BUD WISER Nothing Ear

These wireless earbuds pack style and function into a neat little package

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If you want a great pair of earbuds on a budget, we've long been a fan of the Nothing Ear (2). They fused top sound quality and a great design, without breaking the bank. Now, we have their successor - the Nothing Ear. Despite the slightly confusing naming convention, these look set to be a top pair of buds.

Fans of the brand will feel right at home with the design of the Nothing Ear. There's almost no deviation from form here, with the signature Nothing design language seen across the board.

In fact, when placed side by side with the Nothing Ear (2), there is almost nothing to separate the two. The new case is very slightly taller, while there is a slightly nicer soft touch plastic inside. The buds themselves are almost identical, too.

Okay, so are these broadly just the same earbuds? Not quite. Notably, there is better water and dust resistance on the new models.

The buds retain the IP54 rating, but the case also features an IP55 rating. That's a significant change, and should make these earbuds much more robust.

Users can also utilise a new Advanced Equaliser, giving them more granular control via an eight-band EQ. That's complete with adjustable frequency range and Q factor, for total control over the audio.

So how does it sound? Things are strong here, with a clear and consistent quality. With such a powerful EQ behind it, shaping the audio to your own preference shouldn't be too troublesome.

There's also a new Bass Enhance feature.

That's a global setting, which actively boosts low end frequencies to increase clarity and it makes a noticeable difference here. It's like a warm blanket, adding low end into the mix. Essentially, it does so without introducing muddiness. That's a really big deal.