A price breaker with a clever case? - CMF Clip Pro review

The CMF Clip Pro can be purchased directly from Nothing, but they are also available on Amazon.

There are now plenty of open-ear headphones on the market. With the Clip Pro, CMF is now entering the fray. The Nothing subsidiary doesn’t just rely on an open-ear design; it also equips the charging case with an unusual rotary control. Our review will show whether this is more than just a gimmick and how the sound, comfort, and battery life measure up.

The CMF Clip Pro follows the typical clip-on design: Instead of blocking the ear canal, they clip onto the outer ear with a flexible arm. The speaker sits in front of the ear canal, while the counterpart behind the ear provides support. This design is comfortably unobtrusive. The Clip Pro sit securely without causing any uncomfortable pressure and stay in place even during vigorous head movements. At the same time, the wearer can still hear plenty of ambient sound.

In terms of materials and build quality, CMF relies primarily on plastic. This doesn’t give the Clip Pro a particularly premium look, but there aren’t any major flaws in the build quality either. The earbuds are neatly assembled and IP54-rated for protection against dust and splashes. Sweat or a brief rain shower shouldn’t be a problem for them. The charging case is IPX2-certified.

When it comes to sustainability, the CMF Clip Pro falls short. CMF does not publish specific details on the percentage of recycled materials or the model’s carbon footprint. Additionally, the earbuds’ small batteries cannot be replaced by the user, a common issue with many true wireless and open-ear headphones.

At least CMF offers a repair service and directs customers to its own customer service department in the event of defects. The earbuds’ IP54 rating for protection against dust and splashes also contributes to their longevity.

When it comes to features, the CMF Clip Pro really stands out. These open-ear headphones connect via Bluetooth 5.4 and, in addition to the standard SBC and AAC codecs, also support LDAC for higher-quality audio transmission with compatible Android devices. Bluetooth multipoint is also a handy feature: for example, you can connect your smartphone and laptop at the same time and switch between them without having to re-pair them. However, there’s no wear detection feature that automatically pauses playback when you take the earbuds off.

The Clip Pro earbuds are controlled directly on the earbuds themselves using touch gestures. These gestures let you control playback and calls, as well as activate the voice assistant. The gesture assignments can be customized in the Nothing X app. The app also offers an equalizer, a bass-enhancement feature, firmware updates, and additional settings.

The real unique selling point, however, is the charging case. For example, you can adjust the volume by turning the Smart Dial. The dial also responds to presses and can be assigned additional functions. This works intuitively and is especially convenient when the case is sitting on your desk anyway. The Smart Dial must first be activated in the Nothing X app and can then be customized to your preferences.

In terms of sound, the CMF Clip Pro deliver a balanced performance and, for open-ear headphones, surprisingly powerful bass. Vocals are present and clear in the foreground, while the open design creates an airy soundstage. Due to their design, the deep bass lacks a bit of punch, but the lower bass still provides a solid foundation.

Our measurements serve as additional guidance here and also show a dip in the low bass as well as more prominent mids. At moderate volumes, the Clip Pro sound clean and pleasant, but at high levels, their limitations become apparent: deep bass sounds increasingly overdriven, and with high-pitched voices, a slight tremor or flutter can sometimes be heard.

The Clip Pro’s performance during phone calls is only somewhat impressive. While speech remains clearly intelligible, your own voice comes across as quite harsh and metallic to the person on the other end.

THD (Total Harmonic Distortion): Harmonic distortion quantifies the magnitude of the components that arise from non-linear distortion (harmonic content) in relation to the original signal. THD refers only to the fundamental harmonic content. The distortion factor is often mentioned in the same breath, but refers to the overall signal.

THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise): This value is comparable to THD, but in addition to the interference from harmonics, the interference from noise is also recorded as an effective value.

For the measurement, a low-harmonic sine wave signal (1 kHz, > 0 dB) is played through the headphones to be tested and recorded by a linear measuring microphone (measuring distance: approx. 1 cm) in an artificial head.

Both values are given as a percentage. The lower the value, the better the signal fidelity.

CMF promises up to ten hours of playback on a single charge for the Clip Pro, and up to 40 hours total when including the charging case. In our hands-on test, we achieved about eight hours of battery life using the AAC codec. While the Open-Ears don’t quite reach the manufacturer’s specified runtime, a single charge is generally sufficient for a long workday.

As usual, actual battery life may vary depending on volume and usage.