There are headphones that aim to completely isolate you from the world, and others that do just the opposite. CMF Clip Pro fall into the latter category, with a rather unusual design, a level of comfort that has genuinely surprised me, and a clever little feature built into their charging case that has become one of my favorite things about them.
I've been using open-back headphones for a while now, especially the Nothing Ear (open) style, so I was quite curious to see what CMF could offer with this new clip-on format. After using them during my workday, listening to music, taking calls, and testing them in different situations, I have a pretty clear idea of where they shine, what their limitations are, and, above all, what kind of user I would recommend them to. Let's get to it!
A small, fun design with lots of personality
The first thing that surprised me when I took the CMF Clip Pro out of their box was how small they are. Both the case and the earbuds themselves are quite compact, which is appreciated when you're looking for a device to carry with you all day. Each earbud weighs barely 5.92 grams, a figure that already gives us some clue as to what we can expect in terms of comfort.
With CMF, something similar often happens with many of their products. To maintain competitive prices without sacrificing too much in other areas, materials are often one of the points where certain compromises are made. Here we have a primarily plastic construction, but that doesn't mean the feel is bad. The case has that slightly rubbery texture we've seen in other CMF devices, which I personally love because it conveys a very pleasant, even more premium, feel than we might expect. The case has a matte finish, while the earbuds opt for a glossy surface—an interesting combination that works quite well.
And I have to admit that I ended up liking the Coral color more than I expected. In photos, it might look like an overly bright orange, but in person, it's a much softer, almost pastel shade, a slightly washed-out orange that manages to feel playful without drawing too much attention. That said, once you're wearing them, their design certainly doesn't go unnoticed. Clip Pro look like a pair of rather large earrings or piercings attached to the outer ear. It's a very distinctive design that you'll either love or simply won't be convinced by. Compared to Nothing Ear (open), which I find a little more elegant and professional, these have a much more casual and playful personality.
If there's one design element that deserves a special mention, it's the small dial on the side of the charging case. CMF calls it the Smart Dial, and it lets us control various functions simply by rotating or pressing it. We can adjust the volume, manage playback, activate certain features, and customize how it works through Nothing X.
Before trying them, I thought it would be one of those quirky features you use for the first few days and then completely forget about. Well, I was wrong. Very wrong! I've gotten used to using it to raise and lower the volume, especially since doing it directly from the headphones with a long press is quite slow and impractical. But there's something else that I find amusing. You know those little stress-relief gadgets you end up playing with without realizing it while you work? Well, that's exactly what happens to me with the wheel. I find myself turning it this way and that simply for the pleasure of it. It's silly, I know, but there's something addictive about it.
Naturally, don't expect the precision or feel of a wheel from a high-end device. It feels overly basic, the feedback is quite modest, and it's clear this is a budget product. However, it works correctly and, most importantly, it's not just a decorative feature: it actually serves a purpose.
Exceptional comfort, even while wearing glasses
This is where the CMF Clip Pro earbuds truly won me over. Their open design uses a kind of clip that gently hugs the ear, leaving the small speaker positioned just in front of the ear canal, without inserting it. In other words, the ear remains completely free. The battery and a physical button for interaction are located on the back.
I have fairly large ears, I wear glasses, and I usually use headphones for around eight hours a day. So you can imagine how important comfort is to me. Well, Clip Pro are incredibly comfortable. They apply just enough pressure to stay securely in place, but it's so gentle that I haven't experienced any discomfort or pain whatsoever. And when I say they stay in place, I really mean it. I've tried shaking my head quite aggressively and making sudden movements, and they haven't fallen off. That said, if you go running with them, they might gradually shift out of position depending on the thickness or shape of your ears. They also come with an IP54 rating for dust and splash resistance, making them an interesting option for physical activities too.
Another important advantage of this design is that it doesn't interfere with the temples of glasses. Earbuds with ear hooks, like the Ear (open), share space with them behind the ear, while the Clip Pro completely avoids that problem. In fact, if I had to choose solely based on comfort, I think the CMF wins by a very small margin, although I find both excellent. To give you an idea, sometimes I go quite a while without playing anything at all and I even wonder if I'm still wearing them. That's the level of comfort we're talking about!
However, there's one situation where I don't find them so pleasant: when I'm lying in bed with my ear pressed against the pillow. In that position, the shape of the clip itself is somewhat uncomfortable, and I prefer to use headphones with a different design.
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There's also a slight learning curve. It's my first time using this format, and it took me about two or three days to get used to quickly inserting them, both into my ears and into the case. Once you get the hang of it, you begin to appreciate how well-designed the placement is. The movement of taking the earbud out and bringing it to your ear feels very natural, without needing to twist it in your hand or constantly check its position. As a minor point for improvement, I would have liked both earbuds to be interchangeable. Here, we have one specifically for the left ear and another for the right.
Sound: the bass is surprising, but there are limits
Before talking about sound quality, there's something important we need to understand. CMF Clip Pro are open-ear earbuds, which means they don't block your ear canals or isolate you from your surroundings. You can listen to music while still being fully aware of conversations, footsteps, and practically everything happening around you. And that completely changes the experience.
As for sound quality, my impressions have been very positive. They feature 10.8 mm dynamic drivers, support the LDAC codec, and come with Hi-Res Wireless certification. But putting the specifications aside, what has really surprised me is how well they manage to reproduce bass, something that's particularly challenging with open-ear earbuds. The bass has a really pleasant presence, and the sound retains a surprising amount of body, which isn't always easy to achieve when there's no seal inside the ear.
Furthermore, the sound reproduction feels remarkably natural. On occasion, I've even mistaken a sound coming from the headphones for one actually happening in my surroundings. This seems to me a good indication of how seamlessly integrated the experience can feel.
However, I also don't want you to get the wrong idea. These headphones have significant limitations in terms of power, and it's important to be aware of them before buying. I tested them in a supermarket, surrounded by the noise of people, shopping carts, background music, and refrigerator motors. The result? The volume was far too low. Even at maximum volume, the sound wasn't loud enough to comfortably enjoy the content. Something similar can happen with certain social media videos that have poorly edited and excessively low audio. In those situations, I missed having a little extra volume.
That's why I want to emphasize one thing: good sound quality doesn't necessarily mean a pair of earbuds is suitable for every environment. At home, in an office, or in relatively quiet places, Clip Pro sound genuinely good. However, if you're planning to use them on public transport, while walking through very noisy streets, or to block out the hustle and bustle of a busy city, I'd recommend going for in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones instead.
They also incorporate static spatial audio, a feature I've tried but honestly didn't find particularly interesting. At times, I even think it slightly degrades the playback quality, so I personally prefer to keep it disabled.
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Working with them is wonderful
This is probably the section that best explains why I like these types of headphones so much. At work, I spend many hours in front of the computer, listening to music, taking phone calls, and constantly talking to colleagues or clients who are physically in front of me.
With traditional headphones, especially those with high noise isolation, these interactions can be quite awkward. You have to pause the music, activate transparency mode, or even remove one earbud to properly hear someone else. With the CMF Clip Pro, I simply don't have that problem. I can be listening to something and have a conversation with a colleague without taking anything out of my ears. I can take a call and still be aware of my surroundings. Everything feels much smoother and more natural.
It's like being connected to two worlds at the same time, without that plugged-up feeling in your ears or the discomfort that other types of earbuds can cause after hours of use. Of course, this advantage also means giving up noise isolation. We can't have the best of both worlds and expect outside noise to disappear at the same time. It's precisely this sense of freedom that makes Clip Pro so appealing, as long as we use them in the right situations.
Calls and privacy: the anti-leak mode
Calls follow the same philosophy as music playback. In quiet environments, the experience is excellent. I can hear the other person perfectly, and from what I've seen, my voice also comes through quite clearly, with results similar to those I get with the Nothing Ear (open).
CMF incorporates four microphones in total and various voice processing technologies, such as Clear Voice Technology, to improve audio quality during conversations. However, limitations become apparent when ambient noise increases. I find it harder to hear the other person, and depending on the circumstances, they may also have difficulty understanding me.
There's another important detail we shouldn't overlook: sound leakage. Since these are open-ear earbuds, someone sitting nearby in a particularly quiet environment might be able to hear what we're listening to. Fortunately, Nothing X includes an anti-leakage mode that attempts to reduce this issue by adjusting the audio output. What's particularly interesting is that we can enable it for all audio or only during calls, an option I find especially useful when it comes to protecting our privacy while talking to someone.
The downside? The sound quality noticeably decreases. The sound becomes much flatter, less vibrant, and loses some of the richness I love about these headphones. Personally, I prefer to keep it off, but I appreciate the option for those who need a bit more discretion.
Nothing X and dual connection: two great allies
Whenever I review an audio product from Nothing or CMF, I always end up raving about Nothing X. And this time will be no exception. It's a fantastic application that allows you to easily configure a multitude of functions without overcomplicating things.
We can modify the equalization using five preset profiles or create a custom one, adjusting bass, mids, and treble to our liking. We can also change the controls on the headphones and the charging case wheel, manage updates, activate low-latency mode, and use other tools such as headphone search.
However, there is one feature that I consider almost essential in my daily life: the dual connection. The CMF Clip Pro headphones use Bluetooth 5.4 and allow you to connect to two devices simultaneously. In my case, I have them paired with my computer and my mobile phone. I can be listening to music from my PC, and when I receive a call on my phone, the headphones automatically switch devices with surprising speed.
It's a feature I use constantly, and it works remarkably well. I haven't experienced any strange disconnections or malfunctions during my testing, which is always appreciated in a product I use for so many hours.
Regarding Bluetooth range, I also carried out my usual tests. I was able to move around the house, go upstairs leaving the phone downstairs, or vice versa, without any major issues. I only started to notice occasional dropouts or complete loss of signal when I moved quite far away, such as when leaving the house to take out the trash, leaving the phone in the dining room, or with numerous walls in between. In short, the range is very good, on par with what I'm used to seeing in other Nothing and CMF products.
An autonomy that seems endless
If there's another area where CMF Clip Pro really shine, it's battery life. According to the official specifications, they offer up to 10 hours of playback on a single charge, reaching 32.5 hours when you factor in the additional power provided by the charging case. There's also an extended battery mode that pushes the total up to 36 hours. And if you ever run out of battery, a quick 10-minute charge promises to deliver up to four additional hours of playback.
In my case, I haven't taken an exact measurement with a stopwatch, so I prefer to talk about my experience using them. And the feeling is excellent. I can go practically a whole week using them intensively, alternating between music, calls, and periods without playback, without needing to connect the case to the charger.
The lack of active noise cancellation also works in its favor in terms of energy consumption. In any case, battery life is one of those aspects I practically forgot about during testing. And when that happens, it's usually very good news.
Are the CMF Clip Pro worth it?
After using them throughout my workdays and in various everyday situations, I'm pretty convinced that CMF Clip Pro are excellent earbuds for anyone who genuinely needs an open-ear design.
I've been won over by their comfort, especially when wearing glasses, by a sound quality that surprises with very well-achieved bass, and by small details that end up making the difference, such as the wheel on the case, the dual connection, or all the configuration possibilities offered by Nothing X.
I also appreciate that CMF has opted for a different, more fun and informal aesthetic, without neglecting important aspects like ear stability or battery life. And all this for an official price of 79.95 euros, which seems quite good for what they offer.
But they're not perfect either. Their power can be insufficient in noisy environments, calls lose quality when ambient noise increases, and sound leakage is something to keep in mind. Furthermore, their unusual design might not appeal to everyone.
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Are they better than the Nothing Ear (open)? Well, honestly, I'm having a hard time choosing. I think they're both fantastic, and I believe a large part of the decision will depend on the design we prefer. The Ear (open) headphones convey a slightly more elegant and professional image, while the Clip Pro headphones are more casual and perhaps even a little more comfortable. In any case, I'll prepare a detailed comparison between the two to delve deeper into their differences.
Ultimately, I think the key is understanding what they're designed for. If you're looking for earbuds to use at work, around the house, or to enjoy your favorite content without disconnecting from the people around you, while barely noticing you're wearing anything at all, CMF Clip Pro are a fantastic option. But if you need to block out the noise of busy streets or public transport, you'd probably be better off looking at a different type of headphones.
And for my part, after so many hours with them, I can only say that they've earned a place in my daily life. Although I admit I still don't know if I use the earbuds more… or that darn wheel on the case!
If you want to stay informed about the latest news and updates on Nothing and CMF products, you can follow me on X (@ruudhesp), Instagram (@ruudhesp) and TikTok (@nothingtec).
CMF Clip Pro Review
- Design and build quality
- Comfort
- Sound quality
- Battery life
- Controls and features
- Connectivity
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