feel in daily use is wear detection. On the more expensive model, taking your headphones off pauses playback automatically and putting them back on resumes it. The Headphone (a) skips this to save cost, and once you’re used to auto‑pause, going back to manual controls is a bit of a downgrade.

Sound quality: fun bass, clear mids, and tons of tuning headroom

Out of the box, the Headphone (a) aims squarely at “fun” rather than “neutral studio monitor”. There’s a 40 mm driver with a titanium coating, and the stock tuning leans into a slightly boosted low end compared to the Headphone (1), which was tuned with help from audio brand KEF.

Testers generally describe the sound like this:

• Bass: punchy and present, with enough oomph to make explosions and engines feel weighty without instantly turning into mud. It’s not reference‑grade tightness, but it’s controlled enough to stay enjoyable in shooters and action games.
• Mids: reasonably clear; dialogue in cutscenes comes through nicely, and vocals in music don’t get completely swallowed by the bass.
• Highs: detailed enough to keep cymbals and environmental sounds like rain or glass from sounding dull, but not ultra‑sparkly or analytical.

Resolution and detail retrieval don’t reach “audiophile” levels, but this isn’t a mushy mess either. It’s firmly in that sweet spot where the sound is energetic and engaging, and you’re not constantly hearing harshness or weird coloration that pulls you out of the game.

The clever bit is the Dynamic Bass Enhancement. It’s an AI‑driven bass boost that reacts in real time, lifting the low end when the track or game calls for it. For games with big set‑pieces – think collapsing buildings, gunship flyovers, magic ultimates – it adds impact without you needing to constantly dive into an EQ menu.

Don’t like the stock sound? This is where the EQ shines. The parametric EQ in Nothing’s app is far above what you usually get at this price. You can either tame the bass to get closer to the more balanced Headphone (1) profile, or push certain frequencies for competitive play – for example, nudging the upper mids and low treble to make footsteps and reloads pop more in shooters.

ANC, transparency & spatial audio: immersion sliders for your ears

The Active Noise Cancellation performance on the Headphone (a) is surprisingly close to the Headphone (1) despite the lower price. Pure spec sheet differences – fewer microphones, no fancy adaptive algorithm marketing – don’t translate into a huge hit in the real world according to early testing.

What you get in practice:

• Low‑frequency hums (PC fans, air conditioning, distant traffic) are noticeably reduced.
• Mid‑range noise like chatter is softened but not erased; you still know people are talking, just less distinctly.
• Keyboard clacks and mouse clicks partly make it through, but they’re less piercing.

It doesn’t quite reach the “audio black hole” feeling of Sony’s WH‑1000X series, but given how much cheaper these are, that’s expected. For gaming, the ANC here hits the important mark: it lowers the noise floor enough that you can keep your volume safer while still feeling immersed.

The Transparency mode is good enough to have a quick conversation or hear someone calling you without ripping the headphones off, which is handy if you’re playing on a couch with other people around.

Spatial Audio is onboard too, but with one key cut: there’s no head‑tracking. You still get a virtualized surround effect that can make some content feel wider and more “room‑like”, but the soundstage doesn’t react to your head movements.

For music, that’s arguably fine; for games, head‑tracking can sometimes break immersion anyway if the implementation is off. If you loved the “speaker in front of you” illusion from the full Headphone (1) setup with tracking, you’ll miss it. If you just want a bit more space around your audio, this slightly stripped‑down Spatial Audio mode still adds a layer of fun without being essential.

Latency, platforms & mic: can it replace a gaming headset?

Let’s be blunt: if you’re chasing absolute minimum latency for high‑level competitive play, dedicated 2.4 GHz gaming headsets still win. Bluetooth has inherent delay, and LDAC – while great for audio quality – can actually add a bit more latency in some cases.

Nothing does include a low‑latency mode that tightens things up for gaming and video. This makes a noticeable difference compared to the standard connection and is absolutely worth toggling on when you sit down to play on Android, PC, or a handheld like the Steam Deck. It won’t feel as instant as a wired pair of IEMs or a wireless dongle headset, but it gets into that “good enough for most people” zone where lip‑sync issues and gunshot delays stop being distracting.

Platform‑wise:

• PC: Easiest experience via Bluetooth; turn low‑latency mode on. You can also use the 3.5 mm cable if your PC has a headphone jack.
• PlayStation / Xbox: You’re relying on the 3.5 mm jack on the controller. Remember: the headphones still need to be powered on even in wired mode.
• Switch / Steam Deck / handhelds: Great use case either via Bluetooth or 3.5 mm cable, especially thanks to the insane battery life.
• Mobile (Android): LDAC is the star here. If your phone supports it, you get much better wireless audio quality for both games and music.
• Mobile (iOS): No LDAC on Apple devices, so you’re using AAC/SBC – still perfectly fine, just without the higher bitrate bragging rights.

The microphone is where you’re reminded this is not a purpose‑built gaming headset. Call and mic quality are described as serviceable but unremarkable: totally okay for Discord, in‑game chat, and quick calls, but your voice won’t sound studio‑clean and background noise filtering is just average. If you’re streaming or recording content, you’ll want a separate mic anyway.

Battery life: the feature that makes every other headset feel broken

This is the area where the Headphone (a) absolutely clowns a lot of more expensive gear. Official figures talk about up to 135 hours of playback with ANC off and up to 75 hours with ANC on.

Even allowing for real‑world variance, you’re looking at days of actual use between charges. For comparison, many premium ANC headphones hover in the 25–40 hour range with noise cancelling enabled. Gaming headsets with 2.4 GHz dongles often land around 30–50 hours.

There’s also proper fast‑charge: around 5 minutes on the charger for roughly 8 hours of playback in ideal conditions. That “oh no, my headphones are dead right before raid night” moment becomes much less stressful. Plug them in while you make a drink, and you’re effectively set for an evening.

The only disappointment is that there’s no passive mode. Even if you plug in the supplied 3.5 mm cable, the headphones still need power to work at all. So if the battery is truly dead, you are not playing until you’ve juiced them up a bit.

Where Nothing cut corners (and whether it matters)

Compared to the Headphone (1), the Headphone (a) gets its price down by trimming a few nice‑to‑have features and materials rather than gutting the core experience. Still, it’s worth being clear about what you lose:

• No aluminum earcups – build feels slightly less premium, more plasticky
• No wear detection – no auto‑pause when you take them off
• No head‑tracking for Spatial Audio – only static virtualization
• Fewer microphones and slightly less advanced ANC tech
• Simpler carrying solution – a soft pouch instead of a hard case
• Mic quality that’s fine, but not improved over the pricier model

For pure gaming use, the missing wear detection is the one you’ll notice the most day to day. The aluminum cups and fancier case are more about feel and aesthetics than function. Spatial head‑tracking is fun for movies but far from essential in games, especially when implementations vary wildly between platforms.

Headphone (a) vs Headphone (1): which makes more sense for gamers?

Nothing basically asks you to choose between two philosophies:

• Headphone (1): slightly more premium feel, KEF‑tuned and more balanced sound, wear detection, full Spatial Audio with head‑tracking, hard case.
• Headphone (a): roughly half the price, more bass‑tilted but fully EQ‑able sound, very similar ANC, brighter color options, absolutely ridiculous battery life.

If you’re the kind of listener who wants the most refined, neutral sound and that full set of “flagship” features, the Headphone (1) is still the better pick. But if you’re reading this on a gaming site, chances are your priorities skew a bit differently: comfort, fun sound, low‑latency mode, and not having to charge every other day.

From that angle, the Headphone (a) ends up being the smarter buy. The sonic differences can be mostly ironed out with EQ, the ANC is close enough for daily use, and the compromises don’t really hurt the gaming experience. Meanwhile, the savings could easily go toward a decent USB mic or a game or two.