NC9 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, 6 Mics ENC Clear Call, IPX8 Waterproof, in Ear Bluetooth 5.3 Headphones Stereo Bass Ear Buds 60H Playtime with LED Display 32 EQs via APP

Great set of ear buds. This is my third set of Tozo ear buds and they’re just as good as the first two sets. I’ve only had to buy new sets due to me losing a single ear bud eventually from each of the first two sets. The first and second sets I purchased still work well and still hold long, long charges, they’re just each solos. If it weren’t for my carelessness, I would still be using the Tozos I bought two years ago. These are compatible with all of my devices, they fit the ear well, the sound is great, and the charge holds for a long time even with heavy use. The price is also great for the quality. This model has a noise canceling feature which was new to me, but works well. These are great for everyday use, or with their price, even as a backup to your more expensive ear buds. I would give them more than five stars if I could.

TOZO NC9 is a great little pair of wireless bluetooth earbuds with great sound at an affordable price point. I’ve purchased the T10 and have been using my son’s T6 for this review. I also own an Apple Airpods Pro that I use every day. And the TOZO NC9’s sound does not disappoint. In fact, the sound quality difference is negligible between my NC9 and my Airpods Pro that I use the two interchangeably every day. Here’s my rating for each category (from 1 to 5): Sound quality: 5 Sound stage: 5 Charging case & connection: 5 Fit: 5 ANC (Active Noise Cancellation): 4 Battery Life: 4 SOUND QUALITY Overall, NC9 offers you a warm presentation of any type of music. The mids are slightly softer than T6 & T10, but they’re not weak. The highs are stable and crisp. I like the lows (bass) of NC9 slightly better than T6 & T10. Bass is deep and the mid-bass is punchy. SOUND STAGE NC9 offers adequately wide sound stage. The separation & definition of instruments are great—the earbuds sound identical to expensive name-brand earbuds. CHARGING CASE & CONNECTION If your NC9 is already connected to a device (like an iPhone, in my case), the earbuds would automatically connect to your device as soon as they’re taken out of the charging case. However, if you want to use it on a different device (let’s say you want to switch from your iPhone to your iPad), you have to manually disconnect from your iPhone (in your bluetooth setting) in order for it to connect to your iPad. This is an inconvenience, but due to the great sound and other virtues of the NC9, I don’t mind this at all. FIT I’m not sure if it’s the rubber ear tips or the design of the buds, but each time I insert them snuggly into my ears, the sound is always balanced (left and right channels, that is) unlike cheap in-ear earphones that must be inserted just right so that the left or right channel is not louder than the other. I found the ear tips to be quite comfortable and the earbuds stay in my ears unless (1) I shake my head quite violently or (2) I lower my head to tie my sneakers. Of course, due to the way the earbuds are designed (when properly inserted, the body of the earbud sits above the ear tip and the ear tip is inserted into the ear in a downward motion), if you lower your head to pick something up from the ground or tie your sneakers (before going for a jog), the earbuds would dislodge from your ear—this is a natural work of gravity on your earbuds. In any case, I love the fit of the NC9, and they stay in my ear better than the T10 and the T6—both of which seem to feel a bit heavier than the NC9. ANC/Transparency MODE After reading glowing reviews of NC9’s Active Noise Cancellation feature, I was a bit disappointed. I typically run a new set of earbuds through my “bathroom test” on its active noise cancellation feature. I would sit on the ivory throne, and with the bathroom fan whirling over me (my first-floor bathroom’s fan is quite loud), I would turn the ANC feature on and off in the earbuds to test this feature. If I were to give my Apple Airpods Pro a 9 (out of 10 being the best), I would give my NC9’s a 6. It suppresses some of the noise, but not in the way that my Airpods Pro does. Of course, my Airpods Pro’s are $250, and you can’t compare apples and oranges. For the price point, I would say that the NC9’s offer a decent level of noise reduction that can still be enjoyed in a crowded setting. Moreover, if you need noise cancellation, the ear tips do take out sound quite well. What I believe is NC9’s weakness is its Transparency Mode—it does not allow enough noise into the earbuds for me to use while jogging when I need to be aware of my surrounding. So I take my Airpods Pro’s when I go jogging or walking with my wife. BATTERY LIFE Battery life is a bit weak on the NC9’s. Amazon’s description touts that you can go for 8 hours on the NC9’s on a single charge and an additional 24 hours with the charging case. I repeated the battery test 3 times on the NC9 as well as on the T6 for comparison. After fully charging the earbuds, I listened to a youtube Jazz channel on low volume through my iPad. I recorded the hours played on a single charge. After that, I tried to see how long the earbuds would run while using the juice from their fully charged cases. Here are my results. On the T6, after a single full charge, the earbuds gave me 7 hours of playtime. After that, I used the juice from the fully charged case, and the total number of hours of playtime came to be 25 hrs and 35 minutes (average for 3 trials). On the NC9, after a single full charge, the earbuds ran 6 hours until the “battery low” voice came on the left earbud. I used the juice from the fully charged case after that, and the earbuds offered 17 hours and 30 minutes (average of 3 trials) of total playtime. This is certainly not the 24 additional hours noted in the product description. Yet, after an initial disappointment, I am not at all upset about the weak battery life of the NC9’s (as compared to the advertised playtime). I typically charge the case once a week in my regular use, and the battery life has not become an issue for me. They are a fraction of the cost of my Apple Airpods Pro’s, and they provide great sound. And that is the virtue of the NC9’s, and that is why it is a credible contender as one of the top wireless earbuds at this price point. Due to its sound quality, fit, and overall functionality, it’s a go-to earbuds, and I realize that I’ve been using it more often than my Apple Airpods Pro. For some reason, I find the NC9’s enjoyable and the sound credible enough to feel I’m not missing out when I’m not listening to my Airpods Pro’s.

Update. Is it true they didnt last longer than 1 year? Yes. But then i tried to replace them at a similar price point and the competition is horrible. These are the most comfortable earbuds. The sound is really good. The noise cancelling is really good. I ended up returning 3 other pairs frpm competitors bfore buying the NC9s a second time. So FWIW these are great earbuds even if you need to buy them a few times hahaha. Riginal review: I've had these earbuds for 1 year now. They are inexpensive and functional pretty well for about 8 months. After that I started having issues with the right ear bud. It won't sit in the case properly so it turns itself off. Which then means I need to manually power it on every time I put it in my ear. Now recently its starting to not turn on. Ultimately these are good in a pinch but they are not going to be a long term product

My go-to earbuds have been the Powerbeats 3 for many years. I love the fullness of the sound, although the high-mids can lack some clarity. Last year I decided to get full wireless earbuds and thought I would give one of the cheaper alternatives a try. I got the Tozo T6, and ended up liking them quite a bit. Recently I got the Tozo NC9 to see if there is any improvement, and besides, they are so inexpensive! After tweaking these a fair amount, I finally got a sound I really like that is comparable to the Powerbeats 3. Soundwise, these are not much different from the T6, though I think the T6 have a little more low end out-of-the-box, but this can be adjusted with EQ. The NC9s fit in the ear more comfortably and the ear tips do not protrude as far down into the ear canal. The NC9s practically disappear into the ear and don't have the telltale tail hanging out like Apple AirPods. The NC9s do have noise cancelling, but that is not a feature that I care that much about, so I won't comment on it. I normally wear these on my morning walk or jog. I listen to music on my Pixel 6 Pro and use the PowerAmp app, which has an equalizer. For the Powerbeats 3, I keep the low end fairly flat and boost the upper mids. With the NC9, I use a modified version of the Rock EQ setting in the Tozo app, which is bass heavy, and then also boost the bass quite a bit in PowerAmp as well as a slight high end boost and mid cut. They do not sound quite as full in the low end as the Powerbeats 3, though close, but are crisper in the mids and highs. The low end is perhaps a little punchier. It is crucial to use the correct size ear tips, and also to put the ANC on the Noise Cancellation setting to get the fullest sound. Play around with these settings to see what you like. For me the additional EQ in the PowerAmp app is also essential in addition to the Tozo app EQ. I am very pleased with the overall design and sound of these earbuds. I rarely have a connection problem, and the charging case is wonderful. I am blown away considering the price point. I do recommend using EQ to dial in the sound and am glad that Tozo provides an app for this. I plan on using the NC9 as my goto earbuds considering sound, comfort, and convenience. Update: On a long walk I noticed that the Noise Cancellation mode can produce some subtle artifacts in the sound that bothered me for critical listening. I am now playing around with the custom mode for ANC to see if I can get the fuller sound with no noticeable artifacts. Update 2: I have settled on the Custom Pattern for ANC and am quite happy with the sound I am getting. I really enjoy these earbuds. I will attach some pictures of my settings. For reference, I bought a pair of Beats Studio Buds Plus earbuds, thinking they would improve on the sound of the Powerbeats3 I have and be stiff competition for the Tozo NC9. I was quite surprised, though, that I could not get them to sound full in the low end. The Beats don't come with an EQ, but I did use the EQ in the PowerAmp app. I could not get a full sound. Perhaps the Beats sound much better with iPhones, and not so much with Android/Pixel phones. Anyway, I was surprised, disappointed, and returned them. On the other hand, it makes me even more satisfied with the Tozo NC9 -- better features and better sound at a much lower price!

I owned a previous version of the NC9's from 2022 that were a bit different than these, and as often happens with these little earbuds in a small charging case, I recently lost them somewhere, probably in my last hotel room. Beware of spending too much on earbuds - you absolutely will go through multiple sets of them. I was really happy with those earbuds for the price I paid at the time, which was a little over $10. So I figured rather than trying to wade through all the nonsensical marketing-speak on Amazon or the ridiculously overpriced offerings from Apple and other major brands, I'd just get the latest version of the same thing I had. And so far, these are pretty great for the price and a definite upgrade over the 2022 version. Now, I will say that while I'm not an audiophile, I could probably call myself an "audio enthusiast" and I don't think any earbuds from anybody sound all that great either on their own or when compared with decent full size headphones. That's one reason why I refuse to pay anything close to the $200 that's the standard price for major brand earbuds. These are tiny drivers using a low-powered DAC chip and DSP, getting a lossily compressed audio signal over a low-bandwidth wireless codec. It's just the nature of the beast. No earbuds anywhere are worth more than about 50 bucks, and that's with the profit baked in. Anything above that is just a name brand tax. (And these days, maybe a tariff.) But these sound perfectly fine for what they are and basically as good as any other wireless earbuds I've ever used. I did notice some sibilance with the default EQ - like most (all?) modern wireless earbuds, these accentuate bass and treble. But a quick adjustment to the high frequencies in the phone app (something that my older NC9's didn't support) seems to have cured that. There is of course still a bit of extra bass, but I'll leave that alone for now as I don't mind it. I can always adjust it later if I feel differently down the road. One minor quibble with the sound is that possibly because of that extra bass and treble, these don't get very loud. At maximum volume, they're about where I normally feel comfortable in regular listening, but they start to break up a bit before that. My guess is that Tozo has reduced the maximum output to control distortion, which isn't unique to them, but again, don't expect a high-end over the ear headphone experience here for 30 bucks. You just can't listen very loud with a lot of bass through tiny drivers like these without distortion. I don't think most people wearing earbuds listen as loud as I normally like to anyway. If this so far sounds like faint praise in a 5 star review, again, look at the price. You are getting a good value in sound quality, especially when you compare these to much more expensive earbuds that don't sound any better. If Apple were selling these and charging Airpod Pro prices, you'd be looking at a 2 star review. But these are priced fairly given their performance and the limitations of the category. Tozo also sells earbuds without the active noise cancellation but I bought these specifically for that, because it worked well on my previous NC9's and it seems to work at least as well and probably better on these. Keep in mind that noise cancellation in general was specifically developed to counter engine noise on airplanes. And that's still what the technology is best at. The way it works is by pushing out a specific frequency to act counter to the frequency of whatever continuous noise is present. It's not going to be very effective at silencing things like conversations or crying babies that are made up of variable, higher frequency sounds (because countering those would also affect the music you're listening to, not to mention using a lot more processing power, which also uses a lot more battery). That, again, is the nature of the beast. It applies to every set of earbuds that have ANC. But in terms of continuous background noise, such as from a jet engine or a loud fan, these work as well as anything else I've used. And I've used a lot of headphones and earbuds (as well as real aviation headsets) with active noise cancellation. The ANC also does not really alter the sound of the music you're listening to, which my older NC9's kinda did with the ANC on, and it's a pretty common issue with older devices that use ANC. Seems like it's more refined now and I don't really notice much difference, if any, in sound quality with ANC on or off. There was a time only a few years ago when you'd need to spend a few hundred bucks to get ANC at all, and that would have been in a set of wired full size headphones. Now we're talking about how well it works in a $30 set of wireless earbuds. It's kind of amazing if you think about it. I think real ANC alone is basically worth the price of admission here. There are a lot of earbuds in this price range that advertise "ENC" but that is not the same thing - that's for reducing noise on your voice when talking on phone calls. ANC is for listening to music. It's rare at this price, even now. For it to work this well is a huge bonus. Battery life is a definite step up from my older NC9's, although to be fair those were probably also just wearing out by the time I lost them. I intentionally tried to run these down while writing this review and after about 5 hours of constant listening, they were still going strong and when I put them in the charging case, it read 83%. Of course that's the total charge including the case battery, not the buds themselves. I have no idea how accurate that is but if it is correct, then that's probably more battery life than I would ever really need. (You can never have too much, but I can't think of a situation when I'd run out of battery life before being able to recharge.) I read another review where someone said the case on these did not close securely; that is not true. I'd think he must have been using a different version (the reviews here seem to cover all previous versions as well), but I had older ones and that case closed securely too. It's magnetic. The earbuds kind of pull themselves into their little cubbies if you've oriented them the right way, and then the case cover snaps closed with its own magnet. If the case is not closing properly, you're not putting the buds in the right way. They only go one way. You'll get it after a couple tries. Just take note of how they're oriented when you first open the case. Overall I can pretty confidently recommend these. Given that modern phones and many other devices no longer even have headphone jacks, you really need a set of wireless earbuds. Just get these; they're as good as more expensive earbuds and the price is fair. You can't say that about most name brand earbuds.

I have AirPod Pros, but they do not work well with Windows computers and VMWare, so I cannot use them for work. So, I have been trying out tons of wireless headsets and earbuds. Honestly, most of them are super expensive and horrible in one way or another. So, at $60 and promising features similar to my AirPod Pros, I was pretty skeptical, but took the plunge. Pairing and Bluetooth Connectivity First off, you can use just one earbud if you want. And pairing both earbuds with one another is seamless, and in some cases better than AirPods. Even though I have had these for 2 days, I have been using them almost non-stop minus sleep. I am always listening to music or on calls for work. I use an IP Phone on my computer, and I have had no issues with the Bluetooth connection dropping. However, Bluetooth range isn't that great. I can talk maybe 15ft away from my computer before I start getting connectivity issues. No only that, but the connection will bounce between earbuds as well, making them mostly unusable. So, my advice to anyone using these is to make sure you don't need to venture far from your connected device. As a note, I did try pairing this with my iPhone and a MacBook and both had the same issue. Sound Quality I am breaking this into 2 categories: Phone calls and Music. For phone or audio calls, the earbuds are pretty clear, but not perfect. I typically need to turn off transparency mode. Thankfully, it's super easy with 2 taps on the left earbud. I do NOT recommend using these for phone calls if you are just using 1 earbud. For music, it's exactly what I expected from $50 earbuds. Music is clear, and surprisingly, a lot better than audio from phone calls, which is confusing. However, if you want good bass and super clear sound, these are not for you. But these are way better than any other in-ear buds I have tried. They actually are almost as good as regular AirPods. They definitely don't compare to the Pros though. I really love how well they can switch between audio from apps, although that is more OS-specific (Windows, iOS and MacOS all had the same result). Although, I did have to unpair these from my other devices, because I would get all sorts of device switching, which was really bad when I was in an important meeting. Battery Life 8 hours of battery life is definitely not accurate. So far I have not gotten more than 6 hours. I was afraid of even getting 2 hours initially because the first 20% seems to drain really quick, then it slows down. Charging is super quick though, which is very convenient. Fit and Comfort and Workouts These earbuds come with a few extra sizes for tips. I have pretty standard ears, so the tips that come out of the box fit perfectly for me. Also, the earbuds fit really well. I tried doing a HIIT workout and a yoga session and they stayed in my ears just fine, although once they start getting sweaty, they definitely start losing their snug fit and I did have readjust a couple times towards the end of my workout. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency Mode First off, Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC. I am floored at how good the ANC is at this price point. They are better than all of the top-of-the-line headsets I tried, including Logitech, Jabra, and Plantronics. Yes, it still picks up background noise and if you have kids yelling, a loud TV, or someone else is talking nearby, it will definitely pick up this noise to a certain extent, but it's not super loud either for the listener on the other end. Transparency mode at this price point usually is garbage for other headsets and bugs I have tried. Even though this is nowhere near as good as AirPod Pros, it's pretty amazing. To be clear, it does a good job at tuning out noises around you, NOT in front of you. For example, I could not hear one of my cats meowing loudly or my wife while she was on a work call. However, I could lightly hear my computer fan when it kicked on, as well as my keyboard clicks (keyboard has loud buttons). If I turned to look at my meowing cat, I could then lightly hear him meowing. But this is typically how most non-transparency mode works. In regards to Transparency mode being on, it's really good. Something you need to keep in mind though it any "bone" noises will be heard no matter what. So, if you are chewing something, it's going to sound super loud because you are using in-ear earbuds and the bone noise is amplified. So, ignore that, since it doesn't apply. What's important is that I can easily have a conversations with someone without needing to remove the earbuds, which is key for transparency mode. Again, not as good as my AirPod Pros, but it works and at this price point, there really isn't any decent competition, or at least from my testing. Overall To wrap it up, I love these earbuds and that they work perfectly with Windows and VMWare, which my AirPod Pros could not do. I will definitely be using these going forward for work.

Finally! I have only used TOZO products for awhile. Headphones and pillows are impossible to shop for, for me. I had the nc3 pair and they were great. I dropped it and had to get a new pair. I am very pleased with these and was waiting all day watching my doorbell to get them. They fit perfectly inside of the ear and rest without falling out. They are plug and Play. You just hit pair and they're ready to use. The noise canceling is what is most important to me and with regular and noise canceling along with transparency mode it works phenomenally. When transparency mode is on, I can hear my refrigerator hum in the background. It offers advanced hearing and amplifies sound without making things louder. The active noise canceling is great. It allows me to tune things out. Volume control is great. It does not suppress volume from what your phone would be. The nc3s were very durable, these seem to be more well crafted than the NC3 model. I am excited to see how they hold up. I shook my head left and right and was able to keep them in my ear without any slipping. I will update this review after a week to gauge comfort and ease of use.

This update is after I did get the updated 2024 version of the NC9s I really hate to act like I hate these original NC9s ... they are just not for me and I just dropped them off for a return. They are (the buds themselves not the eartip part) too big but the sound is good/"pretty darn good" ... the build quality is great ... I THINK they have app support but i couldn't get them to work (if they dont have app support then it is my mistake here). Overall they are ok/decent earbuds ... the ANC is not that bad though because of the bigger bud size i wasn't getting the best seal. WITHOUT going into a review of the 2024 Upgraded NC9... I think they are better. App support works great (again maybe these never did have app support ... like the original TOZO T6s), the ANC not only woks better but trying different modes i tried the "leisure mode" and that is the strongest ANC i have heard in any budget earbud I have ... I THINK on that setting its even better than what I REMEMBER of the TOZO NC2s which I loved the ANC on. Also TOZO even on their non-ANC buds .. like the T6s (whichever model/version) provide REALLY GOOD passive NC in my view.. The one thing I am not sure (minus the EQ in the TOZO app) I cant say is better in the 2024 model is the sound ... HOWEVER that is not saying these original NC9s are better ... just both sound great out of the box and I did not notice the overall sound quality to be better .. .they are great on both versions of the NC9s oh yeah .. I forgot .. the new ones are smaller and fit better .. more along the line of any other TOZO earbud I have. TOZO really does listen to feedback it seems, and I love that about TOZO. -------- Original Review: I have to admit before starting this review that It is not going to be as comprehensive as others, but I wanted to share my view on the original (that I know of) TOZO NC9’s. I have already started a return for these, and while I am unsure if its a good idea .. I did (for the same exact price counting the coupon box) order the UPGRADED NC9s. I am a TOZO fan though I will not claim any of their products are “perfect”. I have T6s (more than one pair), A3s, NC2s (again more than one), the TOZO Tonal Fits, as well as one of their PE1 speakers. I’d say TOZO is one of my go-to brands, but I did notice a few things with my limited time with these NC9s already. The Fit. While I am not going to go overboard here, these are a bit bigger than expected (I do hear the upgraded ones are a tad smaller) … like my Lavabeans which are no longer listed on Amazon seem big but they are big in the sense of sticking out of my ears, but not “too large’ say in diameter of the actual buds. The diameter of these NC9s maybe the biggest I ever tried and they are just not as comfortable as other buds. I have tried basically the T6 “classics” (model from years ago) and the new style and EITHER of those feel uncomfortable. In a way these don’t either but they are just too big. The Sound Ignoring other issues I have had the sound out of the box with no EQ tweaks (which I can not do … foreshadowing) … is pretty damn good. I wish I could tweak it and if I did I’d just maybe pump up the mid-highs and highs a pinch … maybe leaving the bass alone OR raising that a pinch too, but really good balance and yes I cant get the fit (see above why) just right but overall I like the tuning. I admit most buds that I buy (that I do my homework on before buying) sound good but some just sound off .. like different frequencies are too low, and others are too high… making what I am listening to .. without tweaks, sound way off. The Sound even without tweaks is not the issue. App: Here is a big one … This is suppose to have EQ support which to me (like on the product page) means TOZO App support but despite trying with two different phones .. the NC9s pair fine and fast to both phones but even with the most updated TOZO app, the app on either phone cant detect the buds … I know some (say the first gen of A3s I have do not have app support) versions of different models have support and others don’t but I cant get these to work. ANC One reason I am even considering canceling my order for the UPGRADED 2024 model of NC9s is the ANC. Listen … I have my expectations low … I mean these are not BOSE or Sony level ANC. But these reminded me of the NC7s I returned (due to tech reasons) … I just wasn’t impressed. Even after the NC7s, I went back to test the ANC in the TOZO NC2s and with them (The NC2s) I was ‘oh yeah … much better” .. I CANT remember if the NC2s have an anbient/transparency mode but the ANC is better. Also no matter (Classic or new Ergonomic edition) which edition it is … with the default eartips feeling great … I feel the TOZO T6s block out more noise even when nothing is playing, then the experience I had with the NC7s or NC9s … I am hoping the upgraded NC9’s that have different ANC levels in the app may do better. Update: I actually just remembered that the NC2s DO have transparency mode and I remember feeling when out for a walk that the NC7’s Trans. Mode DID feel more refined .. Like it felt more natural and I wasn’t hearing things further away sounding “really close”…credit to the NC7s for that. I know I am returning these original NC9s so I will not be trying them anymore (less wear and tear on them IMHO) otherwise I would try them on a walk and comment on the transparency mode. -------------- Summary Really I cant say “Avoid these” … if you know about the size being big and the (from my experience) app support that I have NOT had issues with, concerning ANY other TOZO products with advertised app support …. and are willing to try them … these aren’t bad but they are not my favorite TOZOs. I think part of my disappointment is that YES I ADMIT I got these by mistake, meaning to get the new upgraded NC9s for the same price … I just don’t see a huge improvement in these versus some of the cheaper TOZO options like the T6s. Out of (minus my battery tech issues that caused me to send the NC7s back) … IN MY EXPERIENCE with the original NC2s, NC7s and NC9s .. the NC2s are 100% my favorite so far. The sound on the NC2s WERE better in my view then the NC7s but …. I think these buds minus other issues, SOUND WISE are on part with the NC2s. I just think bang for buck, TOZO itself (ignoring other great brands like Earfun and Tribit for instance) has better offerings. I will be posting my 2024 TOZO NC9 reviews and when I have them .. .we will see if TOZO has done what they have before and listened to feedback and improved the NC9s … Credit to TOZO for really doing that in the past.