Nothing CMF Buds 2 review

A couple of weeks back we took a look at the CMF Buds 2 Plus, the premium model in Nothing’s new budget lineup of audio products. Today, we are reviewing the Buds 2, which is the middle model in the Buds 2 series.

The Buds 2 come in at $59/₤39 or just INR 2,699. For the price, you get most of the features of the Plus model but with some cutbacks across the board. You get a slightly smaller driver, slightly lower rated ANC, a couple of hours less battery life, and no LDAC. In this review, we will be exploring if it’s worth saving some money and getting this model or just forking over the difference for the Plus model.

Design

The design of the CMF Buds 2 is nearly identical to that of the Buds 2 Plus. Both have identical dimensions for their cases but the finish on the Buds 2 case is a bit more plasticky compared to the soft touch plastic on the Buds 2 Plus case.

The Buds 2 also get a clear plastic rotating dial on the lid compared to the aluminum dial found on the Plus. However, the rotation is once again purely ornamental unless you choose to use it as a fidget spinner.

The earbuds are functionally identical in design and dimensions. This means they are still quite small and light with a comfortable fit but also that they come with the same cheap-feeling ear tips from the Plus model.

The lower price of the Buds 2 makes this a bit less egregious but the identically priced OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro have much nicer tips. Not only do these tips not feel nice but also don’t provide a proper fit. The ear tips just slide in and out of your ears with little to no friction and you just don’t get a satisfying seal with them.

Software

The CMF Buds 2 work with the same Nothing X app as the Buds 2 Plus and other Nothing earbuds. Most of the features are identical between the two Buds 2 models so I’ll just focus on the differences here.

There are only three changes here compared to everything described in the Buds 2 Plus review. The Buds 2 feature Dirac Opteo, which is the default EQ preset for these earbuds. According to Nothing’s support page, Opteo “employs advanced measurement-based correction technology to eliminate any unintended resonances or sound colourations, maximising the acoustic performance of the Buds”. A request for additional details on the inner workings of the feature was not met at the time of writing.

Nothing X app

The Buds 2 also lack support for the Personal Sound feature found on the Plus model, which plays a series of tones to let you customize the sound to your hearing. I already stated my concerns with this feature in the Plus review and its absence here isn’t a big loss.

Audio settings

The final difference is the lack of LDAC, which means there is no option in the Nothing X app to switch between AAC and LDAC. Aside from that, the software experience is identical on both, for better and for worse.

Performance

Audio quality

The Buds 2 feature an 11mm PMI (polymethacrylimide) driver compared to the 12mm LCP driver found on the Plus model. As mentioned previously, there is no LDAC and thus no Hi-Res Audio support here. Instead, you get Dirac-tuned audio, which can be customized using the EQ.

The default audio tuning isn’t a million miles apart on the two models but there are some notable differences here with an unexpected conclusion.

The Buds 2 sound is a bit warmer and bassier than the Buds 2 Plus sound. There is more mid-bass heft here on top of the already potent low-end on the Plus. On the other end, the Buds 2 lack some of the high-end sparkle of the Buds 2 Plus model so the sound isn’t as bright overall.

The major difference was in the mid-range. The Buds 2 have a surprisingly full-bodied mid-range, which makes vocals sound bolder and better balanced in the mix. In comparison, the mids on the Buds 2 Plus sound quieter with a worse timbre.

The overall sound of the Buds 2 is still a bit too bass-forward and that can get fatiguing on some tracks with a strong bass line. It’s also not the most flexible sound if you like to listen to a lot of different genres. But most people will be using them to listen to popular genres like pop and for that, they work perfectly fine. In fact, I do prefer the overall tuning of the Buds 2 over the Buds 2 Plus for music.

Speaking of tuning, the Buds 2 offer multiple EQ options aside from the default Dirac Opteo mode. However, switching to other presets causes an audible break in sound and you hear it again when you go back to the Opteo preset. The only exception to this is the custom preset.

It’s likely that the default Opteo and custom preset use different audio processing than the rest of the presets. Rather, it seems the other presets don’t use much processing at all. Compared to the fuller and more spacious-sounding Opteo preset, the other EQ presets sound more congested with a smaller soundstage. This was not the case with the Plus model, where all presets got the same treatment.

This means that if you use other presets, even if you prefer their tuning, you don’t quite get the same experience as the Opteo preset. More annoying is the half-second silence every time you switch back and forth between the Opteo/custom preset and the other presets, which is accompanied by a sharp momentary rise in volume before the sound settles back down.

The good thing is that the custom preset is based on the Opteo preset’s processing, so you can customize the sound while still getting the full processing available for the Opteo preset. The bad thing is that Nothing’s weird circular 3-band EQ is as terrible as it has always been.

Microphone

Like the Plus model, the Buds 2 have good microphone performance. Voices sound clear and while there is some modulation as the sound gets quieter now and then it’s not very noticeable or distracting.

Noise cancellation

The Buds 2 have decent noise cancellation performance. You get good suppression in the low frequencies but some high-frequency sound seeps in, thanks to the cheap ear tips that create an imperfect seal. Still, for most use cases on things like public transport, the ANC performance is good enough.

Unfortunately, the transparency performance wasn’t great. The sound is natural but quiet and at times you can’t even tell if the mode is enabled or not. This means if you have anything playing then it’s just going to drown out the ambient sound coming in through the speakers, defeating the purpose of the mode.

Battery Life

The Buds 2 have a promised battery life of 13.5 hours during continuous playback with ANC disabled. In my testing, I got 13 hours and 17 minutes of usage, which is very impressive.

Nothing also claims 4 hours of playback after a 10-minute charge and I managed to get 4 hours and 25 minutes, which is also impressive.

Conclusion

The Buds 2 are very close to the Buds 2 Plus that we reviewed earlier and I would urge you to read that review as it goes into a lot more detail.

I was expecting the conclusion to the Buds 2 to be to just get the Plus model considering how small the price difference is. However, it ended up being the other way around and I no longer see much point in picking up the Plus model over this.

Buds 2 inherit much of the strengths of the Plus model, including comfort, battery life, microphone performance, and respectable ANC for the price. Both also have clean-looking software and hardware design. However, the Buds 2 are just that little bit better tuned, which made them more enjoyable to listen to and proves yet again that having better codecs doesn’t automatically make something sound better.

In the end, the CMF Buds 2 come out on top and are a strong contender for the best wireless earbuds in this price range.