OPPO intends to return to the forefront in France and not only with its smartphones. The brand has renewed its true wireless headphones and has been offering the Enco X3i for sale for several weeks. Sold for 129 euros, they follow the Enco X2 and promise “immersive and harmonious sound” thanks to a system with 2 dynamic speakers.
OnePlus Buds 3 with the OPPO logo
The OPPO Enco X3i are compatible with Hi-Res audio with the LHDC 5.0 codec and offer active noise reduction of up to 49 dB. The design is relatively classic with the presence of a small branch directed towards the user’s mouth. A common “AirPods” style that doesn’t displease us, especially when the manufacturing quality is there. Offered with three sizes of tips and a small cable for charging, the headphones are available in two colors: meteor gray and electric blue.
For our test, we were treated to this last color and this blue makes the Enco X3i rather attractive. The headphones are compact and lightweight (31.68 X 20.22 x 24.4 mm and 4.8 g per earbud), as is the charging case (58.72 x 50.15 x 25.81 mm for 40.8 g).
Beyond this unsurprising format, the Enco X3i seemed really familiar to us. And for good reason, they are a copy of the OnePlus Buds 3 and the resemblance is not only physical. The technical characteristics are exactly the same, but this should not be seen as an infringement. OPPO and OnePlus are two sister brands and their fate is more linked than ever since the two companies made a strategic merger. A merger which accentuated OnePlus’ dependence on OPPO, creating proximity between the products of two firms.
We had already discussed the subject with tablets and the appearance of the Enco X3i reminds us that OPPO and OnePlus do not hesitate to rebrand certain devices. The OPPO Enco X3i are part of this category and the choice is incomprehensible since the Buds 3 received a rather favorable reception when they were released at the start of 2024.
Quality sound, with careful bass
OPPO’s “new” headphones come with two transducers: a 6 mm diameter tweeter for the treble and a 10.4 mm woofer for the bass. The recipe is not new and the separation of the channels helps to improve the quality of the sound, which is the case with the Enco X3i. Certified Hi-Res and capable of supporting AAC, SBC and LHDC codecs via Bluetooth 5.3, OPPO’s headphones offer warm and generous sound, even a little too much.
Indeed, the woofer takes over and bass frequencies are over-represented with certain styles of music. OPPO’s direction, however, is likely to appeal to a rather young audience fond of modern pop, hip-hop and electronica. As for the LHDCS 5.0 codec, the positioning of the Enco X3i is not high-end enough to really hear a difference in use.
It is possible to reduce the presence of bass via the application, but OPPO has chosen not to offer a manual equalizer. Too bad, because we would have liked to be able to adjust the sound more finely… like on the OnePlus Buds 3 which offers this option. Speaking of the app, HeyMelody is a nice companion that offers plenty of options for managing the headphones. The basic functions are present (game mode, noise control, dual connection, find headphones, controls, etc.) and all this is easily adjusted. We regret that the headphones do not offer port detection to automatically pause the music when you remove them from the ear.
The Enco X3i arrive with an active noise reduction function and a transparent mode to hear what is happening around you. OPPO announces 49 dB of attenuation and like many manufacturers, this figure is largely overestimated. However, OPPO’s headphones have more than one advantage in their headset and offer effective noise reduction. The Enco X3i effectively cut out the most annoying noises in an urban environment, but we cannot say that we are cut off from the outside or in a real bubble. Considering the Price positioning, OPPO comes out with honors.
The headphones also offer audio spatialization under the name OPPO Alive Audio. The system seeks to simulate spatialization and the result is quite random. This function does not work miracles and we will use it sparingly.
Noise reduction is solid, autonomy too
The manufacturer lists up to 6.5 hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC enabled and in AAC mode (10 hours without ANC). The promise is kept and we exceeded 6 hours of use in comparable conditions (sound at 50% and ANC activated). In reality, it is not uncommon to put the sound volume around 30 to 40% and we then obtain an autonomy closer to 7 hours.
The charging case is not to be outdone and allows for a little more than four recharges, bringing the total to 28 hours with ANC (and 44 hours without ANC). OPPO uses 58 mAh batteries in the earbuds and 520 mAh for the case. Finally, a quick charge function is available to recover up to 2 hours of listening time in 10 minutes.
Price, availability and competition
The OPPO Enco X3i have been available in France for a few weeks, priced at 129.99 euros in electric blue or meteor gray.
The price positioning of the Enco 50 euros difference for a similar product, but how is that possible?
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