CMF Headphone Pro Review: Sound performers with mix-and-match ear cushions

Whether it is phones, wearables, or audio products, Nothing and its sub-brand CMF (now registered as an independent entity in India) have the knack of grabbing attention with innovative design and interface. The CMF Headphone Pro, the first over-ear headphones from CMF, continue this tradition, bringing a very different design and a packed feature set to the mid-segment personal audio table. But does it pack in enough to beat some very serious competition in its segment?

CMF Headphone Pro Design and Appearance: Eye-catching in Light Green, and those ear cushions come off

The CMF Headphone Pro comes in three colors – Dark Gray, Light Gray, and Light Green. We got the Light Green shade, and that is really the one to go for, if you wish to turn heads, as it is a shade that is very rarely seen – a very light green that almost looks blue at times. The ear cushions and padding on the headband are also of the same shade. The ear cushions can be removed by simply twisting them off and can be replaced with others – a great option when they get damaged or when you simply want a different look on the headphones. We received a pair of orange ear cushions with our review unit, but consumers will have to purchase their own separately.

The earcups rotate outwards and inwards, but do not fold inwards, so they do take up a bit of space. There is a very basic carrying bag in the box, and we would recommend using it as the back of the earpads is glossy plastic and will pick up smudges and scratches. The sides of the earcups above the cushions contain buttons to control the headphones. The left earcup has a power on and Bluetooth connectivity button and an energy slider to increase bass or treble, while the right earcup has a roller (which CMF calls the Multi-function roller) that controls volume and also doubles up as a special button (it can be pressed) and lets you handle calls, access ANC and much more, and a small button for accessing a virtual assistant. The left earcup also has a 3.5 mm audio jack, while the right has a USB Type-C port. There is a 1.2-meter 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable in the box, too, but no charging cable.

The CMF Headphone Pro is made mainly of plastic, although there is a metallic band running through the headband. The cushions on the earcups are very generously padded, although the padding on the headband seems a little on the thin side. At around 283 grams, they are a little on the heavy side (the Sony WH-CH720N weigh 192 grams). The back of the earcups feel a little hollow, but the headphones have a generally solid feel to them, and CMF claims that it has been tested strenuously over “66 checkpoints,” which include drops, twists, and environmental resistance. They look good and feel solid, although there is no IP rating, so we could advise against using them in gyms. They are pretty big in size and totally cover the ears – that size also helps them stand out.

CMF Headphone Pro Comfort and Ease of Use: A bit of a mixed bag

The CMF Headphone Pro are comfortable to wear, with plenty of cushioning around the ears. Those with slightly larger heads are, however, likely to feel the headband pressing on the top of their heads (the padding on the headband is a little thin), which can be a little annoying. While the headphones are a bit heavier than others, they can still be worn for 4-5 hours at a stretch without any trouble. Changing the ear cushions is quite easy – rotating them anti-clockwise removes them, while rotating them clockwise fixes them. The cushions themselves, however, are a little bulky as they also have a lot of plastic casing on their back.

Using the headphones comes with a learning curve, though. The power and connect button and the AI buttons are both rather small and difficult to find, and using the multi-function roller can be confusing. Rotating the roller up and down controls the volume, which is fine and intuitive and a feature we love (it is much better than pressing buttons), but then it gets a little confusing. Pressing the roller (which is not very intuitive) allowed us to pause and resume audio, and also answer and end calls. A double press took us to the next track, or rejected an incoming call, while a triple press took us to the previous track. A long press of the ruler lets us switch between ANC and transparency mode. That’s a lot of controls on one roller. The tiny button next to the roller is set to summon the voice assistant at a single press, and while no function has been mapped to a long press, one can set it to control ANC, spatial audio, or even switch the microphones on or off.

The energy slider on the left earcup is similar to those we have seen on bass-heavy headphones from Sony and Skullcandy – one can slide it to increase bass levels. However, in a neat touch, we could also customize the slider to control treble by changing the settings in the companion Nothing X app.

CMF Headphone Pro Specs and Features: Very well stacked

The Headphone Pro has a very impressive spec and feature sheet. They come with 40 mm drivers with nickel-plated diaphragms, and come with support for the high-quality LDAC codec as well as AAC, and also have dual Hi-Res certification. Also on board are three HD microphones and ANC for cutting out external noises and ENC for clearer phone calls. There is support for both Microsoft and Google’s Fast Pair, and also multi-point connectivity across Bluetooth.

There are three levels of ANC, as well as an Adaptive ANC feature that tweaks ANC as per your surroundings. There is also a transparency mode for the moments when one wants to hear ambient sounds. The headphones also come with spatial audio as well as a special low-lag mode for gaming.

As with all CMF and Nothing audio products, the CMF Headphone Pro works in sync with the Nothing X app, which is available for both iOS and Android. It is one of the best-designed audio companion apps we have used, with options clearly outlined. One can tweak controls on the headphones from the app, adjust ANC and spatial audio modes, change the functionality of the slider from bass to treble, and even get a special personal sound profile tailored to suit one’s hearing. One can also choose from five equalizer settings – Pop, Rock, Electronic, Enhance Vocals, and Classical – or set one’s own custom equalizer, although the options are not as detailed as those found for the Nothing Headphone (1).

It is a rather impressive feature set for the price, although we were a little surprised to see ear detection being absent – audio on the headphones will not pause and resume when you take them off and put them on, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker.

CMF Headphone Pro audio quality: Pleasant to hear, with very good bass

In terms of audio quality, the CMF Headphone Pro have a very mainstream signature. They are not overly bassy but are definitely on the warm side, and will be loved by those who like their music with plenty of beat and thump. What’s more, unlike some headphones, the Headphone Pro still retain an impressive amount of detail, with vocals and treble not being dissolved by bass. They do not have the kind of clarity that Nothing’s brilliant Ear series of TWS have, but are very good for watching films, shows, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Turn on the low-latency mode, and they are super for gaming as well. The equalizer settings on the app make a significant change to the audio quality, and we suggest trying them out to find out which works best for you – Classical, with its slightly greater stress on detail, did it for us.

Interestingly, while the default sound of the CMF Headphone Pro is very good, the special features on it do not exactly enhance it . Spatial audio has two modes, Concert and Cinema, and while both did add some spaciousness to the sound (more so in the case of Concert), the difference from the normal mode was not very marked. Similarly, the Energy Slider did not exactly rock our audio world. It did increase bass but not like what we have seen on some other bass boosted headphones (especially the Skullcandy Crusher) – it stops well short of the vibrate and rumble zone – and actually made the sound a little thicker, losing some detail. Switching it to treble does make the sound a little sharper, but once again, we expected more.

The controls work smoothly, and while pressing the Multi-function roller like a button feels strange initially, it works very well indeed. We moved ANC to the single button for the virtual assistant to make matters easier. We would have liked larger buttons, but all said and done, pairing and usage are super smooth, and so is switching between two connected devices.

CMF Headphone Pro ANC and calls: Steady, rather than spectacular

ANC on the CMF Headphone Pro is useful and decent enough for the segment. It does reduce the noise around, but it does not deliver the kind of near-silence that we get from Sony and Soundcore headphones in the price segment. The ANC is good enough to take the sting out of the noise in a Metro and also reduce the noise in a crowded cafe to a bearable hum. While there is an option to use Adaptive ANC, we would recommend keeping ANC on High through the app if you are really seeking some peace – the Mid and Low levels do not have much effect.

Call quality on the Headphone Pro is handy enough. We were able to hear the people we were speaking to quite clearly, and those we spoke to generally had no problems hearing us, although many said our voices sounded a little “thick.” ENC seemed to work well, and we were able to make calls even from noisy areas, with people being able to hear us, even though some of the background noise got through too – we would advise folks not to use them in noisy traffic conditions.

CMF Headphone Pro battery life and charging speed: Impressive for the segment

The CMF Headphone Pro comes with very good battery life. We got about 40-45 hours on a single charge with ANC on. CMF claims that the headphones can last 100 hours on a single charge if one switches off ANC and keeps the volume at 50 percent, and 50 hours with ANC and volume at 50 percent. While those are slightly unrealistic conditions – we generally ended up using them with ANC and at 70-80 percent volume (going all the way up to 100 percent while watching films and shows) – we think these are headphones that will get you through close to a week on a single charge. The headphones also come with a very handy fast charging feature – just five minutes of charging got us about four hours of audio with ANC switched on, which is extremely impressive.

Turn off ANC and keep the volume at around 50 percent, and that five-minute charge can give eight hours of usage, which can be a lifesaver in some circumstances. The CMF Headphone Pro took about two hours to fully charge using a 33W charger, which is pretty much par for the course. We charged them using our phone cable and charger, as there is no charging cable in the box.

CMF Headphone Pro Pricing and challengers: Competitive, but facing competition

The CMF Headphone Pro are officially priced at Rs 7,999, but will be initially available for Rs 6,999. That is a very competitive price for what it brings to the table. But it faces plenty of competition too. Most notably, it has to deal with these headphones:

Sony WH-CH720N
Rs 8,000
They look plain but come with perhaps the best ANC you can get for under Rs 10,000, and sound pretty good too, and their call handling is better. That said, battery life is considerably lower.

EarFun Wave Pro
Rs 6,999
Do not have the fancy colors and removable ear cushions, but come with LDAC support, great battery life, and very good sound and ANC. They also have a good carrying case in the box.

Soundcore Space One
Rs 6,999
Perhaps the best all-round headphones in the segment, these deliver great sound, good ANC, and handle calls well. And they come with a very eye-catching design (including blue and gold options) and a good carrying case as well.

JBL Tune 770NC
Rs 5,999
They look more conventional, and while the specs are not in the same zone, there is the assurance of the brand and an extremely popular bass-forward audio signature, as well as rock-solid battery life.

(At the time of writing, we did not know the prices of the removable ear cushions, although they are priced at USD 25 in some markets.)

CMF Headphone Pro review verdict: Grab them for sight as well as sound

If you are looking for a pair of headphones that stand out for under Rs 10,000 ($100), then the Light Green variants of the CMF Headphone Pro are close to a no-brainer (they get the ‘no-brainer’ status when you pair them with orange ear cushions). They also deliver good audio and have a very good feature set that works smoothly. We would say that they are a great option for those who want headphones mainly for casual listening, with very good battery life, reasonable ANC, and strikingly different looks. They sound very good, but we have a feeling that their sight will attract more people, especially the option to mix and match different colored ear cushions!

Buy CMF Headphone Pro (India)
Buy CMF Headphone Pro (USA)