The drips on CMF‘s first pair of over-ear headphones, the Headphone Pro, keep coming. I already talked about some niche stuff like the “energy slider” and customizable earcups, but now the Nothing-owned company (which is spinning out into an independent subsidiary) is claiming something that anyone can be excited about. In a post on X, CMF says its Headphone Pro will have “100 hours of playback.”
Listen on with 100 hours of playback. Headphone Pro. 29 September. pic.twitter.com/aLKSnlKEYx — CMF by Nothing (@cmfbynothing) September 26, 2025
Needless to say, 100 hours is a lot—with or without active noise cancellation (ANC). ANC—is exactly where my skepticism comes in. Does CMF mean 100 hours with ANC or without? Because the former would be legitimately impressive, and let’s be honest, a lot more people care about how long they can go while using ANC than without.
For reference, the Headphone 1, from Nothing, only has about 35 hours with ANC and 80 hours of battery life with ANC off. Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT get up to 60 hours with ANC and 90 hours without. You don’t need to be a math genius to recognize that this would be a pretty big difference either way. That being said, I highly doubt CMF’s Headphone Pro will sound quite as good as the Headphone 1—the former is tuned by hi-fi audio company KEF, and costs $299. CMF tends to be a place where affordability is emphasized, and I’m not sure $300 headphones fit into that picture. But hey, you never know!
Less nuanced sound or not, nice-looking headphones with the option for customization and even some quirky features that you may not get elsewhere feel like a pretty good deal. I obviously can’t say if the Headphone Pro are nice since I haven’t tried them yet, but on the surface, those are definitely good starting points. If you’re dying to know the facts, don’t worry, all of these questions will soon be answered on Sept. 29 when CMF takes the wraps off the Headphone Pro.