Nothing under its CMF by Nothing sub-brand launched the CMF Buds 2a, Buds 2 and the Buds 2 Plus last month. The CMF Buds 2 that we have here lies between the entry-level Buds 2a and the mid-high Buds 2 Plus. The company launched the High-end CMF Buds Pro 2 last year.
This has improved ANC, better call quality with 6 mics, better battery life and more. Are these good for the price? Let us dive into the review to find out.
Box Contents
- CMF Buds 2 in Light Green colour
- Ear tips in Small and Large sizes (Medium pre-installed)
- User Manual, Safety and Warranty Information
Design and Build Quality
The Buds 2 comes in a familiar square case with rounded corners. Unlike the silver coloured metal ring on the left, this has a transparent part that rotates, and lets you connect a lanyard. It has a PC + ABS body with a matte finish that doesn’t attract fingerprints.
It measures 53.3 x 53.3 x 23mm and 50.5 grams including the buds, making it slightly smaller and lighter than the predecessor. The case even has IPX2 ratings for splash resistance, which is a good addition.
Opening the case, you can see the earbuds. The case has magnets, so that it locks securely. There is also a magnet connecting the two parts of the case, and the earbuds also have a strong magnet that secures them in its place.
You can see the LED light on the front. The USB Type-C port is present on the back, with the function key next to it for pairing.
The in-ear earbuds have a matte finish for the stem, and the rest of the earbuds feature a glossy finish. The earbuds weigh about 4.5 grams, which is almost similar to the CMF Buds, and measures 33.4 x 20.6 x 22.8 mm. There are three mics on each earbud, compared to two in the predecessor, which promise better wind noise cancellation.
There is an optical sensor for wear detection so that it can automatically pause the audio when you remove it from your ears and play when you put it back.
The CMF branding on the outside where the touch-sensitive area is present is now smaller at the top. The earphones have IP55 ratings for dust and water resistance, compared to IP54 in the predecessor. It can withstand splashes or light rain, but you can’t use it when swimming.
The fit was perfect, and it doesn’t come out easily, even during strenuous activities like running or workout. The Earbuds fit test option plays music to ensure that your ear tips make a good seal with your ear canal for better noise-cancelling. Since they are light, you don’t feel like wearing the earbuds.
Connectivity, Pairing, and Controls
The CMF Buds supports Bluetooth 5.4 with AAC and SBC codecs. The pairing process is very easy for Nothing and CMF devices. Just enable Bluetooth on the phone, open the charging case of the buds, place the charging case close to the phone, and follow the prompts. To connect to other devices, place the Buds into the charging case with the cover opened. Press and hold the setup button in the case for 2 seconds to enter Bluetooth settings. Then, select the CMF Buds 2.
There is a fast pair option which works in latest Android phones. We tested it on the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Pixel 9, and never faced any pairing or disconnection issues. There is also Microsoft Swift Pair to connect it to Windows. Since the phone pairs with the case and not the headset, you will need the case if you want to reconnect it or even turn on the headset if it’s disconnected from the phone.
You can enable dual connection option that lets you connect to two devices at the same time and switch the audio playback between them. But the headset gets rebooted every time you need to disable or disable the feature.
This uses touch controls, same as the CMF Buds. This lets you skip tracks, switch between noise cancellation modes, and adjust volume – all with a press. The controls can be customised in the Nothing X app.
| Function | Left earphone (L) | Right earphone (R) |
| Play / Pause or Answer call / Hang calls | Double tap | |
| Next track | Triple tap | |
| Switch between ANC and Transparency Mode | Tap and hold | |
| Volume control | Double tap and hold | |
Volume control is disabled by default, but you can customize them with the Nothing X app on Android and iPhone. You can change actions for double tap, triple tap and double tap and hold. Tap and hold is set for noise control.
You can disable in-ear Detection from the settings. There is ‘Find My Earbud’ option that makes high pitch sound so that you can locate the earbuds when you misplace them.
Audio Quality
The CMF Buds has a custom 11 mm PMI (Polymethacrylimide) + PU (Polyurethane) driver tuned for deep lows and clear highs.
It retains has Ultra Bass Technology 2.0 and Dirac Opteo patented correction technology. This also adds Spatial Audio Effect for an immersive sound.
As the company says, the bass is on the higher side, and you can enable ultra bass option to make it better. High and mid-range frequencies were decent as well, offering a balanced sound tuning than the Buds Pro 2.
It features five equalizer presets – Direc Opteo, Rock, Electronic, Pop, Classical and Enhance vocals. – so that every song can be heard how it should. You can also create custom EQ with the custom option. It doesn’t have the Personal Sound Profile feature present in the Ear series.
Noise Cancellation and Call Performance
Regarding the Noise cancellation, the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) blocks the ambient sound up to 48dB, better than 42dB in the CMF Buds. The quality has improved and this has 5200Hz Ultra-Wide Frequency ultra-deep personalized ANC, even better than the 5000Hz in the Buds Pro 2.
You can feel the difference when you are listening outdoors, since 48dB is more than enough to block most outdoor noise. For the price, it does an excellent job, but occasionally such as loud outdoors, ANC feels less effective. The Transparency mode is also useful. You can also turn off the noise cancellation directly from the headset by enabling it from the settings, even though it only switches between ANC ON and Transparency modes by default.
There are four modes, Low, Mid, High and Adaptive Mode that automatically adjusts the noise reduction level based on your environment in real-time. You can switch between noise cancellation, transparency and no noise cancellation with tap controls on the earbuds.
This also has Transparency mode that allows you to listen to ambient sound so that you can recognize the surrounding situation and any potential risks.
This also has low latency mode, which is called low lag mode. The company says that this is <110 ms under Game Mode when using with Nothing Phone.
Coming to the call noise cancellation, it uses Clear Voice Technology 3.0 and an advanced wind noise reduction algorithm Wind Noise Reduction 3.0 to ensure crisp, clear calls. This worked well for calls and cuts out the wind noise easily. Call quality is also better compared to the CMF Buds.
Battery Life
The earphones pack a 53mAh battery that promises 13.5 hours of standalone battery life without ANC and 7.5 hours with ANC. During my use with AAC and mixed use, I got around 9 hours in about 60% volume, which is good.
For calls, it lasts only for around 7 hours with ANC enabled, as promised, since it uses call noise cancellation tech. This is way better than the CMF Buds.
With the 460mAh charging case, it promises up to 55 hours of total battery life without ANC and 32 hours of total battery life with noise cancellation enabled. You can’t expect wireless charging in the range. Charging the case fully with the earbuds takes about 1 and half hours. It also has fast charge, so that you get 4 hours of playback without ANC for the buds and 7.5 hours with case with 10 minutes of charging.
Conclusion
Overall, CMF Buds 2 is a worthy upgrade to the CMF Buds, and is an all-rounder in the budget. The design and build are maintained, the ANC quality, call quality and mainly the battery life has improved, ticking all the boxes, making it a good value for money earbuds under the Rs. 3000 price range. If you need LDAC and even better ANC, then there is CMF Buds 2 Plus.
It is priced at Rs. 2,699 and will be available from Flipkart, and through retail partners by the end of Q2, 2025.
Pro
- Good build quality
- Good audio quality and excellent call quality
- Long battery life with fast charging
- Dual device connectivity
Cons
- ANC could have been better