Nothing today announced several new things for its line of audio products. First of all, the Nothing Ear (2) now comes in a slick new all-black finish, similar to its predecessor. Next, the Ear (2) also gets a new advanced equalizer option. Along with the simplified presets and 3-band EQ, there is now an Advanced tab where you can access the new 8-band EQ. More than the EQ itself, it's what you can do with it is impressive as this is easily one of the most elaborate EQ we have seen on a mainstream audio product.
Aside from being able to adjust each of
the eight bands, the user can also adjust which frequency each of the eight
bands target. You can also adjust the Q factor, which lets you change the shape
of the EQ curve and how broadly or narrowly the changes made by adjusting the
band are applied across the frequency range.
Once you make your changes, you can save
them across multiple custom profiles. You can also share your presets with
others. The only criticisms I have about the new advanced EQ is that your
volume level drops drastically when using these as opposed to the standard
presets or 3-band EQ. Moreover, the advanced EQ is only available on the Ear
(2) and the Ear (stick) but not the original Ear (1).
Speaking of the Ear (stick), this model
now gets active noise cancellation. You will need to update the firmware and
you will be warned this will reduce the battery life. You even get the option
to roll back to a previous firmware if you don't want the feature and don't
want to lose battery life. The feature is limited in its effectiveness
considering the Ear (stick) are open-ear earbuds. Still, for what it's worth,
it does help cut back some of the low frequency hum from things like fans and
air conditioners but don't expect it to perform miracles.
Nothing also has a raft of software
improvements for the Ear (2). Over the months we have noticed the company
steadily release a stream of software updates for these earbuds, which we had
criticized in our review for having a variety of issues at launch. Credit where
credit is due, Nothing has since fixed majority of the issues we brought up in
our review, many of which were very specific. This is exactly the sort of
attitude we want companies to have when dealing with criticism as it ultimately
it results in better products for everyone.
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