The OPPO Enco X is the company’s latest flagship TWS earbuds offering, and we can’t help but say yes when we heard it’s co-created with Dynaudio and comes with active noise cancellation. Launched back in October 2019 in China, the Enco X are a pair of high-end TWS earbuds. But before we get into the details, let’s go through some specs first.
OPPO Enco X – Specifications
| Model | OPPO Enco X (ETI52) |
| Colour | Black / White |
| Audio Quality | Driver: φ11mm dynamic driver + φ6mm balanced membrane driver Speaker sensitivity: 104dB @1 kHz Frequency response range: 20 Hz-20 kHz Audio codec: Audio codec LHDC / AAC / SBC |
| Noise Cancellation | Noise Cancellation Off Transparency Noise Cancellation Max Noise Cancellation |
| Bluetooth | v5.2 10m Effective Range |
| Battery Life | Battery Type: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery Battery Capacity: 44 mAh (earphones)/535 mAh (charging case) |
| Charging | USB Type-C Qi Wireless Charging |
| Size | Weight (each ear)：4.8g (±0.2g) Weight (charging case)：42.5 (±0.5g) Weight (entire device)：52.5 (±1g) Charging case size (length * width * thickness)：66.3*49*21.7 mm |
| Water And Dust Resistance | IP54 |
What’s In The Box?
- OPPO Enco X
- Charging Case
- Spare Eartips Set (Size S, M, L)
- USB Type-C Charging Cable
Design
The OPPO Enco X looks very similar to the Apple AirPods Pro, but they are a tad bit smaller. That being said, because they share a similar shape, it also means these earbuds fit extremely well. They’re comfortable to wear, and the smaller stems are a welcome design cue because this means there’s no stem that constantly touches your face to annoy you. Just like the wireless charging case, the earbuds have a glossy finish, which also means it is very prone to fingerprint smudges.
The wireless charging case has an oval pebble shape, which feels really good in the hands. Apart from the fingerprint marks, it’s a really good case as it has wireless charging capabilities. On the right, there’s a pairing button, and the USB Type-C charging port can be found on the bottom. Co-created with Dynaudio, they’re responsible for audio tuning, and you can see the Dynaudio logo emblazoned on the case’s hinge on the rear.
Comfort
As mentioned above, the OPPO Enco X is extremely comfortable. Regardless of what I do with it, it stays firmly in place, not moving an inch. I’ve tired headbanging, jump ropes, running, and even purposeful head shaking just to get the earbuds to move, it stands its ground.
Having them in my ears for hours on end, I’ve experienced no audio fatigue or discomfort, and I’ve even been able to lie down directly on them without hurting my ears. This is something I’ve never been able to do with other TWS earbuds I’ve tried.
User Experience
Because I don’t have an OPPO device, there is no quick pair feature available to me. So if you’re using any other Android or iOS device, you’ll need to make a quick visit to the Bluetooth settings page on your device to manually pair the earbuds to your phone. If you can’t find the device, try pressing on the pairing button on the side of the charging case.
OPPO does have a “HeyMelody” app for the OPPO Enco X, but there’s not much you can do with it. Apart from getting the right fit, performing firmware updates and changing gesture controls, that’s pretty much all you can do with the app. Despite a lack of customization features, the Enco X actually already performs really well out of the box.
The OPPO Enco X pairs fast to devices, and it can pair with up to five devices simultaneously. On top of that, you can instantly switch between the last two connected devices, as long as you have the gesture control set up. There’s also an audio test you could do on the HeyMelody app, which will let you know if your earbuds are having the right fit with your ears.
Having a USB Type-C port for fast charging, I found myself lazily placing it on my wireless charging pad despite the slower charging speed. I really hate cables, and the wireless charging feature is a great addition.
This may seem small, but another thing I appreciate about the OPPO Enco X is the charging case’s hinge. Some TWS earbuds’ charging case have hinges so loose, the top lid closes as soon as you flip them open. The Enco X’s hinge has a bit of resistance so it doesn’t close up easily. That is useful because it gives you the space and time to properly take out the earbuds, instead of the lid closing prematurely on you.
Touch Controls
I have a love-hate relationship with the OPPO Enco X’s touch controls. I love how it’s so responsive, and how it supports the slide gesture to control volume. This may be understated, but I believe sliding up/down to control volume is the most naturally intuitive way to do it, and I applaud OPPO for including this.
You can change several touch gestures via the HeyMelody app (Android only), but it’s a shame that the touch controls are locked to specific geatures. Take a look at the table below:
Double Tap None
Play/Pause
Previous
NextTriple Tap None
Voice AssistantSlide Control None
Volume Controls
Switch TrackTouch and Hold Noise Cancellation Off
Transparency
Noise Cancellation
Max Noise Cancellation
(You can only choose two)Long Touch and Hold None
Switch Devices
I would’ve preferred if the all these features can be interchangeable with every touch gesture. But for now, these are the set of features you can control.
Audio Quality
When it comes to audio quality, the OPPO Enco X supports LHDC wireless transmission. But because we don’t have an OPPO device with us, we can’t test this out yet. Not all smartphones support LDHC, except for certain OPPO flagship smartphones. It would’ve been better if they included support for LDAC which is already widely supported on Android devices.
Co-created with Dynaudio, the audio profile is tuned by the company and it really shows the difference in audio quality. The OPPO Enco X already offers banging audio right out of the box. The highs are clear and bright with no distortion at loud volume levels, and the mids deliver impressive speech and dialogue. As for the lows, I was impressed how much bass could be output on the Enco X. Listening to “Lotus Eater” by Mura Masa, not only can you hear the bass in your ears, but you can actually feel it too. That said, the prerequisite is the volume has to be above 50% to achieve that effect.
Listening to music, the OPPO Enco X performs remarkably regardless of the music genre you’re listening to. When it comes to gaming, there isn’t a specific gaming mode available, but it’s still fairly good even if you’re gaming with the earbuds.
ANC
There are four modes when it comes to active noise cancellation. You can turn it off, have it in transparency mode where it would pick up the surrounding sounds and feed it to your ear, turn on ANC, or have the ANC cranked to the max to cancel out up to 38dB of sound.
The first three modes are pretty self-explanatory, and transparency mode works well, but I wish it would’ve been louder in the ears. On Max ANC settings, it does a fairly good job too. I couldn’t hear running tap water, me snapping my fingers, or a running hairdryer that’s two meters away. But, I could hear my wife who’s sitting right beside me blasting her music on her speakers at 50%. Even so, when you have music on, and the volume is above 60%, you can barely hear anything from the outside world, and that’s impressive.
Call Quality
Call quality is excellent on the OPPO Enco X, so no complaints there. I can hear the caller very clearly with the right amount of volume, and my voice can also be heard clearly on the receiving end.
Battery Life
In terms of battery life, the OPPO Enco X is as advertised. On a single charge, I could get about 4 hours of music playback with ANC turned on. Using it with the charging case, I could get a total of about 20 hours of battery life. With ANC turned off, I could get about 5 hours of music playback, and charging them back up to 100% takes about 2 hours.
Conclusion
The OPPO Enco X are a good pair of ANC TWS earbuds, but they do work better or more intuitively if you own an OPPO smartphone. Don’t get me wrong, the audio quality experience is still the same even if you’re using other Android or iOS smartphones. The ANC works great, sound is good, and the wireless charging case comes in really handy. For the price of RM699, I’d say the Enco X are a good investment if you’re someone who’s already familiar with TWS earbuds.
