I have been a big fan of Oppo's earbuds since my editor got me to try the Enco Air 3 Pro. Since then, I have always wanted to try a premium TWS from Oppo. So when the Oppo Enco X4 landed at our office, I instantly called dibs. A day later, they were in my ears, and I was on a road trip towards Rishikesh, which, it turns out, is about the best place you could ask for to find out what a pair of earbuds is really made of.
A Familiar Design That Feels Great to Wear
I'm excited to talk about the sound, but let me get the design out of the way first. The Oppo Enco X4 buds look almost identical to the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 because Oppo has not experimented at all.
My Aurora Violet unit has a matte texture that adds to the premium feel, with Dynaudio branding laser-engraved on the metallic rail and on the buds themselves, just in case I ever forget who tuned them.
The fit was also comfortable enough that I stopped noticing I had them in my ears after a few minutes. This was crucial while I wore them under my helmet. Because who wants to stop in the middle of a beautiful road trip to adjust their earbuds?
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Dynaudio Tuning Makes a Real Difference
Being the impatient fellow I am, let me dive into audio, starting with the specs. Each bud has an 11 mm TRF-diaphragm woofer and a 6 mm planar tweeter, each with its own DAC, and the Enco X4 is Oppo's first pair to support LHDC Lossless at up to 2.3 Mbps and 24-bit/48 kHz.
But to enjoy this lossless clarity, you need an Oppo Find X10 series phone, which I brought with me for my Find X10 review, thankfully.
To describe the sound in one word, I would call it serene. Sticking to the Dynaudo Original preset and playing Kun Faya Kun by A.R. Rahman turned my trip into a spiritual experience, with clean and soothing vocals sounding like a slow burn, as they should.
In Bekhayali, my go-to test track for male and female vocals, I could make out the female part of the track that most earbuds wash over. The same goes for Masakali by A.R. Rehman, which sounded like a beautiful melody, with Rehman's raspy voice becoming evident in the track.
To test the treble and high notes, I played the Interstellar theme by The Indian Jam Project, which is packed with classical instruments that many TWS just turn into a big mush. But on the Enco X4, I could hear every tap on the tabla and every breath through the flute distinctly.
The general sound signature leans towards vocals and treble. Still, there is plenty for bass lovers too. Listening to Emptiness Machine on my way back to Delhi sounded tight and punchy at stock, though not as thumpy as I wanted. That said, the soundstage feels a little cramped.
So I switched to the Thundering Bass EQ with BassWave at (+2) level, which lifted the sub-bass enough to make tracks like Limit to Your Love, Bad Guy and Diamond Heart come to life without turning muddy.
However, like I said in the beginning, you need a Find X10 device to enjoy LHDC lossless quality. But even with typical LHDC 5.0 on my OnePlus 13R, I didn't notice a major difference in sound quality.
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Mics, ANC, Transparency and the Extras
As for the mic quality, it was so good that even when I took calls at 70 kmph on the bike, my voice came out so clear that my friend asked if I was talking through a phone in my helmet. This is thanks to the triple-mic setup along with bone-conduction voice pickup.
That said, noise cancellation was one area where it didn't impress me. Even on the highest settings, chatter from the person next to me, announcements inside the metro, and even traffic horns and engines were audible. Playing a song didn't help either, as a lot of noise would still slip through.
The AirPods Pro 3, in comparison, are miles ahead when it comes to noise cancellation. Oppo has assured us that it will be fixed with an update. But I can only share what I have experienced so far.
Transparency mode was a joy, though. I could hold a conversation without taking the buds out. I kept Adaptive mode on for most of the two-day trip, so I could enjoy the gushing Ganga in peace and still chat with my friend without fiddling with the app.
It also has a long list of features, from neck posture reminders to head-tracked spatial audio, but two of them stood out to me. Gemini read out new messages, which meant I did not have to stop the ride for every WhatsApp or Snap I received. The Enco X4 also brings the ability to record audio from the buds directly as a mic, capturing the whole 100 km stretch from Haridwar to Dev Prayag with crisp audio.
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Enough Battery for the Long Ride
As for the battery life, the Enco X4 lasted me around 6 hours with LHDC Lossless and Adaptive mode on, and with noise cancellation, that number went down to around 5 hours, which is still more than enough to get me through a long ride and then some.
The case held on to around 36 hours on a single charge, so I never had to worry about charging them on top of all the other devices I was carrying around.
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Is Oppo Enco X4 Worth the Premium?
This brings me to the end, and I must say the Enco X4 truly made my trip more memorable and hassle-free. The audio quality is one of the best in the Android TWS space right now; the fit and comfort are top-notch, and the suite of features is genuinely handy.
The Rs 19,999 price directly puts them in competition with the AirPods Pro 3, and that is a tough ask for most users. But if you care about sound quality more than the ecosystem itself, then the Enco X4 would not disappoint.
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