This year’s flagship wireless earbuds from Oppo have been released, and they promise to provide the brand’s best sound and noise cancellation to date. Oppo Enco X2 earphones, which were developed in collaboration with Danish audio specialists Dynaudio, feature nearly every TWS feature imaginable. Support for the LHDC audio codec, dual device pairing, active noise cancellation, an IP54 rating, wireless charging, and a combined battery life of 40 hours are all included.
Last year, we looked at the Oppo Enco X’s first generation of earphones and found them to be one of the best TWS earphones on the market because of their compelling feature set and rich audio. Are the Enco X2’s upgrades sufficient to justify the $200/€200 asking price? Let’s investigate.
Design:
The Oppo Enco X2 feels and looks like an improvement on the Enco X. It still has an in-ear design and rubber ear tips that are coated with a special anti-germ coating. A pressure-sensitive area for controlling media playback can be found on the buds’ stems. In order to prevent placing the wrong bud in your ear by accident, the insides of each one feature letters L and R. Enco X2 created a seal that was good enough to fit comfortably in my ears. The only thing I don’t like about the case is that it picks up lint in my pocket pretty hard and feels solid.
The case design has largely remained the same as that of the model from last year. It is still made of glossy plastic, which isn’t a problem with our white model, but the black model will undoubtedly smudge the moment you touch it. On the lid of the case, there is a small Oppo logo, and on the back, there is a silver Dynaudio logo. A second LED for pairing is under the case lid, and the battery charging indicator is on the bottom of the case next to the USB-C port. Regarding the lid, it is built well, can support the entire case’s weight on its own, and it closes securely with a snap.
The Oppo Enco X2 and its case weigh 56.4 grams, while each earbud weighs less than 5 grams. Similar to their predecessor, the earbuds are IP54 water and dust resistant, so you won’t have to worry about sweat or rain damaging them.
Features:
In 2022, the Oppo Enco X2 have nearly every feature you could want in a wireless earbud. They are certified for Hi-Res Audio and can transmit audio at 900 kbps thanks to support for the LHDC codec. If your device is not LHDC-ready, legacy AAC and SBC codecs are also supported. The buds communicate with Android and iOS devices at a distance of up to 10 meters via Bluetooth 5.2, which supports binaural low-latency Bluetooth transmission.
In addition, Oppo claims that its Bluetooth connection in LHDC mode is up to three times more stable than that of the Enco X headphones. During my testing, I can confidently state that there were no connection drops, and the buds were able to maintain a stable connection even as I moved around the office from opposite ends of my connected phone.
With ultra-wide frequency tuning and three microphones on each bud, Oppo claims that its improved ANC this year should drown out up to 45 dB of noise around you. There are mild, moderate, maximum, and smart modes for noise cancellation. The max mode is, as expected, the most potent and the one I used throughout my testing, while the first two are less than ideal for blocking out noises around you. Smart mode automatically selects one of the other three modes based on your current surroundings.
Even in an office setting, noise-canceling was able to adequately block out static sounds in the low-end spectrum. Low-range noises are barely noticeable when music is playing at least 20% of maximum volume. Even when there was no music playing, I could clearly see the water dispenser, coffee maker, and keyboard movements. In conclusion, the Enco X2’s ANC is not the most effective noise cancellation I’ve tested, falling behind Apple and Sony’s premium offerings.
The AI noise cancellation with bone conduction, which extrapolates your voice vibrations for clearer calls, is another new feature on the Enco X2. The bone conduction microphone is interesting because it records the vibrations that come from your mouth. This means that it should be better at picking up your voice than traditional microphones do in noisy environments.
During my testing, voice pickup was excellent even on busy streets where enough cars were revving up their engines to give the impression of being at a race track. In comparison to any other pair of earphones I’ve tested recently, the new wind noise duct design and sophisticated anti-wind noise algorithm handled themselves well on their own. The Enco X2 won’t let you down if you regularly make a lot of calls.
Additionally, touch controls function flawlessly. It requires two fingers to squeeze the stem, but it is well done. Additionally, you can adjust the volume by sliding your fingers up or down on either earbud using the onboard controls. The majority of rivals lack the onboard volume controls, which are a welcome addition.
The HeyMelody app from Oppo is available for both Android and iOS. It offers a great user experience on both platforms and a lot of options for sound and customization. Adjustable touch controls, five EQ sound profiles, personalized ANC, game mode, dual device connection, and ANC intensity toggles are included. There are a number of Dynaudio sound profiles included, which I will discuss in greater detail in the Sound quality section.
The dual-device connection works, but switching between devices takes a few seconds. While game mode reduces latency to 94 milliseconds, there is still a noticeable delay between pressing a button on the screen and hearing that action on the headphones. When watching videos, latency is barely noticeable.
An Oppo-developed triple-core chipset with a separate DAC chip is included in the Enco X2. Since these are the first earbuds on the market with Dolby binaural recording, you can record sounds from them in great detail. This feature is only available on the Oppo Find X5 series and is more of a novelty than anything else. Additionally, Oppo phones can use the buds as a remote camera shutter, which is useful for taking group photos.
Audio quality:
The Oppo Enco X2 features two coaxial speakers with 6mm planar diaphragm drivers and 11mm dynamic drivers. Oppo claims that Enco X2 has a frequency response of 20 Hz to 40 kHz, whereas Enco X had a maximum output of 20 kHz. Despite the fact that I was unable to compare the values of the two earphones, I must say that I like how Oppo tuned the X2s.
The sound is rich with balanced mids and treble, and the bass is present but not overwhelming. At similar volume levels, Realme, Samsung, and Apple earphones definitely sound louder, but Oppo’s lower volume output isn’t a deal breaker. Although bass is present, it does not dominate the sound or alter the overall sound profile. Mids are crystal clear, and instruments and vocals are heard in their entirety and with sufficient force.
The voices are well-detailed and the podcast audio is crystal clear. As with other noise-canceling earphones, you should avoid using ANC when listening to music because it tends to distort sound, giving the impression of being underwater. Even at higher volume levels, the sound is still well-balanced and does not suffer from significant distortions like it does with other wireless headphones.
The HeyMelody app from Oppo features three Dynaudio sound profiles: Punchy, which boosts bass, Real, which emphasizes vocals and trebles, and Simple and Clear, which sits in between the two. In addition, there is a unique EQ mode that was created by Japanese composer Joe Hisashi. This mode is the one that I used the most during my testing because it has the best balance of all the EQ settings.
A side note: the Joe Hisashi mode can only be found in the Chinese version of the HeyMelody app, which can be easily accessed by switching regions in the App Store.
When I tested the LHDC mode on an Oppo Find X5 Pro, it did sound better in all situations. However, not many other phones support the feature, so you won’t hear any difference when streaming music. I did, however, spend the majority of my time paired with an iPhone 13, and I can report that all features and controls (with the exception of the LHDC) performed as well as they did on the Find X5 Pro.
I recently tested the Realme Buds Air 3, which were more comfortable for longer sessions and fit better than the Enco X2. However, the in-ear fit is good with the default size M ear tips. Additionally, the extremely thin silicone tip surface on the Enco X2 buds may have contributed to a few instances in which the buds threatened to fall out of my ears while I was walking.
Battery:
Oppo claims that the Enco X2 can run for up to 9.5 hours without ANC and 5.5 hours with it on. You can listen for up to 40 hours with ANC off and 22 hours with ANC on when you use the charging case. These values performed reasonably well in my tests. The case’s battery was reduced to 20% after a week of intermittent use of the headphones.
The Enco X2 can be charged at speeds of up to 10W via USB-C, and it takes one hour to fully charge the buds and 90 minutes to fill the case. The duration of wireless charging varies from charger to charger.
Verdict:
The Enco X2 from Oppo come with high-end audio quality, a premium build, and arguably the best microphone performance of any wireless earphones that are not made by Apple. Oppo made sure to pack the Enco X2 full of features. Even though the Enco X2 sound great, their $200/€200 retail price is a lot for a pair of wireless earbuds. Apple’s AirPods Pro are currently available for €199, and Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are available for €220 at the time of writing.
The Enco X2 is a viable premium-level alternative due to its features and pricing, but Oppo’s buds fall short when it comes to noise cancellation. Because sound is a personal preference thing, you could also choose one of the other two competitors.
The well-balanced sound profile, extensive feature set, and excellent microphone of the Enco X2 work equally well on iOS and Android devices. You can give the Enco X2 a shot if you don’t belong to the Apple ecosystem, don’t care about top-notch noise cancellation, don’t want the benefits of AirPods, or both.
