Nothing Headphone (1): Two-minute review

The Nothing Headphone (1) are the first-ever over-ear headphones from the still-fairly-new tech company, joining its smartphones and a range of earbuds – including one model we rated as a five-star smash hit: the Nothing Ear (a).

While Nothing's earbuds are all mid-range or cheaper, however, the Nothing Headphone (1) are in competition with the best noise-cancelling headphones at a premium level, due to their $299 / £299 price (about AU$630). That's what you pay for a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 today – so do they stand up to one of the biggest names in wireless headphones?

Well, the Nothing Headphone (1) are a product of two halves. When it comes to the technical side of things, they absolutely won me over. They're crammed with features, ranging from tweakable active noise cancellation, to useful audio customization, to USB-C lossless sound support, to spatial audio.

With the exception of the limp spatial audio, these all work excellently, and when you pair them with fantastic on-ear controls – including a 'Roller' button that changes the volume (plus other functions) and is maybe my favorite button on a pair of headphones ever – and superb build quality, they feel well worth their price.

Sadly, the sound quality isn't at the same level. The audio is tuned by the great hi-fi brand KEF, and is reasonably refined, well-balanced, and broadly enjoyable. But it also feels compressed, and lacks the openness and expansive sound I'm used to from testing the competition at this price.

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I tested them directly against the Sony WH-1000XM5, and far preferred the extra breadth and detail the Sony cans offer. I also compared them to the Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones, which can be bought for about half the price, and preferred the sound of those too.

That's the key divide in the Nothing Headphone (1): premium price, premium features, but mid-range sound. But is why you buy headphones, and it needs to match the rest.

There is another divide of sorts: the aesthetics, which some people like a lot, and some people detest. You'll have to make your own mind up. The headphones are comfortable and extremely well-made, though, there's no question about that.

If (well, when) they get a price drop, these could be great headphones. As it stands, I'd suggest you go for the Sony WH-1000XM5 at this price, or another option among our round-up of the best headphones.

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Price and release date

• $299 / £299 / AU$TBC
• Released on July 15, 2025

Nothing's previous earbuds releases have all played in the budget-to-mid-range pool, but the Nothing Headphone (1) are going in at the premium deep end.

Their price of $299 / £299 matches the current street price of the Sony WH-1000MX5, and in the US is about the same price as the Bose QuietComfort Headphones. In the UK, you can get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones for only a little more at the time of writing, and they often drop to a similarly competitive price in the US too.

That's pretty hardcore company, but the Nothing Headphone (1) are still significantly less expensive than the newest Sony WH-1000XM6, which come in at $449 / £399; and when it comes to features, the Nothing are closest to the XM6 and the Bose Ultra.

I'd also expect them to be available for less than their full price before too long. This is fairly standard with Nothing's earbuds, and the Nothing Ear (a) are now available at an effectively standard price that's far less than their launch price, which puts them top of our list of the best budget earbuds. Perhaps the Headphone (1) will drop before long; for now, though, I'm reviewing them based on their full price.

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Specs

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Features

• Multiple noise-cancellation modes and spatial audio options
• Lots of other customization options in the excellent app
• You might need to turn on some basic-seeming features

The Nothing Headphone (1) certainly justify their price when it comes to the list of features. You've got adaptive active noise cancellation with Transparency mode, head-tracked spatial audio, equalizer customization options, LDAC higher-res wireless audio, USB-C lossless Hi-Res Audio connectivity, a 3.5mm jack, multi-point Bluetooth to two devices, wear detection, Google Fast Pair, a customizable control button, and up to 35 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation turned on.

If you use them with the new Nothing Phone (3) you also get extra options, such as the option to use the customizable button to switch between your favorite audio apps, or active AI-based voice-note taking, in which your notes are automatically sorted into a relevant collection of notes on your phone.

Let's start with the noise cancellation, since it's the feature most people will use pretty much every time they turn on the headphones. You have three strength settings, plus 'Adaptive' – I was happiest sticking with 'High', but you might choose 'Low' for an office setting, say.

On High, the Nothing Headphone (1)'s noise-blocking power was essentially on a par with Sony WH-1000XM5 in my direct comparison. The noise cancellation does a great job of reducing sounds across the whole frequency range, and does it without interfering with the audio quality. I'd maybe give the Sony cans a 10% higher rating on higher-frequency noise reduction when listening to a podcast, but when listening to music, any difference between these two headphones was academic.

The noise cancellation isn't quite as good as you'll get on the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones or Sony WH-1000XM6, but those cost more, so that's fair enough.

The Transparency mode works perfectly well, though it really emphasizes higher-frequency noises, such as crinkling a wrapper. This isn't uncommon, but the Sony XM5 cans maintained a more natural transparency sound when I compared them.

I also noted that when using Transparency mode and talking to someone, my own voice felt really boomy in my ears, far more so than with most of the premium headphones I've used for a while now, which is a bit distracting.

You can switch noise cancellation levels in the app, and you can switch between ANC or Transparency mode using the Roller button on the headphones. The sound that the headphones make to indicate when you've switched modes are my favorite I've ever heard on a pair of headphones – a small thing, but I genuinely loved it.

You hear the sound of a big intake of breath when you switch to Transparency mode, like a sound spirit has been freed from the captivity of ANC. Then, when you turn ANC back on, there's a sucking and shutting sound, denoting the noise being trapped – like the lid slamming back down on the Ark of the Covenant. There's zero confusion as to which mode you've switched to, unlike with some headphones.

When you've finished choosing your noise cancellation mode in the app you can also customize the sound, using two different EQ options and a separate Bass Enhancer tool. I'll get into the latter in the Sound Quality section next, but the EQ options initially give you the option of some named presets (such as 'Vocal'), or you can go into a truly custom mode with an eight-band EQ.

By default, the only way to activate the spatial audio mode, or the separate head-tracked spatial audio mode, is from the app. However, one of the other options you can customize in the app is a physical button near the top of the headphones, which you can use to trigger basically anything from within the app (plus the Nothing Phone (3)-specific options, such as the AI Assistant or switching audio apps). I decided to set this to switch spatial audio modes for my review period, which worked nicely.

I'll talk about the quality of spatial audio in the next section, but the short version is that I don't think it adds anything here, and actively harms the quality of watching videos or movies, sadly.

One slightly odd thing about these headphones is that the wear-detection (to auto-pause what's playing when you take them off) and multi-point Bluetooth (to connect to two devices at once) are both turned off by default, and these settings are hidden in the Device Settings screen rather than being somewhere obvious.

I kind of get it with multi-point Bluetooth – it's not uncommon for this to be turned off by default, and it could be confusing for people not used to the idea. But auto-pause should definitely be turned on by default! The good news is that both work perfectly.

When it comes to battery life we're promised 35 hours with active noise cancellation turned on, and 80 hours with it turned off. I didn't have time to test the latter claim during my review period, but I got just over 38 hours of real-world use from the cans with ANC on, and that was with spatial audio turned on at times as well, which uses even more power.

That puts the Nothing Headphone (1) comfortably above the 30-hour Sony WH-1000XM5 for battery life, but they can't compete with the mighty 60-hour stamina of the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, or the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless.

When it comes to microphone quality, these headphones are a little tinny and robotic, as many over-ear headphones are, but largely clear. Not bad, not impressive. I again broke out the Sony XM5 for comparison, and the two performed incredibly similarly – however, once again I heard my own voice booming far more in the Nothing in the Sony, which is a little unpleasant.

Features score: 4.5 / 5

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Sound quality

• Well balanced with energetic low-end, especially with Bass Enhancer
• Limited dynamism and expansiveness
• Movie audio quality is weak, and spatial audio doesn't add anything

A quirk of timing meant that I received my Nothing Headphone (1) and starting testing them out before I knew their price. This meant that during my initial testing I had no preconceptions of how they should sound relative to their price; I just listened in isolation.

My instant reaction was "Oh, these must be much more mid-range than I expected from the design." I grabbed the Sennheiser Accentum Plus to do some comparison testing, since those are a top mid-range pick for us. And then I received the pricing information, and realized that these are not mid-range at all – but disappointingly the sound is.

The audio quality of the Nothing Headphone (1) is good, to be clear. But for their price, 'good' isn't good enough.

They're well-balanced across the frequencies, so the different elements of songs feel well represented, and no part seems to particularly overwhelm the others – as you'd hope, given the promise that the sound has been tuned by KEF.

The bass is muscular and impactful, but it still leaves space for the mid-range to feel solid. The treble is prominent without sticking out awkwardly, and delivers a reasonable amount of detail.

The problem is that it all feels bizarrely small and compressed. There's a surprising lack of expansiveness, and while the treble, mid and bass are all very well balanced they also feel shackled to each other, stuck dancing in a small group when then should be moving and spreading around the dance floor.

The sound never feels bigger than the earcups, and for this price, it should. I did direct listening comparisons, using the same music source, with the Sony WH-1000XM5, and you can feel that the music has more room to breathe in the latter.

Instruments separate better, voices sound more natural, the bass is more nimble and nuanced, the transient details are more defined in a way that gives the sound more solidity and realism, and there's a more expansive feeling to the mix.

The Nothing cans feel like they're lacking the fifth gear that other premium headphones have – when a song is supposed to open up into a climax of energy, the Nothing don't have any more headroom to offer.

If the Sony XM5's sound feels like it's coming from a pair of bookshelf speakers, the Nothing Headphone (1)'s sound feels like it's coming from a really good Bluetooth speaker; enjoyable enough given the limitations of the source, but simply lacking the scale and clarity you'd want.

I said that I was initially inclined to compare them to the Sennheiser Accentum Plus, and I'd put these two headphones roughly on a par. I prefer the Sennheiser's more open sound and extra touch of dynamism with small details, but the Nothing's energy and full bass will have their fans.

That's especially true if you activate the Bass Enhancer feature. I really like this! It adds more resonance and viciousness to low frequencies, in a good way. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it reaches deeper while maintaining total control over the sound. I would use this day-to-day with the headphones personally, for sure.

Bass Enhancer also gives you some fun extra flexibility choices when using the equalizer – for example, the Vocal preset on its own wasn't to my taste, but the Vocal preset with Bass Enhancer on was actually a tempting new option to listen with for a while.

The Sony XM5 are boomier in the bass than the Nothing, and with Bass Enhancer on I would say Nothing have the edge for low-end control and thrill, but it doesn't change the fact that I prefer the overall audio advantages of the Sony.

The spatial audio options ranged from middling to disappointing, in my opinion. They don't make music sound worse, but they don't really add to it. I felt no sense of anything new in the tracks with the basic non-head-tracking spatial mode enabled, I think mainly because it can't overcome the headphones' aforementioned overall problem of feeling like the sound is stuck right in the drivers next to your ears.

Switching to head tracking threw up an odd wrinkle, in that it always started with the 'centering' of the track being directly to my right, for whatever reason. If I kept my head looking forward it corrected itself after a few seconds.

The head tracking is good, but the lack of meaningful spatial upscaling means you don’t feel like you’re immersed in a performance in the way you can with Dolby Atmos head-tracking on the AirPods Max. It feels like sitting in front of a set of speakers; but, you know, not a very expansive set of speakers, because the headphones can't do that.

I'll also note here that spatial audio is no good with podcasts, since it throws a load of reverb into the mix, which just muddies things.

I tried movies as well as music, and the headphones' dynamic limitations really show themselves here. Epic movies feel smaller than they should, with dialogue trapped within the overall crush of the mix.

And spatial audio is even weaker here than it is with music – there was actually less directionality from the source soundtrack than when just listening in normal mode, I found. To go back to the Sony XM5, they delivered way more exciting movie audio, at a bigger scale, with harder impacts, and offering far clearer speech at the same time.

This has been quite a negative sound quality write-up, but I want to emphasize what I said at the top – they sound good. There's detail and good balance across the range, but you can get arguably better sound for half the price from Sennheiser, and definitely, in my opinion, better sound for the same price from Sony.

Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Design

• Weighty, but comfortable to wear
• Headband adjusts further up than most headphones
• On-ear controls are excellent

Before we get into the practical side of the Nothing Headphone (1)'s design, we need to talk about the aesthetic side.

This is one of the most divisive pairs of headphones we've had in TR Towers for a while, and conform strongly to Nothing's penchant for clear cases and the feeling that the tech inside is showing – but mixed with Apple-esque clean, milled aluminum.

The gamut of responses in the office has run from "I love the look of them" to "I really like what they're doing, but I don't think I'd wear them" to "I think they're straight retro cool" to "If they were round I think I'd like them more" to "These are the ugliest headphones I've ever seen".

I'm not going to dwell on the aesthetics here because it's so personal – I think they're charming, but they're not really my style.

They feel high-quality, though – there's basically no give in the construction where there shouldn't be, and the finish on the aluminum and plastic elements is really premium.

The earpads and headband cushion are leather, with no vegan option, so take note if you'd rather avoid that. The black leather really picks up skin oil, whether that's from your fingers while holding them or your head while wearing them. It wipes off instantly, but just know that it'll really show.

In terms of fit and comfort, the wireless headphones they most remind me of are AirPods Max. At 329g, they weigh a little less than 384g AirPods Max – but notably more than the 250g of the Sony WH-1000XM6 – and like the Max they use a fairly strong clamping force to stay on.

This fit will also be a little divisive – some people really prefer just a lighter-weight headphone that doesn't need to grip so much – but I found them more comfortable than the AirPods Max, and fine to wear for a good stretch of time. The well-padded earcups help with this, holding firmly but softly, and they didn't struggle to fit around my glasses. Still, I was certainly aware of the weight more than when wearing my trusty Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.

I could see this kind of firm, clamping fit being popular with gym-goers, as is the case with the AirPods Max – and also just as with the AirPods Max I'm not sure it's a great idea, for sweat-related reasons.

Having an IP52 rating for dust and water is better than having no rating at all, but it means they're rated only for very limited water ingress protection; I'd suggest that IPX4 is what you want to protect against sweat properly. But it's better than nothing, which is what most rivals offer.

There is one physical design I element I really dislike here, though, and it's the positioning of the adjustable portion of the headband near the top of the head, rather than down by the earcups. My usual method of adjusting headphones for a tighter fit is to to grip the earcups with my palm, hold the armband with my fingers and pull them a little higher when needed.

Here, you have to reach for the top of the headband, which feels much less precise, and my brain had a lot of trouble adjusting. I'm counting this as an "If it wasn't broken, why fix it?" design change.

On the other hand, I absolutely love the physical controls on the Headphone (1). On the back of the right-hand earcup is a 'Roller' control, which you can rotate to change volume, press once to play/pause, and press and hold to change between noise cancellation and Transparency mode.

It moves really smoothly, the finger grips it just the right amount, and I never accidentally rolled it when I meant to press it, or vice versa. It's a wonderful bit of design, and might be my favorite piece of physical control design on any headphones ever. I should note that my colleague Becky Scarrot found that the Roller made a noise that irritated her when she used it – I didn't have any issue, though.

Below this is a rocker control, which you can push forward or back quickly to skip tracks, or hold in either direction to fast-forward and rewind – perhaps not a necessary control for many people, but as a podcast fan who's used to skipping through ads or being able to go back if I became distracted, I liked having the option.

Another button near the top on the outside of the rear earcup is totally customizable – used with a Nothing Phone handset, it can be used to change which music service you're listening to; on other phones it'll activate a voice assistant as one option. I ended up setting it to change spatial audio modes.

On the bottom of the right earcup are a physical on/off switch, the USB-C port, and the 3.5mm jack.

Design-wise, then, the Nothing Headphone (1) are an odd mix of things I love, things I dislike, and things that really got the TR office talking. The controls and build quality lead me to conclude that they're well-designed on balance, but how you feel about the look will probably be the deciding factor, and I can't make that call for you.

Design score: 4 / 5

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Value

• Excellent, well-implemented set of features
• High price sits well with feature list and build quality
• The sound drags the value way down, though

As I've said elsewhere in this review, the Nothing Headphone (1) not only justify their premium price when it comes to their features, they actually manage to feel like something of a bargain. Only the lack of Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast prevents them from feeling truly future-proof, and those aren't widely used yet, so I can't really knock the value score on account of their absence.

They feel expensive too – whatever you think of the look, the quality under your fingers (and on your head) is clear, and elements as simple as the excellent roller control give you a little shot of satisfaction every time you use it, and reassure you that these are a well-made piece of tech, and that your money was well spent.

Alas, the sound is an anchor dragging all of that down. I think they sound arguably on par with, or perhaps slightly weaker than, the Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones, which can be regularly found for a street price that's less than half of what Nothing is asking for the Nothing Headphone (1).

Balance it all out and they just about convince me that they're not actively bad value, but they're not good value either.

Value score: 3 / 5

Should I buy the Nothing Headphone (1)?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Nothing Headphone (1) review: Also consider

How I tested the Nothing Headphone (1)

• Tested for two weeks using pre-release Nothing app
• Tested at home, in the office, and while travelling
• I've been reviewing audio tech for 14 years

I had two weeks to test the Nothing Headphone (1) before their official launch as part of my regular routine, using a pre-release version of the official Nothing app to control their features.

I primarily used them with my iPhone 16 Pro over Bluetooth, and also connected them to my iPad Pro to test the multi-point Bluetooth. I also listening to USB-C lossless audio from these devices, and from my MacBook Air. I used a Fiio M23 music player for LDAC playback.

I tested the active noise cancellation on public transport, walking around city streets, in the TechRadar office, and at home. I listened to the TechRadar audio testing playlist, as well as many hours of whatever music I was in the mood for.

I compared them directly to the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sennheiser Accentum Wireless headphones in listening tests.

To test the actual battery life I charged the headphones up to maximum, and then left them playing at 50% volume, with active noise cancellation turned on, for long periods, until I ran them down.

I've been testing audio products, including headphones, for around 14 years, ranging from early consumer Bluetooth options through to today's best wireless headphones of all kinds.

• First reviewed: July 2025
• Read TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee

OneOdio Studio Max 1: Two-minute review

According to friends of mine who've tried it, and a quick Google check to see if they know what they’re talking about, the best headphones for DJs (and other kinds of live music performers, by all accounts) are wired ones. Why? Latency – going wireless incurs a lag, and that's just not OK when you're building a set or trying to keep to a beat. But all of this is something OneOdio seems set on challenging with its new Studio Max 1 DJ headphones.

These new wireless cans aren’t aiming for our list of the best wireless headphones, but instead aim to provide musicians with a tempting wireless rival to the current wired hegemony – with the option to go back to wired if you'd like to. So, a sort of best wired headphones hybrid proposition, if you will.

In many ways they work, with a range of useful features and some handy in-box extras that you don’t see in many rivals. However, TechRadar is first and foremost a consumer website and for everyday non-DJ cans – or even people who want an audio solution for work and for play – and the Studio Max 1 don’t cut the mustard I'm afraid.

The primary issue is that the headphones just don’t sound good. Audio is oddly crunchy and with overblown bass that drowns out most everything else, and treble is so weak that even spoken-word audio doesn’t sound great.

The Studio Max 1 are also a little tiresome to set up, with a Bluetooth pairing process that’s a bit confusing and a design that needs some untangling when you use them, despite the lack of cables.

But there’s a lot to like here. OneOdio isn’t just giving you a pair of headphones in the box but several different cables (the cans have multiple ports) as well as a wireless transmitter to give you much further range for Bluetooth. For many users, the inclusion of this transmitter is all that it’ll take to make the Studio Max a must-buy; cutting the cable gives DJs a lot more freedom anyway, and the transmitter gives you even longer range.

A further potential downside of wireless over wired DJ headphones is that they need recharging, unlike wired ones. However OneOdio has given the Studio Max 1 such a big battery life that it lasts a whopping 120 hours between charges, a figure so high that it dwarfs even its longest-lasting rivals. Honestly, if battery life is important to you and you’re not a DJ, it still might make these cans a great buy.

These fantastic features aren’t quite enough to offset the poor audio quality in terms of my star rating for this review, but they'll definitely give some buyers a reason to ignore my rating and pick up the OneOdio Studio Max 1 anyway.

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Price and release date

• Released in February 2025
• Sell for $169.99 / £135 / AU$275

The OneOdio Studio Max 1 were announced in December 2024, and were released a few months later in February 2025.

You can pick up the headphones for $169.99 / £135 / AU$275, which is a little north of some of our favorite Bluetooth headphones but a reasonable price when you consider what comes in the box: there’s a carry bag, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, 3.5mm-3.5mm audio cable, 3.5mm-6.35mm audio cable, 6.35mm audio adaptor and special Bluetooth transmitter. Yes, it's all included in that upfront cost.

The world of wireless DJ headphones features few competitors so far, and OneOdio’s offering is relatively affordable compared to, say, the AIAIAI TMA-2 which costs $300 / £250 (roughly AU$500). Of course, DJs or musicians can also find many worthy offerings by heading over to our list of the best headphones, but they won’t all have the full range of jacks and features.

Here's the thing: for accessories and functionality, there's value here. The problem is, headphones need to sound good first and foremost – ideally to anyone who listens, whether pro mixer or dedicated music lover. And as we'll see, that's the main issue with the OneOdio Studio Max: I don't think they'll appeal to either listener.

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Specs

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Features

• Impressive 120-hour battery life
• Myriad connectivity options
• No ANC or app (but that's not really the point)

Let’s start with the OneOdio Studio Max 1’s best feature: its battery life. Stamina here stretches to a whopping 5 days of listening time. That’s right, days and not hours – OneOdio puts the figure at 120 hours.

That’s by far one of the longest battery lives you’ll find on wireless headphones, making this a fantastic pick for all kinds of users who may be unavailable to charge (or to remember to charge) their headphones regularly.

Certainly helping that battery life, but not helping all listeners, is the lack of any kind of noise cancellation in the Studio Max 1 (beyond the natural damping and passive isolating effect of the ear pads).

Given that you may want to use the DJ headphones in, say, busy music-filled halls where you’d want to cut away audience and reverb and projected music to hear just your turntables, it feels an odd choice in 2025 – although it's true that traditional DJ cans don't come bearing ANC. The thing is, it also makes these headphones a little less appealing for everyday listeners, although again, hybrid users will likely look to all the other things they can do that others can't.

So back to the Studio Max’s unique features, then: in the box OneOdio has included something called the Transmitter M1. You plug this into your musical instrument or DJ deck to greatly extend the Bluetooth connection range, and I can see this being useful in many a professional or casual situation. It also lets you plug into devices that don’t have on-board Bluetooth like guitar pedals, certain DJ decks and, very usefully for me, custom-build PCs which don’t have Bluetooth adaptors.

Also helping connectivity is a feature which OneOdio calls Rapid WiLL+, and it’s basically an improved latency for everyday Bluetooth connection. That’s not its only connection option though as the headphones, as mentioned, have a 3.5mm and 6.25mm jack as well as in-box cables to use them. There are a plethora of connection options available, making these really adaptable headphones.

Bluetooth users beware though: I found the Studio Max hair-pullingly annoying to set up via the standard in the first instance, due to (as I found out later) the headphones defaulting to pairing in a different mode. I never normally say this, but you’ll need to keep two eyes on the in-box instruction manual to make sure you set this up properly.

If you’re using your Studio Max 1 alongside a smartphone or tablet, you might miss the lack of a companion app and any of the features it might bring (an equalizer, touch control customization, visual indicator of battery life, etc). Almost all the features of these headphones boast are musician-friendly ones, and although notable and niche, the Studio Max 1 do therefore lack certain perks mere mortals may have become used to – and I do mean those you'd find in an app.

• Features score: 4/5

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Design

• Bulky body
• Many ports
• Many more buttons

The Studio Max 1 are rather large 'I'm the DJ' headphones – as far as I can recall, they’re the first headphones I’ve ever tested which I could see in my peripheral when worn normally. So don’t expect svelte little things, these are industrial-strength and industrial-sized.

The Studio Max 1 are big over-ear headphones with a padded headband and thick padded cups that tip the scales at 350g. Something I grew to really appreciate about them is how moveable they are, making them easy to fold for a bag, fit on different heads or listen with just one ear pressed against the corresponding driver: each cup rotates across 90-degrees inward to fold as well as 180 degrees on the x-axis and almost a full 360 degrees of tilt.

This did get a little confusing sometimes when I wanted to quickly listen to music, yet had to spend ages fiddling about and rotating cups, but I’m still in support of it.

The OneOdio take quite a lot of getting used to, and that’s because of how many different ports and buttons the headphones have. On the left cup you’ve got the USB-C charging port and the 6.25mm jack – so far, so simple. However, on the right side we’ve got the 3.5mm jack as well as a volume up button, a power button, a volume down button and another icon which simply says ‘B’ that I constantly forgot the function for (it’s for changing pairing modes).

When listening to music, I’d find it impossibly hard to feel out which of these little plastic stumps was for volume, and I quickly decided to stick to my input device’s volume buttons instead.

I couldn’t find an IP rating for the Studio Max 1 – they’re not exactly streamlined enough for swimming, but it’s something to bear in mind if you’re DJing at, say, a pool party or foam party (in case you take a time machine back to the 90s).

• Design score: 3/5

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Sound quality

• Tinny-sounding audio
• Overwhelming bass
• One issue better, one worse with wired audio

Given the range of features and the target audience of live musicians on a budget, you can begin to understand that perhaps connectivity was key and music quality wasn’t the most important aspect when delivering the OneOdio Studio Max 1 to meet a brief. I need to say that to get you in a forgiving mood, because these headphones don’t sound great.

The one thing going for the Studio Max 1 is a meaty amount of bass, so if that’s all you care about, then you might find the headphones acceptable. But it’s an indistinct and crunchy one-note kind of bass, so while you can feel your head shake, it’s hard to make out the actual strumming of a bass guitar or timbre of lower-register instruments.

I also struggled to enjoy vocals and other treble lines when they were barely audible behind the bass, a problem that also affects mid-register instruments and… well, anything that isn’t bass, really. Boy, did I wish that OneOdio had given these things some kind of equalizer I could use to reduce bass!

Another issue with the sound quality was simply that music sounds a little tinny, most notably in the usual suspects like drum hi-hats and rhythmic guitar riffs but apparent, per song, in everything from vocals to classical instruments. I say “a little” to indicate that it’s not as bad as in, say, cheapie $30 headphones, but it’s more than I’ve come to expect at this price.

It's worth noting that I did most of my testing in Bluetooth mode. When I connected the headphones via wires, the bass problem was noticeably diminished. However, the audio was inexplicably even crunchier across the frequencies, which put me off using cables.

• Sound quality: 2.5/5

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: value

On their own, the OneOdio Studio Max 1 don’t quite justify their price, with the iffy audio quality making other headphones much more tempting.

However, OneOdio tilts the balance in its favor with all the in-box extras: the multiple cables, transmitter and carry bag and just their imposing size and meatiness all help the headphones to justify their cost.

• Value: 3.5/5

Should I buy the OneOdio Studio Max 1?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

OneOdio Studio Max 1 review: Also consider

How I tested the OneOdio Studio Max 1

• Tested for two weeks
• Tested with smartphone, computer and keyboard

I tested the OneOdio Studio Max 1 for two weeks before writing this review. For the most part I used them alongside my Android smartphone via Bluetooth but I also used them alongside my PC and plugged into a digital keyboard at several times too.

I listened to music and audiobooks with the headphones, both at home and about, and also watched a movie and several hours of TV with them at home. The keyboard I used them with was a cheapie one, and this part of the testing was largely to appreciate the versatility that the in-box wires provides.

I've been testing gadgets at TechRadar for six years, so have a wealth of knowledge to draw on for this review. I've been playing the keyboard for about 20, but that didn't help out here too much.

• First reviewed in April 2025

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

OneOdio Focus A5: One-minute review

If you're considering picking up the OneOdio Focus A5, it's probably for its fantastic battery life – it'll last for 75 hours of music if you let it, which is an excellent figure. That's over three days straight, and well over double the figure of most rivals.

The world of the best cheap headphones is a competitive one, but this will have certain users' eyes perking up. If you go on long-haul flights across the world, embark on journeys in the wilderness for days at a time, or religiously forget to charge your gadgets, that figure could prove game-changing.

And you're getting the Focus A5 for cheap at $69.99 / £59.99 (roughly AU$100)! Sounds like a must-buy, right?

Well, that'll depend on what you actually want to listen to for 75 hours, and if you're an audiophile – or anyone who values well-balanced audio – then the Focus A5 might not actually be what you're looking for.

The audio balance on these cans is more wonky than a famous Italian tower, offering an overwhelming amount of bass that drowns out important parts of a song. It's not even well-tuned bass, so people who just want 75 hours of ear-shaking tunes won't like it either.

Then there's the feature set – or lack thereof. The OneOdio's Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is so light-touch that you can forget that it's turned on (and I'd recommend ignoring it, since turning on ANC cuts 30 hours off the battery life). There's no app either, and therefore no equalizer, so you can't try and fix the muddy sound quality.

You can't expect fantastic-sounding audio, an advanced feature set and a low price in the same set of headphones (even though some options do come close), but most of OneOdio's rivals tick at least two of those boxes. With the Focus A5 only hitting the last point, it's hard to recommend them beyond their long-lasting battery. The Earfun Wave Pro cost essentially the same price and have an even longer battery life, and work better in every way – those are ideal affordable option among the best noise cancelling headphones.

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Price and release date

• Sells for $69.99 / £59.99 (roughly AU$100)
• Cheaper alternative to Focus A10

You can pick up the OneOdio Focus A5 for $69.99 / £59.99 (roughly AU$100, but unlike other OneOdio headphones, I can’t find it on sale in Australia at the time of writing).

That price makes the Focus A5 one of the more affordable headphones you might be considering if you’re looking to save money, but the cheap headphone market is a very competitive one.

Our best-in class option costs only a little more: the Earfun Wave Pro sells for $79.99 / £79.99 (roughly AU$120) and we also highly rate the $60 / £60 / AU$99 Sony WH-CH520.

OneOdio itself has plenty of other options, if you’re keen to stick with the brand: there’s also a slightly-more-expensive A10 as well as several other families of studio, monitor and hybrid headphones.

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Specs

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Features

• No phone app
• Light-touch ANC
• 75 hours of battery life

The OneOdio Focus A5 doesn’t have a smartphone app to use, which makes writing this section easier, but using the headphones (or balancing its audio) a little bit harder. That means there's no equalizer, a big loss (as we'll get to).

You'll use the ‘ANC’ button on the right earcup to toggle between the three Active Noise Cancellation modes: on, off and ambient sound. The ANC on the A5 is very light touch, and I often didn’t know whether I had it turned on or not – it felt like the natural cushioning of the pads removed as much sound as the ANC.

From a poor feature, to a really handy one – the OneOdio Focus A5 has a battery life of 75 hours. You read that right – you could listen for over three days straight if you wanted to. That figure is for ANC turned off, and it reduces to about 45 hours with ANC turned on – given what I’ve said about how effective the noise cancellation is, you may want to opt for the longer lasting power.

The ability to listen to music for several days straight without having to juice it back up it is a win for the A5, as it means that people who are going on long trips or can’t reliably get to a power source could still enjoy using it.

• Features score: 3/5

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Sound quality

• Too much bass
• Too little anything else
• High max volume

When I first started listening to the OneOdio Focus A5, I said to myself “wow, bass fans are going to love these headphones” but as the testing process went on, I had to amend that thought: “or they might hate them”.

Bass is certainly the emphasis of the Focus A5’s audio balance. The mix isn’t so much ‘warm’ as it is ‘blistering to the touch’, for how loud bass is compared to other parts of the sound profile. My first impression, to assume bass fans would love this, was proven wrong the more I listened.

The bass blows out other aspects of the sound mix. Vocals fade into the background like the roadies forgot to plug the mic in, guitars sometimes get a cut in but more often than not (especially with higher-pitched notes and hooks) fall to the same fate as the singing. Some other mid-frequency aspects of songs, like keyboards and rhythm guitars, have as much chance of being heard as you do of finding your phone if you drop it off a boat.

Fans of bassy headphones may simply accuse me of saying that simply to dig out my dusty creative writing degree, but there are more reasons to malign the bass tilt: even that aspect of the audio has a problem.

The bass is quite muddy, so it’s less ‘thumping’ and more ‘patting gently’ – it lacks energy or urgency, loudly saying nothing at all. According to Amazon, the Focus A5 has a custom-made 40mm dynamic driver (this information was conspicuously absent from OneOdio’s own site), and judging by other reviews of OneOdio products, this sound profile is a recurring feature in its headphones.

I can’t completely rule out the Focus A5’s audio chops – some people may really like this kind of hiccupping bass. I don’t think I’ve ever met these people, and I’ve no evidence to suggest they actually exist, but I can’t rule it out.

OneOdio has added support for LDAC codec and Hi-Res Audio certification to the headphones, but I’m not sure that the cans need more detailed bass – they need less of it.

I want to say a nice thing now: the OneOdio Focus A5 goes really, really loud. I could hear music perfectly well at max volume when the headphones were around my neck – no-one can complain about them being too quiet!

• Sound quality: 2/5

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Design

• Svelte look
• Single color option: black
• Feels a little fragile

OneOdio hasn't re-invented the wheel with the Focus A5 but I liked how svelte they look between the metal pivot, textured cups and gold-silver color scheme.

Don't get me wrong, these are incredibly similar to the vast majority of cheap headphones, but with a few augments here and there. They come in a single color option: black.

The right cup has all of the Focus A5's controls: there's the ANC button which you press to toggle between the three modes, a power button and a volume rocker. Nice and simple. The USB-C port for charging is on this side too.

The headphones weigh 265g which is a little less than some rivals I've tested, however they felt quite fragile. The cups rattle and rotate a little bit when you're not wearing the A5, there's no included carry case and if the cans have an IP rating, I can't find any mention of it in OneOdio's fact sheets. I was quite careful with the headphones during testing as a result, although they were never damaged in a way that would justify my caution; it's likely that they feel flimsy, but are perfectly robust. Still, I'd have liked to have felt more confidence in that.

• Design score: 3.5/5

OneOdio Focus A5 review: value

I'm all for 'cheap and cheery' headphones, and the OneOdio Focus A5 are ostensibly that: you don't have to pay much and you're getting one great feature along with a few less-great aspects.

However its iffy audio and troubled feature-set might lose the A5 some of those 'cheery points' – especially when similar-price rivals simply don't have the same issues.

These aren't inherently bad value at this price, but there's much better value out there.

• Value: 2.5/5

Should I buy the OneOdio Focus A5?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

OneOdio Focus A5 review: Also consider

How I tested the OneOdio Focus A5

• Tested for three weeks
• Tested at home, in the office, on public transport and on walks

I used the OneOdio Focus A5 for three weeks before writing this review, and that involved listening to music, watching streamed TV or playing games basically daily.

For the entire testing period I used the Focus A5 alongside my Android smartphone, via Bluetooth. Streaming was done via Spotify, Netflix and a range of games and I listened mainly at home or on my city's various public transport options, with some listening time also conducted in an office or on walks.

I've been testing gadgets at TechRadar for just shy of six years now, including many pairs of cheap headphones and other OneOdio offerings.

• First reviewed in December 2024

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee