I’m convinced — Nothing’s CMF Buds Pro 2 are the only budget earbuds worth buying

Nothing’s phones deservedly get plenty of praise, but I’m more interested in what the brand is doing with its earbuds. The ear (1) and Ear (2) set a high bar, and the CMF sub-brand is continuing that momentum. I used the CMF Buds last year and came away thinking they’re the best entry-level earbuds around, and with the Buds Pro 2, Nothing is taking things to a whole new level.

Just like the CMF Buds, the Buds Pro 2 have a bold design that immediately allows the earbuds to stand out. With most brands still offering the usual black or white variants, Nothing’s bright orange and blue hues are designed to grab attention.

The rest of the design is thought out well; the case is easily pocketable, and it holds the buds securely. I like the dial on the case, and what’s particularly cool is that it acts as a control surface. The dial can be used to control music playback and adjust volume, and that’s just plain cool — I don’t know why other brands don’t do this.

I also like the design of the earbuds; there’s a glossy coat on the shell, but the stalk has a matte texture, and that makes it easier to use gesture controls, and minimizes smudges. The lightweight design ensures the buds are comfortable even with extended listening sessions.

There’s good connectivity as well, and like the rest of Nothing’s earbuds, the Buds Pro 2 are configurable via Nothing X. You can customize the sound, adjust gesture controls, and toggle spatial audio — I didn’t see any issues connecting to the Pixel 9 Pro XL, Find X8 Pro, or the Vivo X200 Pro.

But it’s the sound that truly differentiates the Buds Pro 2 from other products in this category. You get a 11mm driver in addition to a 6mm tweeter, and Nothing did a fantastic job tuning the buds.

In short, these are the best-sounding budget earbuds I’ve ever used, and the sound quality is equivalent to products that cost thrice as much. Creative’s Zen Air are the only other earbuds I used recently that measure up to the Buds Pro 2, and while they nail the technicalities, Nothing’s earbuds have a more dynamic and engaging sound.

There’s an Ultra Bass mode if you need a little bit extra in the low-end, and it does a great job adding energy to the mix. While there’s no 10-band EQ, you can tweak the bass, mid, and treble in the Custom sound mode, and that’s more than what you get with most earbuds. I’m partial to the Dirac mode; this automatically optimizes the sound, and it lends itself well to diverse genres.

There’s good noise isolation as well, and while it isn’t as effective as costlier earbuds, it manages to tune out low-frequency ambient sound, and that should be adequate to most users eyeing these buds. You get other extras as well, including Google Fast Pair, IP55 ingress protection, ability to connect to two devices at once, in-ear detection, and a low-latency mode.

Another interesting inclusion is spatial sound; the Buds Pro 2 project a wide sound, and it makes a difference. While it’s an admirable effort, if you want the best virtual surround sound, you’ll need to get Creative’s Zen Air — they’re better than anything else in the category.