CMF BY NOTHING CMF Buds Pro 2 Wireless Review

Buy these for the best budget audiophile sound and ANC on the market. Just don't expect to sound good on phone calls.

The CMF Buds Pro 2 are the best-sounding wireless earbuds you can buy for under a hundred bucks, and it's not even close. Forget the price for a second—the hybrid drivers and LDAC support deliver audio that punches way above its weight class, landing in the top 5% of all earbuds we've tested. The one thing you need to know is that if your priority is pure, rich, detailed sound on a budget, these are your new frontrunner. Just don't expect them to be perfect at everything else.

The sound quality genuinely surprised us. For a product that can be found for well under $100, the audio performance is best-in-class. The 11mm bass driver and 6mm tweeter combo, tuned by Dirac, provides a balanced yet powerful profile that makes everything from orchestral scores to hip-hop feel immersive. The 50dB adaptive ANC is also a standout, effectively silencing most ambient noise. The real shocker, though, is the microphone performance. Despite having six mics, our data shows call quality lands in the bottom quarter of all earbuds. It's the classic case of a product being brilliant at its main job but dropping the ball on a basic feature.

This is where the Buds Pro 2 absolutely shine. With prices ranging from a steal at around $49 to a still-reasonable $1419 at the highest end (stick to the lower-priced vendors), you are getting near-flagship audio and ANC for a fraction of the cost. If you prioritize music and noise cancellation over crystal-clear calls, the value proposition is almost unbeatable. Just shop around—don't pay the top price.

Stacked against the competition, the Buds Pro 2 carve out a unique niche. They destroy the Apple AirPods on sound quality and price, but lose on seamless ecosystem integration and call clarity. Compared to the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5, they offer better, more refined sound and a more interesting design with the dial, but the Anker might have slightly better battery life. The real choice is between these and spending $200+ on a Sennheiser or Bose. Those premium options might have marginally better ANC or build, but you're paying double or triple for incremental gains. For pure audio bliss per dollar, the CMF buds win.

If you need your earbuds primarily for work calls or virtual meetings, skip these. The microphone performance is a real letdown. Go get a pair of Jabra earbuds instead—they sacrifice some sound quality for much clearer voice pickup.

We're giving these a strong recommendation for music lovers and commuters on a budget. The combination of elite-tier sound, excellent active noise cancellation, and a clever smart dial for under $100 is a knockout punch. Just go in with your eyes open: you're trading away great call quality and premium materials for that incredible audio performance. If you take a lot of calls, look elsewhere. If you want to get lost in your music without breaking the bank, buy these.