CMF Buds Neo review: These affordable earbuds offer well-rounded experience

The CMF Buds Neo brings ANC, 12.4mm drivers, Bluetooth 6.0 and long battery life to the Rs 1,999 segment. But do these features add up to a genuinely good everyday listening experience?

The CMF Buds Neo sits at the entry point of Nothing’s audio lineup in India. The wireless earbuds bring features such as active noise cancellation, multi-point connectivity (two devices), and a sound profile aimed at everyday listeners. So what exactly changes when you move to the Rs 1,999 Buds Neo?

 

Does the CMF Buds Neo look cheap?

 

The CMF Buds Neo follows the company's familiar design language, with a square charging case, rounded corners and a matte finish. The design is simple, but it does not look generic.

 

The case has a circular dial on one corner that can also be used as a lanyard attachment. There is a USB Type-C port on the side, while an LED on the front indicates charging and pairing status. The earbuds sit firmly inside the case because of the magnets, and I had no trouble taking them out or putting them back. The earbuds have a matte finish on the stems and a glossy finish around the main body, giving them a slightly more premium appearance than expected at this price.

 

 

That said, the essentials are in place and the Buds Neo do not look cheap.

 

Are the Buds Neo comfortable enough for long listening?

 

The earbuds are light, and that becomes noticeable almost immediately after putting them on. I did not feel much pressure in my ears, and the default silicone tips provided a reasonably secure fit.

 

CMF provides small, medium and large ear-tip options in the box, so finding the right fit should not be difficult. For me, the earbuds stayed in place even while moving around, which is important because a poor fit can affect both comfort and ANC performance.

 

I generally do not wear earbuds continuously for several hours, but during one- to two-hour listening sessions, the Buds Neo remained comfortable. I did not experience the kind of pressure that can make some in-ear earbuds tiring after extended use.

 

The lightweight construction helps here. With the right ear-tip size, I used it comfortably using these for longer listening sessions as well.

 

What does the CMF Buds Neo sound like?

 

The Buds Neo come with 12.4mm dynamic drivers and have a sound profile that will appeal to people who enjoy a little extra bass. They are not designed to deliver a completely balanced or neutral sound. Instead, the bass gets more attention, while vocals and other sounds remain reasonably clear.

 

The Buds Neo can also get very loud. During my regular use, I found 40-50 per cent volume more than enough for comfortable listening. At around 80 per cent and above, I did notice some distortion, but this did not affect my everyday experience since I rarely needed to go anywhere near those levels.

 

Can you customise the Buds Neo’s sound?

 

To some extent, yes. The Nothing X app gives the Buds Neo six EQ presets, along with options to customise the sound further. There are also two levels of bass enhancement to choose from.

 

The Nothing X app also acts as the central control hub for the earbuds, bringing connectivity, sound and other settings together in one place. I found the controls easy to use, particularly the option to customise the tap actions for each earbud. There is also a dual-connection setting that can be switched on or off.

 

Another option is Low Lag Mode. It can simply be turned on or off, although I did not find a noticeable difference when using it. For most users, therefore, it may not be a setting they need to think about regularly.

 

The earbuds also support Spatial Audio. For first-time users, the app explains what the feature is meant to do before letting them turn it on. Spatial Audio is a fixed setting, so there is no additional customisation available beyond switching it on or off.

 

Noise cancellation and transparency

 

The app gives users several options for managing noise cancellation. You can switch noise cancellation off completely or use Transparency Mode when you want to hear your surroundings. For noise cancellation itself, there are Low, Medium, High and Adaptive levels.

 

I generally kept noise cancellation on High. If I want to hear what is happening around me, I would rather switch to Transparency Mode manually than have the earbuds automatically adjust the level through Adaptive mode. This is, of course, a matter of personal preference, but having these options is useful.

 

Does the 35dB ANC actually make a difference?

 

This is perhaps the most important question for a pair of earbuds at this price. CMF rates the Buds Neo for up to 35dB of noise cancellation and offers three ANC levels, along with an adaptive mode. In my experience, the ANC does make a noticeable difference, particularly with constant background noise.

 

I found that ANC took the edge off the surrounding noise and made the environment feel less intrusive. Rather than trying to eliminate every sound, it reduces enough of the background noise for the audio to become easier to focus on.

 

Can the Buds Neo handle phone calls?

 

The earbuds have four microphones in total, with two on each side, and CMF uses its Clear Voice Technology for calls. During my calls, voices came through clearly and the person on the other end could generally hear me without difficulty. In quieter environments, the performance was straightforward.

 

Traffic naturally made things harder. Ambient sound could still be heard alongside my voice, but my voice remained intelligible. That is a reasonable result for earbuds at this price and not something I found particularly problematic. 

 

Is connectivity reliable?

 

For the most part, yes. The CMF Buds Neo supports Bluetooth 6.0, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. Pairing is straightforward, although the process is slightly unusual, I had to wear the earbuds, touch both of them and hold the touch controls for about five seconds to put them into pairing mode.

 

What I found more useful was dual-device connectivity. I could keep the Buds Neo connected to both my phone and desktop, which saved me from repeatedly disconnecting and pairing them whenever I switched between the two.

 

For a pair of earbuds priced at Rs 1,999, dual-device connectivity is a welcome addition and one I ended up using regularly.

 

The Buds Neo do make some compromises. The most obvious one is the absence of a physical pairing button. Instead, you have to wear the earbuds and use the touch controls to enter pairing mode. It works, but a physical button on the case would have made pairing a new device simpler.

 

Can the Buds Neo last through the week?

 

Battery life is another area where CMF's claims largely translate well to everyday use.

The company claims up to 52 hours of total playback with the charging case when ANC is turned off. With ANC enabled, the claimed total playback drops to 30 hours. The earbuds themselves are rated for up to 11 hours without ANC.

 

In my usage, I did not have to think about charging them constantly. I only recharged the case once during the middle of the following week, which suggests that regular users who listen for a few hours a day should not have to carry the charger around frequently.

 

The quick-charge feature is useful as well. CMF claims that 10 minutes of charging can provide up to 5.5 hours of playback. That means even if the earbuds are nearly empty before leaving home, a short charging session can provide enough listening time for several hours.

The combination of long battery life and quick charging makes the Buds Neo convenient for everyday use. 

 

So, should you buy the CMF Buds Neo?

 

At Rs 1,999, the Buds Neo gets the important things right: enjoyable sound, useful ANC, comfortable fit, reliable connectivity and good battery life. There are a few compromises, but they do not take away from what is otherwise a capable pair of budget earbuds for everyday use.