I tested the milk-carton shaped CMF Speaker M — and its sound is anything but skim

Tom's Guide Verdict As the brand’s first portable speaker, the CMF Speaker M is an impressive gadget. It looks gorgeous and fun, thanks to its milk carton-inspired design, and it’s IP68 waterproof — perfect for the beach. For the most part, the speaker sounds great, though it struggles with heavy tracks. The user-friendly companion app enables easy and quick customization, too. However, the so-so battery life and price may be hard pills to swallow. Reasons to buy +Beautiful and whimsical design +Crisp treble and refined mids +Detailed companion app +NFC tag for one-tap pairing +IP68 dustproof and waterproof Reasons to avoid -Struggles with heavy tracks -Middling battery life -A little expensive Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate. CMF Speaker M review: Cheat sheetPrice: 4/5Sound quality: 4/5Design: 4.5/5Connectivity: 4/5Features: 4.5/5Overall score: 4/5Best for: Small spaces, beaches, and travel“What if this milk carton could play music?” is probably what the engineers over at Nothing asked themselves when they designed the CMF Speaker M. The M is Nothing’s budget sub-brand’s venture into the world of portable speakers, and for the most part, it’s a triumph. It’s beautifully (and whimsically) designed, comes with handy features like IP68 waterproofing, and delivers great sound (for the most part).But few things in life are perfect, and the M isn’t one of them. It struggles with heavy tracks so I can’t, in good conscience, call it udderly delicious (see what I did there?). Battery life isn’t class-leading either, which makes the M’s price a hard pill to swallow.To find out if this is the best Bluetooth speaker for you, read my full CMF Speaker M review.Latest Videos FromTom's GuideCMF Speaker M review: Specs Swipe to scroll horizontally Price $109 / £99 Durability IP68 Connectivity Bluetooth 6.0 with AAC, SBC and LC3, USB-C wired Multi-speaker connectivity Auracast Frequency response 60Hz-20KHz Range 328 feet / 100m Battery life 18 hours Dimensions 8.6 x 3.4 x 2.1 inches Weight 1.2lbs Colors Turquoise; Dark Gray; White; Orange CMF Speaker M review: What I likeWhimsical, colorful designIP68 waterproof, NFC Fast Pair, and other featuresGreat sound (for the most part)There’s a lot to love about the CMF Speaker M. Its whimsical and colorful design is easily lovable, while its sound quality is great (for the most part). Throw in a user-friendly companion app and useful features, like IP68 waterproofing, and you’ve got yourself a winner.Design (Image credit: Tom's Guide)I’ve tested my fair share of Bluetooth speakers and I have to say, most of them look the same. Black rectangles or squares that don’t look appealing, per se, like the EarFun UBoom L ($79) and the Tribit XSound Go ($39). So when a funky-looking speaker lands on my desk, like the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 ($49) or the Sodapop ($68), I’m over the moon.The CMF Speaker M is one such gadget, and boy does it look good. Well, it looks like a milk carton, but it’s a good-looking milk carton. There’s a handle on top for easy transport, and a round volume dial that looks like a milk carton’s cap.If you’re after a speaker that doesn’t just come in black or white, the M is for you. Alongside your run-of-the-mill colors, it comes in Turquoise or Orange, and having tested both, these look fantastic. The front panels can also be removed (by pushing the unlock button on the rear) if you want to mix and match colors.Tom's Guide: Direct to Your InboxGet instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Measuring 8.6 x 3.4 x 2.1 inches, the M is highly portable and doesn’t take up much space in your day bag. It weighs 1.3lbs so it’s heavier than the EarFun UBoom L (1.4lbs) and the Sodapop (10.6 ounces), but not too heavy that it weighs you down. If you want an ultra-portable speaker, you can’t go wrong with the JBL Go 5 ($54, 8.16 ounces), or the CMF Speaker S ($59), the M’s smaller sibling.The M is a fairly stripped-back, minimalist speaker. There’s no flashy RGB lighting or loud branding. As CMF’s first portable speaker, it’s an aesthetic home run.Features & connectivity (Image credit: Tom's Guide)One of the CMF Speaker M’s biggest selling points is its rugged design. The speaker is IP68-rated, which is the highest possible rating a consumer-focused gadget can be assigned. That makes it waterproof and dustproof, so you can use it at the beach, in the shower, and even in a sandy desert. This is the same rating you’ll find on the JBL Go 5 and the pricier JBL Xtreme 5 ($399).The M is well-connected, too. It utilizes Bluetooth 6.0 with support for AAC and SBC codecs, and there’s LC3 for Auracast multi-speaker pairing. There’s a Stereo Mode and a Party Mode. For Stereo Mode, you’ll need two Ms, which pair through the Nothing X app. Party Mode, on the other hand, enables you to connect two or more Auracast-enabled speakers by pressing their respective Auracast buttons. CMF sent me two review units and I found toggling both modes a breeze.Alongside Google and Microsoft Fast Pair, one of the M’s edges is fitted with an NFC Fast Pair tag. This is a short-range wireless technology that lets electronic devices (so the speaker and your phone) share data when they are placed within a few centimeters of each other. I held my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL against it and within 10 seconds, I got a notification to pair my phone with the speaker.I haven’t seen this feature on a speaker before, and I love that it simplifies (and speeds up) the pairing process. You can see how this works in the video above, where I tap a Samsung phone against the M's NFC tag.Sound quality (Image credit: Tom's Guide)For the most part, the CMF Speaker M sounds good, especially if you don’t listen much to heavy rock or metal. It’s got a slightly neutral tuning, and its 2.6-inch woofer and 0.6-inch tweeter deliver a 35W power/bass output. To test the speaker, I listened to my array of testing tracks on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for audiophiles.Little Simz’s vocals in “Fear No Man” sounded deliciously detailed and textured, with her voice sitting front and center. The different percussion instruments, like the nine-piece bata drum ensemble, sounded bright but never overzealous or fatiguing. Her words didn’t bleed into one another either, making for an enjoyable listening experience. (Image credit: Tom's Guide)“Two Suns in the Sunset” by Pink Floyd sounded beautiful, too. The soundstage felt wide and spacious as the saxophone and piano spread around. While the M doesn’t quite recreate the expansive depth of a larger speaker, like the JBL Xtreme 5, it keeps the track feeling engaging.However, heavy tracks are a struggle. The guitar riffs, bass and percussion in “Unamerican” by Dead Sara blended into one another and fell flat. The low-end sounded suppressed, and Emily Armstrong’s vocals sounded shrill and tinny. Enabling the Ultra Bass EQ preset salvaged some of it, but even so, the track continued sounding like a muddy wall of sound.For songs that aren’t very heavy and don’t feature rock ‘n’ roll elements, the M is a good shout and warrants a recommendation. But if you want a speaker that can handle anything you throw at it, the JBL Go 5 is the way to go.Listen along to my review with the CMF Speaker M testing playlist:App (Image credit: Nothing / Tom's Guide)The CMF Speaker M is accompanied by the Nothing X app which I’m a big fan of — I’ve previously sung its praises in my Nothing Headphone (1) Pro and Nothing Ear (3) reviews. The app sports a clean interface and is extremely intuitive to use.It enables you to customize the M’s controls, toggle Stereo or Party Mode, choose an EQ preset, and most importantly, customize the equalizer to your liking (something missing from the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2). In a nutshell, the Nothing X app is great and doesn’t give you much to complain about.CMF Speaker M review: What I don’t likeMiddling battery lifeA little expensiveAs I mentioned earlier, the CMF Speaker M’s sound quality is great but it struggles with heavy tracks. Battery life isn’t the best either, and the speaker itself is expensive.Battery life (Image credit: Tom's Guide)The CMF Speaker M’s battery life is neither the best nor the worst. When playing at 50% volume with the Ultra Bass EQ preset enabled, the M is rated for 18 hours. Your mileage will naturally depend on volume, EQ and other playback settings. I left it running, playing at 60% volume, and the speaker promptly died after about 17 hours.There are quite a few similarly priced or cheaper speakers that last longer than the M, like the Tribit XSound Go (24 hours), the Tribit StormBox Micro 3 ($64, 24 hours), the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2 (30 hours), and the Sodapop (30 hours). But there are also speakers that the M upstages, like the Marshall Willen II ($99, 17 hours), the EarFun UBoom L (16 hours), and the JBL Go 5 (10 hours).Price (Image credit: Tom's Guide)With middling battery life and lack of LDAC support, does the CMF Speaker M do enough to justify its price? It retails for $109 at Amazon U.S. / £99 at Nothing U.K., making it pricier than most of our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers — though a speaker like the Bose SoundLink Micro 2 ($129) does cost more. At $54, the JBL Go 5 comes in at half the M’s price and is, arguably, the compact speaker to get. If the M had been cheaper with a price tag of, say, $70, it would have made a more compelling case for itself.CMF Speaker M compared (Image credit: Tom's Guide)When it comes to visual aesthetics, there’s no other speaker like the CMF Speaker M. Most of its rivals, like the JBL Go 5 and the EarFun UBoom L, look like plain Janes (no offence to the Janes of the world). It also features NFC Fast Pair one-tap pairing which none of its competitors do, and just like the JBL Go 5, it’s IP68 dustproof and waterproof.The M sounds better than a lot of its rivals, too, like the Tribit XSound Go, the Sodapop and the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2. But that doesn’t mean its sound quality is peerless — the JBL Go 5 upstages it there as the M struggles with heavy tracks. When it comes to battery life, the M is neither the best nor the worst, as it lasts longer than the JBL Go 5, the Marshall Willen II, and the EarFun UBoom L, but shorter than the likes of the 8BitDo Retro Cube 2.At the end of the day, if you want full-bodied sound with plenty of low-end impact, I’d recommend the JBL Go 5 if you’re on a budget, or the Bose SoundLink Micro 2 if you can spare an extra $20. But if you’re after a speaker that looks much, much better than most others out there, the M is a no-brainer.Who should buy the CMF Speaker M? (Image credit: Tom's Guide)As with most Nothing products, if you care about owning a gadget that looks otherworldly, then the CMF Speaker M is for you. It’s stylish, sleek, colorful, and whimsical. It’s highly portable and IP68-rated, so if you enjoy taking a speaker to the beach, this is the one to get. As for sound quality, the M sounds great across most genres.I say “most” because the speaker struggles with heavy rock and metal tracks, which is somewhat salvageable by customizing the EQ via the user-friendly companion app. And while battery life isn’t outright awful at 18 hours, the M’s competitors offer longer playtimes — especially at lower prices. If neither of those are dealbreakers for you, the M deserves a place on your coffee table or bookshelf. Nikita is a Senior Writer on the Reviews team at Tom's Guide. She's a lifelong gaming and photography enthusiast, always on the lookout for the latest tech. Having worked as a Sub Editor and Writer for Canon EMEA, she has interviewed photographers from all over the world and working in different genres.When she’s not working, Nikita can usually be found sinking hours into RPGs on her PS5, flying a drone (she's a licensed drone pilot), at a concert, or watching F1. Her work has appeared in several publications including Motor Sport Magazine, NME, Marriott Bonvoy, The Independent, and Metro. You can follow her photography account on Instagram here. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.