Nothing Headphone Firmware Update v1.0.1.81 fixes bass issues
Update without fear, iv 1.0.1.81 fixes bass issues reported by users.
The TL;DR
- Nothing Headphone (1) owners reported a firmware update that negatively affected sound quality in mid-2025.
- The change in sound quality is marked by a significant lack of bass emphasis, which affects the EQ profiles.
- Firmware v1.0.1.81 seems to fix the problem.
Nothing Headphone (1) owners notice: a new firmware update has arrived, and it seems to fix the sound quality issues reported by other users. As our unit is affected by this change, we reported on it this past September with estimates. After receiving the latest Nothing firmware update, the bass issues reported by users seem to be resolved.
The update, iv 1.0.1.81, started rolling out to users around the world about a week and a half ago. There’s no mention that the update is meant to give users “refined bass tuning to clarify low-frequency performance while maintaining overall balance” — so we put it in the lab to see what’s going on.
We lab test every product that comes through our lab under controlled conditions, with the most advanced equipment.
As a quick note, we had to use a new seat on the Bruel & Kjaer 5128 anthropomorphic test head (it had been a few months), so although the results look a little different from our original measurements: we are sure that the update fixed the problem for our unit.
After we updated to the latest version, we performed a factory data reset to ensure that no settings could affect our test results. At first listen, the Headphone (1) update performed as advertised — the bass is back, even if there is no bass enhancement option turned on. As usual, we put the headphones ANC off before turning on the feature, and confirmed the correct sign.
We looked at frequency response, distortion, channel matching, perceptual rub and buzz, among other metrics. All the measurements tell the same story: that the headphones seem to emphasize the bass properly with the new firmware – and there is no rattling or buzzing, either. But the main issue is the frequency response.
If the blue line crosses over the pink, that means the product is louder at that frequency than our curve, and vice versa. If you’re having a hard time following along, click the “Error Curve” button at the top of the chart area to change the data to be displayed. only deviation from this curve.
Just know that meeting a goal doesn’t automatically mean something that feels good; it’s just a guaranteed start. Think of this as vanilla ice cream for tuning: it’s not meant to be your favorite all the time, but it’s a good place to start – or add things to it. Most people will prefer a different sound, but starting with something close to this curve will make the adjustment much easier to get decent results.
And compared to the actual rating we recorded at launch:
Sure, there’s something weird in the upper octaves, but again: that could be due to a slight difference in pitch or the weariness of things between last September and now. You can experience this with wearing a pad, a very cold day, headphones that slip a little, changes in fit due to hair growth… the list goes on. These headphones are very dim when it comes to dialing in the right direction, so it’s rare for the different measurements to differ if at all. If you update your Headphone (1) and still you have problems with bass, it is possible that something is breaking the seal of the headphones that is causing your low level problem, not the firmware of the headphones.
I caution readers that although this update works with our unit, a single data point is not a trend – but the fact that it worked for us is a good sign. If you were expecting to install the latest firmware update, we recommend you to take honey.
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