Oppo Enco X
Things that are getting more difficult every day (the latest in a series): making realistically priced true wireless in-ear headphones that are in some way different from the many other realistically priced true wireless in-ear headphones out there.
A company as intrepid as Oppo has one or two ideas on how to make it happen. Getting Danish loudspeaker company Dynaudio involved in the Enco X is an excellent start. Having some attentiongrabbing specs such as Bluetooth 5.2. And there’s no harm in tying the headphones into the wider Oppo ecosystem, either. Enter Dynaudio
At a glance, the Enco X look to be from the Apple school of ‘dangly stem’ true-wireless in-ear design. The way they fit, though, makes them more ‘forwardspointing stem’. Either way, the stem is a fair bit more discreet than some alternatives, so you don’t look quite such a Cybernaut when wearing them. And, given that they’re a stripling 4.8g each, they’re hardly a chore to wear either.
The earbuds are a fine example of the injection moulder’s art, smoothly made and finished. The case is compatible with Qi charging pads, and can be plugged into the mains via its USB-C socket. The buds’ battery life is an average four hours with ANC on maximum, five and a half with it switched off. With another four full charges from the case, between 20 and 26 hours is achievable but hardly competitive.
Oppo provides a wide selection of tips, of various sizes and different hardnesses. Combined with the reasonably light weight and carefully ergonomic shape of the earbuds, comfort isn’t an issue.
Oppo has given Dynaudio a free hand with the fundamentals of the Enco X and the Danes have opted for an elaborate coaxial dual-driver design, featuring an 11mm triple-layer dynamic driver sitting behind a 6mm balanced membrane driver. The smaller driver takes care of the upper frequencies, the bigger takes care of the rest. By the standards of virtually all price-comparable alternatives, it’s a complex and intriguing arrangement.
Wireless connectivity is via Low Latency Bluetooth 5.2, with codec support for SBC, AAC and LHDC. Responsive and reliable touch controls on the earbuds cover volume, track skipping, answer/end call, play/pause and adjusting ANC (off/on/ max/transparency). Voice control is via three mics per earbud that also look after noise-cancellation. But while Oppo phone users can customise their touch controls, and Android owners can use the free Hey Melody app, there is no IOS equivalent. Punch and variation
With a hi-res file of Sparks’ Hello Young Lovers on board via Tidal, the Oppo are a confident, assertive listen. The top of the frequency range is bright and attacking, but never hard or edgy – the Enco X bite down into the leading edge of the treble with determination, but there’s plenty of control and substance to go with it.
At the opposite end, bass notes are deep and properly shaped, with plenty of information regarding texture and timbre. There’s more than enough punch and variation to make the Oppo an articulate and revealing listen where the lowest frequencies are concerned. In between these two extremes, the midrange is just as convincing. Because detail levels are so high, the vocal’s idiosyncrasies are made plain, which only adds to the sensation of an explicit delivery of the recording.
The dual-driver arrangement Dynaudio has specified might suggest tribulations where frequency integration is concerned, but the entirety of the frequency range is integrated smoothly, with no undue emphasis or reticence. The journey from the lowest to the highest frequencies is natural and even. Antiguo Autómata Mexicano’s 20+ Piano Improvisations allows the Enco X to demonstrate an enjoyable facility with harmonic dynamic expression. There’s no hiding place where a solo piano is concerned, and the Oppo make each key and pedal press an individual event with its own details of sustain and decay, and there is a fine facility with the broader dynamics too.
If there’s a shortcoming to the Oppos’ performance, it’s where the size of their soundstage is concerned. They organise a recording well and individualise discrete elements of a recording as surely as they unify a recording as a single entity. But the stage on which all this happens is just a little confined and small-scale. If it’s wide-open spaces you like in a recording, the Enco X may leave you wanting.
Equally, the Oppos prove just less than ideal when it comes to noise-cancelling. The Enco X can minimise exterior noise, most certainly, but with noise-cancelling set to maximum not only is there a mild suggestion of hiss as the noise-reduction circuitry does its thing, but a little of the top-end positivity goes astray too.
For those who are already big believers in Oppo products, the Enco X approach ‘no brainer’ status. The rest of us will find plenty to admire too, in particular the beautifully judged boldness of their sound, though they’re not without idiosyncrasies.