Nothing Headphone 1 Pro: price, specs and the Flat EQ switch
The Nothing Headphone 1 Pro costs $399, $100 more than the Headphone 1. What its Flat EQ switch does, what the extra money buys and who it suits.
Source-based. Written from the documents, reporting and reviews linked in the text. Nothing here was tested hands-on by The Ruling Desk. How we work
The Nothing Headphone 1 Pro is on sale now in the US for $399, $100 more than the Headphone 1, and its headline feature is a physical switch that flips the sound to a flat, studio-style tuning. Nothing announced it on September 28 and pitches it at people who listen for fun and also mix or edit audio. Every spec below is Nothing's claim; the only listening impressions so far belong to named reviewers.
Key takeaways
- The Flat EQ switch on the ear cup turns on a neutral sound profile that, in Nothing's words, "cuts artificial colouration and processing." Engadget describes it as cutting off the equalizer and spatial audio.
- For the extra $100 over the Headphone 1, Nothing lists three drivers per ear instead of one, stronger noise cancellation (up to 46 dB, up from 42 dB), 10 microphones instead of 6, Bluetooth 6.1 with Auracast and 24-bit/192 kHz lossless audio over USB-C.
- Battery life goes down on paper: Nothing rates the Pro at up to 30 hours with noise cancellation on, against 35 hours for the Headphone 1.
- As of September 29, 2026, it sells in black and white at nothing.tech, Amazon and Best Buy in the US; Nothing lists £349 and €349 in the UK and Europe.
- The only published review so far, from SoundGuys, measured 87.4% noise attenuation in the lab but found the seal easy to break, especially for glasses wearers.
What the Flat EQ switch does
Most headphones color the sound on purpose: extra bass, a lift in the treble, virtual "room" effects. That's pleasant for listening but misleading when you're checking a mix, because you can't tell what's in the recording and what the headphones added. Studio monitors aim for the opposite, a flat response that shows the track as it is.
Nothing's answer is a hardware switch. Its product page lists it plainly ("Switch down: Flat EQ on") and says the mode is "designed for reviewing music, producing or mixing." In its launch post on tuning, Nothing says Metropolis Studios, the London recording and mastering studio, tuned the mode to "approximate the tonal balance of neutral studio monitoring." Engadget's Mat Smith describes the switch as cutting off the equalizer and spatial audio.
Two things the switch is not: a guarantee of accuracy, and a replacement for monitors. Nobody has published a frequency response measurement of the Flat mode yet, so how flat it really is remains an open question. What it does offer is speed: one flick instead of digging through the Nothing X app.
Nothing Headphone 1 Pro vs Headphone 1: what $100 buys
Here are the Headphone 1 Pro specs next to the Headphone 1's. The Pro figures come from Nothing's product page and launch post; the Headphone 1 figures come from its July 2025 launch, as reported by GSMArena, and its ANC-on battery rating from SoundGuys.
| Headphone 1 | Headphone 1 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $299 | $399 |
| Drivers per ear | One 40 mm dynamic (tuned with KEF) | 40 mm dynamic, 13 x 8 mm dynamic, xMEMS tweeter (tuned with Metropolis Studios) |
| Noise cancellation | Up to 42 dB, 6 mics | Up to 46 dB, 10 mics |
| Battery, ANC on | Up to 35 hours | Up to 30 hours |
| Battery, ANC off | Up to 80 hours | Up to 68 hours |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, LDAC | 6.1, LDAC, Auracast |
| Weight | 329 g | 327 g |
| Dust and water | IP52 | IP52 |
| Flat EQ switch | No | Yes |
Three drivers instead of one
The biggest hardware change is inside the ear cup. Nothing says the 40 mm driver handles the bass, a smaller dynamic driver covers vocals and instruments, and an xMEMS solid-state tweeter covers the top end up to 40 kHz. The payoff Nothing promises is more detail and finer control in the app's Advanced EQ, which can adjust individual drivers.
Connections, comfort and the rest
The Pro also plays lossless audio over USB-C at up to 24-bit/192 kHz and over a 3.5 mm cable at up to 24-bit/96 kHz, and it supports Auracast, the Bluetooth LE Audio broadcast feature, which Engadget says works as both transmitter and receiver. Nothing adds five spatial audio modes with head tracking, one of them modeled on Metropolis' Studio B room, plus titanium arms and foam it calls 50% softer than the Headphone 1's.
The trade-off: battery
The Pro gives up five hours with noise cancellation on and 12 with it off. SoundGuys called that "one odd compromise" in its launch coverage. If battery life is your top priority, the cheaper Headphone 1 still wins on paper. Some early coverage cited 32 hours with ANC on; Nothing's own spec page says 30.
Early impressions from reviewers
Engadget and Gizmodo both wrote up the launch without having listened yet. The first full review is from SoundGuys' Christian Thomas, who measured 87.4% total noise attenuation in the lab but found that jaw movement could break the seal and let noise in, a problem he flags for people with glasses or long hair. He also praised the app's parametric EQ, which lets you pick the exact frequency to adjust. That's one reviewer's experience, not a verdict for every head.
Who the Headphone 1 Pro is for
On the specs, the Headphone 1 Pro makes the most sense for people who want one pair of headphones for listening and for editing: podcasters, video creators and home producers who'd use the Flat EQ switch every day. It also suits anyone who wants the stronger noise cancellation and the multi-driver sound Nothing is promising, as long as the fit works for their head.
If you mostly listen on long flights, the Headphone 1 is cheaper and rated for longer battery life. And if you need true reference sound for paid mixing work, wait for independent measurements of the Flat mode before treating it as a monitor.
For more new hardware this week, see our rundown of the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max specs and the rest of our gadgets coverage.
Bottom line
The Nothing Headphone 1 Pro is a $399 over-ear set whose clearest differentiator is a hardware switch for a flat, studio-style sound. The extra $100 over the Headphone 1 buys three drivers, stronger rated noise cancellation, more microphones and newer Bluetooth, at the cost of shorter rated battery life. All of that is Nothing's claim for now. Watch for measurements of the Flat EQ mode and more full reviews before you decide.
FAQ
How much does the Nothing Headphone 1 Pro cost?
The Headphone 1 Pro price is $399 in the US, $100 more than the Headphone 1. Nothing lists £349 in the UK and €349 in Europe. As of September 29, 2026, it's on sale at nothing.tech, Amazon and Best Buy.
What does the Flat EQ switch do?
It switches the headphones to a neutral sound profile tuned with Metropolis Studios, meant for reviewing music, producing or mixing. Nothing says it removes artificial coloration and processing, and Engadget describes it as cutting off the EQ and spatial audio.
Is the Headphone 1 Pro better than the Headphone 1?
On paper it has more drivers, stronger noise cancellation, more microphones and newer Bluetooth, but shorter rated battery life. Whether it sounds better hasn't been settled: only one full review is out so far.
Does the Headphone 1 Pro support LDAC and Auracast?
Yes. Nothing lists LDAC for high-resolution wireless audio at up to 24-bit/96 kHz, plus AAC and SBC, and Auracast broadcast audio over Bluetooth 6.1.