If you have got less than Rs. 5000 to spend on a pair of earbuds, there are hundreds of options from a myriad of brands to choose from. Be it BoAt, Redmi, Realme, or any of the ones you can name, they all offer good packages on the whole. Carving a space in this crowded space is a tough nut to crack but Oppo thinks it can appeal to the masses by differentiating in key areas that matter most to buyers restricted on a tight budget. The Enco Air 2 looks vastly different from the ones you usually get to see in this price bracket.
At Rs. 2,499, the Enco Air 2 appeals highly on paper, especially when you look at all the features you get. As with most earbuds at this price, the bells and whistles are barely there on this one — no fancy ANC system, no noise isolation measures, no wireless charging, and so on. For most buyers looking for a simple no-nonsense pair of earbuds, it works fine. And after living with it for 10 days, I think a lot of you are going to like the Enco Air 2, provided you aren’t hunting for audiophile grade audio or the other aural luxuries.
The Oppo Enco Air 2 differentiates itself from the pack with its AirPods-inspired design — this used to be a given thing a few years ago but post-COVID cost-cutting measures have only given us those button-shaped earbuds at this price. Whether you love or loathe the stem-based design is up to you, but having the microphone sitting on the extended arm certainly helps with voice reception. It also helps keeping the earbuds in place.
But cost cutting seeps in here too and Oppo cancels out the silicone ear-tips as well as the wear-detection sensors. Without the ear tips, the in-ear grip of these earbuds goes for a toss and some of you may struggle in keeping these in place. The earbuds are IPX4 rated for water resistance, which means these should be able to bear the light rains and sweat without causing any issues.
The case itself looks identical to the Enco X earbuds, with its egg-shaped shell holding the earbuds and battery. It is good to see Oppo offering a USB-C port for charging instead of a microUSB port. The translucent lid brings in a bit of fun to this otherwise staid design. The case itself is built well and should be able to face daily abuse with ease.
On paper, the Enco Air 2 looks promising to those who seek good audio quality, especially with its 13.4mm drivers. However, this is an affordable pair of earbuds and the audio quality is on par with expectations — it is decent. The soundstage is limited but the audio across all the major frequencies stays clear and pleasant. There’s no emphasis on the low-end and the mids are slightly enhanced, as is the trend with these affordable earbuds.
When paired with the Hey Melody app on Android devices, you can choose between two audio profiles — Bass Boost and Clear Vocals. The Bass Boost bumps up the low-end slightly to replicate the thumping effect but due to the lack of a good passive noise isolation, it isn’t very pronounced. The Clear Vocals mode enhances the treble but the effect is mild in comparison. On the whole, the audio performance is decent but if you are looking for a meaty low-end output, you could be disappointed.
As stated earlier, the Enco Air 2 does not get any sort of noise isolation measure. There’s no active noise cancellation system, and the lack of silicone ear tips means you are able to hear everything around you even with the volume levels at 50 percent. If you are buying these for your daily commute music session on the metro or bus, you should look elsewhere.
On the plus side, you always have a sense of what is going on around you, which is helpful while taking these on the morning walk. The lack of any isolation also means you can take calls for long hours on the Enco Air 2 comfortably — no pressure build-up here.
If you use an Oppo smartphone, the Enco Air 2 integrates easily with the device. From its Bluetooth menu, you can access all its control customisation features, audio profile tuning, and downloading firmware updates. You can also see the battery indicator in the pop-up notification every time you connect it to your phone.
On non-Oppo Android phones, you will need to download the Hey Melody app to access these features. You miss out on the battery status indicator in the notifications but you can access all the settings and info from the app. Sadly, Hey Melody app on iOS does not support the Enco Air 2 yet and hence, iPhone users cannot update the firmware or change any of the settings. Oppo says an update will bring the support.
The earbuds only support the SBC and AAC codecs only; they miss out on aptX. The touch controls work nicely and you can triple tap to enable Game mode — it reduces the latency to a large extent but it is nowhere as direct as a pair of wired earphones.
Battery life on the Enco Air 2 is great for the price it commands. Most of my use saw the earbuds stay under 50 percent volume and I was able to get at most 4.5 hours on the move; this included music and calls. With the case, I was able to go for almost an entire week with up to 3 hours of use on an average. It takes almost two hours to charge the earbuds using a standard 18W USB-C charger.
At Rs. 2,499, the Oppo Enco Air 2 is a nice proposition to consider. The stem-based design and the lack of silicone ear tips makes it easy to wear. The battery life is great and when paired with the Hey Melody app, you Geta. Fair amount of customisation options to play with.
That said, the audio performance is decent but not exceptional. Noise isolation is basically absent and I wish Oppo could have given it silicone eartips to help the case here. The lack of a wear-detection sensor also takes away from the wireless audio experience.
Nonetheless, for Rs. 2,499, the Oppo Enco Air 2 comes across as a great deal for those wanting to try wireless audio for the first time, or upgrade from the older in-ear designs. This is a top recommendation from us within this price bracket.
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