Oppo Enco Air5 Review

Design

• Comfy fit
• Black and white colours
• IP55 rating

There’s a choice of (Glossy) white and (Midnight) black versions, both available with a glossy finish. The white version I have can attract dirt, but the finish means they’re easily wipeable. If you’re a bit self-conscious, perhaps the black version will do.

The charging case comes in matching finishes, with an LED light on the front plus a Bluetooth pairing button on its underside.

I’ve found them comfortable to wear, nice and snug once installed in my ears. There is a bit of pressure, and if you’re the type of person for whom that’s uncomfortable, there is the option of the semi-open Air5s instead.

They’re rated to IP55, protecting them against water, dust and dirt but not making them fully waterproof. Touch controls are on the upper part of the stem and controls are mirrored on both sides – weirdly, play/pause is not assigned by default – but they can be customised. Despite being touch controls, I’ve found the Enco Air5s to be responsive to nudges and prods without much of an issue.

Features

• Noise Cancellation
• System-level settings for Android
• Bluetooth 6.1

I mentioned being able to customise the controls, and for Android users, this can be done through the OS in a similar way that AirPods are controlled at a system level on iOS.

Head to the Bluetooth settings, tap on the headphones and go to Earbud functions. If you’re on iOS or prefer to use an app, there’s the Hey Melody app that offers the same functions.

Bluetooth support is just SBC and AAC – no surprise given these are less than £100, and similarly priced efforts such as the Sony WF-C510 have the same support. The Bluetooth 6.1 connection hasn’t faltered over the course of testing, and Google Fast Pair and Windows Swift Pair offer quick means of connecting to those respective devices within a few taps.

Auto pause is supported, but it needs to be enabled. There’s an Earbud Fit Test that plays a quick noise to measure the fit. Bluetooth multipoint is supported (and you can sort out which devices in the settings).

There are convenient features such as Spotify Tap, a shortcut to getting your playlists up and running quickly. Sound Space is an area where you can listen to relaxing sounds (with plenty to download). Oppo’s curiously named Alive Audio is its spatial audio feature, though it apparently only works with certain video, music and game apps. Giving it a try, I couldn’t figure out a difference between its ‘Off’ setting and ‘Fixed’, so I’m not sure how much use that will be for most people.

There are EQ options in the Sound Master EQ section, but these are overblown in their descriptions. Thundering bass is nothing of the sort; Pure vocals serves to make singers sound less natural, and Ultimate sound is, well, the default mode.

You can customise the EQ, and surprisingly, there’s a 10-band EQ option. I’d say for the price that’s overkill, but it’s there if you want it.

AI Translate works either through Face-to-face translation or Live Translation, where the phone does the work and audio is played through the earbuds. These features appear to be locked to Oppo phones, so I didn’t give them much of a tour.

Other features include Camera control, where you can double-tap either earbud to take a photo (again, this seems exclusive to Oppo phones), Find My earbuds if the headphones get lost, and a Game mode that claims to reduce latency, although the disclaimer states the feature is only supported by “certain games”.

Noise Cancellation

• Strong ANC
• Transparency mode
• Decent enough call quality

Wearing them in Edinburgh, the earbuds suppress the sounds of traffic in the centre of the city very well, turning large vehicles into a low-key whine.

There’s not much wind noise to deal with either, and when worn on a plane, the amount of noise it cancels out is very impressive. It’s likely a combination of the fit and the ANC power, but not much noise gets past the headphones at all.

The transparency mode sounds clear and natural, presenting the outside world with no difference between wearing the headphones or taking them off.

You have the choice of four modes in High (real-time), Moderate, Low and Auto but honestly you may as well keep them in the default High. There’s no need to keep swapping in and out of different modes.

Call quality is decent for the asking price, with not much background noise penetrating through until the headphones come into contact with louder, busier places. Voice pickup seems to be the main issue though; the headphones are not quite picking up my voice, with the person on the other end describing my speech as mumbly. If you are going to use them for taking calls, best to do so in quiet places.

Battery Life

Oppo claims that with ANC off, the Enco Air5 hits about 13 hours at 50% volume. With ANC on, that falls to 6.5 hours at the same volume level.

Having carried out my own test, at about 50% volume, the headphones fell 10% in an hour. That would suggest closer to 10 hours rather than 6.5, unless the headphones fall off a cliff once they get past an hour. I’d say it’s safe for them to exceed 6-7 hours before they need another boost.

The headphones come with TÜV Rheinlands’ seal of approval with its Battery Health Certification, Oppo claiming that it maintains over 80% battery health after 1000 charges.

There’s no mention of fast charging or wireless charging support, with Oppo stating that a 90-minute charge will power up both the earbuds and charging case.

Sound Quality

• Warm presentation
• Not the most detailed

All the Enco true wireless I’ve tested have been on the warm-sounding side, and that’s no different with the Enco Air5. There’s an emphasis on bass, but it’s a warm hug of a bass performance rather than a big, rich one.

The sound quality is slightly strange in that it’s both clear and slightly soft in detail. A play of Steely Dan’s Jack of Speed, and it’s not the punchiest or most assertive true wireless, but there’s a nice naturalness about the vocal performance that’s wrapped in a warm, mellow sound that I find myself liking.

Highs are clear, though not the brightest, and come across as slightly rolled off due to the tuning of the Enco Air5. And despite the warmth in the lows, they’re not described with as much weight or size as you might expect.

It’s not especially dynamic, nor is it energetic, but not many earbuds are at this price. And if you read somewhere that the earbuds sound powerful, then I’d have to disagree with that. It’s a rich sound, not in detail but in tone – a very laid-back and chilled presentation, with a soundstage that’s wide and spacious. I find it an appealing sound, but it’s also a strange presentation.

Despite that, I like what the Enco Air5 is aiming for. If you like the previous entries in the Enco line-up, this feels very much more of the same. More casual than audiophile, but if you like warmth and richness, you’ll enjoy what Oppo has done here.

Should you buy it?