Oppo Enco X2 Review: worth the premium price tag?

If you search for premium wireless earbuds online, you’d be bombarded with options, both from dedicated audio brands and smartphone makers.
 
Oppo’s new Enco X2, priced at ₹10,999 is one such contender. However, since Oppo is primarily a smartphone brand, it has once again collaborated with hi-fi audio specialist Dynaudio to make the Enco X2 a more convincing option. 
 
Will this collab deliver the second time around? 

Design
 
Just like its predecessor, the Enco X2’s case is oval in shape and has a pretty slim profile. The construction of plastic, as well as the movement of the case lid, has a quality feel to it. 
 
Once you open the lid, you’ll find a single LED which indicates the battery level of the device. The case also has a single button on the right that helps with manually pairing these buds. 
 
The earbuds themselves have a periscope-style design with proprietary silicon ear tips. These ear tips are claimed to come with an anti-bacterial coating. Since you get multiple silicone ear tips in the retail box, finding an ideal fit for yourself isn’t all that hard.
 
The buds are also IP54-rated, so you need not worry about weaning them during your workout sessions. 

Connectivity
 
Oppo phones come with native support for the Enco X2s. iPhone and Non-Oppo phone users can download the HeyMelody app on their smartphones to gain full control of the features of these earbuds. 
 
I’ll dive deeper into the app’s feature set as I move on with the review...
 
But in terms of connectivity, the Enco X2s use Bluetooth 5.2 and support three audio codecs -  AAC, LDAC and LHDC. These earbuds, however, do not support Qualcomm's aptX codec.
 
I primarily paired these earbuds with a Galaxy S20 FE during my testing and had no connection issues. 

Controls
 
The thing I really appreciate about Oppo’s earbuds is that they all come with dedicated volume controls. Most brands do not offer this functionality.
 
Anyway, on these earbuds, you have to slide up and down on the stem of either earbud to adjust the volume. This does feel awkward at first, but once you are used to it, it's actually quite handy. 
 
The stems are also pressure-sensitive and allow you to perform various functions with a single, double or triple squeeze. This functionality can be customised through the companion app. 
 
The buds also feature in-ear detection which can play or pause music based on if you’re wearing them.

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Audio Quality
 
This is where Oppo’s collab with Dynaudio has paid off once again.
 
The Enco X2s, unlike a lot of other earbuds, do not pump out overpowering bass. The sound profile here, instead, has a higher emphasis on mid frequencies, which makes these earbuds ideal for watching videos. 
 
You also get Dynaudio-tuned sound profiles in the companion app from where you can tune these earbuds to be bass-heavy or treble-heavy if that’s what you’re into. 
 
At peak volume, these earbuds can also get very loud, but there is no audio distortion whatsoever. 
 
The overall audio output here is quite customisable to fit your needs. But, keeping the premium price tag in mind, I do wish that the instrument separation was slightly more pronounced.

Noise cancellation
 
These earbuds offer both active noise cancellation and transparency mode. 
 
The active noise cancellation has multiple levels which can be adjusted via the companion app. There’s also a personalised noise cancellation mode which claims to adjust noise cancelling based on your ear canal.  
 
In my experience, the noise cancellation was nothing to write home about. It was successful in filtering out low-frequency noises such as air conditioner and fan sounds.
 
But that’s about it. The noise cancellation won’t block traffic sounds or your noisy colleagues.
 
The transparency mode lets in the ambient sound and gets the job done.

Call quality
 
Oppo has placed a bone-conduction mic on these earbuds to help with call quality and the results are super-impressive. In my call test, the other person was unable to figure out that I was taking through earphones. My voice was also very clear and didn't have any of the tinniness that is usually associated with earbud mics.
 
The wind noise reduction also worked like a charm and there was no disturbance heard by the other person. 

Battery Life
 
Oppo claims that the buds will give a maximum total battery life of 40 hours with ANC off and 22 hours with ANC on. 
 
But, these claims are based on 50 percent volume and also vary greatly depending on the audio codec being used, so individual results will vary.

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My usage included using these earbuds for around 2 hours every day with ANC on and the battery easily lasted me a full week. 
 
The good thing is that the buds also have a quick charge feature where 5 minutes of charge will give you 2 hours of playback. Qi wireless charging support also comes standard.

Verdict
 
The Enco X2s are a capable pair of premium Bluetooth earbuds with impressive sound quality, great mic performance and good build quality. 
 
If you are not bound to one of the phone brand’s ecosystems, then the Enco X2s deserve your attention.