TOZO NC7 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://www.tozostore.com/products/nc7
When it comes to earbuds, there are a lot to choose from. Whether you want noise cancelling, extended battery life, or comfort, you will rarely find all the features you could want in one svelt package.
Enter TOZO, the Seattle-based intelligent electronic brand whose ethos "Technology Surrounds You" is at the centre of its commitment to bringing better products to the masses since 2015.
Elegant, Streamlined and Feature Packed
When the TOZO NC7s dropped through my letter box I was immediately impressed with the slimline packaging and silvery reflective finish that lead your eyes around the covering. It's glossy, minimalist, and clean yet inviting.
Opening the package, you are met with a nice foam insert that ensures the product is sufficiently cushioned to survive transit with no issue. The internal packaging is again very minimal with a cardboard container for the accessories (five different-sized tips, and a short USB-C cable) that is quite unassuming and very space-conscious.
These £49.99 earbuds come in an extremely slimline 5.7 x 3.4 cm charging case that is almost lost in the palm of my hand. The case has a nice glossy black finish (though these are available in 6 colours), four white LEDs on the front to indicate charge level and a USB-C socket on the rear.
With 70mAh 3.7v batteries in the buds and a 500mAh battery in the case, you will get approximately 72 hours out of these with AAC (Bluetooth codec), default settings and volume at 50%. In practice, I managed to eke out a still fantastic 60+ hours of playtime using ANC modes, adjusted EQ and regularly exceeded the 50% volume recommendations.
The charging case also offers quick Bluetooth pairing when opened and wireless charging which is a first for me!
This finally allowed me to use the third area on my wireless charger, where I could just place it next to my daily Apple Watch S8 and iPhone 14 Pro Max combo for super simple juicing.
Plonking it on I felt the magnetic grasp of the charger to the case, pulling it into the correct position, and it began charging immediately. The charge time is around 2 hours which is not the fastest, but also not the most inconvenient length of time either considering the battery of the device is a whopping 72hrs.
With this already awesome battery life, I could potentially get an incredible +8hrs out of it per day if I wanted though, in reality, I only actually used them for around 1 hour per day (2 x 30 mins) for commuting, along with some leisure time listening of about 1-2 additional hours per day. At this approximate rate, I would have been using them for roughly 3 weeks before needing a charge!
For obvious reasons (price), the NC7s do not come bundled with a wireless charger. I guess the assumption is that this is a purely optional step and that you can re-use your existing (compatible) wireless charger stands/plates if you own them. But if that were the hypothesis, surely it wouldn't also come bundled with a USB-C cable as most if not all of us already have one of those, right?
Then again I suppose they have to supply at least one way to charge them, regardless of the possible user's already overflowing and tangled cable and plug drawer. We all have one!
Comfortable, Easy to Use, ANC Mode is Excellent
The earbuds themselves house on-ear detection, touch controls and super snug-fitting tips that push effortlessly into the ear canal. To wear these, you are meant to put the tip in and twist the bud to fit perfectly into the concha (the largest concave space in your outer ear).
I wore these every day for around ten days and found that though the fit is indeed snug and seals the outside world out perfectly: it can feel a little like something is rubbing against the upper inside of your concha if you don't have it properly seated.
Everyone is different and no two ears are identical, so through trial and error I managed to find a comfortable position to dail it around into my ear socket and it was far more comfortable than attempting to seat it with the logo parallel to the ground. Initially, I tended to angle mine at around 20-30 degrees more of an angle which makes me think my ears are quite large, but to prevent any ear fatigue I found that if I dialled it back to virtually parallel it does sit more comfortably in the ear for longer periods.
The on-ear controls are always a nice feature to have, though TOZO uses very different combinations to what I have been used to for months, so it was a little bit of a learning curve to adjust. The default controls are as follows:
- Left-click once for play/pause answer/hangup, twice for the previous song, or hold to turn the volume down or reject the call.
- Right-click once for play/pause, twice for the next song, three times for Siri activation, or hold to increase the volume or reject the call.
You have ANC on/off and transparent mode on the left bud click, where ANC turns on/off the -35dB cut, and transparent mode allows you to hear through the built-in microphones. This means you don't even have to remove them in order to hear whats going on around you, or to participate in an IRL conversation.
The -35dB active noise cancelling is achieved through the dual microphones taking whatever sound is going on outside and actively deadening that range to produce almost complete silence. Having one bud in and one bud out you can really feel the difference, it's almost as though you are in a soundproof room where you can only hear muted high-range tones, and any low-end tones have straight-up vanished.
The App is a Little Hit & Miss
The companion app is fantastic when it connects. For some unknown reason, I can easily connect the buds via Bluetooth, add the device in the app, and then I'm unable to re-connect the buds to the app unless I mess about turning them off and on again. I'm not sure if it is something I am doing incorrectly, but even following the troubleshooting steps didn't really make it any easier.
Once the device is connected to Bluetooth and the TOZO app also connects to the earbuds it is actually a really good companion to have as you can also adjust EQ through the numerous presets or build your own to your liking, and you can play some sounds such as rain, thunder, and seaside audio-scapes to relax to. The app also lets you adjust the touch controls, making them customisable, within reason.
I wanted to change the touch controls right click from play/pause to volume+, and the left click from ANC mode to volume - to mirror those of the Donner Do Buds One I have been using, however, the option is not there to do that. Attempting to alter the clicking controls only allows you to play/pause/switch mode/prev/next or activate Siri.
I'm unclear why I cannot simply put the volume controls on click, or why I can't use the long press for anything other than volume+/- so that is perhaps an area that the TOZO developers could implement to make every function available on every action.
Fantastic Sound Reproduction
The sound quality of the NC7s is sublime through the 7mm drivers. I threw all manner of filthy bass-ripping beats at them and they surpassed my expectations at every junture. The sound quality is warm, deep and vibrant and really reflects what I would want to hear from them, completely expressing more than enough of the audible range (17Hz - 20kHz) within the 320kbps files I have. I then proceeded to throw some Alien Ant Farm and Metallica into the mix to verify vocals and to be honest I was astonished at just how good they sounded!
TOZO employs ORIGX 2.0 technology to optimise vocals and mid-tones and it really pays off, with crystal clear clarity, not only for faithful music reproduction but for calls too. I have to say that call quality was superb throughout, and they picked up my voice, even whilst commuting, exceptionally well.
Easily Recommendable Earbuds
Even after minor companion app and touch function woes, I would still highly recommend these earbuds, possibly even more so than my current daily drivers: the Donner Do Buds One, which I gave a stellar 9.0 at the time. The TOZO NC7s improve on each of my critiques regarding better waterproofing, and it has double the battery life and offers wireless charging to boot!
Sound quality is insanely good too, delivering incredible stable sound for hours on end which is the most critical point with earbuds!
I highly doubt anyone would be disappointed having a pair of these as a daily driver, especially for under £50!
Product link:
If you're interested in the TOZO NC7, you can find out more via the following links:
Verdict
- Banging sound quality: excellently bassy & tonally diverse
- Wireless charging is super convenient
- 72hr battery life!
- Slim form factor, super lightweight
- 5 additional tips to suit
- IPX6 waterproofing
- -35dB noise cancellation
- Can fatigue ears if seated improperly
- Companion app connection is spotty
- Not supplied with a wireless charger
