I test loads of earbuds yearly, but I've been going back to this one affordable pair

Published May 15, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Tom has been covering technology since 2019, having worked as part of the phones team at TechRadar and then as an editor at What to Watch. Since 2025 he’s been a freelance contributor for many more brands including Digital Trends. BGR, TechRadar Gaming, TechAdvisor and GamesRadar. He's written about myriad topics over his career including phones and tablets, headphones and earbuds, fitness and AV, and enjoys adding more beats to his repertoire. Outside of technology he’s also written reviews and features on games, movies and sports. He's attended tech launches, product shows, movie premieres and game launches to do so. Tom is based in London, UK, and when not covering technology he does work in the film sector, enjoys to run, cycle, climb and play tennis, and plays several instruments. I'm always reviewing some new pair of headphones or earbuds, and it's rare for me to be caught without some new contender for the list of the best earbuds hanging off my face, or an option for a round-up of the best headphones perched on my cranium. But now and then, there's a lull in the audio release calendar (or, more likely, I've freed up my face by testing a Bluetooth speaker), and my ears don't have any new earbuds or cans they need to test. I've begun to notice that there's one go-to pair of earbuds I always default back to when I don't have anything to test. It's the Nothing Ear (a), and despite being over two years old (ancient, in the technology space!), they've proven time and time again to be the most stalwart earbuds I've tested. These were designed by British tech brand Nothing as a budget alternative to their Nothing Ear in 2024. The affordable buds have 11m drivers, small 4.62g bodies, noise cancellation, and a clear slant towards bassy sound. I didn't love the battery life, which drops to about five hours when you're listening with ANC on, and I can see some audiophiles finding the sound profile a little too heavy on the low-end, but otherwise I was a fan. I don't mind those drawbacks, though, because a few key traits have made these my default earbuds to pick up when I'm about to leave home. Related A tiny little case A pocket friend I've recently finished testing a string of open earbuds. This kind of device often has large carry cases, and I've been slowly stretching my trouser pockets with their size. That's why I chose the Nothing Ear (a), which had been gathering dust on my shelf for about nine months. Its charging case is absolutely tiny, and I wanted something that'd disappear into my pockets. The case measures 47.6 x 63.3 x 22.7mm, and weighs just under 50g. It's one of the smallest earbud charging cases I've ever used, and also one of the simplest — a simple clamshell opens up the buds to the world. I've tested earbuds that lock the earbuds down, perhaps with stems buried into the case that you need to extricate carefully, or buds that overlap and need to be removed in the right order. Not the Ear (a): they're easy and quick to access. Buttons that work a dream Controls I can control One of my biggest earbud pet peeves is unruly touch controls. Plenty of earbuds have physical buttons or haptic sensors, so you can tap, hold, or swipe a certain section to play, pause, or adjust the volume of your music. But well over half of the earbuds I test implement this poorly. Sometimes it's hard to have your gesture itself register, making the controls redundant. Other times, it's too easy to trigger the function, so headwear or long hair can repeatedly affect your tunes. I've also tested loads of earbuds that require very particular actions to trigger the gesture — I've lost count of the number of times I've flicked an earbud off my head or had to push it too far into my ear to pause a tune. Not the Nothing Ear (a), and it's a breath of fresh air compared to the vast majority of alternatives. Each Nothing Ear (a) bud has a small button on the stem, which you can trigger with a gentle squeeze. It's easy to do and doesn't run the risk of accidentally being knocked when you're readjusting the buds or pulling them out of your ear by accident. I absolutely love the way the Ear (a) implements its controls, and it's the gold standard amongst buds I've tested before or since. When I want to detox from awful gestures or controls, I love returning to the Ear (a) to enjoy how it's actually done. Fun sound for the price It ain't refined, but it's fine I'm not going to pretend that the Nothing Ear (a) are the best earbuds I've ever tested, even at the price, but they're the best example of a trend that's really popular for cheaper earbuds. Lots of affordable buds I've used offer a warm, bassy mix, artificially scooping up lower-frequency sounds to add some heft and rhythm to music. Audiophiles I know hate this kind of effect — natural, balanced audio is generally preferred — but it's really popular among average earbud buyers who want something to add some weight to their music. I've tested earbuds that amp up the bass far too much, so it overshadows mids and treble, and also ones that offer ill-defined and muddy low-end that makes bass guitars sound more like a distant rumble than a cohesive part of an ensemble. The Nothing Ear (a) is perhaps the best example of this kind of cheaper bud. Bass is prominent but well-defined, scooping where it needs to scoop and hiding where it needs to hide. If I want to remind myself about what most earbud buyers want to enjoy, I'll put in the Ear (a) to recalibrate. There are actually very few earbuds that offer a well-rounded bass experience. Beyond Nothing, Skullcandy often does a decent job, but the only other example I can think of is OnePlus - and that company is going through woes, which means it may be going the way of the dodo. Battery Life 42.5 hours max Noise Cancellation ANC Bluetooth Yes Microphones 3 IP rating IP54 Charging Wired The Nothing Ear (a) offers excellent quality audio, a high level of comfort, impressive battery life, and extremely effective active noise cancellation.