Oppo Enco X: Excellent earbuds that don’t cost the earth

If you think Oppo is just a mobile phone maker, think again. The company may have made its mark here in creating smartphones that punch above their weight in terms of price, but it also makes decent audio products.

The Enco X earbuds are the latest addition to this, a set of earbuds that come with noise-cancelling and a partnership with Danish audio company Dynaudio.

The mid-priced earbuds market is getting increasingly crowded, making it hard for companies to stand out from the crowd. But Oppo is making a good bash at it with the Enco X. At €169, they don’t cost the earth, and the sleek, white design puts them up there among the more attractive earbuds available on the market.

The buds come in an oval pill-box case, with silver accents and, more importantly, wireless charging. The all-white buds are at first glance very AirPod Pro-like. That comparison bears out when you put them in your ear: the Enco X fit well and are lightweight enough to wear for extended periods of time without discomfort. It’s not just the weight – at 4.8g they are barely noticeable – but the shape of them. Even lightweight earbuds have become unwearable for me simply because they put pressure on the wrong part of my ear, and over the course of an hour or two that becomes painful.

Comfortable fit

And you’ll want to keep these earbuds in; not only do you have a comfortable fit but also great sound quality. This is where the Enco X excel, thanks to the partnership with Dynaudio. The Enco X have a coaxial dual-driver design, with an 11 dynamic driver and 6mm balanced membrane driver, and use Bluetooth 5.2 and support hi-res audio. The latter is where you will notice the difference, with the earbuds delivering rich, detailed sound. You will lose a little with standard audio streams but that is to be expected.

The noise cancelling is quite good, with regular noise cancellation that you can boost to the more aggressive max noise cancellation. Even on the standard setting, you will cut out much of the distracting background noise that can intrude on your audio. There’s a transparency setting for when you need to hear what’s going on around you without removing the earbuds.

Customisation

The buds work best with Oppo phones in terms of set-up and customisation. That is nothing new; Samsung, Huawei and Apple act in a similar manner. But a lack of an Oppo phone doesn't mean that you can't get the most out of these earbuds. Android users can download the HeyMelody app to customise their earbuds, and iOS users can connect the earbuds to their devices through the standard bluetooth menu.

The touch controls are easy to get to grips with, with volume controlled by sliding your finger up and down the bud, and a tap/hold combo for controlling music and calls.

One thing the buds lack, though, is integration with voice assistants. It’s not an essential feature, but it is something that their rivals include.

Battery-wise, the Enco X offer 25 hours of playback, wireless charging for the case, touch controls and noise cancelling.

The good
The Enco X have a good fit and great audio quality for everyday use. The swappable tips make it easy to get a good fit.

The battery life is decent, at 25 hours including the charge provided by the case, and 5.5 hours for the buds themselves. And the touch controls on the buds are some of the easier ones to pick up and actually remember.

The not so good
If you are on iOS, options are more limited. The HeyMelody app you use for Android doesn't support Enco X on iOS, so you can't customise the headphones as much as you can on other platforms. The lack of voice assistant integration may be a negative for some.

The rest
Making and taking phone calls is a good experience, with decent sound quality on both ends of the call. The Oppo Enco X are also IP54 rated, so they are good for active pursuits.

The verdict
Great audio, but the Oppo Enco X have fierce competition.