Competitive pricing is often the key to success in the Indian consumer electronics space, and Realme has often got this right, especially for its accessories and audio products. The company has now gone a step further, making prices even more attractive through its Realme TechLife ecosystem spinoff, Dizo. This new company has quickly launched a bunch of affordable audio and wearable products in India, including the Dizo Wireless neckband earphones that I have on review here.
Priced at Rs. 1,099 in India, the Dizo Wireless is similar to the recently launched Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo, but is priced a bit lower. This is a simple wireless headset with few features beyond the basics of Bluetooth connectivity, but promises good sound at a low price. Is this the best affordable wireless headset you can buy right now? Find out in this review.
The Dizo Wireless has a magnetic power control; the headset is switched on when the earpieces are separated
Dizo Wireless works with the Realme Link app
Dizo is a part of the Realme TechLife ecosystem, and seems to borrow a lot from its parent company when it comes to design, components, and features. The Dizo Wireless looks very similar to the Realme Buds Wireless 2 and is indeed practically identical to the Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo when it comes to specifications and features.
The headset has a flexible rubber neckband, two modules at either end, and short cables leading to the earpieces. A magnetic power switch lets you turn the Dizo Wireless on and off when you separate the earpieces or snap them together, respectively. The controls for volume and playback and the USB Type-C port for charging are on the right module, while the left one has a simple Dizo logo printed on the outer side. Although the magnetic power switch sounds convenient, the earpieces are prone to separating accidentally when this headset is stored in a bag or purse, which will turn it on and waste power.
Like most neckband earphones, the Dizo Wireless has an in-canal fit, ensuring proper noise isolation. I found it comfortable to wear, although the short cables did occasionally brush against my face while moving around, which was a bit annoying. There are two additional pairs of silicone ear tips of different sizes included in the box, for a customisable fit. You also get a short USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable.
The Dizo Wireless has 11.2mm dynamic drivers, a frequency response range of 20-20,000Hz, Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, and support for only the SBC Bluetooth codec. There’s environmental noise cancellation for better voice pickup on calls. The device is rated IPX4 for water resistance.
This headset works with the Realme Link app, which allows for various customisation options including equaliser mode selection, toggling game mode, and customising the controls. Usefully, you can enable a shortcut to activate the default voice assistant on your smartphone, activate or deactivate the 88ms low-latency mode for gaming, or switch between your two most recently paired devices quickly. It’s worth pointing out here that the Dizo Wireless is only supported on the Realme Link app for Android; the headset could not be detected by the app on iOS at the time of review.
The Dizo Wireless has 11.2mm dynamic drivers
Battery life on the Dizo Wireless is decent enough for the price; it ran for around ten hours on a single charge for music and calls, with the volume at moderate levels. There is fast charging for the 150mAh battery, with a ten-minute charge claimed to offer two hours of listening time. It takes two hours to charge from empty to full.
Acceptable sound quality, no-frills listening on the Dizo Wireless
Aside from the benefits of app support and features such as low-latency mode and quick switching between paired devices, the Dizo Wireless focuses on the basics when it comes to sound. Although it can only use the SBC Bluetooth codec, this headset does support Bluetooth 5 which ensures good connection stability, and the tuning is about as good as you can expect from a wireless headset in this price segment.
I had the Dizo Wireless connected to my iPhone for much of this review, and used Apple Music to listen to music. Starting with Drop The Pressure by Mylo, the first thing I noticed in the sonic signature was a low-end bias. The fast beats and catchy riff of this club favourite track had a fair amount of grunt. It sometimes felt a bit rough around the edges, but was far from the muddy and unrefined output I’ve heard from most budget wireless headsets. The sound was acceptably pleasant; nothing exceptional, but entirely listenable even over long sessions.
There are basic controls for playback and volume on the neckband of the Dizo Wireless
Moving on to the upbeat and detailed Sunny by Boney M, the sound felt a bit dull and was lacking in detail and sharpness. The low-end bias didn’t interfere too much with the rest of this track, and the group’s celebrated vocals rightly led the way. However, the Dizo Wireless performs best in tracks with strong bass. Listening to Hold On (Sub Focus Remix) by Rusko allowed it to focus on the aggression and drive in this dubstep track.
All of this considered, there isn’t much detail to be heard on the Dizo Wireless earphones. The SBC Bluetooth codec and tuning do hold it back a fair bit. However, given its price and the typical likes of mainstream buyers, the low-end bias and focus on voice communication is reasonable.
The Dizo Wireless has environmental noise cancellation for voice calls, and indeed, I had a good experience using these earphones to conduct conversations. Sound quality was decent on both ends of calls, and the earphones were loud and easy to use both indoors and outdoors. The low-latency mode did seem to reduce audio delay while gaming a bit (at the cost of a slight reduction in sound quality), but it’s not quite good enough to seriously consider these earphones for competitive multiplayer gaming, in which a time delay is the difference between (virtual) life and death.
Verdict
Although not exceptional when it comes to sound quality, the Dizo Wireless neckband Bluetooth headset doesn’t sound too bad either. Where it does stand out is in the features offered; with stable connectivity, environmental noise cancellation, app support, quick switching, and a low-latency mode, this is a very well equipped pair of wireless earphones. It helps that all of this is available for just Rs. 1,099, making this excellent value for money.
While there are plenty of options in this segment including the nearly identical Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo, the Dizo Wireless is worth considering for the fact that there’s a lot on offer for a low price. That said, spending just a bit more would get you the Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones Pro, which has active noise cancellation.