OPPO Enco X2 headphones review: is sound the most important thing?

Today I’m going to tell you in detail about the OPPO Enco X2 TWS headphones, which cost around $180. But let me start by saying that…

Headphones are always a rather controversial product to review for me, as they are strongly associated with something personal and perhaps even a little intimate. In fact, I can compare the choice of headphones to a relationship between two partners, which begins from the moment of purchase and unpacking and can end relatively quickly if the “partners” do not get along. It is worth remembering that third parties will never be able to say 100 per cent whether a particular pair will coexist in harmony and agreement. So, is there a proven way to find out how well a particular pair of headphones suits a particular person?

Let’s try to answer this question a little with the help of the OPPO Enco X2 (W72) review, since this is one of the top models of the Chinese manufacturer from the BBK holding and, by the way, the successor to the first generation OPPO Enco X.

OPPO Enco X2 specifications

• Frequency response: 20 Hz-20 kHz (SBC, AAC); 20 Hz-40 kHz (LHDC, LDAC)
• Drivers: 11 mm dynamic (low frequencies) + 6 mm planar (medium, high frequencies)
• Bluetooth: 5.2; multi-point (works with two devices simultaneously)
• Codecs: LHDC / LDAC / AAC / SBC
• Noise cancellation: ANC + triple microphone with bone voice sensor
• Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV/Pa
• Battery capacity: 57 mAh (headphones)/ 566 mAh (charging case)
• Operating hours:
  • • LHDC, 50% volume:
      • maximum noise reduction: 5 hours / 20 hours (with case)
      • without noise reduction: 6.5 hours / 27 hours (with case)
    • Music playback time (AAC, 50% volume):
      • maximum noise reduction: 5.5 hours / 22 hours (with case)
      • without noise reduction: 9.5 hours / 40 hours (with case)
• Charging time: 60 min – headphones, 90 min – case
• Weight: 4.7 g (earbud), 56.4 g (earbuds + case)
• Water and dust resistance: IP54 (headphones)

Package contents: everything you need

The package is quite standard and consists of a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, three pairs of rubber bands of different sizes, and so-called papers.

The appearance of the OPPO Enco X2 is subjective

On the Internet, I came across an opinion that the OPPO Enco X2 case is a rounded version of the AirPods Pro case. Let me disagree with this thesis, because it reminds me most of a flattened egg or a good old Tamagotchi toy, and in the case of the latter association I feel a lot of sentiment, so I can’t say that I don’t like this design.

The case itself looks solid, the hinge works as it should, and the top opens without any problems if you hold the case with one hand.

And if we take a closer look, we’ll notice the USB-C charging input with a charge status LED on the bottom, a pairing button on the side, the OPPO logo on the top and the proud Co-created with Dynaudio inscription on the back of the case.

Inside, however, we find, of course, headphones and another LED pairing indicator. Therefore, we cannot say that the design bears any strong resemblance to AirPods. What is, however, – and I’m not ashamed to use this word – almost one-to-one copied from the “little startup from Cupertino” is the appearance of the headphones themselves.

Personally, this always annoys me a lot, because I do not consider the invention of Apple engineers to be something outstanding or very convenient, although I understand perfectly well that this is a natural thing, and there are many people who will praise both the American and Chinese manufacturers for such a design.

If you go to the details, you will notice two black sections on the headphones themselves – these are microphone grilles and right/left input indicators, as well as silver oblong charging pins (by the way, they look quite elegant with this headphone design).

In terms of weight, the whole set weighs 56 g, the case weighs 47 g, and a single earbud weighs 4.7 g, which makes them a fairly lightweight gadget for listening to music. In general, it was comfortable to wear the headphones during testing, and my ears did not get tired. But everyone’s ears are different, so it’s an individual matter – whether they will be a “pair” for you or not.

As for the colour scheme, we have classic white and black versions.

However, I have heard that the OPPO Enco X2 body, especially in white, scratches quite a lot and easily. This is true, but the scratches were not particularly noticeable, although there were quite a few of them.

It’s worth mentioning that, according to the manufacturer, the headphone tips are antibacterial because they have a design that keeps them cleaner for longer. I didn’t have the opportunity to test this during testing, but why shouldn’t I believe OPPO that this is the case?

In addition, the headphones (not the case) are IP54 protected against dust and moisture. They are not afraid of sweat and water drops, but you should not get them too wet!

What’s under the hood? Operating time, components

Let’s start with the issue that, in my opinion, is the least impressive – the battery capacity of the OPPO Enco X2. The headphones are able to last up to 9.5 hours on a single charge and up to 40 hours with the case. An important point: these results apply to the AAC codec, the use of other codecs can reduce the total operating time with recharging with the case to 25 hours. On the other hand, if we additionally use the noise reduction option with the aforementioned AAC codec, the time is reduced to 5.5 hours and 22 hours, respectively. The OPPO Enco X2 can be fully charged in about 2 hours, while 5 minutes of charging is enough for about 2 hours of music playback.

Did I achieve the declared results and why did I say that this is not unusual? During my active use of the headphones, I did not manage to find myself in a situation where they were discharged or the LED of the case signaled a full discharge, so I believe that the results are as good as they get. Going back to the dry specs, the above is made possible by a 57mAh battery in each individual earbud and a 566mAh battery in the case. The headphones (i.e. the case) can be charged both wired and wirelessly, as is typical for top-of-the-line models.

In addition to the aforementioned batteries, OPPO Enco X2 hides four drivers (two in each earbud): An 11mm dynamic driver for low frequencies and a 6mm planar driver for high frequencies. Thanks to this solution, created in cooperation with the Danish company Dynaudio, the headphones have received Hi-Res Audio certification (which will certainly appeal to connoisseurs of good sound) and are capable of reproducing not only the AAC/SBC codec, but also LHDC and LDAC. And all this is based on Bluetooth version 5.2.

Read also: HUAWEI FreeBuds 5i headphones Review: comfortable, stylish and affordable

A few (many) words about the app and its features

If you don’t have an OPPO smartphone (which has built-in support for native devices), we pair Enco X2 headphones with a mobile device using the HeyMelody app (Android, iOS). At the same time, we have the possibility of simultaneous connection with two phones (or a phone and a tablet/laptop) with one caveat that this function will not be available with the LDAC codec. In addition to this, the app quite classically allows you to check the charge level of both the headphones and the case itself. Is there anything else? Of course there is!

Here we have three quick buttons responsible for switching ANC mode on and off, as well as the ability to switch to transparency mode. As for the aforementioned noise reduction mode, in the application menu we additionally find the ability to set its level: intelligent (automatically selects the level of noise reduction), maximum, moderate and light. Everyone is probably most interested in the maximum level, and I hasten to answer: it works well, and you won’t hear much from the outside when it is on, and you won’t hear any background noise at all if you are also playing music or a podcast. For picky or experienced fans, there is an option to turn on personalised noise cancellation, which is selected based on tests performed by the headphone software.

A series of similar tests are also performed when using the Golden Sound option. As you can guess from the name, it makes the sound quality adapted to our ears. Does it work as expected? Everyone has to judge for themselves, I didn’t notice a significant difference, but I think it depends not so much on the developers as on the unique structure of the auricle of a particular person. And if some of you say you’d like to test something else, the HeyMelody app gives you that option, as it also has a headphone fit checker, which, as always with this kind of functionality, won’t work perfectly for every single ear, although for some people it will certainly be useful when selecting elastic bands.

But let’s get back to the sound for a moment. While fans of all sorts of tests may be satisfied with the app, fans of big equalisers are unlikely to be. In our case, the option is called Dynaudio’s Enco Master EQ and offers a choice of only four rather strangely and inconsistently signed types of equalisers without the possibility of adjusting with sliders. I’ll quote them: Realistic, Dynaudio – Relaxing and Soothing, Dynaudio: Dynamic and Enco X Classic.

Is there anything else left? Well, a few small things – the bandwidth option works fine and has an additional setting called “Human Voice Amplification”, the app also has a separate menu item labelled “Game Mode” and an option to update the headphones. That’s all, so let’s move on to what is at the heart of any headphones – their sound.

It’s all about sound and control

Let me not dwell on the sound of OPPO Enco X2 in any particular detail this time, as it simply did not stick in my memory sufficiently. To be fair, I won’t call the sound of these headphones bad, it allows you to perceive clear vocals, clear mids, low and high frequencies, it’s quite clear, and my favourite bass is close to what is called “meaty”.

So, while I can’t call the sound perfect for me, it should go without saying that this is not low-end sound, and according to many reviews, it’s actually very good and deserves its price. After all, there is support for the best codecs (including LDAC and AAC), the Hi-Res standard and two large speakers. So, everything is “flagship”!

Long conversations in these headphones will not disappoint us either – both my voice and the voice of the interlocutor are heard at a satisfactory level that TWS headphones can only afford. This is facilitated by a system with three microphones with bone conduction (that is, ambient noise will not be a problem).

What I don’t quite understand is the control method implemented in the OPPO Enco X2 headphones, as it is a squeeze, or, as some would say, a short pinch at a certain point, which is additionally signaled by a beep.

I tried very hard to get used to this way of switching, pausing and playing songs, but it was clumsy every time. Of course, the elimination of so-called accidental touches to the touchpad may be in its favour, but it was quite difficult for me to make the right touches for anything to happen at all.

Of course, the types and number of gestures for certain functions can be configured in this HeyMelody app, but for me it’s a small consolation in this particular case, especially since this is a fairly common feature for Bluetooth headphones.

On the other hand, I liked the way the volume is increased and decreased by swiping up or down on the corresponding part of the stick. I miss this solution in my favourite headphone models, and for that, OPPO should be commended.

What else pleasantly surprised me, and which – surprisingly – is not available in all models of wireless headphones, is the stop/pause of playback at the moment when you take one of the headphones out of your ear. Again, a big respect to the Chinese manufacturer for implementing this feature. Although for a flagship model, this, of course, should be a “matter of course”.

Read also: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 Review: the third generation of audiophile headphones

OPPO Enco X2: Summary

To summarise, we have a gadget in a neat case with a recognisable design of the headphones themselves, with a lot of cool specifications, an extensive, albeit sometimes ambiguous, list of functions in the HeyMelody app, good sound quality, record-breaking battery life and some gesture control solutions that I didn’t really like, but will undoubtedly help many people avoid accidental touches.

All of this is quite expensive – starting at $180, and if I had to make a final recommendation for the OPPO Enco X2, I would go back to the digression at the beginning of the review and say this – you just need to go on a first date with them, and then it will become clear whether you will become a couple for many years, or break up very quickly and forget about each other. Just remember that for hygiene reasons, even if you buy online, stores often won’t take back these headphones if the box is opened.

Read also:

• Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro review: great sound and high-quality noise cancellation
• Motorola Moto Buds 105 review: decent basic TWS headphones