Tozo Golden X1
In-Ear Bluetooth Earbuds
Tozo Golden X1 ($150). bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
July 2023 Audio Reviews Headphone Reviews Tube Amp Reviews All Reviews.
Introduction top
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
Tozo sent me these to review right after CES 2023. I'm a fan of big speakers and regular headphones, but in-ear monitors are not my thing. I find IEMs uncomfortable and finicky to fit, so I don't have much experience with which to compare these.
I believe my only other earplug review are the long gone Velodyne vPulse, which sounded like $10 earbuds with million-dollar bass.
The most critical factor in how these Tozo, as well as any IEM, sound is how well you can get them to seal inside your ears. While they claim to be "Designed in California," I can't see any signs of that. The user manual isn't really in English, everything looks, feels and works as if it's purely domestic Chinese design and the default "Medium" ear seals are tiny. There are no voice prompts in any language.
Used as shipped, they sound awful and bass stops at 30 Hz because the default "M" size rubber seals don't seal at all. I tried each larger size (all included) one after the other, and it wasn't until I got to the largest XXL size that I finally got a good seal and the right sound.
Once you get them to seal properly they have wonderful bass as they should. They really are solid down to 12 Hz, with smooth, tight and perfect bass— like planar magnetic headphones, but these fit in your pocket.
Ignore all the coding and marketing baloney like OrigX Pro, LDAC HD, Hi-Res, knowles, hybrid dynamic driver and balanced armature. The sound of these 'plugs is limited by your ability to get them to seal in your ear canal and their drivers' squawky midrange. Everything else are but insignificant details.
They claim to have Active Noise-Cancelation, but they don't. They're simply sealed earplugs whose seals offer some isolation. The noise reduction doesn't change regardless of if they're ON or if the batteries are dead. They also have a "hear through" mode that is very noisy and amplifies the ambient sound.
Tozo Golden X1 Buds. bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Good top
Great bass response.
Good power management. They're easy to keep charged. I get about 4½ hours per bud charge. The case can charge the buds a couple of times for each time you charge the case.
The case battery charge reads out directly in percent. The buds read with four bars in the case or in 10% increments over Bluetooth.
Mine arrived 96% charged and ready to pair.
Stays charged when not used. After three months unused my case still read 85% and of course the buds were still fully charged.
Well designed case is easy to use and seals well for sticking in a pocket.
Perfect size and shape to fit in a jeans watch pocket (the little pocket inside the front right pocket).
Easy pairing to my iPhone 14 Pro Max, and even after not using them for a few months they were still fully charged and connected immediately all by themselves.
Great Bluetooth range: I can get almost 100 feet (30 meters) away with the signal making its way through numerous indoor walls. Other Bluetooth devices have only worked in the same room or not more than 30 feet (10 meters) away in my real-world use. (Each ear cuts-out separately as you get out of range.)
Rubber seals are very securely attached to the buds, so they aren't likely to pull off when you pull these out of your ears
No audible self-noise except in hear-through mode.
While I don't like things stuck in my ears, once I got them set they did stay stuck in there for almost five solid hours before needing to recharge the buds.
Tozo Golden X1 Case, closed. What looks like a gray bar is actually a charge status LED. bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Bad top
Like all IEMs, the sound quality is completely dependant on getting a perfect seal to your ear canal.
Harsh midrange response — these don't have smooth sound. This is most obvious at lower levels. It isn't as apparent played loud. These aren't Audeze headphones, which are my reference for superbly smooth and detailed sound.
Response is boosted from about 3.5 ~ 7 kHz, with a nasty peak at about 6,850 Hz. While this makes them sound clear and detailed to the innocent, it's also what makes them sound harsh to audio pros and music lovers.
Response falls off quickly above 8,000 Hz.
Takes two hands to control: one finger on each earbud for different things.
These have no spoken voice prompts and the control feedback sounds, beeps, bings and bongs make no sense. You'll have no idea what's going on unless you use this often enough to get used to its weird sounds. This is not an Apple product; don't expect the élan we take for granted with everything Apple.
The personalization app asked for way too much personal and financial data, so I deleted it without activating it.
Little to no sidetone, meaning you can't hear your own voice as you use the phone. This makes it difficult to speak and may cause you to speak much too loudly.
Costs almost as much as what you really want, the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation.
Missing top
No spare ear seals included. While it comes with about six pairs, there is only one pair in each size.
Play more than loud enough, but like most things Bluetooth can't be turned up that far for very quiet things.
No "find my" function, except for using a generic Bluetooth app that finds things by signal strength.
Charging top
Tozo Golden X1 ($150). bigger. I'd get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Charge the case by plugging into USB-C. The white digits show the case's charge percentage. The last digit blinks while the case is charging.
Pop the buds into the case to charge them. Bud charge is shown with the two bar icons.
There is one LED on each bud.
When either bug has a low battery you'll hear a weird, loud spaceship sound repeat every three minutes or so in that bud.
When one bud dies, the other still works by itself but you lose the controls on the dead bud. Therefore the party's generally over when the first bud dies.
Recommendations top
These aren't HiFi headphones for serious music enjoyment, but they are convenient always to keep handy in a glove box or wherever to use when you're not expecting to need headphones. Their excellent charge retention means they probably will be fully charged and ready to go even after sitting in their case for a year.
For not much more money you can get what you really want, the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation. The saying "The Poor Man Pays Twice" means if you buy these, you'll probably wind up getting the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation eventually — and thus you just paid twice.
While I've never tried the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation, my experience with everything else Apple tells me that the AirPods Pro probably sound many times better than these for not much more money.
Good luck!
© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Alla rättigheter förbehållna. Toate drepturile rezervate. Ken Rockwell® is a registered trademark.
Help Me Help You top
I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.
The biggest help is when you use any of these links when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places always have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.
If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.
If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!
If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.
As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!
Thanks for reading!
Ken.