TOZO NC9 Review [Still WORTH IT in 2026?]

In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST TOZO NC9 review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT. I’ll also be comparing the TOZO NC9 vs CMF Buds Pro 2, JLab Go Air Pop+, Soundcore Liberty 5, EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus, Sony WF-C710N, Beats Studio Buds Plus, and Soundcore Liberty 4 NC.

I’m going to do my best to share whether these earbuds are worth it, and ideally who these earbuds are for. I bought these earbuds with my own money, and was NOT sponsored, paid, or received a free copy for review. All thoughts are my own.

I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNow YouTube channel with over 25,000+ subscribers and over 5 million views.

Let’s dive right in!

TOZO NC9 Review in Short

Holding TOZO NC9 wireless noise cancelling earbuds in hand

The TOZO NC9 has the best noise cancelling tested under $50, but its harsh stock tuning takes a bit away for music listening. Luckily, there’s many EQ options in the app, making this one of the best earbuds under $50. Competes with CMF Buds Pro 2, JLab Go Air Pop+, Soundcore Liberty 5, EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus, Beats Studio Buds Plus, and Soundcore Liberty 4 NC.

Pros and Cons

7.8

TOZO NC9

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PROS

Good sound quality
Comfy
Incredible value under $30

CONS

No active noise cancelling
Poor mic quality

Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

TOZO NC9 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, 60H, LED Display

$27.99

Buy Now

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08/22/2026 11:32 pm GMT

Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂

Comfort + Features

Comfort

The TOZO NC9 has a “bulb” design that is similar to Sony earbuds, as opposed to the “stem” design of AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds.

From a handling perspective, I find the bulb design to be inferior to the stem design due to slipping out of the hand easier.

I don’t find the NC9 to be uncomfortable, but they aren’t the most secure or form-fitting.

I do find myself having to adjust them a bit to maintain the physical seal, as the eartips feel a bit lower in quality.

If you’re not moving around too much, these are fine. But if you plan to work out with them often, there may be better-fitting earbuds.

Features

The JLab Go Air Pop+ was originally released in July 2020 (but updated in late 2024), so it has many modern wireless earbud features:

IPX8 dust and water resistance rating (continuous submersion past 1 meter)
Built-in microphones for taking calls
Bluetooth 5.3
Multi-point connection
Active Noise Cancelling
Transparency Mode
Qi wireless charging case
Native apps for both iOS and Android

Microphone Quality

Being a sub-$30 “ultra-budget” earbud, the microphone quality on the TOZO NC9 is below average.

First off, since it lacks the “stem” design, the microphones are further from the mouth.

Second, it lacks additional bone conduction sensors that the top microphones use, along with the advanced AI processing like Apple’s H2 chip, for example.

In short, the microphone works, but it is only just serviceable in quiet environments. Any heavy background noise or wind will severely reduce the call quality.

Overall, it’s nowhere near true “flagship” level like the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, etc.

Battery Life

With ANC on: 10 hours on a single charge
With ANC off: 14 hours on a single charge / 60 hours total with charging case
Fast Charge: 15 minutes = 2 hours of playback

This battery life is one of the best-in-class, which tends to be around 6 hours with noise cancelling ON and 24-30 hours with the charging case.

Comfort + Features Score: 9.5 out of 10

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance

Holding TOZO NC9 wireless noise cancelling earbuds inside charging case

TOZO may not be as much of a household name, but it’s a very popular brand on Amazon.

Having tested their popular TOZO HT3 headphones, I knew not to underestimate their noise cancelling.

But being a $30 earbud, how good could they really be at this price point?

Well, activating the noise cancelling for the first time resulted in a significant reduction in outside noise in a very busy gym.

This noise cancelling is well above my expectations for an ultra-budget earbud, and really competes with most earbuds under $100.

One note is that there is a faint hiss in the background due to how aggressive the noise cancelling implementation is, but is not as noticeable when music is playing.

Overall, this is easily the best noise cancelling found under $50, and even one of the best under $100.

Noise Cancelling Score: 8.0 out of 10

Sound Quality

Having tested TOZO’s headphones before, I knew that they were capable of producing some decent sound quality for a budget price.

Testing out the NC9, I immediately noticed the stock tuning profile which was overly V-shaped and quite bright-sounding.

Unfortunately, this treble-forward sound from the stock tuning results in quite a bit of sibilance, leading to certain tracks sounding a bit harsh on the ears.

The actual sound quality underneath is fairly decent for a sub-$30 earbud, but that sibilance was really taking away from my listening enjoyment.

Luckily these do have custom EQ via the TOZO app, and I personally would need to EQ them if I were going to listen to them for hours at a time.

Again, the sound quality potential is there, but I didn’t get along with the stock tuning at all.

Sound Quality Score: 6.8 out of 10

Value

The TOZO NC9 retails for $39.99 USD, but can be found on sale for as low as $29.99.

For under $30, I’m primarily blown away by the noise cancelling performance found in the NC9.

The sound quality is not bad, but the harsh tuning does leave a bit to be desired.

But at this price, it’s hard for me to even complain, especially when the noise cancelling more than makes up for it, in my opinion.

At this price point, I do prefer something like the JLab Go Air Pop+ or CMF Buds Pro 2 for sound quality, but this takes the cake for noise cancelling.

Value Score: 10 out of 10

Overall Scoring Breakdown

Comfort + Features (15% of score): 9.5 / 10

Noise Cancelling (25% of score): 8.0 / 10

Sound Quality (50% of score): 6.8 / 10

Value (10% of score): 10 / 10

Total: 7.83 out of 10

7.8Expert Score

Excellent (for under $30)

The TOZO NC9 has the best noise cancelling tested under $50, but its harsh stock tuning takes a bit away for music listening. Luckily, there’s many EQ options in the app, making this one of the best earbuds under $50.

Is the TOZO NC9 Worth it?

TOZO NC9 earbuds and charging case next to box

On the noise cancelling performance alone, the TOZO NC9 is easily worth it.

I do have a minor gripe with that stock harsh tuning, but luckily it can be fixed with many EQ options available via the TOZO app.

Otherwise, the TOZO NC9 is a surprisingly feature-packed earbud for such a low price of under $30.

For reference, the JLab Go Air Pop+ is also $30 with better sound quality, but has no active noise cancelling at all.

One strong contender that I may slightly prefer is the CMF Buds Pro 2 which has comparable noise cancelling and much better sound quality, but costs about $10 more at $39.

Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless earbuds are:

Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

TOZO NC9 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds, 60H, LED Display

$27.99

Buy Now

We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

08/22/2026 11:32 pm GMT

Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂

How We Tested and Our Methodology

RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.

We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.

After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.

ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.