Tozo HT3 Review: A Strong Budget Headphone With Great EQ

THE SCORECARD

How the Tozo HT3 scored

• Build quality and fit

  7/10

  The HT3 uses basically the same design as the HT2, with a thinner headband cushion and slightly less creak when adjusting.

• Battery life

  9.5/10

  Tozo advertises 90 hours with noise cancelling off and 55 hours with maximum noise cancelling on.

• Controls

  8/10

  The buttons are a little clickier than the HT2's, but there is no control customization or wearing detection.

• Connectivity

  8.5/10

  Bluetooth 6.0, SBC and AAC, multipoint and a low-latency mode are included.

• Call quality

  7/10

  Quiet-room and crowd-noise calls were fine, but wind performance was slightly worse than the HT2.

• App customization and extra features

  8/10

  The app includes EQ presets, a 10-band EQ, spatial audio, low latency, audio balance and a find-my-headphones beep.

• Noise canceling

  6.25/10

  Noise cancelling is a slight improvement over the HT2, though it remains average overall.

• Transparency mode

  7.5/10

  Transparency is clearer than on the HT2, but there is a little more hiss and no wind-reduction setting.

• Sound extras

  9/10

  It was the loudest headphone I measured at 105.3 decibels, with low leakage and both auxiliary and USB-C listening.

• Sound quality

  7/10

  The HT3's effective EQ makes it the best sound I have heard at this price, despite a bass-heavy stock tuning.

The Pros and Cons

How comfortable are the Tozo HT3?

I scored build quality and fit at 7 out of 10. These are basically the same design as the HT2, but the headband cushion is a little thinner, which feels nicer on top of my head, and the adjustment is a little less creaky.

Clamping force is balanced, so they should stay on well for exercise. The ear pads are not especially breathable, but they are relatively spacious. I have large ears and did not get too much contact inside the pads. They also fold in, although there is no case included.

The 1More SonoFlow feels more premium and more comfortable, but it is slightly more expensive.

Battery, controls and connectivity

Battery life is one of the HT3's strongest points. Tozo advertises 90 hours with noise cancelling off and 55 hours with maximum noise cancelling on. There is no fast charge, and a full charge takes two hours.

The physical controls are basic but work well enough. Volume buttons double as track controls, there is a dedicated noise-control button, and a double tap of the multi-function button accesses the built-in voice assistant. I do not find the AI feature especially useful, particularly as it requires a login and becomes a subscription after a month-long trial.

You get Bluetooth 6.0, SBC and AAC, plus multipoint for two connected devices. Video watching was fine in my testing, and there is a low-latency mode, although I did not notice much difference in my quick iPhone 15 Pro test.

Is the Tozo HT3 noise cancelling good enough?

I scored noise cancelling at 6.25 out of 10. It is a slight upgrade over the HT2, but it is still pretty average. That is fine for the price, but the Edifier W800BT Pro is a little stronger and the EarFun Tune Pro is noticeably stronger if you can spend more.

There is a leisure mode that reduces ANC strength, plus an automatic wind-reduction toggle. When the microphones detect too much wind, it turns noise cancelling off and brings it back after about 6 seconds. It may be worth using because these microphones pick up wind easily outdoors.

Transparency scored 7.5 out of 10. It is impressive for the price, with slightly improved clarity and less occlusion than the HT2, but there is some white-noise hiss in quiet environments. There is no wind reduction in transparency mode and no way to adjust its strength.

The HT3 EQ is the real reason to buy it

I gave sound quality 7 out of 10. The HT2 actually has slightly better stock tuning to my ears, but it is tricky to EQ well. The HT3 is also bass boosted out of the box, perhaps even a little more so, yet its 10-band EQ works much better.

With my EQ, I could clean up the bass, lift the mids and add a touch of upper-treble sparkle. That gives a full low end with deep sub-bass without becoming too muddy or over-the-top. Vocals are decent rather than rich, and the soundstage is average for headphones, which is fair at this price.

Spatial audio was the surprise. I am generally not a fan of spatial audio, but this implementation has no head tracking, opens the sound slightly and improves the separation of some instruments. It adds only a small amount of reverb-like effect, so I think it is worth trying with music and especially movies. You cannot EQ while using it.

Tozo HT3 vs EarFun Tune Pro, SonoFlow and Edifier

The 1More SonoFlow scored similarly to the HT3. It offers better build and comfort, more forward and richer vocals, slightly stronger noise cancelling and a hard case, but costs more. I still see the HT3 as the better value option.

Against the Edifier W800BT Pro, the Tozo has similar comfort, noise cancelling and transparency. The Edifier is slightly better for calls, while the HT3 sounds richer and offers much better sound customization.

The EarFun Tune Pro scored 80 out of 100, a little over two points above the HT3's 77.75. It is a bit better in nearly every area and has noticeably stronger ANC, though the HT3 has slightly better transparency. Sound quality is neck and neck, but the Tune Pro can deliver crisper treble.

Questions I keep getting