Tozo T20 Review: Feature-Packed Sound Without the Price Tag

Intro

If you’ve been following the crew at DRN for a while now, you may know that we’re a bit of a fan of consumer electronics brand Tozo, and in particular, their earphones which in the past have offered good bang for your buck from both a price and sound quality perspective. With their latest offering, the T20, Tozo claim to have gone bigger and better, packing in a number of enhancements that take the Tozo T20 to another level.

As a self-confessed audiophile who listens to tracks repeatedly just to identify different instruments, I’m going to put the T20s through their paces to give you the best possible review I can.

tl;dr

The Tozo T20 earbuds offer impressive sound separation, long battery life, and a feature-rich companion app and all for under $50. While they’re not reference-grade in detail, their spacious sound, comfort, and value make them a standout choice for casual listening.

 

Design

The Tozo T20s come in a sleek matte black (or red) charging box which doubles as a charger via USB-C or wirelessly. The case also hides a digital display that shows the charge status of each earpiece, as well as the case itself.

Opening the box fires up the earbuds with a melodic chime and some flashing status LEDs as they connect to each other. The earbuds themselves are a mix of matte and gloss plastic.

User Experience

Like the rest of the Tozo earphone family, they’re a piece of cake to set up. Set your phone to add a new device, open the case to power them up, and they appear on your phone ready to pair.

As expected, the T20s come with several different silicon earbud tips so you can find the right fit. For me, they were snug straight out of the box. That said, how they’re positioned in your ear will impact how you hear the music, so it’s worth playing around with the fit to find the sweet spot.

With an IPX8 waterproof rating, they can handle sweat, rain, and even full submersion, making them a solid option for workouts, outdoor runs, or use in less-than-ideal weather.

As with my last Tozo headphones, I had to be mindful when adjusting them in my ear. Like before, I could end up inadvertently pausing a track or doing something else undesired. It’s probably just a case of knowing where you can and can’t touch them, but it’s a bit of a bugbear all the same that can thankfully be disabled through the app.

App

You may be starting to see a running theme here with Tozo. They’ve put thought into both their headphone design and the ecosystem, with the Smartphone App you can install to manage your headphones and enhance the overall ownership experience.

The app lets you manage your Tozo family of headphones with features like firmware updates, customising the touch commands, GPS tracking (if you lose them), and a bunch of bonus features that have appeared in the last year since I last tested headphones from Tozo. The GPS tracking is more of a “last known location” based on where your phone and earbuds were last connected, rather than real-time satellite tracking, so it’s helpful for retracing your steps but not for watching them move on a map.

Other features include AI translating, ambient soundscape tracks (if you want to relax or fall asleep with something other than music), and the equaliser for fine-tuning your sound.

The AI translating feature is more novelty than necessity. It picked up my voice just fine but struggled with others, and unless you plan on letting someone else wear your earbuds mid-conversation (not exactly hygienic), you’re better off with a dedicated translation app.

The equaliser, on the other hand, is where the app really shines. You can download custom profiles from other Tozo headphone owners in their online community, and there are some excellent ones. My go-to is one aptly named PERFECTION (thanks to user “srecje”), and 6,817 other Tozo users seem to agree with me.

Audio

Before getting started, it’s worth noting that getting a good seal with the silicon tips is key to your listening experience with earphones like this, so make sure they’re inserted correctly with a proper fit.

Powered by a 10mm dynamic driver tuned with Tozo’s OrigX Acoustic 2.0 sound technology, they’re noticeably larger than the 6–8mm drivers you’ll often see in this price range. Combined with a speaker diaphragm that’s 56.3% larger than the previous generation, Tozo say the T20 offers better low-frequency response, a fuller and more vivid sound, and a wider sound field. In theory, they should also benefit from less chance of vibration or distortion.

To put the T20s through a full spectrum of testing, covering everything from low-frequency bass to high treble and all points in between, you can’t go wrong with a Hans Zimmer track. In this case, A Dark Knight from The Dark Knight soundtrack. It’s a long track with a full range of strings and percussion fused with synthetic sounds, like the infamous clicking you hear in a number of Zimmer pieces. The first thing that stands out is the separation in instruments. It’s lovely – you can hear all the instruments without muddiness, and most importantly with almost no distortion. In fact, in every track I tested the T20s with, I detected almost no distortion, and it didn’t seem like they really broke a sweat, even at max volume.

With Robert Bradley’s Black Water Surprise track Baby, you get a good sense of the soundstage, with fewer instruments to analyse compared to the full orchestra of a Zimmer piece. High-hats, lead guitar, backing vocals all feel nicely spaced, as do the strings, and the lead vocals sit a bit more forward. If I’m nit-picking, the one thing lacking is presentation of detail. Everything else is there – the soundstage feels expansive, the full range of frequencies is on display, but the high resolution I look for is just missing. That being said, I’m applying audiophile critiques to earphones that aren’t aimed at that market, nor are they priced that way, which is the glaring thing, because for $49.99 on special at Amazon currently, the T20s represent astounding value for casual listening.

 

Battery Life

Tozo rate the T20s at up to 10.5 hours on a single charge, with the case providing a total of around 45 hours before you need to plug in. That’s on the higher end for earbuds in this price range, and in my testing, even with mixed-volume listening, they comfortably lasted multiple days without a recharge. The ability to drop them on a wireless charger adds an extra layer of convenience, though I did find it a little odd that the case needs to sit upright to charge wirelessly. Thankfully, the T20s in the case feel nicely weighted, so there’s not much risk of them tipping over, but redesigning the case to lay horizontally for charging instead of vertically would remove the issue altogether.

 

Call Quality

Call performance with the Tozo T20s is decent for the price. Voices come through clearly enough in quiet environments, and the built-in noise reduction did a good job cutting down background noise in the office when I tested them during a web meeting. Like most budget earbuds, they struggle a bit in windy or very noisy settings, but for everyday phone and video calls, they get the job done without sounding overly compressed or tinny.

From my own experience, being sealed earbuds means your own voice can sound much louder in your head while talking. It’s a little like hearing yourself through a microphone with headphones on. Because of that, I probably wouldn’t choose them for regular calls, but they’re perfectly fine if you just need to jump on a quick call or meeting.

 

Final Verdict

While the touch controls could be less sensitive and fine detail isn’t quite there for critical listening, these are minor nit-picks when you factor in the asking price.

The Tozo T20s are a marked step forward for the brand, offering great sound, strong battery life, and a feature-rich app experience that’s rare at this price. The 10mm dynamic driver gives them a bigger, more spacious sound than you’d expect from earbuds under $50. While they’re not reference-grade in detail, they deliver separation and punch that make them a joy for casual listening. More than once, I had to remind myself these were priced well under $100 – and currently under $50 – while delivering this level of performance. It’s frankly ridiculous value.

If you’re in the market for budget-friendly earbuds that don’t feel like they belong in the budget category, the T20s need to be on your list. Whether as a gift or for yourself, they absolutely deserve a place in your rotation.

DRN would like to thank Tozo for providing the review unit.