OPPO Enco Buds 2 Review: Good Audio, Excellent Value

Last Updated on August 29, 2022 by Asif Iqbal Shaik

The truly wireless earphones market is booming, and every company is making sure it is ready to eat a pie of the market. In India, the sub-₹5,000 price segment is where the most action happens, and OPPO has a new set of wireless earbuds—OPPO Enco Buds 2—to target the segment. These new truly wireless earbuds were launched last week and are priced at just ₹1,799, and we have them with us. After using them for a few days, here is our OPPO Enco Buds 2 review.

OPPO Enco Buds 2: In-Box Contents

1. OPPO Enco Buds 2 & Case
2. Two pairs of additional ear tips
3. Quick start guide

OPPO Enco Buds 2 Review: Design

The OPPO Enco Buds 2 come in a fairly compact, circular case that is roughly the size of a makeup compact case. The lid of the case feels tight and closes with a satisfying click. The whole case definitely feels dense and of higher quality compared to most other TWS earbuds in the price segment. The earbuds come in just one colour: Black. We wish they came in at least one more colour option.

There is a USB Type-C charging port at the bottom and an accompanying charging status LED beside it. Since the case is mostly covered in the matte paint job, there are fewer chances of scratches and smudges appearing on it. The whole case easily fits inside a jeans’ coin pocket.

The earbuds themselves are fairly compact for the price. They have an IPX4 rating, which means you can take them to the gym or in the rain. The fit is good, and the earbuds feel comfortable in the ears. They lack automatic wear detection, though, so they won’t automatically pause or play music, depending on whether you’re wearing them.

They have a stem, but it’s not as big as the ones found on most TWS earbuds in the price segment. There is a touch-sensitive area on the stem of each earbud, and you can use taps to control music playback and volume. You can also use touch controls on the earbuds as a shutter button for the paired smartphone’s camera app.

OPPO Enco Buds 2 Review: Audio Quality & Connection Stability

There were no connection issues during our brief testing period, and most people may not face any connection issues since the Enco Buds 2 have a Bluetooth 5.2 chip and support for AAC and SBC audio codecs. They also feature Dolby Atmos compatibility. I used the Enco Buds 2 with my Galaxy S22+ (Review), which also features Dolby Atmos.

The earbuds feature a low-latency mode called Game Mode that you can enable or disable using the app or touch controls. Speaking of audio quality, the Enco Buds 2’s audio reproduction felt quite good for the price. Most wireless earbuds in the price segment sound tinny, and their audio tuning is bass-heavy. But the 10mm drivers inside the OPPO Enco Buds 2 are tuned in a relatively neutral way.

The audio is definitely V-shaped (focus on bass and treble), but the audio reproduction is still quite enjoyable. There’s a good amount of bass, and the treble is sparkly without being over the top. Vocals don’t get too intimidated by lower and higher audio frequencies. The soundstage is quite average for the price. Overall, the OPPO Enco Buds 2’s audio quality is surprisingly good.

The wireless connection was stable. The earbuds stayed connected to the phone even when they were in a different room and the door was shut. However, once they were separated by two walls, the connection broke.

Call Quality

The call quality is rather decent. Each earbud has two mics, and OPPO has implemented background noise cancellation for voice calls. The audio sounds slightly muffled, and when there is heavy background noise (like a vehicle honking), the earbuds try to suppress that sound. As a result, they end up reducing the volume of the person. For the price, the earbuds are functional. I don’t have any major qualms with them.

HeyMelody App For Customisation

There’s a companion app called HeyMelody that you can install on Android or iOS smartphones to customise controls and audio tuning of the Enco Buds 2. It’s a fairly straightforward app and supports firmware updates for the earbuds.

It displays the current battery levels of both earbuds and the case. You can even choose between three Enco Live sound effects: Original Sound, Bass Boost, and Clear Vocals. I found the Original Sound the best setting as it offered the best balance of lows, mids, and highs.

OPPO Enco Buds 2 Review: Battery Life & Charging Speed

OPPO claims that its new affordable earbuds can last up to seven hours on a single charge, using 50% of their volume level. Combined with the battery inside the case, the earbuds can last up to 28 hours. Very few people use such low volume levels on their earphones, but the Enco Buds 2 sound surprisingly loud. Usually, I set wireless earbuds at 70% to 80% of their volume levels, but Enco Buds 2 sounded similarly loud at just 60% of their volume level.

You should expect around 6 hours of battery life on a single charge. Combined, you should expect 20-24 hours of music playback. The earbuds can be charged fully within 1.5 hours. As expected, they don’t feature wireless charging.

Should You Buy OPPO Enco Buds 2?

The OPPO Enco Buds 2 are among the best wireless earbuds in their price segment. They are built well, have a compact and high-quality case, and have an IPX4 rating. The earbuds offer fairly neutral audio reproduction, at least compared to most other wireless earbuds in the price segment. They also feature AAC codecs and a companion app.

The battery life is good, too, and they have a USB Type-C charging port. Overall, I did not find any major issue with the Enco Buds 2, which itself proves a lot in the price segment.