TWS true wireless earphones - $25 to $50
FOUR STARS - For the friendly price of 40 dollars, the CMF Buds by Nothing offer good Active Noise Cancelling and a bass heavy sound… with some oddities.
CMF Buds by Nothing specs and features:
Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC codec
IP54 waterproof (rain and dust proof)
5,5 - 8 hours listening on a single charge (ANC on/ off)
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 3 times
Comes with 3 sets of ear tips, USB-C cable, English manual
$40 - Buy on Amazon US, Amazon UK or your Amazon country or AliExpress
In and underneath this CMF Buds review, you will find comparisons of the CMF Buds vs CMF Buds Pro, Soundcore P40i, Edifier TWS 1 Pro2, and 1more Omthing ANC.
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Design, comfort and battery life
Talk about in-house competition! Nothing's budget brand CMF comes with the second pair of wireless earbuds in a year time. After the $50 CMF Buds Pro, the new CMF Buds come in at only 40 dollars.
The two biggest differences? The newer cheaper model comes with multipoint connectivity and it has a square charging case instead of the previous round one.
This grey wheel is fun to fiddle with
The CMF Buds looks cool. While the case scratches easily and the lid doesn't feel very sturdy, the grey spinner that lets you attach a chord is fun to play with, there's a stylish logo in the case, and the inline layout looks ace - with the same sideways-placement of the earbuds as the Nothing Ear 1. The bright red color screams for attention, but there's also a black or white finish if you so prefer.
Just look at these!
The earbuds itself follow the success formula of stems attached to oval and comfortable earpieces that sit snug in your ears. The earbuds offer at least 5,5 hours of playtime with ANC on - up to 8 hours with the function turned off - and they survive rain, sweat and some dust thanks to the IP54 waterproof rating.
Controls, connectivity and app
The CMF Buds is supported by the free Nothing X earbuds app for iPhone and Android and wow - this app looks beautiful. Once you've connected the earbuds (with a sleek pop-up on newer Android phones), the app immediately give the earbuds a more premium presence. It looks stunning:
Introduction screens to the controls
Good: this firmware update describes what's new
And here we have the main screen - clean and easy
The app is easy to operate and gives easy access to firmware updates, the Active Noise Cancelling modes, options like auto-pause when taking an earbud out and a low-latency mode, sound equalizing options and a dedicated Ultra Bass setting - see the sound part of this review.
It also has options to change the controls for your left and right earbud indepently, but sadly, it's still not possible to add single-taps or volume controls to the control scheme.
The other flaw of the app is bigger, however. The iPhone app can lose its connection to the earbuds completely. You'll have to forget and reconnect the earbuds in your Bluetooth list to get the app to work again - and this happened twice in my two weeks of testing. The Android app didn't have the same issue so far.
There are no volume controls
Other CMF Buds app settings
The iPhone app warning you don't want to see
The CMF Buds also supports multipoint connectivity, meaning you can connect it to two devices at the same time. Switching between devices works fine, but there are some issues. I've had the sound dipping on my Android phone device while working on the iPhone (that had no sound playing!) a few times now - this combination may not be the best.
The CMF Buds overall connectivity is good and its app support looks great, but either the app or earbuds can use an update to get rid of the remaining flaws.
Phone and video calls
The CMF Buds performs decent when it comes to phone and video calls. The microphones give your voice a metallic underlining, but do forward your voice clear and loud. Unfortunately, they also put your surroundings through quite loud. Door slams, background chatter and unrecognizable other sounds
Wind noise isn't the biggest threat. While wind is definitely audible, it doesn't overthrow your voice.
Video and games playback
As you may expect in 2024, the CMF Buds has no playback issues. There's flawless synchronization in YouTube and other video apps on both iPhone and Android phones.
There's a low-latency option for playing games, and the sound effects in Call of Duty mobile synchronize fantastically with the action on your screen. It doesn't place footsteps and gunshots around you very clearly, but it does sound explosive and engaging with the CMF Buds’ hefty bass.
ANC quality on CMF Buds
The CMF Buds by Nothing keeps it simple when it comes to Active Noise Cancelling. The function works well and is free of hassle.
There are just three options here: ANC on, Transparency mode, and ANC off. No fancy scenario or custom functions like the Soundcore P40i, but that's okay: this simplicity is a triumph. The CMF Buds remembers your last used setting, and the ANC is adaptive as well. As soon as it detects wind, it throws out the wind noise by lowering the noise cancellation a bit.
The Active Noise Cancelling itself is quite good. The CMF Buds reduces the volume output of all kinds of sounds around you, whether it's the high-pitched singing of birds, darker electronic humming, or distant traffic noise. It's great for reducing or even removing constant noise, but the same can't be said of more sudden sounds like nearby chatter or laughter, or sounds effects like keyboard typing and door slams.
Unfortunately, the ANC isn't the comfortable in the world. It builds up quite a lot of pressure in your ears. You can always feel the earbuds, and for me personally, the earbuds and my ears can even become a little (too) warm because of it.
The Transparency mode can bring conversations up clearer when you need it, but the function loses its function if you're playing music on any level louder than background listening.
The ANC removes less noise than competitors like the Edifier TWS1 Pro 2, but more than the Soundcore P40i and the earlier released CMF Buds Pro. It does build up more pressure in your ears than the Pro, however.
Also read: The best earbuds under $50
Sound quality of CMF Buds: Saved by EQ
Out of the box, the CMF Buds is a mess with completely overblown, bloated bass and absolutely no treble. It can be saved with an equalizer option from the app, luckily.
The default sound setting of the CMF Buds is called Dirac Opteo, and it's not your typical preset. It's not a standard equalizer, but one that adapts you how you like your sound - or so it says.
Before you try anything out, the Dirac Opteo setting gives a massive, nauseously thumping, all-overpowering bass that bleeds deep into the lower mid-tones. More surprisingly, it leaves the treble completely in the dust, forgetting all upper mid-tones and highs behind anything higher than, say, Coldplay's Chris Martin. If a higher singer comes into play, she sounds muffled and thin. As if someone put her in the closet.
If you're anything of a critical listener, the CMF Buds urges you to try out the equalizer presets. Rock, Electronic, and Pop let in a lot of bass and sound dark and congested, while Enhance Vocals reduced a bit of the heavy lows, and Classical opens the treble up somewhat - finally.
Switch from your last chosen equalizer to Dirac Opteo again, and you'll either get the exact same sound signature as that equalizer, or a variant with added bass - is my experience after two weeks of heavy use. The whole Dirac Opteo thing is just… weird.
An EQ that saves the CMF Buds
That said, you can save the sound to a more balanced presentation with the Custom preset, that lets you slide the bass, mids, and treble. With bass set to 0 (or -2 if you prefer less thumping), mids to +2 and treble to 0, the CMF Buds starts to breathe.
Female and higher male vocals then gain presence without sounding too thin and lower treble isn't overruled anymore; higher electronic tones are more upfront, and instruments like cymbals and violins are taken out of the dark. The same doesn't apply to center-mids like guitars and piano play; they still tend towards the strong lows the CMF Buds always has.
If you're after lots of bass, the CMF Buds has you covered. The mid-bass has a quick pacing and with the described custom EQ, the bass already provides solid, weighty thumps, and strong, deep sub-bass rumbles.
You can take it even further. Much further. The bass slider from the EQ slider already increases the mid-bass punchiness, and there's another setting in the app builds on top of that. The Ultra Bass contains 5 bass levels that let you darken, deepen, and further fill the lower areas of the bass. James Blake's Limit to Your Love already rumbles fiercely without the bass boost. It rumbles and bloats heavier on level 2, and it's just shy of breaking the earbuds at level 5 - you can feel it pushing the wind in your ears. Insane.
This, ultimately, saves the CMF Buds. Despite its questionable tuning straight out of the box, you can balance things out yourself - and then tweak all of it to guilty pleasure-levels of goodness.
So good in fact, these are recommended if you seek bass earbuds under 50 dollars. Ain't that a twist!
CMF Buds comparisons
CMF Buds vs CMF Buds Pro
On paper, the CMF Buds wins from the CMF Buds Pro: the newcomer is 10 dollars cheaper and offers multipoint connectivity, which the older CMF Buds Pro lack. Both the round case of the Buds Pro and the square case of the regular Buds look great, while the earbuds are precisely the same.
The Active Noise Cancelling on both models doesn't differ much. The newer CMF Buds block slightly more noise, but also puts slightly more pressure on your ears. In calls, the cheaper CMF Buds makes your voice sound clearer, but it also puts through more background noise. The differences are small.
The real decision maker is your sound preference. The CMF Buds has an even stronger bass - which can reach insane levels with the Ultra Bass mode. The Buds also has stronger lower mid-tones and sounds a bit darker. The Buds Pro doesn't have the Ultra Bass setting, but it reveals more detail in the mid-tones, with more natural sounding vocals and instruments. It sounds more open and can be more engaging, but also a tad sharper - something you don't have to be afraid of on the CMF Buds.
No separate CMF Buds Pro by Nothing review
Around $50 on Amazon US, Amazon UK or other Amazon countries
CMF Buds vs Edifier TWS1 Pro 2
The Edifier TWS1 Pro 2 has the strongest Active Noise Cancelling on earbuds under 50 dollars, and it even achieves that with less ear pressure than the CMF Buds. It makes the Edifier more comfortable. The CMF Buds has different advantages: 1,5 hours longer battery life per charge, sleeker app support, and multipoint connectivity.
Once you've saved the CMF Buds by EQing, these go head to head in the sound department. The CMF Buds has an even heftier and fuller bass than the Edifier, which has a deep sub-bass too, but is a bit slimmer in its mid-bass. Which says something - it's not shy there at all. The CMF not only also boosts bass further, but also the lower-mids, while the Edifier presents center mid-tones more natural and treble with more openness. The Edifier is the better musical all-rounder of the two - you don't get a top spot in the best TWS for $50 list for nothing.
Around $50 on Amazon US, Amazon UK, other Amazon countries or AliExpress
CMF Buds vs Soundcore P40i
The recently reviewed Anker Soundcore P40i costs around 20 dollars more than the CMF Buds, and for it, it gives you 2,5 hours more playtime per charge - and a charging case that can be used as a phone stand! The Soundcore has more app options and gives you volume controls on the earbuds, while the CMF Buds has stronger Active Noise Cancelling and clearer phone calls when there's a bit of wind.
Both earbuds need equalizing before the sound becomes bearable; the CMF to bring out the treble, the Soundcore to reduce it. When done so, the CMF Buds has stronger lows with more mid-bass bloat, while the Soundcore sounds more open and a bit harsher.
Around $70 on Amazon US, Amazon UK or your Amazon country
Verdict
The CMF Buds has convincing specs for its friendly price, but its Active Noise Cancelling puts pressure on your ears, it has connectivity issues with the iPhone app, and the sound only becomes bearable after EQing with it yourself. That said, these can be a good choice when you're looking for a huge bass on a budget.
Buy CMF Buds/ check lowest price:
Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on your Amazon country
Buy on AliExpress
I bought the CMF Buds by Nothing for myself to test and review. My reviews are 100% independent and non-commercial - read about it here.
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