Nothing charges $100 more for a three-driver Headphone (1) Pro aimed at studios

The buyer Nothing is courting with the Headphone (1) Pro works on a track during the ride in, then reaches up and presses a physical button on the ear cup to switch into flat EQ ^[6]. Mix engineers and producers prefer a flat response when they work, and Nothing built the mode with Metropolis Studio, a professional recording studio ^[6].

Charlie Smith, Nothing's chief brand officer, told Wired that people will want the headphones for their commute to work ^[9]. "That's fine, but people are making music on the go and need studio-level sound wherever they are," he said ^[10].

By Smith's own account, the buyer he expects wears the headphones to work. For that buyer, the feature in daily use is noise canceling ^[12].

The hardware change is real. Wired calls audio quality the key change from Nothing's first over-ear model, which debuted last summer ^[20]. The Pro splits the job a single driver usually does ^[3] across three: a 40-mm dynamic driver for bass, a precision dynamic driver for vocals, pianos and guitars, and a treble driver built on xMEMS technology ^[1]. The xMEMS driver uses a silicon diaphragm meant to make sharp transients, such as a cymbal hit, sound clearer ^[4]. How much clearer is Nothing's claim for now. Wired pointed out that every headphone maker claims the best sound on the market ^[5].

The design now puts that hardware on show. Two 9H Panda glass panels on the sides expose parts of the triple-driver architecture, in a body that is mostly aluminum with titanium accents ^[13]. Philipp Von Lintel, an associate principal industrial designer at Nothing, told Wired the glass had to survive durability tests 18 times from a drop of more than 1 meter ^[14]. Repair technicians can heat the glass to remove it and reach the internal chamber ^[14]. "Even if you crack it, there's a plastic film that keeps the chamber still working," he said ^[15]. Smith put the purpose in brand terms. "To us, this is a flagship product where we're able to showcase what we can do," he said ^[11].

The extra $100 over the $299 Headphone (1) pays for the three-driver design and the studio pitch ^[1][8]. It also costs charge time. Rated battery life with noise canceling off falls to 68 hours from 80 ^[17], a loss of 12 hours, or 15% ^[2]. The Pro is 2 grams lighter than the standard model, with a wider headband and thicker padding ^[16].

Whoever signs off on a pair can sort the decision on two axes. One is whether the listener will use the flat-EQ button in an ordinary week. The other is whether they spend long stretches away from a charger.

- Flat EQ used weekly, charger nearby: the Pro was built for this person. - Flat EQ used weekly, often away from power: still the Pro, planned around 68 hours, a figure quoted with noise canceling off ^[17]. - Flat EQ never used, often away from power: the $299 Headphone (1), with its 80 hours ^[1][17]. - Flat EQ never used, charger nearby: the three drivers are the whole case for the Pro, and so far that case rests on Nothing's description of them ^[5].