Tozo HT2
$50 Noise-Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones with 10‑Band EQ!
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
Tozo HT2 ANC (Adaptive Noise Cancellation) Headphones (8.930 oz./253.2 g, $50). bigger. I got mine directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
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January 2024 Audio Reviews Headphone Reviews Tube Amp Reviews All Reviews
Introduction top
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below. |
These Tozo HT2 are much better than I expected for $50; they work really, really well.
These Tozo HT2 are inexpensive Chinese noise-cancelling headphones that sound OK for $50, but what makes them magic is that their app includes a programmable 10-band graphic equalizer (EQ), so if you know what you're doing, you can make these sound far better than you'd ever imagine for $50.
Their ANC (Adaptive Noise Cancellation) works as well as it does in my reference Bose QC-35, although I haven't tested them on an airplane to see if they have enough oomph to cancel that much noise. They certainly cancel household noise just fine. ANC in these and in my Bose do a great job reducing low-frequency rumble which reduces jet lag, but ANC doesn't cancel high frequencies any better than regular closed headphones.
Out of the box they're typical for inexpensive headphones, with a painfully screechy upper midrange and solid but mildly boomy bass. They have a huge peak at around 6 kHz, probably to impress the innocent with their "clarity" to support the silly "Hi-Res" claim, but use the free EQ and you can make those problems largely disappear and voice these as you like, which I'll admit is something I've never been able to do well in the apps for my Bose and beyerdynamic headphones which lack such precise equalizers.
I've been building and using graphic EQs and making my living in pro audio since the 1970s so I probably have a leg up on knowing how to set this, but here's the cheat code: set your EQ like this and see how you like them now:
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Suggested Equalizer Settings. bigger. |
Once you set this you can turn off the app. It loads the EQ settings into your headphones, and they're now voiced as you want them so they'll sound this way regardless of to what you connect them.
Ignore the included presets, but even better you can save your own presets as you develop exactly the sound you want.
I've set my EQ to boost the ultradeep bass below 30 Hz because that's the way I like it. Back in the 1970s I built headphone amplifiers with this same ultradeep bass boost just because I could; and now it's as simple as sliding the 20 Hz slider all the way up.
I've taken out the boominess by dropping the 50 Hz and 100 Hz sliders. I've fixed the screechy upper midrange by dropping the 1.6 kHz, 3.2 kHz and 6.4 kHz sliders, and now I have clear, reasonably smooth sound with the million-dollar bass I love.
Poke all the fun you want, but I can enjoy these HT2 all day and night for hours and hours and hours. The battery seems to last for weeks. For $50 they're nowhere like my STAX or Audeze, but the STAX and Audeze don't connect with Bluetooth or let me boost the ultrabass as these do either. As a bass player I prefer the EQ'd and boosted bass from these HT2, but that's just me.
My ears have plenty of room inside the big ear pads so they're super comfy.
What's bad is that while they claim to be "designed in California," I see no hint of that. Their ergonomics seem purely domestic Chinese. Using the volume buttons on the headphones makes a foolish and disturbing BONG every time you change the volume, so use the volume controls on your source device. Likewise power on, power off and pairing/unpairing make very foolish beeps and bongs that don't make much sense and are disturbing.
There are no verbal confirmations of to what it's paired or battery charge. Read the battery level on your source device, as well as in the app. My iOS devices all read it to the nearest 10%, while the app reads to 1%.
There is a dedicated ANC button which cycles through ANC ON, ANC OFF and PASSTHROUGH modes, but the magic is spoiled by a voice that announces each setting in English with a thick Chinese accent. It's nice to have vocal confirmation, but it takes too long to change modes waiting for the announcement (the app does it immediately without announcements).
While the ANC button on the front of the right driver only provides three settings, the app offers six. The Leisure mode is partial ANC, with less isolation but also less self-noise:
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ANC Modes. bigger. |
Unlike EQ, which stays set even when disconnected, the HT2 always wakes up with ANC ON.
I got my HT2 directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Good intro top
Comfortable.
Long battery life.
Fast charging, an hour and a half for a full charge.
Earpiece adjustments have numbered clickstops.
3.5mm input with included cord works even without power (no ANC of course).
Long Bluetooth range; I seem to get 50 ~ 75 feet (15 ~ 25 meters) inside my house. This means I can get a couple of rooms away from my Mac and not worry about it.
Bluetooth seems to be able to connect to two devices at once, and is smart enough to patch a call in from my iPhone even if I'm enjoying audio from my Mac or iPad. If I hit play on the idle device, audio magically swaps to that device and playback pauses on the first device. Likewise I can use the app on my iPhone to change settings while listening to another source like my Mac. Excellent!
Insides of earpieces clearly marked L and R in big letters.
Earpieces fold flat for travel.
Earpieces also pivot to fold earcups up into the headband.
Deep and solid bass, even deeper and tighter bass when you use the EQ well. I'll admit that even with all my fancier and much more expensive headphones that with the EQ set as I do I've heard deep bass in some recordings with these headphones I've never heard out of any other headphones.
Set the EQ properly and these can sound amazingly good, especially if you appreciate clear sound and ultradeep bass.
Built-in mic also claims noise cancellation.
Bad intro top
Screechy sound if you don't use the app's EQ.
Weird, but the earcups fold the wrong way as you take them off and hope to set them down on a table.
The control buttons are in places that are easy to press by accident as you're taking these on and off, or moving around your head.
Sloppy and annoying user interface beeps and bongs.
Missing intro top
No auto power-off, but the battery lasts so long it's not a big deal.
No case included. There are plenty at Amazon.
The status LED, just below the power button, is very dim, even indoors. This means you'll have to cup it with your hand to see it in the dark in daylight, and also means you won't be disturbed by it at night.
LED lights in dim red while charging (good), but simply turns off when done, so it's not obvious if it's really done or if the power was disconnected.
Specifications top
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my HT2 directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
40mm drivers.
Fake (Protein) leather earpads.
500 mAh battery rated 40 hours battery life with ANC ON, 60 hours ANC OFF.
Charges over USB-C; USB-A to USB-C cord included.
Works without power (without ANC) with included 3.5mm cord.
Box, Tozo HT2 ANC Bluetooth Headphones. bigger.
Box Back, Tozo HT2 ANC Bluetooth Headphones. bigger.
What's in the Box. bigger.
Volume Control, 3.5mm input, USB-C Charge Input, Mic and ANC MODE button. bigger.
Power/Pair and Volume buttons. bigger.
Performance top
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my HT2 directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
Overall performance top
These are much better than expected for the price. Set the EQ well and these sound very good, and the noise cancellation also works as well as my state-of-the art Bose QC-35.
Sound performance top
A solid bottom-end and squawky top end as expected, while the EQ in the app fixes most of this.
The EQ gets rid of the squawk, but even then these err on the side of detail and brightness; other than the exceptional bass these are not ever particularly warm; these are for people who want clarity and deep bass rather than smoothness, but hey, for $50, they're fantastic.
The EQ lets you set the sound as you like much more so than other headphones.
Bass performance top
As shipped the bass is solid and deep but a little bit boomy, which is typical and the way many people love it.
I use the EQ to get rid of the boom and boost the deepest subsonics, after which it's got superb bass; possibly the best I've ever heard in a headphone.
Isolation & ANC modes performance top
ANC works as well as it works in my Bose ANC headphones. It does a great job of sucking-out low frequency noise and rumbles, and at high frequencies has the same isolation as non-ANC closed headphones. It's great for reducing background rumble, ventilation, car and presumably plane noise, but doesn't remove dog barks any better than regular headphones.
There is very little self-noise with ANC ON.
There's no self-noise with ANC OFF.
The "Leisure Mode" is partial ANC, with less noise reduction and also less self noise.
The "Pass-through" or transparent mode lets just the midrange through for sounds around you. It certainly doesn't sound like open headphones, but it does give you a bit of a clue of what's going on around you.
Sound Levels performance top
It goes about as loud as my other Bluetooth headphones.
Ergonomics performance top
These are comfy and should fit anyone.
They fold easily any way you want them, except that they only fold flat one way, which is the wrong way. If you put them down and want to fold them flat, they do it with the insides of the earcups pointing up, not down.
The foolish operational tones are the worst thing about these. Change any setting with the controls on the headphones and you have to hear all sorts of too-long and disturbing tones.
Worse, not only do you get a BONG each time you change the volume, when you have to go up or down several clicks, you get a BONG at each click! Change the volume on your device and there are no annoying tones.
The ANC modes are announced in Chinese English when set withthe ANC button.
Forget using these with less than 20% battery charge, as at 20% charge you get really annoying spaceship-landing sounds every few minutes that mute your audio at the same time to let you know battery is low. A fast, quiet beep would have been OK, but these loud, long animated sounds mean if you're like me you'll just not want to use these below 20% charge.
The flat switches are hard to find by feel; but easily remembered by location.
The annoying beeps mute the music to which you are well connected for a second or more when another Bluetooth connection is acquired or lost — very annoying if you're walking around the house past your iPad multiple times while listening from your phone.
The on-earpiece controls work well with my Macs to set volume and have Apple Music or TIDAL or other players start and stop.
App performance top
The app has a great equalizer, the best thing about these headphones.
The app suffers from the usual confusions trying to get it installed and active, but I figured it out.
A headphone firmware upgrade was easy to do with the app.
EQ settings save and recall well!
EQ is limited to ± 5 dB so it's subtle, and great for making fine voicing adjustments. Likewise you can't screw it up too bad, either, if you're not good at this.
The EQ setting loads into the headphones and then stays that way even with the app off, regardless of to what you connect it next. Set it up on your phone, and if you connect next to a computer or car audio system, the EQ settings still apply.
The app reads battery charge to the nearest percent.
Sound Pressure Levels performance top
iPhones can read and log the SPL and sound exposure (or "noise" levels) in the Health app under Hearing. It's watching out for you, since it's easy to cause permanent hearing loss with these or any headphones. Music sounds great loud, and do this for hours a day and you can damage the tiny hairs in your ears that do your hearing.
You can get a live dB display (I'm presuming its dBA, like the sound level meter in the Apple Watch app) on your iPhone (this is as of iOS 17 in 2024) if you:
1.) Go to Settings > Control Center, and add Hearing to your Control Center.
2.) Go to your Control Center by swiping down from the top right of your iPhone screen:
iOS Control Center; Hearing App is at the bottom. bigger.
3.) Tap the Hearing App icon (seen on the bottom above), which gets you this display:
Approximate Battery and Sound Pressure Levels. bigger.
I shoved my real sound pressure level meter into an earcup and measured levels about 3 to 5 dBA less than indicated above.
Power & Battery performance top
A charge lasts for weeks, so I have no problem considering 40 hours (ANC ON) and 60 hours (ANC OFF) as reasonable.
They arrived 85% charged, which is a very nice touch as you can use these for weeks right out of the box.
Mine charge at 1.4W maximum and taper down to 55 mW when charged. The headphones regulate the charge rate; plug these into a basic USB-A outlet or a 100W charger and they charge at the same rate.
They charge fast; mine go from 20% to 100% in about an hour and a half, having consumed a total of about 2.3 watt-hours.
User's Guide top
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
Charging
Plug into either a USB-A or USB-C source.
The LED under the power button turns RED while charging. It's a very dim LED.
The LED simply turns off when done, so it's not obvious if it's really done or if the power was disconnected.
Battery Percentage
The headphones can't tell you ho much charge they have. Read this in your device to the nearest 10%, or in the app to the nearest 1%.
Controls
Hold the POWER button a few seconds to turn ON or OFF.
Tap the power button to answer a phone call.
I never figured out how to summon Siri with the controls.
Tap the front NC button to select among the ANC modes.
Hold the VOLUME UP or VOLUME DOWN controls a few seconds to go to the next or previous track.
Fit & Pivots
Maybe I'm crazy, but the earpiece pivots seemed to get a little sticky and weren't self adjusting to my head exactly, so I was losing bass from a lack of a perfect seal.
I fixed this with a microdrop of oil on each side from a micro oiler.
I also noticed that if I don't have a perfect seal to my head that the different ANC settings will sound different. With a good seal they all sound the same except for the self-noise and of course ambient noise reduction, but if you lose a good seal the NORMAL mode will lose a lot more bass response than the ANC mode.
Recommendations top
Introduction Good Bad Missing Specifications
Performance User's Guide Recommendations
I got my HT2 directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
As a low bass nut I really love these because these and their EQ have let me uncover deep, subsonic bass I've never heard as well on other headphones because I can set these to emphasize the subbass, something other headphones don't let me do unless I use an external EQ. I could set it to give a natural bass rendition by leaving the 20 Hz slider at about zero, but too much subbass is never enough. Other headphone apps have only simple bass and treble controls, not a 10-band EQ, so boosting their generic bass controls just makes it muddy.
For $50 these can't be beat. They're not as smooth as serious Hi-Fi planar magnetic or electrostatic headphones that cost ten times as much or more, but those fancy headphones don't let me boost the subbass or work wirelessly.
These are fun for enjoying music and they're comfy all day. You can listen to your computer and still take iPhone calls on them and do just about anything with them. These are definitely a winner on a limited budget.
I got my HT2 directly from Tozo. I'd also get mine at Amazon or at eBay (How to Win at eBay).
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