Today we are going to review the Tozo NC9 2022. The Tozo NC9 2022 is an upgraded version of the Tozo NC9, which was released in 2020. The NC9 2022 version comes with some upgraded features, including Bluetooth 5.3, wireless charging, improved battery life, and improved sound quality. For earbuds with a price tag below $40, how good are these earbuds in real life? Let’s find out.
What’s In The Box?
- TOZO NC9 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds
- Wireless Charging Case
- 6 pairs of Eartips (XS/S/M/L/XL/XXL)
- USB-C Charging Cable
- Quick Guide & User Manual
Appearance And Build
The Tozo NC9 comes in a pill-shaped charging case with four white indicator lights. The indicator lights at the front of the case show you the battery level of the case. The case is compact and portable, easily sliding into your pocket or bag. This NC9 version supports wireless charging, and you also get the Type-C charging interface at the rear. It comes covered with a nice plastic material that feels hard in the hand. The hinge of the lid isn’t the best, which means you have to be extra careful with the case.
Coming to the earbuds, you get very nice-looking earbuds that are perfectly fitted in the case. The earbuds feature an in-ear design with a matte finish on most parts and a glossy finish on the outer parts. The NC9 earbuds are a bit bulky, which might be a little problematic for those with small ear canals. For this reason, they sit out of the ear canals. Those with medium and larger ear canals don’t experience this problem because the buds sit perfectly in the ears.
The ear tips are made from cheap silicone materials, which is still okay. You get six pairs of ear tips in the box, so you can get the perfect fit for your ears. The earbuds come with an IPX6 rating, which makes them good for workouts. Though they lack ear wings, they rarely fall off the ears during workouts. The touch controls are quite impressive for budget earphones. On a general note, the build quality looks average to me. I believe Tozo could have done more.
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Sound Quality
The NC9 comes equipped with a 9mm dynamic driver that also supports the AAC and SBC audio codecs. These audio codecs make it compatible with most devices. If you are in search of earbuds with high bass, you might love this one. It has a slightly high, punchy bass which is very noticeable. Jamming to pop and hip-hop songs, you will love the bass quality of these earbuds. The treble is also high, but you get slightly lower mids.
If you love high volume levels, you will hardly get clear vocals because the drums and other instruments will overshadow the vocals. These earbuds aren’t the best for audio experts but are suitable for casual listeners. Also, the NC9 doesn’t support the Tozo sound app, which means you cannot tweak the EQs to your taste. But if you still want to try tweaking the EQs, you can use third-party apps. Just note that these third-party apps might not give you the same quality you get from the product’s app.
Active Noise Cancellation
The Tozo NC9 features a hybrid noise cancellation feature. This helps to cancel out surrounding noise when listening to music. It works well with the right ear tips. It does a good job of canceling low-frequency noise but finds it hard to cancel high-frequency noise. For its price tag, the ANC level is okay. Mind you, you can also switch to Transparency mode when on the street or in a conversation. The Transparency mode helps you still listen to what you are listening to and still be aware of your surroundings.
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Call Quality
For call quality, the NC9 is just okay. For me, I would say it is average. The caller at the other end hears what you are saying, but sometimes you get some distortion. The noise cancellation helps to reduce the surrounding noise, but it isn’t the strongest. If you have a phone call in a noisy place, the surrounding noise can greatly affect your conversation. So, I would say it’s perfect for calls indoors but not the best outdoors.
Battery Performance
According to Tozo, these earbuds come with a battery capacity of 70mAh, while the charging case features a 500mAh capacity. Tozo claims that on a single charge, you can get over 40 hours from both the earbuds and the case. In testing, with the ANC off, you get up to 13 hours of playtime on a single charge, while the case gives you 40 hours at moderate volume. If you turn on the ANC, you get 7 hours from the earbuds and around 32 hours from the case.
This is truly impressive for wireless earbuds at this price range. The TOZO NC9 also features a fast charge, but it isn’t one of the best on the market. On a quick ten-minute charge, you get a playtime of about one hour. So, if you just need to use the buds for quick listening or wish to use them in the gym for about an hour, the quick charge can really come in handy. Recharging the earbuds and the case back to full takes about 2 hours. For this aspect, I will score these earbuds 9/10.
Connectivity
The Tozo NC9 comes with Bluetooth version 5.3, which gives a stable and steady connection with your device. It supports one-step connection; all you have to do is bring the earbuds out of the case, and they will automatically connect with your device. This doesn’t support multipoint connection, where you get to connect two devices to it at once. During streaming, you will experience minor lags. Using them for minor games, you won’t experience any problems. The transmission range is also decent for me.
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Price And Availability
The Tozo NC9 comes in different colors, giving you the freedom to choose the color that best suits your taste. The available colors include black, khaki, blue, white, brown, and red. As of the time of writing, the NC9 earbuds go for $39.99 on the official Tozo website. You can also get the earbuds from Amazon and Aliexpress.
Final Verdict
There you have it. As you can see, the Tozo NC9 2022 version excels in some aspects but has a few downsides. It has excellent battery life, and I personally love the wireless charging ability. Most earbuds at this price range don’t have this feature.
The noise cancellation feature does its best to eliminate low-frequency noise, and the sound quality is okay.The few drawbacks include the build quality and call quality. Better still, the Tozo NC9 is still a good pair of earbuds for its price. I recommend this piece for casual listeners and those strongly on a budget.