Nothing Headphone (1) Pro Adds Audiodo Personal Sound — and I’ve Already Tried the Technology

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Nothing has launched its new flagship over-ear headphones, the Headphone (1) Pro, and one of the features that interests me most isn't the new triple-driver system or even the upgraded noise cancellation.

It's Audiodo Personal Sound.

The new Headphone (1) Pro costs $399 in the US and £349 in the UK, pushing Nothing further into premium headphone territory. It uses three drivers in each earcup, including a 40mm dynamic bass driver, a separate precision driver and an xMEMS tweeter. There's also adaptive ANC rated at up to 46dB, LDAC support and Bluetooth 6.1.

But the Audiodo integration is particularly interesting because I've already used the same Personal Sound technology on another pair of headphones — and it worked surprisingly well for me.

What Is Audiodo Personal Sound?

Audiodo Personal Sound is designed around a simple idea: we don't all hear music in exactly the same way.

The system runs a short hearing assessment, measuring how each ear responds to different frequencies. It then creates an individual hearing profile and adjusts the sound independently for your left and right ears.

Nothing previously introduced Personal Sound to the original Headphone (1) through a software update, but on the new Headphone (1) Pro it is available from launch through the Nothing X app.

That's important because this isn't simply another EQ preset called “Bass”, “Rock” or “Vocal”. The idea is to compensate for the way you personally hear different frequencies.

I've Already Tested Audiodo — and It Actually Works

I've already experienced Audiodo Personal Sound while testing the Fresh 'n Rebel Clam Ace 2, a much more affordable pair of headphones.

The setup involves listening to a series of tones before the software creates your personalised profile.

In my case, the difference wasn't dramatic — and I actually think that's a good thing.

Switching Personal Sound on didn't suddenly transform the headphones into something completely different or apply an aggressive EQ curve. Instead, the change was subtle but noticeable. I could hear extra details in familiar tracks that I hadn't picked up as clearly before.

It worked brilliantly for me.

Interestingly, I occasionally suffer from tinnitus, which made the hearing test itself slightly confusing because at times I wasn't completely sure whether a high-frequency sound was coming from the headphones or from my own ears.

But once the profile was created, I genuinely preferred listening with it enabled.

That's why I'm particularly interested to hear what Audiodo can do inside a considerably more ambitious pair of headphones like the Headphone (1) Pro.

Nothing Is Taking Sound Much More Seriously

Personal Sound isn't the only interesting audio feature here.

Nothing has moved from a conventional single-driver design to a three-driver architecture, allowing different drivers to concentrate on bass, mids and treble rather than asking one driver to reproduce everything.

The headphones also support Hi-Res Audio, LDAC and lossless playback over USB-C at up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Nothing has also worked with London's Metropolis Studios on its tuning.

There's a Flat EQ designed for more neutral listening, while a Studio B spatial-audio mode aims to recreate some of the characteristics of the studio's control room. Audiodo's Audiosphere Pro adds spatial audio and head tracking, with the soundstage responding as you move your head.

Battery life is rated at up to 68 hours with ANC switched off or 30 hours with ANC enabled, while five minutes of charging can provide up to four hours of playback without ANC.

My Thoughts

At $399 / £349, the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro isn't an impulse purchase.

It's entering a seriously competitive part of the headphone market, where buyers are also looking at established premium models from Sony, Bose and others.

But Personal Sound is one feature I wouldn't dismiss as marketing.

Having already tested Audiodo's technology on the Fresh 'n Rebel Clam Ace 2, I know that personalised hearing can make a genuine difference. In my experience it wasn't about making the music louder or adding huge amounts of bass. It was about bringing out details that were already there but that I wasn't hearing quite as clearly.

The question now is what happens when you combine that technology with three dedicated drivers, high-resolution audio and considerably more sophisticated hardware.

That's what makes the Headphone (1) Pro particularly interesting to me.

I'm not ready to say whether they're worth $399 until I've actually heard them, but if Audiodo Personal Sound works as well here as it did on the Clam Ace 2, it's certainly one feature I'd switch on very early in the testing process.

You can also read my Fresh 'n Rebel Clam Ace 2 review, where I tested Audiodo Personal Sound for myself and explain how it changed the way I heard the headphones.

The Headphone (1) Pro are available on Amazon.com

Jerome