Dizo Buds Z Review: Eye-catching design

The TWS market is chock-full of affordable options and the Dizo Buds Z may find itself slightly lost in the crowd. The earbuds definitely gets most things right, be it the consumer-friendly bass-boosted sound signature, eye-catching design, comfortable fit, and app support. However, it loses out to its competitors in some key areas such as battery life, microphone performance, and audio codec support.

The true wireless earbud market is being flooded with entry-level options, each seemingly offering up eye-catching specs and features without breaking the bank. Dizo, a brand under the Realme Tech Life ecosystem, having already launched 3 entry-level TWS this year, has now launched its fourth TWS earphone -  the Dizo Buds Z. Priced in the sweet spot under 2K, these earphones aren't the most feature-laden entry-level TWS we've tested yet, but they still offer considerably more than the basics. These earphones compete with the Oppo Enco Buds, the Soundcore R100, and others in the sub-2K price range. Let's see if they bring enough to the table to set them apart from the rest. 

Dizo Buds Z: Performance

The Dizo Buds Z are equipped with 10mm dynamic drivers and have a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The buds are powered by Bluetooth v5.0, which is a step down from some of its competitors such as the Oppo Enco Buds that come with the latest Bluetooth v5.2. Another area where the Dizo Buds Z comes up short is audio codec support, it only supports SBC codec while competitors such as the Soundcore R100 and Oppo Enco Buds support SBC as well as AAC, which is slightly superior to SBC when it comes to audio transmission.

All that aside, the Dizo Buds Z has a warm sound signature with boosted bass response that many will enjoy. For objective testing, we use a microphone from iSEMcon coupled with an adapter from SLS Audio. We connect this set up to a PC running the SMAART Di-v2 software that generates frequency graphs for headphones.

Uncompensated frequency graph of Dizo Buds Z (orange) vs flat response (blue)

In the frequency graph generated for the Dizo Buds Z, you can clearly see that the bass, especially the sub-bass is boosted quite a lot. There's a massive spike in the low-bass region that can cause some muddiness in the bass region, meaning low-frequency instruments and bass beats can sound a bit too dark at times. However, the upper bass region from 125Hz to 250Hz is well-represented and sounds detailed, especially for earphones under 2K.

Uncompensated frequency graph of Dizo Buds Z (orange) vs Oppo Enco Buds (red) vs Realme Buds Q2 (yellow)

The mids and highs up until 8kHz are massively boosted so they are up and front in the mix. That means vocals and lead instruments are very prominent when listening to music. However, the boosted nature of the mids and highs does overpower the quieter areas from 125Hz to 250Hz where a lot of detail in modern music lies. So, when listening to genres such as rap, pop, hip hop and EDM, you may feel like the track lacks some weight and energy at times. Also, the exaggerated highs tend to be the cause of some sibilance and harshness in the treble regions. Overall, we prefer the Dizo Buds Z's sound signature over the Oppo Enco Buds' extremely dark sound profile, but there's still room for improvement.

The Dizo Buds Z, however, provides a pretty enjoyable listening experience at this inexpensive price point, but if you can stretch your budget by a little, the Realme Buds Q2 offer a more balanced and detailed sound profile while still being energetic and punchy.

Active Noise Cancellation isn't present on these buds, to keep the price point low, but the buds do have decent passive isolation. Although, if you're in a particularly noisy area such as a train station or loud office environment, you will hear surrounding sounds pretty easily.

As for the microphone, the Dizo Buds Z, equipped with Environmental Noise Cancellation, come with mediocre microphone performance that usually works well in indoor settings. If you're outdoors or in a noisy setting, your voice can sound too distant over calls and ambient sounds are also picked up pretty easily, making for calls with a fair bit of disturbance despite ENC. 

As we mentioned before, the Dizo Buds Z are powered by Bluetooth v5.0. The wireless connection is pretty great, for the most part, save for some occasional stutters and lags in the audio. Also, when Game Mode is turned on, there's a brief period where the audio you're listening to distorts and sounds choppy, but it resolved itself within seconds during our testing. The Bluetooth connection process is also very simple. Once paired, the buds instantaneously connect to your device as soon as you open the charging case, no extra steps are required. Also, there's very minimal latency when using these buds to watch videos and play games. Additionally, you can activate Game Mode that lowers the latency to 88ms.

Dizo Buds Z: Features

Priced at Rs 1,999, the Dizo Buds Z don't boast of a plethora of features as seen on earbuds in the 2.5K to 5K price range. However, they do come with the basics such as app support, IP rating, and a few others. The Dizo Buds Z can be used with the Realme Link app that allows users to perform certain functions. You can check the battery levels of your earbuds at a glance, switch between three EQ presets - Bass Boost+, Dynamic and Bright, perform firmware upgrades and customise earbud controls.

Users can tweak earbud controls for the following the double-tap, triple tap and hold and hold actions. You can choose to add functions such as pause/play music, seek tracks, quick switch between paired devices, voice assistant, and game mode. There are no volume controls, which is disappointing since some competitors such as the Oppo Enco Buds offer volume control. Within the app, you can also toggle on/off game mode, volume enhancer, and auto-answer. There's not much else you can do via the app, but the customisability offered for this price is plentiful.

The earbuds are IPX4 water-resistant, so they can easily withstand sweat or light splashes of water, making them suitable to use when exercising. You also get 88ms low latency game mode, as we mentioned before, which is a good addition for those who consume a lot of content or play a lot of games using earbuds. The earbuds also support mono earbud use, meaning you can use either earbud independently of the other. 

Dizo Buds Z: Battery life

The Dizo Buds Z, so far, have proved to be a pretty decent pair of TWS earbuds for the price with an enjoyable and dynamic sound profile and a reasonable number of features. However, one area that has disappointed us has been battery life. The Dizo Buds Z come with a lacklustre battery life of 16 hours in total, buds and case combined. This looks rather paltry in front of competitors such as the Soundcore R100 that comes with 25 hours of total playtime, and the Oppo Enco Buds with its 24-hour-long battery life.

The earbuds on the Dizo Buds Z, by themselves, have a playtime of 4.5 hours. Again, nothing to write home about. In our tests, the earbuds lasted around 4 hours and 5 minutes at 60-70 percent volume. The case provided 3 additional charges, with some juice to spare. The Buds Z do support fast charging where around 10 minutes of charging gets you 1.5 hours of playtime, which is quite decent.

Dizo Buds Z: Build and comfort

Build and design is one area where the Dizo Buds Z truly shines. Don't get us wrong, you're not going to find an extremely premium build on these earphones like you would on mid-range to high-end earbuds, but for the price, the Dizo Buds Z comes with an attractive design and reliable build quality. The Dizo Buds Z has a pebble-shaped charging case with a matte texture that feels more premium than other buds in this price range with their glossy textures. The buds are available in three colour variants - Leaf, Onyx, and Pearl. We got the Leaf mint-green coloured variant for review, which looks fantastic.

The pastel green shade is easy on the eyes and looks unique. The case is very compact and doesn't bulge out of pockets too much. The front of the case houses an LED battery indicator and the DIZO logo while the bottom features a USB-C charging port. The case is extremely easy to open one-handed and shuts close with an audible and satisfying snap, which we love. Additionally, the magnets inside that hold the buds are extremely strong and the buds stay put even when you shake the case with force.

The earbuds have a stem design and feature a glossy texture in contrast to the case's matte texture. The stems or stalks have a lovely iridescent finish that makes the buds stand out. The back of the stems also doubles as touch-sensitive zones to control music and calls. The touch controls are fairly reliable and we encountered very few misreadings with these.

The buds are also super lightweight at merely 3.7g each and this translates to hours of comfortable usage. They also provide a pretty decent fit that stays put during most activities. However, when running the buds do shuffle slightly and you may feel the need to readjust them. Overall, the Dizo Buds Z has a stellar design for the price and is comfortable to wear over long periods of time.

Dizo Buds Z: Verdict

The TWS market is chock-full of affordable options and the Dizo Buds Z may find itself slightly lost in the crowd. The earbuds definitely get most things right, be it the consumer-friendly bass-boosted sound signature, eye-catching design, comfortable fit, and app support. However, it loses out to its competitors in some key areas such as battery life, microphone performance, and audio codec support. Additionally, if a consumer decides to spend a few hundred rupees more, the world of Active Noise Cancellation and other appealing features is opened up to them with earphones such as the Realme Buds Q2 and the Boult Audio Soulpods. The one area where the Dizo Buds Z stand out in the sub-2K price point is design. The earbuds look gorgeous with the iridescent effect on the stems and the charging case's matte texture looks premium. So, if looks and build matter the most to you, the Dizo Buds Z are a good option in the sub-2K price point. 

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Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Getting Remastered for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Mobiles Later This Year

Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas — the trilogy of the popular action-adventure RPG — are getting remastered later this year, publisher Rockstar Games has announced confirming earlier rumours. The remastered versions will be initially available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/ S, Xbox One, Nintendo S...

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Battlefield 2042 Open Beta Hands-On: Non-Strategic Abundance

Battlefield 2042 multiplayer beta opens into a massive, inviting arena where anything is possible. EA DICE has now delayed the game launch to November 19, while opening up its classic Conquest mode with a single map for sampling. It’s almost as chaotic as advertised with 128 players, an expansive map, and an exciting arsenal of weapons. Battlefield veterans are sure...

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Nintendo Switchs Joy-Con drift issues may never be fully resolved

Joy-Con drift has been a very persistent problem for Nintendo Switch users. So much so that the company has been at the center of a number of lawsuits. On it’s part, Nintendo has been pretty quiet about the issue. With the launch of the Nintendo Switch OLED, questions regarding Joy-Con drift have popped up once again.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Drift: Bad news...

In a post on the official Nintendo website, Ko Shiota, Head of Nintendo’s Technology Division and Toru Yamashita of the Technology Development Department answer some questions regarding the development of the new Nintendo Switch OLED. In one of the answers, both of them suggest that the Joy-Con drift issue won’t be going away anytime soon.

For the uninitiated, Joy-Con drift is the colloquial term for the issue wherein the Joy-Con controller on the Switch would receive false inputs, even when they weren’t touched. Shiota and Yamashita both note that wear in the Joy-Cons is unavoidable. As such, the drift issue will remain. But on the plus side, Yamashita notes that the company has done it’s bit to improve the reliability of the controllers. 

“The degree of wear depends on factors like the combination of the materials and forms, so we continue to make improvements by researching which combinations are less likely to wear. We mentioned that the Joy-Con controller specifications hadn’t changed in the sense that we didn’t add new features such as new buttons, but the analog sticks in the Joy-Con controllers included with Nintendo Switch – OLED Model are the latest version with all the improvements. Needless to say, so are the analog sticks included in Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, separately sold Joy-Con controllers, and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller that are currently being shipped,” Yamashita noted.

Also read: Here Are 5 Reasons Why You Should Buy The Nintendo Switch In 2020

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PlayGo BH47 Review: Affordable Active Noise Cancellation cans

The PlayGo BH47 is a great entry-level on-ear wireless headphone for those who want to experience some ANC goodness without breaking the bank. The headphones also offer a fairly balanced sound profile with dynamic bass response and detailed mids. However, the microphone performance leaves something to be desired and we’re not fans of the dated micro-USB charging. Battery life, however, is pretty stellar, providing most users with a few days to a week’s worth of usage without having to reach for the charging cable.

With the surge of people working from home during the pandemic, Active Noise Cancellation has never been more sought-after. Audio companies across the globe are working tirelessly to bring this nifty feature to their products at several price points. While we’ve already seen the implementation of this feature on entry-level true wireless earbuds, the feature is also making its way to entry-level Bluetooth cans. To this end, PlayGo’s latest offering, the PlayGo BH47 is an Active Noise Cancelling pair of over-ear Bluetooth headphones priced at Rs 6,999. The headphones launched at the 7K price point but can now be purchased for as low as 4K on e-commerce websites such as Amazon, which is a steal deal, on paper at least. Let’s find out more about the PlayGo BH47 headphones and if they make a splash in the entry-level wireless headphone market.

Build and comfort

The PlayGo BH47 finds the right balance between minimalism and flair. The cans come in an all-plastic build with a matte texture and silver highlights around the earcups. The “Play” logo also boasts of a silver sheen that stands out from the minimalistic black body. The headphones weigh approximately 260 grams and feel pretty lightweight when worn. The ear cushions feature soft, padded foam topped with faux-leather material. 

The generous foam padding ensures a comfortable fit and we had a great experience wearing these cans over long periods of time with minimal fatigue. Now, the ear cups do get hot around the ears after some time of listening and can be slightly uncomfortable if you have sweaty ears.  These headphones are circumaural or over-ear headphones that sit around your ears. 

The cups swivel 90-degrees, allowing you to swivel it flat when it rests on your chest when not in use. The cups don’t pivot inwards though so the cups can dig into your collarbone slightly when worn around your neck. The headphones also have metal-reinforced extendable arms to fit heads of various sizes. The extendable arms can be adjusted quite a lot but the mechanism that extends them feels a bit rickety and cheap.

You can also fold the headphones up neatly and tuck in into the soft cloth carrying bag provided in the box. So, these headphones are sufficiently portable and can be carried out easily inside a backpack or medium-large sized handbag. Inside the headphone’s retail box, you also get a micro-USB charging cable, an AUX cable with an L-shaped end, and some documentation. 

As for controls, you can get a multifunction button for pausing/playing music, answering calls, and waking the voice assistant. There are volume up and down buttons that can also switch tracks by long-pressing. Apart from these buttons, the right earcup also houses the micro-USB charging port. We wish the headphones had Type-C charging since micro-USB is awfully dated in 2021.

On the left, you have a toggleable Active Noise Cancellation switch and a 3.5mm audio port for passive listening via an AUX cable. The ANC switch lights up blue when turned on but the blue LED light doesn’t turn off even when you power off the headphones, which is strange and unnecessarily wastes battery. The buttons on the cans work as expected but they feel plasticky and cheap. Overall though, the PlayGo BH47 provides decent build quality and good comfort for the price.

Features

Owing to the inexpensive price of the cans, the PlayGo BH47 isn’t a feature-rich wireless headphone. It doesn’t come with app support, touch controls, Ambient Sound, USB Type-C charging or an IP rating. However, it does possess one feature which is probably the most sought-after feature in audio products currently - Active Noise Cancellation. Priced under 7K, the PlayGo BH47 allow the price-conscious to also get a taste of ANC without breaking the bank.

Active Noise Cancellation performance on these headphones is strictly mediocre. The PlayGo BH47 suppresses low-end, constant sounds to some degree. In a room with the AC on, turning on ANC on these headphones can make a palpable difference. It does a good job reducing the AC’s drone. However, other sounds such as high-speed fans, typing on mechanical keyboards and human voices barely see any suppression and can be heard clear as day. Nevertheless, the quality is acceptable for the price.

The earphones are powered by Bluetooth v5.0 and have AUX support for wired listening. The wireless connection is stable and the wireless transmission distance is pretty decent as well. However, you will experience slight latency when watching content on OTT platforms or playing games on your phone. One of the best features of these headphones is multipoint connectivity that allows users to connect to two separate source devices simultaneously. This is an excellent addition and is something we didn’t expect to get at this price point, but hey, we’re not complaining at all.

Performance

The PlayGo BH47 packs 40mm EBEL (Enhanced Bass, Extra Loud) drivers that provide a fairly balanced sound signature. The earphones only support the SBC codec. At this range, we’re used to the sound signature being too bass-biased, so it was refreshing to see that PlayGo hasn’t gone down that route, since it usually results in muddy and dark sound, which we’re not fans of. Instead, you get a pretty balanced sound signature with a slight boost in bass response that gives it some energy and thump but doesn’t turn things muddy.

Therefore, in tracks with a prominent bass presence such as Shivers by Ed Sheeran, the bass beats are punchy and dynamic but don’t overpower the clarity of the vocals. Even in rock songs such as Sky Is A Neighborhood by Foo Fighters, the drums have a nice kick to them without garbling up lead instruments and vocal performances. The mid-range is also clear and detailed for the most part, however, the highs have a sudden drop-off and can sound slightly imprecise at times. Also, note that the bass response at higher volumes (past 80-90 percent) can get distorted which may sour the experience, so we advise you to keep the volume levels at 60-70 percent. This shouldn’t be a problem, since the cans are loud enough even at those volume levels.

As for instrument separation, the PlayGo BH47 does a decent job keeping the instruments distinct and clear, however, the soundstage is slightly closed off which may cost you some immersiveness. Additionally, the PlayGo Bh47’s audio does suffer from some bleeding, so people around you may be able to hear what you’re listening to. Overall, we’re fans of the fairly balanced sound profile the PlayGo BH47 provides at an affordable price point. 

As for the microphone, the performance is slightly disappointing. When using the headphones to make calls, our voice often sounded too distant and muffled. In an indoor setting, the BH47 does a slightly better job, but there’s room for improvement, for sure.

Battery life

The PlayGo BH47’s wireless playtime is rated at 30 hours (without ANC) and 23 hours (with ANC) by the company. These are some pretty good numbers and you should have no problem using these cans for days from a single charge, provided that you use your headphones for about 5-6 hours per day. In our testing, the PlayGo BH47 lasted 21 hours and 20 minutes on a single charge with ANC turned on and volume levels set to 60 per cent. 

The only thing that disappoints us in the battery department is having to charge the device using the dated micro-USB charger. It’s a good thing that PlayGo provides a charger in the box, since we’ve ditched those pesky micro USB cables for good as most devices have made the shift to USB Type-C charging.

Verdict

The PlayGo BH47 is a great entry-level on-ear wireless headphone for those who want to experience some ANC goodness without breaking the bank. The headphones also offer a fairly balanced sound profile with dynamic bass response and detailed mids. However, the microphone performance leaves something to be desired and we’re not fans of the dated micro-USB charging. Battery life, however, is pretty stellar, providing most users with a few days to a week’s worth of usage without having to reach for the charging cable. Overall, there’s more to like about these headphones than to complain about. They are a good value-for-money option for most people looking to purchase headphones under 7K. However, if you’re mostly going to be using these headphones for calls, we suggest looking elsewhere. 

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Realme to launch Buds Air 2 Green color option in India on October 13

Realme had previously launched the Buds Air 2 true wireless earbuds in the country, and now it is all set to release them in a new colour option — Green. Realme has announced that this TWS will be launched in India on October 13, alongside the upcoming Realme GT Neo 2 smartphone.  The new colour will add to the already existing options, as the TWS is already available in three different colours — Closer White, Closer Black, and Closer Gold.

These TWS will come with a green charging case that will feature a green colour on the outside and black colour on the inside. Apart from this, this colour of the earbuds will have a green colour on the stem with black colour on the tip. 

Realme Buds Air 2 features 

The earbuds will not feature any other changes to the Realme Buds Air 2, as everything else is set to remain untouched. Even the internals, which will come with 10mm DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) drivers and support Bluetooth 5.2. They will feature ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and will be able to reduce the external noise up to 25dB. Inside, they will be powered by the company’s in-house Realme R2 chip and bring support for Google Fast Pair, wear detection as well as touch gesture controls. There’s also support for low-latency mode for gaming sessions.

Apart from this, they will feature the same battery life as the other colour variants, with Realme claiming that the TWS earbuds will offer up to 25-hour battery life with ANC turned off and up to 22.5 hours with ANC turned on, with each cycle on the buds offering up to 5-hour battery life. It is claimed that 10 minutes of charging can deliver 2 hours of playback, while the TWS takes up to 2 hours to charge completely.

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OnePlus 9RT with 50MP camera and 120Hz display launch date announced

OnePlus announced the official launch date for the OnePlus 9RT (the successor to the OnePlus 9R) to be October 13th. Additionally, the brand also released a few images of the device to confirm its specifications. However, do note that this launch date is specific to China, and it is still not clear whether the device will launch in India at the same time.

OnePlus 9RT Specifications (expected)

Reports published earlier have suggested that the OnePlus 9RT will have an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC and the same kind of 50MP Sony IMX766 camera that the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and the OnePlus Nord 2 are equipped with. Moreover, it is also believed that the smartphone will have a full-HD+ display and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. The teasers released by the brand have confirmed the 50MP camera, Warp Charge feature, and 120Hz display. 

OnePlus 9RT Price in India

While the official price for the OnePlus 9RT has not been revealed, reports indicate that the smartphone will sell in China for around CNY 2,000 - CNY 3,000. In terms of INR, this translates to anywhere between Rs 23,300 - 34,900. The smartphone is now available for pre-orders in China and a popular Chinese e-commerce site, known as JD.com, has added renders of the smartphone to its website to entice users. 

Since the launch of the OnePlus 9RT has been set for October 13 in China, we’re expecting the brand to make an official announcement about the launch in India within a few days. 

Also Read: OnePlus 9 Series, Oppo Find X3 Series Will Start Receiving Open Beta Update for ColorOS 12

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