TOZO Golden X1 review: Golden name and performance

TOZO's Golden X1 wireless earphones aim to challenge the heavyweights of the space with a more affordable option, so see our review to see how it compares.

TOZO Golden X1 review: Golden name and performance

The TOZO Golden X1 is a wonderful pair of wireless earphones, with excellent sound quality that stands among the best in the space. You'll also find a great battery life with helpful quality-of-life features, and noise cancellation that, while not the best, is more than serviceable.

I struggled a bit with the comfort myself, but it remains still an ergonomic and sleek design that could very well work for you.

Images via GGRecon | TOZO

Wireless earphones are one of the most competitive hardware spaces that you can find, with countless options to choose from at almost every level. While big names often crop up at the top of recommendation lists, TOZO's Golden X1 aims to break in with excellent specs on paper and a very competitive price.

Coming in at around $149.99/£149.99, the Golden X1 is a step below the price of names like Apple and Sony, but on paper looks just as good. Having spent a fair amount of time with them though I'm confident that TOZO's offering is more than worth considering, and a genuine contender within the market.

GGRecon Verdict

The TOZO Golden X1 is a wonderful pair of wireless earphones, with excellent sound quality that stands among the best in the space. You'll also find a great battery life with helpful quality-of-life features, and noise cancellation that, while not the best, is more than serviceable.

I struggled a bit with the comfort myself, but it remains still an ergonomic and sleek design that could very well work for you.

Golden sound

There's no better place to start than sound, and the Golden X1 definitely surprised me with how much it's capable of. I'm someone who almost always favours the depth and detail of over-ear headphones, but I certainly didn't find myself lacking too much when using these earphones.

It's imperative that you get the right fitting earbuds as always though, as the sound quality can dramatically vary if you've not got the right seal. Once I'd found the perfect pick of the seven different options supplied with the earphones, I was set to go.

Close up of the TOZO Golden X1 wireless earphones

Unlike a lot of earphones I've tried before I got a lovely balanced sound from the X1s, as opposed to the more typically bass-favoured tuning. Don't be mistaken in thinking that they're lacking oomph or energy, but that bass doesn't get in the way of clear vocals and there's no overbearing treble to be heard here either.

There's certainly a lot of detail in the sound too, and that's in part due to the wide frequency range (12Hz to 44.1KHz) and also the combination of a 12mm dynamic driver and a custom Knowles balanced driver. You've got Hi-Res Audio certification on board here, alongside the support for LDAC decoding, and I was able to hear a noticeable difference when enabled this on my phone.

I had absolutely no issues with volume either, which I've run into with a number of other earphones prior. Just above halfway was more than a comfortable listening level, and I had plenty of room either way if I wanted to make it louder or quieter depending on the situation.

Blocking out (most) noise

A big part of volume considerations too is the noise cancellation options available with the X1s. You can control the different options on either the earphones themselves with a few simple taps or directly through the TOZO app on your phone, giving you flexibility in how you want to stay in control.

I wouldn't say that the noise cancellation is the best that I've ever used, but you can definitely notice a difference compared to the 'standard' mode when turned on. It's still capable of comfortable listening when on public transport or in busy spaces, though don't expect to be completely isolated.

Image of the TOZO Golden X1 wireless earphones

The app also allows for a number of different equalisation profiles, alongside complete EQ customisation if you so wish. I switched it over from the 'Standard' EQ to 'Original', and I was happy with the overall sound profile for a wide range of genres.

If you were using this for gaming then I'd recommend switching over to a more treble-focused sound profile in competitive titles, as that'll help you pinpoint footsteps better. However, with Bluetooth being the only connection point I wouldn't recommend these for gaming, as you're likely to get a small amount of input delay that isn't ideal.

How long does it last?

Connection beyond gaming though isn't an issue at all, as Bluetooth 5.3 proved to be seamless and incredibly easy to set up. I had no issues at all pairing the device for the first time, and they always latched onto my phone immediately when taken out of the case.

They also had a fairly substantial connection distance, which ensured that leaving my phone and walking around was no issue whatsoever. While I doubt there would be many situations where I'd be using them at a considerable distance away from my phone, it's good to know that I don't have to worry regardless.

Battery life was mostly fantastic too, as the X1s boast an eight-hour life on a single charge without noise cancellation (five hours with noise cancellation on) alongside an additional 32 hours from the case itself.

Image of the TOZO Golden X1 case and it's battery life LED

One of my favourite features of the earphones overall actually came from the battery, as the case displays both its own battery life and the remaining life of the individual earbuds too. As someone who often just shoves them in to go out to the shops or on a run, having a quick reminder allowed me to stay on top of the device's remaining juice without having to guess at my use time.

There were a couple of instances early on where the battery did seem to drain fairly quickly, even when the buds were within the case, but that might have been due to them not being connected properly. I've only had to charge the case around 2 or 3 times in the month since getting them a couple of weeks ago, and they were always precautionary charges anyway.

Comfort questions

Finally, comfort is perhaps the make or break factor when it comes to earbuds, as it doesn't matter how good they sound if you don't enjoy wearing them. I'd say that the Golden X1s are nearly there when it comes to their ergonomics, with a couple of caveats that might just be unique to my own experience.

Overall I like the shape, as the lower stem gives the buds a good anchor to secure themselves in your ear. Once again an important step for comfort is making sure that you've got the right size of buds, as otherwise they'll have no chance to stay in properly.

They're overall lightweight and unobtrusive while in the ear, although I did get a bit of fatigue after using them for sessions beyond an hour or two. 

I did, however, find them a bit insecure when it came to actually staying in my ear, despite finding buds that seemed to fit. It was easy enough to twist them back in, but it did get a bit annoying to have them constantly come loose. That could, of course, just be the shape of my ears though, so your experience could be completely fine.

They did largely survive when used during a run too, which is always a great test case. It would have just been nice to have a bit more support around the top of the earphone, allowing it to properly lock into your ear shape.

The Verdict

Overall, the TOZO Golden X1s are an excellent pair of wireless earphones, providing fantastically detailed sound and excellent battery life. While not leading the market in noise cancellation, and the ergonomics might not be perfect for everyone, you're still getting a fantastic deal here, and it more than stands among the most popular options within the market.

4.5/5

Review unit provided by the manufacturer. GGRecon uses affiliate links, if you purchase any products from our links we may earn a commission.

Comments

Replying to:

There are no comments yet for this article...

Be the first to add a comment and take the lead on the conversations

Add Comment

2024 GGRecon. All Rights Reserved