I was very excited for the TOZO Golden x1 wireless earbuds to show up on my doorstep. Outside of writing for CGM, I work ten to twelve-hour shifts in a machine shop. A lot of that time is taken up by listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts. So I am always on the lookout for a decent set of wireless earbuds to help the hours pass by.
The carrying case for the TOZO Golden X1 gives off an incredible premium feeling. Even more so than the Google Pixel buds, this is due in part to the display in the case. It shows you the charge level of the case itself but also each individual earbud. The sleek case also includes an LED on the front of the case that will turn an orangish hue once the case drops below forty percent. The fit was something that surprised me too, with more of an Airpod design than the usual earbud design. It was one of the few earbuds that fit right out of the box for me, which was refreshing.
The sound quality in the TOZO Golden X1 is outstanding. Particularly the treble sings, which is really nice for my particular genre of music I enjoy. This is also the same for podcasts and audiobooks. The sound quality is incredibly crisp, even when it’s pass-thru turned on. The pass-thru mode on the TOZO Golden X1 is decent enough, allowing sounds to pass thru, and in my experience of needing to hear people around me at work, it did a good job of amplifying those above my music. The best part of the pass-thru in the TOZO Golden X1 is that it feels like no sound is lost in amplifying the outside sounds.
On the flip side, the call quality when using the TOZO Golden X1s was mediocre. When answering calls there was this slight buzzing in the background no matter where I was when I used them. While on the other end of the call, the microphone quality was pretty rough. It sounded like the user of the TOZO Golden X1s had me on speakerphone. Not to mention there was no form of background noise removal, so it was just a loud mess.
“The sound quality in the TOZO Golden X1 is outstanding.”
There are a few basic functions tied to tapping the buttons on the headphones, but there is a significant lack of feedback from interacting with the headphones. A simple tone or ding when touching the touch buttons would have made it easier to identify that I was actually touching the button, instead of just randomly touching them until my music paused.
Tied into the functionality of the headphones is the TOZO app. It’s clearly and cleanly designed and pretty straightforward to use. You are able to set your equalizer, tune the sound to better suit your ears, and check charge levels via your phone. The sound check is something I have found myself enjoying setting up more lately. The biggest issue is with the level of sound present at my work, it wouldn’t let me set it up, which is a disappointment.
“The best part of the pass-thru in the TOZO Golden X1 is that it feels like no sound is lost in amplifying the outside sounds.”
Battery life is something that was another letdown for me. Promising 8 hours of use with active noise cancellation off and up to 32 hours of charge with the charging case. That’s pretty decent, but unfortunately, I managed to get around 6 hours before the TOZO Golden X1s died. Then I brought them to work, which is always the real test for me. I turned the ANC on and the headphones lasted for a pitiful 2 hours. That was the first day, and as the week went on it was less and less every day; by the final day of the week it was rough an hour and a half.
Beyond the dismal battery life and call quality, the Bluetooth connection distance is rough. If I went into another room the connection would drop. This is okay for when you are out and about, as my phone is usually in my pocket. But at work and home my phone is usually on a table or in my toolbox, so this shortened range was kind of a pain to deal with.
Overall, the TOZO Golden X1s were a pretty big disappointment for me, which was a shame because of the sound quality that I found to be very good. It’s the call quality, Bluetooth range, and incredibly short battery life make this a hard-to-recommend wireless earbud. Although it does mostly boil down to your use case for it, if you are using it for exercise, I could see an excellent reason to use them with the earbud fitting firmly, but if you are looking more for around the house/work earbud, your best bet is to look elsewhere.
