Back in business

As Oppo makes its audio comeback with an affordable and impressive set of earbuds, Cliff Joseph welcomes it with open ears

It looked as though Oppo was getting out of the audio business a few years ago, leaping onto the smartphone bandwagon instead. But smartphones always need accessories, and the company has returned to the audio market with its Enco range of wireless earbuds.

Available in black or white, the X2 is clearly imitating the design of Apple’s AirPods (HFC 485), with compact earpieces that rest lightly inside the ear and a small stalk that hangs down and houses its touch-sensitive controls. I always have problems getting AirPods to fit properly, and the X2 is no exception – despite the inclusion of three sizes of silicon ear-tips. I also find the touch controls on the small stalks rather fiddly, often dislodging the earbuds – so I rely on the controls on my iPhone instead.

The X2 is designed in collaboration with Dynaudio and each earpiece includes a dual-driver system with a separate 11mm bass driver and 6mm tweeter – akin to traditional speaker designs – which together boast a frequency response of 20Hz-40kHz.