TOZO is still a relatively new and not well known audio company in the mainstream, but they’ve seen massive success in the last few years in the realm of ecommerce, mainly because of their variety of performant and feature rich earbuds at highly competitive prices.
The TOZO T10 is one of their original products – it came out in 2018 (and was updated in 2022) and is still topping the best-sellers list on Amazon. It has now amassed a whopping 350k customer reviews there, and the only earbuds with more are none other than Apple’s AirPods.
The Crystal Buds, befitting their name, are a newer and more slicker looking TOZO product that is quickly gaining popularity as well. Besides their obviously more modern aesthetics, though, the Crystal Buds have a fairly similar design to the T10, enough so that people are asking what the actual difference is between the two, and if one is decidedly better than the other. I have fully reviewed both of them and will answer those questions here in this comparison article.
TOZO Crystal Buds vs T10 Side by Side at a Glance
How Are the TOZO Crystal Buds and T10 Similar?
The Crystal Buds and T10 are mostly similar in design and functionality, which isn’t all that surprising since they’re made by the same company. They have the same basic housing design, control schematic, and general usability. They are also both IPX8 certified waterproof, and have the same one year TOZO warranty.
What Are the Main Differences Between the TOZO Crystal Buds and T10?
Driver design – both the Crystal Buds and T6 use a single dynamic driver, which is fairly common for less expensive earbuds, but the T10 has a larger 8mm woofer while the Crystal Buds has a 6mm woofer, which is a size that’s fairly middle of the road.
Case – the Crystal Buds case is compact and has a nice pocket friendly shape, while the T10 case is quite large, heavy, and bulky. The Crystal Buds case has LED charge indicators for both the case itself and each left and right earbud, whereas the T10 case only has the incremental dots to indicate the charge of the case itself. The Crystal Buds case also has the transparent lid which is actually a neat idea – it prevents you from not realizing that the buds are not inside it. The T10 case does also have IPX8 waterproofing while the Crystal Buds case does not. the T10 case also has the lanyard hook if that’s appealing to you.
Battery life – the 2022 updated T10 has somewhat better purported earbud and total case battery life (10h/45h) than the Crystal Buds do (9h/36h).
Isolation – neither has any active noise cancellation, but the natural isolation of the T10 is a little better than that of the Crystal Buds.
EQ adjustability – the Crystal Buds are compatible with TOZO’s EQ app while the T10 is not, which is a big advantage of the former because EQ adjusting can significantly improve sound quality, certainly subjectively and in fact objectively as well.
Price – The T10 is about as cheap as decent TWS earbuds get in 2023, but the Crystal Buds are a little more expensive.
Do the Crystal Buds or T10s Have Better Fit and Comfort?
Both the Crystal Buds and T10 fit great, with comfort and security. I didn’t have any issues with seal breakage with either, and with all the replacement tips that TOZO includes with their earbuds (this is a notable strength of the company) I expect just about anyone else to be able to achieve the same. The T10 has a bit of a deeper and firmer fit, which I tend to prefer, while the Crystal Buds fit feels a little lighter and shallower.
A note before the next section: this page describes how I evaluate the sound quality of headphones and earbuds.Do the Crystal Buds or T10s Sound Better?
The T10s sound perfectly decent for their minimal price, but the Crystal Buds definitely sound better, mainly because you can EQ them in the TOZO app. TOZO’s tuning style is a little loose and bassy, and you’re basically stuck with that with the T10, especially with their larger 8mm drivers, but while the Crystal Buds default tuning is also very loose and bassy and somewhat thin and boxy in the middle (and just not that good in my opinion), basic EQ adjustments improved it considerably.
Upping the mid-highs definitely brought in nice detail and balance, and tapering off the bass seemed like it helped tighten it up and get rid of the muddiness. I think the Crystal Buds definitely have the potential to sound best in class at the ~$50 price-point.
Which Should You Choose Between the TOZO Crystal Buds or T10?
I wouldn’t say there’s a clear winner here, rather it depends on what you’re specifically looking for. Do you want something that’s fully waterproof, including the case, and as cheap as possible while still having at least passable audio quality? Then the T10 is definitely a great choice.
If you’re more interested in fidelity and are willing to pay a little extra for it, and you want to (or are at least willing to) use an EQ app to get the sound right for you, then the Crystal Buds would be a better choice, especially if the transparent case lid is an appealing feature, and that is again a really neat idea that I haven’t seen done with any other earbuds that I’ve reviewed.
Get the T10 wireless earbuds on Amazon (affiliate link)
Get the Crystal Buds wireless earbuds on Amazon (affiliate link)
Relevant Articles
• Full Crystal Buds review
• Full T10 review
• Is TOZO a good audio brand?
• Our current picks for the overall best budget true wireless earbuds
