Here’s a fun fact, OPPO has been innovating in the audio space long before the company enthralled everyone with its smartphone offerings. As a matter of fact, the brand has been behind some of the finest MP3 players and Hi-Fi headphones, and has years of experience in conceptualising fascinating products with surreal acoustics. This is why; I was elated when the brand announced its Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earphones in partnership with an equally experienced Danish audio veteran, Dynaudio.
For the uninitiated, OPPO got back into the audio space last year with a slew of TWS and neckband-style earbuds. However, in 2021, the company is gunning for the premium segment with the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones. And, if my experience is anything to go by, the device is going to be the most sought-after TWS earbuds this year.
As I prefaced previously, the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earphones have been designed in a partnership with Danish speaker maker Dynaudio. To that note, the device has been tuned to output the best possible sound quality and premium hardware. To do so, the company has incorporated a coaxial dual-driver design which is typically reserved for high-end headphones. Consequently, the balanced membrane driver is assigned to handle the highs (instruments like an electric guitar, etc) whereas the composite dynamic driver is tasked with reciprocating the lows or the beats in a song. This segregation of frequencies allows the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones to output a natural and fuller sound when compared to the competing single-driver headsets, which lack the requisite imaging to relay the music clearly to the listener’s ears.
A fine example of the same is the hit song by the Avalanches dubbed Frontier Psychiatrist wherein, the listener is subjected to a handful of instruments during the track’s chorus. Here, most earphones will struggle to differentiate between the various instruments and as a result, the listener will eventually hear garbled or muddy sounds. But, listening to the same track on the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones, I felt as if I had the front-row tickets to the band’s performance. Not only could I trace the direction of the sounds owing to the pair’s excellent soundstage, but the beats had just the right amount of ‘thump’ too. In a similar fashion, vocal-heavy soundtracks from artist’s like Lana Del Ray sound exquisite on the device and the buds managed to trace the entire vocal range of the singer effortlessly. In the song, Mariners Apartment Complex, I revelled as the singer transitioned from hush whispers in the first verse, to a higher melodic pitch in the chorus. The Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones ensured that not a single note went amiss, which speaks volumes about the earphone’s sound quality.
Clearly, the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones sound surreal but the icing on the cake is that the earbuds also ship with ANC or Active Noise Cancellation. Now, unlike your run of the mill ANC tech, the earbuds make use of a dual-fed microphone design which works wonders for eliminating environmental sounds. To do so, the company has incorporated a hybrid ANC system which makes use of feedback and feed-forward ANCs, thereby removing noise before it enters the earphones and then, filtering out whatever remaining artefacts in the signal too. To sum it up, the ANC tech onboard is easily the best I’ve witnessed in quite some time now. I am currently working from home which poses numerous challenges, chief among them being the omnipresent ambient noise.
Thankfully, Enco X’s ANC kept most distractions at bay, allowing me to be more productive and efficient. That’s not all, as the unit also offers other ANC modes, including a maximum noise cancellation mode and transparency mode. The former can be used to completely eliminate background noise, whereas the latter comes in clutch for when you are out on a run and want some noise to seep in so as to be better aware of your surroundings. You can choose to have the ANC turned off too. What’s more, thanks to the pair’s triple-mic noise reduction design, my voice was relayed clearly over to my peers whenever we jumped on a video call to address the day’s agenda.
Of course, the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earphones sound quality, and its excellent ANC chops are moot if the pair doesn’t ship with a comfortable design. After all, no one wants to constantly readjust the fit of an earbud. To that extent, they feature a feather light design with minuscule stems, ensuring the earbuds don’t cause any wear fatigue. The earbuds look the part of a premium product too, and come bundled in an elegant oval case which has been inspired by the company’s first-gen MP3 player, the OPPO X3. The unit also supports wireless charging and comes with a modern USB Type-C port, ensuring you can charge it seamlessly. Speaking of which, the OPPOEnco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earphones offer a stupendous battery backup and can easily last 4-5 hours off a single charge, with the case offering an additional 15 hours too.
All things considered, I’ve immensely enjoyed my time with the OPPO Enco X True Wireless Noise Cancelling earphones. The buds retail for Rs 9,990 in India and will be available for sale on Flipkart from Jan 22. For the price, the earphones offer a premium, all-day wear design, powerful ANC, and impeccable sound quality. Pool everything together and the OPPO Enco X is an absolute must-have for anyone looking to invest in good-sounding, ANC earphones that are of the TWS variety. So head to Flipkart today and bag your next pair of premium TWS earbuds with “Acoustics That Inspire”, all without burning a hole in your pocket.
