introduction
One of the cornerstones of a good pair of wireless earphones is how well they fit your ears. With different ear shapes and sizes, getting the right fit for your specific ear shape can be a challenge and that’s where open-ear headphones come into play. These types of earphones don’t just fit into your ears, they lean around them in an attempt to overcome the fit issue. We’ll take a look at the Tozo Open Buds, one of the audio-focused brand’s newest releases, currently retailing for $56 on Amazon.
The Tozo Open Buds offer integrated biaxial rotating earhooks, 14.2mm dynamic drivers, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, and a claimed total battery life of 42 hours with the charging case. We don’t get that many open-fit earphones to review, so we were excited to test the Open Buds and these are our results.
Project
Tozo Open Buds come with a large pebble-shaped charging case that houses and loads the buds inside. The case and earbuds come in a single black color with a matte finish, though the color of the earbuds is more graphite gray than black. The charging case is larger than most of the earbuds we’ve reviewed, measuring 92mm long and 56mm wide. It’s not exactly pocket-friendly, but that’s due to the earphone earhooks taking up most of the space inside the case. The case and earbuds tip the scales at a total of 72 grams with each earbud weighing just over 5 grams.
The distinguishing feature of Tozo Open Buds is their air-conduction design which places the speaker drivers on top of the ear canal. This is particularly useful for runners as it allows them to hear ambient sounds in their surroundings, but it is also useful for people whose ear shapes don’t fit well with in-ear headphones. The other key feature of the Open Buds are the ear hooks.
The earhooks are attached to the earphones via a metal hinge mechanism with seven-step adjustment and pleasant tactile feedback. The hooks also rotate 90 degrees to help them fit your ears. Despite their larger form factor, the Tozo Open Buds are some of the most comfortable earphones we’ve tested, and this is coming from someone who has difficulty using in-ear headphones due to my specific ear canal shape.
The earphones also fit several colleagues in the office without any problems thanks to their adaptable design. Open Buds are also much easier to share since you don’t have earplugs that tend to fill up with earwax and other debris.
The hooks attach around your ears and ensure your earphones stay locked in no matter what. If you need a pair of earbuds for working out, running, or anything that involves constant movement, this form factor will definitely suit your needs best. The only drawback in terms of fit is that earphones can irritate the ear’s tragus, the small piece of cartilage that sits next to the ear canal. This could happen during longer listening sessions as the buds keep pressing down on the area.
The earphones are made of plastic except for the metal hinge attached to the ear hooks. The construction is solid with no indentations on the buds or case. The only downside is that the matte finish shows stains quite easily, so you’ll have to wipe it down occasionally. The buds are IPX6 water resistant, which is always a good thing, particularly if you’re caught in the rain. The retail box contains a single USB-C cable for charging as well as the quick start guide and warranty card.
Characteristics
The Tozo Open Buds offer Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity with support for dual device connection. You get support for AAC and SBC audio codecs, and each earphone features a 14.2mm dynamic driver with Tozo’s OrigX acoustic tuning. You’ll also find a wear detection sensor to automatically pause and resume media playback, as well as capacitive touch controls with programmable single, double, triple and long press gestures.
The audio equalizer can be changed within the Tozo app available on Android and iOS devices. Due to their open nature, the Tozo Open Buds do not offer active noise cancellation, although DSP call noise cancellation is present which takes advantage of the dual microphones placed on each earbud to block out wind and other noise during voice calls.
The Tozo companion app for Android and iOS devices is one of the better implementations, and we liked its clean layout and helpful customization features, just like we did in our Tozo Golden X1 review. The app offers four additional sound profiles that enhance bass, treble or vocals according to your preferences. Unfortunately it is not possible to further tweak the EQ profiles as is possible on the flagship Tozo Golden X1.
Performance and sound quality
Getting used to the open style of the Tozo Open Buds takes a few minutes once you place them around your ears. Normally you would expect the earphones to make contact with your ear canal, but this is obviously not the case and it feels strange at first. The earphones sit securely around your ear and the speakers deliver sound directly above the ear canal. As we’ve already mentioned, the only downside to this design is that the earbuds press down on the tragus of the ear, which can cause discomfort during longer listening sessions.
Audio from 14.2mm dynamic drivers is clear even if you need to turn up the volume. As you’d expect, there’s a lot of sound leakage, meaning people around you will hear audio, especially in quieter environments. The listening experience on the Open Buds is different from regular in-ear headphones which are sealed in the ear and deliver a more immersive sound.
You don’t feel immersed in the music and the bass is definitely lacking due to the open ear nature. This can be a plus if you’re a runner or bike around town, which is a major selling point here.
The Bass+ EQ preset offers more pronounced levels but still isn’t far from the experience you’d get from an in-ear headset. The midrange is well pronounced with vocals and musical instruments reproduced faithfully while the high range is pulled back. That said, the Tozo Open Buds sound nice as long as you lower your expectations of premium in-ear headphones.
The touch controls worked perfectly on my connected phone and laptop, and I had no problems controlling my media. The ability to remap touch controls in the Tozo app is another nice addition, and you can also assign volume controls to the long-press gesture, which is always a welcome option.
The Open Buds handled Bluetooth connectivity well though, like the Golden X1s, these earbuds offer an effective range of just 10 meters, which is well below what we’ve seen from most recently reviewed earphones from other brands. Multipoint pairing worked well in my tests, switching between connected phone and laptop quickly. Call quality on the Open Buds is average for earphones in this price range.
The mic managed to pick up my voice on calls for the most part, although oncoming car traffic and wind muffled my voice according to people on the other end of the phone.
Battery life
The Tozo Open Buds pack 70mAh batteries inside each earbud while the charging case adds a 650mAh battery. Tozo claims the earphones should last 12 hours on a single charge at 50% volume on the AAC codec, while the case should extend the total playtime to 42 hours.
In our tests, we got 11 hours of playtime from the earphones, a stellar endurance. The case offers 3 full charges which brings the combined battery life to 44 hours. This is the most impressive battery life we’ve seen from the wireless earbuds in our reviews thus far. Charging the case via the USB-C port takes 2 hours.
Verdict
Tozo Open Buds feature a unique open ear design with swivel ear hooks that fit almost any ear shape and size. This key feature makes them easy to recommend as they fit nearly every ear shape available. We tested the Open Buds while running, training, and at work, and they delivered all-day comfort. Some users may feel pressure around the tragus region of the ear after a few hours. The battery life is stellar and you can just throw them in your bag and forget about charging them for a few weeks.
The open-ear design takes some getting used to, and the sound leakage is definitely noticeable. You don’t feel as immersed in your music with the Open Buds due to their design, which lacks flat bass and highs. At $56 Tozo’s Open Buds offer good value, decent audio output, and great battery life. If you prioritize safe earbuds for your workouts that don’t require frequent charging, then the Tozo Open Buds are definitely worth a look.
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