OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro review: best use of your $50?

OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro

The OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are available at $30 off during their launch celebration period! Three steps of ANC, good sound, great fit and feel.

$30 off (38%)

$49 ⁹⁹

$79 ⁹⁹

Buy at OnePlus

Design and Comfort

OnePlus changed the design of the Nord Buds 3 Pro, they used to have flat stems and a flat-sided case. Now, it's an oval-shaped case for easier pocketing, and the buds themselves are more "traditional-looking".

The case is a little bit on the bulky side, but we appreciate the smooth rounded shape. Our black unit is an absolute fingerprint magnet and you can already see shiny spots when inspecting it closer. We did clean it up for the design pictures. The same can be spotted on the black buds and their silicone tips, which show signs of sweat and grease pretty soon after you start using them.

The buds themselves are extremely comfortable — coming from someone whose ears don't often agree with in-ear buds, these fit well, stay in, and don't cause fatigue over time. No complaints here!

The stems have a touchpad for media controls — this is usually not a favorite. However, the touchpads on the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are very tiny and have a tiny ridge around them, so your finger can always feel where they are. This is to say that you won't be doing accidental taps and stopping your music when simply adjusting the earbud in your ear.



We have three tip sizes in the box, and they seem to cover a wide range of ear shapes, but we feel like users with large ear canals may not find a proper fit. I typically use small or medium tips, depending on model, but for the Nord Buds 3 Pro, I found the large size to be the best fit for me. There's no size above that, unless you go 3rd party.

The case is drop-tested to 1.5 meters, the buds themselves — 1.8 meters. So, OnePlus roughly covered pocket-height and head-height, respectively. We don't really drop our devices, but the case does feel like it can take a fall. The flap has minimal wiggle left to right, and opens and closes with a strong-feeling hinge.

However, keep in mind that there's no ingress protection rating for the case. The buds themselves are IP55 rated — they are protected against both dust and water jets, though it's possible that some dust can get into them without interfering with their operation.

To compare to a similar class of device — the recently-launched Nothing Ear (a) have slightly weaker IP54 rating and also no rating on the case.

From the get-go, the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro are quite bass-heavy. If you install the HeyMelody app, you will see the default EQ mode is called "balanced", though we wouldn't say it's that.

But they are not a one-trick pony — they don't try to drown you in bass and deliver no other musical information. They also have a good amount of mids — boxy enough to sound meaty. The musical detail is there, and the soundstage is surprisingly wide as well.

Then, towards the high range, there's a perceivable hump — these are perceived as louder, with the phone set to "normal" volume when swapping from a different pair of buds to these. Slightly "shouty" is what audiophiles would call them.

The good news is that there's an EQ in the HeyMelody app that lets you dial frequencies in and out of play. It's not super-granular, but you can achieve something to taste with a few nudges here and there.

So, the verdict is — I can't scoff at these for $50. Not even for the $80 MSRP. In fact, I've recommended the Nord Buds 2 before, when someone asks me for "good, cheap earbuds", and will continue to do so with the Nord Buds 3 Pro.



If you love bass, these should sound good to you out of the box. You need the app to activate the BassWave function — which boosts it further, but we found it redundant. Plus, it doesn't seem to boost the duper-deep subs, but something around 120-200 Hz. We got better results by boosting the 62 Hz point in the custom EQ, and then pulling BassWave into the negatives to achieve a thumping, but not overbearing bass.

On the flip side, if you prefer a more balanced sound — again, you need to download the app and fiddle with the EQ a bit. If you're on a budget, we'd say the exercise is worth it.

Noise Cancelation and Transparency

OnePlus says these can lower sounds in the frequency range below 4 kHz at up to -49 dB. And it does feel that way. Now, you need to set the Noise Cancelation profile to Max, and make sure you allow the earbuds to calibrate to your ear canals (again, the HeyMelody app). We found they are very effective at muting rustling, bustling, and noise, thinning out voices, and removing humming.

Yes, there are three stages of noise cancelation to pick from — low, moderate, and max, or you can leave it on auto so the Nord Buds 3 Pro choose the best one based on the current ambiance. This is done because an aggressive noise-canceling algorithm can reduce some of the bass in your music. We can't say we felt that happening with these Buds, when the ANC was set to max.

Transparency mode is OK. A bit middy, a bit tinny, but voices come through, so you will be able to hear and respond just fine. Directional sound seems to remain intact, you will still be able to figure out where something is coming from.

Battery life

Conclusion

We were expecting a good price-to-quality ratio out of the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro, and were not disappointed. We were pleasantly surprised by the new design, which is extremely comfortable, and the very effective ANC, which usually feels like an afterthought on cheaper buds.

These won't be an audiophile's dream, but we didn't find them offensive. All instruments in our tracks were properly represented, the soundstage felt wide, and the harmonies and musical information were well delivered. If we have to complain, they lack a nice pristine sizzle — if you dial the highs up, they just sound harsh. And there's a thump to them that you can't dial out, without making them sound weak.

It seems their signature "character" is prioritizing a punchy feel and clear vocals. And we can't scoff at that at all — it seems those titanium-coated 12.4 mm drivers are no joke! The HeyMelody app is a must for optimal experience.