Already known for surprisingly good budget earbuds, Tozo rolled out new flagship active noise-canceling (ANC) wireless earbuds at CES 2023 to compete with the big players. And the Tozo Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds do just that, with a sleek design, quality sound but somewhat meh noise cancellation for a reasonable price (especially with available discounts).
Tozo sent me a pair of Golden X1 buds to check out. They sound excellent — as good as premium earbuds that cost twice as much — but the active noise canceling could be better.
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Tozo Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds
Tozo's Golden X1 wireless earbuds offer excellent sound that rivals earbuds that cost a lot more.
Tozo Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds take a big step toward the big leagues of ANC wireless earbuds for the company. The packaging and charging case aren’t much to write home about — though I like that the case has an LED digital readout for both case and bud battery level. But the elegant buds themselves are worth at least a quick note to the homestead.
I first tried the brand in 2021, when I decided to pick up a pair of T12 earbuds simply because I wanted something cheap that fit securely in the ear canal for use at the gym. The $35 buds surprised me with big sound. And now they cost even less, at about $30.
At $150, the new Golden X1 buds are another animal. They’re more sophisticated inside and out compared to previous Tozo buds like the T12 and the higher-spec’d T12 Pro (which you can get for $40 with a coupon on Amazon). Compared to the sleek Golden X1 buds, the T12 buds are quite bulbous, come in a larger case and can’t compete on well-defined sound.
Bright and articulate sound
Speaking of sound quality, the Golden X1 buds bring it. I kept pairing my iPhone 13 Pro with different earbuds, including AirPods Pro 2, expecting the Tozo buds to fall behind in one way or another, but they didn’t. That is, they didn’t fall behind other than lacking AirPods Pro 2’s handoff capability, in-ear detection and spatial audio.
The Golden X1 buds have a brighter sound than some, though I wouldn’t call it “tinny.” And vocals came through more clearly than they did with some other high-quality buds. Tozo’s buds showed plenty of definition across the audio spectrum.
The Golden X1 buds use a hybrid driver with Knowles armature and 12mm dynamic components producing a broad frequency range of 12Hz – 44.1KHz. That goes well below and well above what humans can actually hear, by the way.
Tozo said it builds its own OrigX acoustic technology for natural sound into the buds, for whatever that’s worth. They work with Sony’s proprietary LDAC hi-res Bluetooth codec for 24bit/96khz streaming at up to 990 kbits per second (for those with compatible devices). They also carry Hi-Res Wireless certification from the Japanese Audio Association (JAS).
Phone calls sounded clear, too. Call quality benefits from three microphones per bud that help with environmental noise cancellation (ENC).
Touch controls and Tozo app compatibility
As with most wireless earbuds, you can control volume, playback, ANC mode, answering calls and the like via touch controls on the buds themselves. But I strongly favor app-based control over audio to the extent possible. Tozo came through with that on this new release. The older T12 buds mentioned above are not compatible with the app.
A sign that Tozo is serious about sound is the presence of an Earprint test in the app. It tests your hearing across the frequency range and then uses the result to compensate where your natural hearing ability falls short — usually in very high or very low frequencies. It customizes sound to your hearing and ear shape.
And the app also gives you control over the sound via 16 EQ presets. Some are based on musical genres, like classical, hip-hop and jazz, and others simply add or remove bass or treble. Standard is a flat, neutral EQ. Original, apparently Tozo’s signature wave/line, suited me for most tunes.
The buds feature solid Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint pairing for two devices. I easily paired them with my iPhone 13 Pro and iPad Air 5, and then with iPhone and MacBook Pro. It’s just a matter of turning Bluetooth off and then on again in the devices you want to pair.
ANC could be stronger
The app also helps you control noise cancellation. There are six choices: noise cancellation, transparency mode, reduce wind noise, leisure mode, normal mode (no effect) and custom pattern (set your own level). I couldn’t tell you what “leisure mode” is meant to be. It seems to muffle ambient sound slightly.
I found the differences between the settings a little more subtle than I would like. And that counted even going from normal to noise cancellation, which should present a more noticeable, or even obvious, difference (hearing a lot of external sound versus hearing very little). The Golden X1 buds fall short of some competitors in that regard.
I often test ANC with and without music playing, and with different levels of external sound. With strong ANC, just switching modes while standing near a TV or radio at moderate volume can give you good sense of the changing noise-cancellation level. The Golden X1 buds showed less ANC strength than some other buds I’ve tried.
One good thing about the ANC in these buds, however, is that it doesn’t change the sound of the music. I’ve tested other buds where the sound is fuller or thinner depending on the ANC setting, which is not ideal.
Moderate battery life
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Battery life is also a slight drawback with these earbuds, considering that other top contenders claim more than 50 hours with the charging case.
Tozo said these buds will offer playback for 8 hours on a single charge, which is good (though probably without ANC engaged). But total playtime with charging in the case extends that to 32 hours, which isn’t exactly epic these days. I’ve tried earbuds of similar quality that can hit 50 hours total.
That said, the charging case juices up either wirelessly or via USB-A cable, and its LED readout for case battery level and bud battery level is quite convenient.
Tozo Golden X1 features and specifications:
- Knowles armature and 12mm dynamic drivers
- ANC and ENC noise cancellation up to 42dB
- Frequency range: 12Hz – 44.1KHz
- LDAC codec compatibility
- Hi-Res Wireless certification (JAS)
- Bluetooth version: 5.3
- Multipoint connectivity
- Transmission distance: 8 meters
- 6 ear tip sizes
- Charging port: Type-C
- Earbud battery capacity: 55mAh
- Charging case battery capacity: 500mAh
- Music play time: 8 hours on a charge, 32 hours with charging case
- IPX6 water resistance rating
- Works with Tozo app
- Earprint test
- 16 EQ presets
- 6 ANC modes
Pricing and availability
The Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds produce excellent sound, but the noise cancellation could be stronger.
Tozo lists the Golden X1 Wireless Earbuds at $259.99, but seems to actually sell them at $149.99 on its website as well as on Amazon (and Amazon also includes a $15 off coupon on the product page for a final price of $134.99).
And if the price drops over time — which is typical — the Golden X1 buds will definitely be worth grabbing.
Where to buy: Amazon
Tozo's Golden X1 wireless earbuds offer excellent sound that rivals earbuds that cost a lot more.
Tozo provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out other in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
★★★★☆
