You probably know OPPO for releasing smartphones, but they forayed into the local audio scene with the release of its OPPO Enco X True Wireless Stereo earphones co-made with Swedish sound maker Dynaudio. Touting a ton of features for the price it’s asking for, is it worth the price? Here’s our review.
Unboxing the initial white-colored OPPO packaging reveals this black box with a metallic, reflective X design at the middle. Inside are just the essential components — the TWS case with the earbuds inside, a USB Type-C connector for charging, and another smaller box with extra silicone tips for a snug fit.
Design: Shining, Shimerring
Our unit, a pebble-like TWS in a shiny, black case, is quite the fingerprint and smudge magnet. It’s devoid of any markings except for the LED indicator at the front, and the USB-C port on the right side. One thing I noticed is despite the option for wired charging, you can simply place this case at a compatible Qi charger for wireless charging, which is a great addition.
Opening the case flap reveals the two buds comfortably resting as they wait to be used. These, too, are also shiny and fingerprint-heavy, save for the rubber tip part.
On the first look, the shape of the TWS earphone is quite unorthodox compared to those from other brands. While most produce straightforward linear, boxy types, the Enco X begs to differ as it features a rounded stem and a curved, ergonomic shape on the earbuds that can be worn with comfort. It’s also smooth to touch and we have not been irritated with it when we used it for our daily activities.
The earbuds did not fall off when we’re using them in our daily activities, and the rubber tip helps in isolating noise from outside environments, along with the built-in noise cancelation feature.
Connectivity: It’s for all… almost
Connecting the TWS earphones to your phone isn’t that hard. It both works well with Android and iOS devices as it features Bluetooth 5.2 right out of the box.
For added features, you can download the HeyMelody app to unlock more features such as tweaking the audio profile through the equalizer (though the only profiles available are a choice between the default profile, simple and clear audio, and warm and soft tone), adjusting the noise cancelation profile, doing an earphone fitting test and checking the battery status of your device. The app also enables you to change the functions in its controls such as slides, taps and holds.
Audio and Call Quality: The Highs and Lows
The TWS offers clear and bright highs that do not feel quite as edgy, greatly-toned mids; deep, well-shaped bass lines, and outstanding trebles. We were impressed with the range of clarity when it comes to audio performance, but the soundstage feels confined to a smaller, narrower space than other TWS earphones we’ve heard.
It’s also one of the first to support LHDC (Low Latency High-Definition Audio Codec), which can be found at their flagship Find X2 and X3 devices. Sadly we weren’t able to test this yet as we have to
Its noise cancelation is great. There are four available modes on the app — Transparency (hearing the outside environment by picking up sound), off, Normal ANC, and Max ANC. Setting it to Max will definitely block a lot of nearby environment noise including those coming from electric fans, moderately loud chatter, car and bus engines, and home appliances most especially when music is playing. When the earphones are idle on your ear, you can still hear faint noises coming from the environment.
When it comes to audio relay, it offers reduced latency via a Binaural Low-Latency Bluetooth Transmission from the get-go so there’s no need to turn a setting on. Audio and video are always in sync when we are watching videos on YouTube using the earphones, though you’d find yourself in a position where you scratch your head due to a few delays when using the headphone on gaming. It’s best to say that this is best for multimedia consumption and not for gaming.
The ENCO X has three microphones — a noise-canceling one, a feed forwarding, and an internal mic. In some of our calls made with the device, the other party can hear us loud and clear. We also used this with Google Meet and Zoom meetings, and they all turned out to be crisp.
Battery Life: Endurance is key
The OPPO Enco X, in a normal sitting with MP3 playback, device volume set at 50%, and with the ANC set at normal, gave us 4 hours and 19 minutes on a single charge and up to 19 hours with the case. Without the noise cancelation, you’d get 5 hours and 20 minutes on a single run and 24 hours without it with the case.
Charging the whole case, including the buds when all are battery-drained, would take around 1 hour and 40 minutes via USB-C. The Qi wireless charging option is also available, but since our charging case is a bit slower it fully charged at 2 hours and 30 minutes.
