Tozo reached out to see if I would like to check out another set of their headphones, this time the HT3, which are over-ear Bluetooth headphones. Last time I checked out their ear-ring style headphones that I loved. I have a hard time wearing earbuds for any length of time, so the ear-ring style buds were super nice to use. Now I prefer over-ear headphones in pretty much every situation; they generally sound better, with bigger drivers and a seal around the ear. That said, I also prefer wired headphones as they are usually much lighter with no batteries or amplifiers/DACs. If you get migraines as I do, you probably understand. The HT3 comes in at an MSRP of $79.00 U.S., but they are often on sale (at the time of writing $39.99). So are they worth it? Let’s dive in and find out.

Setup:

Setup is extremely easy. Once you have them unboxed and charged (my set came pretty well charged), you are ready to hold down the power button, and it will start blinking. In pairing mode, pair them to whatever device you are using, and you are ready to listen. You can also download the Tozo app and control the EQ as well as other settings from your phone. The ANC (active noise canceling) button cycles through the different modes depending on what you need at the time. You also have volume buttons on the headphones to adjust if your device isn’t nearby. You can also control your music and phone calls using the built-in controls.

Sound:

I have been using these headphones daily at the office for a few months now, for both music, calls, and meetings, so I have gotten to really experience the HT3. Off that bat, they sound great, better than any other sub-100-dollar headphone I have heard. They are nearly infinitely tunable to your taste, so tonality isn’t a concern. They are fairly warm out of the box, but I prefer that sound, which is why I love my Meze 99 Classics. You can always tune the response with the EQ to get the tonality you like. In terms of clarity, they are not as detailed as my Meze’s, but at a third of the cost, they aren’t only a third as detailed. They are also Bluetooth, which does support some high-res codecs, but I have yet to use a Bluetooth device, regardless of cost, that has sounded as detailed as you get through cable connections, so this is far from a criticism of the HT3.

These have another aspect to their sound that none of my other headphones have, and that is ANC. I will be upfront and say I don’t have a ton of experience with ANC, as I have almost always owned traditional wired headphones. That said, when I would put on the HTC and turn them on, the noise of the room was gone. My old office was next to a train track, as in 30 feet from it, and I could feel the train going by but not hear it with them on. That said, if someone is talking directly to you, you will likely be able to hear it to some degree, depending on the volume of your music, but they did a great job of canceling out droaning sounds like the AC, trains, and trucks in the parking lot. How well the ANC compares to other brands like Sony, I can’t say, I have never tried them, but I was very impressed by the HT3.

Before I get into music, I want to touch on calls/meetings. I used these at my day job, which, up until recently, was managing a fiber construction engineering team. I was on calls with clients almost daily, and these were my go-to headphones for meetings and calls. I asked people in the office a few times how I sounded on the calls, and every time the response was clear. I also asked if they picked up much background noise and talking, and unless it was close and fairly loud, the answer was no. They do well on both ends, the mic and the speaker. I was able to use the ANC to focus on the meeting without distraction. I actually loaned them out to other people in the office if they needed a set of headphones for a meeting.

So how are they for music? Honestly, they are great. They are better than many inexpensive headphones I have used in the past. The detail levels are better than I would have expected, though they could be better, but likely not without a jump in price. Bass is powerful, sometimes too powerful, though with the ability to adjust it, you aren’t stuck with just one sound profile. The mids are clean and clear, and the highs have enough sparkle and air to keep me happy. The sound stage is good for a set of closed backs, though not as wide as my Meze’s.

I played all sorts of music throughout the time I listened to them, and I think with the original EQ, they do lend themselves to pop, rock, and rap. Though with a bit of tuning, I was able to get good sound with folk and indie music as well as metal and classical. While they are fairly quick and dynamic, they can get a little muddy with blast beats and double kicks. Nothing that would make me stop using them, but if you listen to heavy metal mostly or exclusively, these may not offer the best sound you can get, but I’m not aware of many headphones that can keep heavy metal clean at this price point, at least with the same feature set. That said, vocals in pretty much everything I listened to sounded nice and natural.

Beyond sound, comfort is a major player for me with headphones. In fact, for me, it’s more important than sound. I get migraines, and headphones can bring them on if they are heavy and/or clamp down too much. You could make the most incredible-sounding headphones in the world, but if they hurt to wear, they may as well not make any sound at all. The HT3 headphones are very comfortable for my head shape/size. While they are heavy, especially compared to my Meze’s, they have a good headband, and the clamping force is fairly light, so I was able to wear them at times for entire days without any pain.

The last thing I want to talk about is battery life, as they are Bluetooth, they have batteries. Tozo claims 65 hours of run time, now obviously that will depend on volume and some other factors. And to be honest, I couldn’t tell you how long they last because it was so long I would go a few days without charging and never really was able to nail down total listening time until they died. I can say, charging them usually over the weekend, I never had them die on my during the week, listening most days, at least 4-5 hours. Before I left the office each Friday, I would plug them into a USB-C I had on my docking station and pretty much never plug them in again during the week, unless I had a long meeting the next day. I didn’t want to chance it, but I’m not sure it was necessary. The battery lasted longer than any other Bluetooth device I can recall using.

Pros and Cons

Price: $79.99 (regular, sale price $39.99)

Associated Equipment

• Meze 99 Classics w/ Balanced Cable
• iFi Go Bar
• iPhone 14 Pro
• MacBook Air M2
• HP Laptop (work)

Conclusion:

Tozo has put together a well-thought-out and well-made set of headphones with the HT3. They are easy to use and live with. With good sound and a super long battery life, it didn’t feel like I was using another Bluetooth device. I didn’t have to worry about constantly charging them. It was much closer to using my Meze’s, which I just put on and listen to. They are comfortable, for me at least, and I was more than happy to have them on for multi-hour listening sessions. I think the features and sound that you get are worth the MSRP of 80 bucks, and I think they are a downright steal at 40 dollars. They held up well to daily use for several months and feel solid. I will say if you take your headphones with you every day, a carry case would be nice. For me, they stayed at the office most days, so it wasn’t something I even considered until someone asked me, as they were interested in buying a set. If you are in the market for a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for the office, home, or gym, you should give the Tozo HT3 a shot.

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Disclaimer:
Tozo provided Hifi Chicken with a demo sample of the HT3 Headphones for the purpose of this review. Tozo nor any affiliate paid in part or in full in exchange for this review.