introduction
Tozo Golden X1 are the latest wireless earbuds that we’ve tested extensively. With an impeccable track record on Amazon and a price tag of $150/€150/£150, these earphones promise Hi-Res Audio with LDAC support, Active Noise Cancellation and up to 30 hours of total battery life with their premium case. recharge.
Do these buds live up to their lofty claims, and are they good enough to compete with the rest of the wireless earbuds in the $150 range? These are our results.
Project
Tozo Golden X1 brings a standard in-ear design with silicone tips and a short stem. They are made of plastic and feature a matte texture with gold elements for the Tozo logo, charging pins and speaker grille. Each gem weighs just over 5 grams while the charging case comes in at 43 grams. The black color and matte finish on the case and buds stain easily and require the occasional wipe to look pristine.
The pill-shaped charging case opens to reveal an LED status bar with battery indicators for the case and each earbud, as well as a pairing button. There’s a second color LED indicator for the case’s battery when you open the lid, and a USB-C port on the back for charging. The case lid mechanism is solid enough although it did loosen a bit after a week of use. There is no need to worry about it opening on its own as it is held in place by strong magnets.
The retail packaging is a step up from most competitors with a well-crafted box that opens to the side with a magnetic flap. The insides house the buds, their case, a USB-C cable, and a total of six silicone tips ranging in size from XS to XXL, which should be good enough for any ear shape and size.
We found the Tozo Golden X1’s lightweight and ergonomic design to be quite comfortable even with extended use. The wide range of ear tips helped with just the right fit, and we’re happy to report that the buds stayed in place even during active gym sessions and the occasional jog.
Characteristics
Tozo is betting big on features with the Golden X1, and you’ll find all the hallmarks essential to a premium pair of wireless earphones here. Golden X1 features hybrid drivers configured with 12mm carbon nanotube diaphragm dynamic drivers and balanced armature drivers by Knowles. This sort of setup isn’t something you’d expect from a pair of gems in this price range from an up-and-coming brand, and it’s definitely a key selling point here.
The buds cover a wide frequency range from 12Hz to 44.1KHz, an impressive feat that even most flagship earbuds from established audio brands fail to deliver. Pairing is done via Bluetooth 5.3, and you get support for AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs. The audio equalizer can be changed within the Tozo companion app available for Android and iOS devices.
We really liked the tidy layout of the Tozo companion app. The menus were well organized and you can reach ANC, EQ and touch control settings with just a few taps. Tozo also provides an ear test called the “Earprint” which sends a series of low, medium and high frequency sounds to your ears to determine your individual hearing curve. At the end of the hearing test, you get a detailed hearing curve showing where the Tozo app has applied AI algorithm compensation for sound ranges where hearing isn’t so sharp.
Features of the Tozo app
Tozo’s Acoustic Labs has added a total of 16 EQ presets, including various bass and treble modes, as well as genre-specific modes to suit your listening preferences. Besides the EQ modes, you are also free to change the EQ to your liking and save your own preset.
The Golden X1 also comes with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) which is advertised to drown out up to 42dB of noise around you. In addition to equalizer customization, you also get 6 noise reduction modes with varying noise canceling strengths ranging from transparency mode to wind noise reduction, and even a custom pattern mode that lets you boost the amount of noise you want reduce. The buds also feature an ambient call noise canceling feature.
Tozo has gone with the good old touch controls found on the Golden X1 which you can re-map within the companion app. There’s also the volume control which uses long presses on the left and right sides of the buds. It is important to note that the volume adjustment feature only works on smartphones and not on laptops and other devices such as televisions.
Last but not least, these earphones offer IPX6 splash protection rating and wireless charging for the case.
Performance and sound quality
Thanks to the hybrid driver configuration, the Golden X1 delivers balanced bass response coming from the dynamic driver unit and precise clarity in the high end coming from the armature drivers.
The default soundstage on the Tozo Golden X1 is above average for all music genres and general media consumption. There’s enough bass in the low-end without overwhelming the rest of the soundstage. The midrange features clearly defined vocals and faithfully reproduced instruments, while the highs arrive with a deep texture along with a coherent frequency response. This results in an enjoyable listening experience out of the box and substantially more enjoyable than competing buds in the price range.
Added LDAC support delivers even richer sound on supported devices with improved stereo effect. Once enabled, you can hear finer nuances and details that you may not hear otherwise, and it definitely brings an elevated listening experience. The main drawback is that the high bitrate codec takes a toll on the battery. We also noticed that the volume in LDAC mode is much lower than when listening with the SBC and AAC codecs, so you’ll need to adjust accordingly.
Adjustable EQ settings within the Tozo app add another dimension of sound tuning that can iron out any small issues like slightly underexposed low-mid frequencies. You can save your preset for future listening which is always handy and should come standard on all wireless buds.
Tozo Golden X1 offers good ANC provided you get the right ear tips on the buds. Once ANC is enabled, you’ll immediately notice low-frequency sounds disappear, and these buds also do a great job of drowning out unwanted noise in busier environments.
Touch controls worked well in our tests with occasional double-tap gesture errors being the only complaint. We were surprised to find that the Golden X1 lacks wear-sensing sensors for auto-play and pause media, which is now a common feature even on entry-level earphones
Connection strength proved reliable, although we have to mention that the Golden X1 only supports an effective Bluetooth range of 10m, which falls short of more recent offerings from competitors. During our tests, the earbuds lost connection when switching between two rooms, something that hasn’t happened with other headphones we’ve recently tested. The multipoint pairing function worked well although you can expect some initial latency when switching from a laptop to a phone, for example.
The Golden X1 did well enough on calls picking up my voice just fine in quieter environments, but it had a tougher time outdoors in windy weather and heavy car traffic. The last two aspects are well-known weaknesses for most headsets.
Battery life
The Tozo Golden X1 should last up to 8 hours on a single charge with SBS and AAC codecs with ANC off according to Tozo’s claims, and the charging case should extend the total playtime to 32 hours.
In our tests, we managed 7 hours of use on a single charge with ANC off and up to four full charges with the charging case. Using ANC and streaming over LDAC reduced the length of the peaks to 4 hours. A full charge of the earphones and case via USB-C takes 2 hours.
Verdict
Tozo Golden X1 offers a premium sound quality experience at a price lower than most established brands in the wireless earphone market. The hybrid driver approach results in rich, detailed sound with a soundstage that feels much wider than you’d expect from buds this size.
The added LDAC supports elevate the listening experience across compatible devices and music streaming platforms, while the EQ presets and customization options are a nice touch for getting the optimum sound for your specific tastes.
Battery life is more than adequate, and the Tozo companion app is neatly laid out and simple to use. The only drawbacks we have are the poor Bluetooth range, average call quality, and no wear-tracking sensors. That said, we can easily recommend the Tozo Golden X1 to anyone looking for a new pair of wireless earbuds in the $150/€150 price range.
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