If you have been following us for quite some time, you must know that last time, we reviewed TOZO Golden X1, the first product we reviewed from TOZO. We were pretty surprised by the quality of work they put into that product.
We were amazed that they were sending us yet another product which is quite different from what we use regularly. Bone conduction technology is outstanding, but it is also quite expensive.
With TOZO OpenBuds, they have come up with a design that uses traditional drivers but delivers the sound a little far from your ear canal and does not seal it away from outside noises. For us, they solve some of the usual problems that people have using earbuds for a long time while compromising very little with sound quality.
In this article, we will examine this product in depth, give you our take on its design and features, and discuss whether you should get one for yourself or skip it altogether.
Please note that this review independently reflects our views about this product and is in no way influenced by any outside entity. If you have different opinions, use the comment section at the end of this review.
Specifications
Let’s jump-start this with the specs and TBH; this is what most tech-savvy people are interested in the first place:
- Bluetooth: v5.3 (Can be connected to 2-device at a time)
- Drivers: 14.2mm dynamic drivers
- Design-Type: Open-ear
- Color: Black
- Audio Codec: AAC/SBC
- Earbuds Battery: 70mAh (12 hours with 50% volume)
- Charging Case: 650mAh (42 hours with 50% volume)
- Charging Port: Type-C (90 minutes to fully charge)
- Call Features: DSP Noise Reduction
- Touch Controls: Tap, Double-Tap, Triple-Tap, Long Tap [Configurable for Both Earbuds]
- Protection: IPX6 Water Resistant
First Impressions
Now that we have the specifications out of the way let’s start with the unboxing experience.
The package we received was very compact, and we liked it. It may not be the premium packaging that we see on other luxury products, but it is not rudimentary either. Here are the package contents:
- 1 x Charging Case
- 1 x Pair of Earbuds
- 1 x USB-A to USB-C Cable
- 1 x Use Manual
- 1 x Quick Guide
The charging case is much bigger than what we are used to with Apple AirPods, which is for a reason. These earbuds need the support of your ear to stay in place since they are not going in your ear canal. All that support comes with extra material, which the case needs to compensate for. Overall, the case is slim enough to fit in your pocket easily.
Pairing is also a straightforward process. Open the case, turn on your device Bluetooth, look out for the name “TOZO OpenBuds”, pair it, and you are good to go. Once we took out the earbuds from the case, we noticed that it provided rotation on the 2-axis, which is a welcome feature. This makes it much easier to wear and adjust them as per your needs. It can swivel in and out of your ear on the horizontal axis, and once it is on your ear, you can change the direction of the earbuds vertically to ensure a comfortable fit.
Sound Quality
At first, we were pretty skeptical about the sound quality that it could produce because it does not block the ear canal completely or the whole ear like over-ear headphones. The lack of seal combined with small drivers compared to big headphones may be a disadvantage at first glance.
We are so glad that we were wrong in this case. We played instrumental music, pop, rock, country, electronic music, and our favorite playlists, and it performed excellently and, in fact, exceeded our expectations.
It performed very well in the mid and high frequencies. Overall, it produced a very balanced output. When it comes to the lows, especially the bass, it lacks a little because of a lack of seal. However, it is not bad by any chance. And if you are going for an open design, you are not expecting it to have an excellent bass output firsthand.
Vocals and Instruments are very clear, and sound quality was not degraded even at 100% volume. The sound separation was on par with the devices in this range. Although these earbuds do not support lossless, tests were conducted with lossless audio on Apple Music. The Tozo app on Android and iPhone provides an equalizer (presets only) for customizing sound.
Call Quality
The quality of the microphone was on par with most of the earbuds we tested. We also tested them in environments such as traffic, static noises, fan, and wind noise, and it could cancel most of the noises out and provide a consistent microphone output. DSP Noise Reduction is working like magic in this case.
Multiple Device Switching
We connected the OpenBuds to a Mac and an iPhone. The switching was not perfect, as it is with Apple’s own devices, but it was very usable for a non-Apple product. While the music was playing on the Mac, whenever we picked up the iPhone and started doing something with sound output, it immediately switched to the iPhone, which was excellent.
Comfort
These earbuds can be worn as long as you like or as long as the battery lasts (whichever is earlier, of course). They will not hurt your ears like some in-canal earbuds or over-ear headphones do.
The best thing about it is that if you stop playing music on this, due to the open ear design, you will be able to hear everything clearly in your surroundings, and there will be no need to remove those earbuds.
At 50% volume, you can hear the surrounding noises quite clearly, but even though it is an open-ear design, at 100%, you will mostly only be able to hear high-pitched voices. So please don’t cross a road at 100% volume.
App Features
As mentioned in the specifications earlier, each earbud can be customized once you install the Tozo App on your device. You can perform four types of touches.
Apart from that, you can select the presets in the equalizer to customize the sound to your taste. However, there is no custom EQ option at the moment.
Tozo is excellent at providing OTA updates. In a year, we have already received 3-4 updates for Tozo Golden X1. OpenBuds can also receive OTA updates through this app.
Battery Life
During our testing, the Tozo OpenEarbuds lasted for around 7-8 hours with 60-80% volume. This is well within the spec range that we discussed earlier. The charging case can charge them 2-2.5 times, giving you around 25 hours of total usage.
Conclusion
Open Ear design is a fairly new design that many of us are opting for in the market. Tozo OpenBuds is an entry-level product for this segment and performed excellently in our limited test time.
They sound surprisingly good for an open-ear design, have a fairly good battery life, are IPX6 water resistant (can be used for workouts), you can maintain situational awareness, and all of this for a competitive price.
If you are looking for earbuds with open ear design, your search should stop here! You can buy them from Amazon or Official Tozo Store.
