OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro Review: My New Favorite Budget Earbuds

What actually makes a good pair of budget earbuds? I’ll say it’s sound quality, mixed with simplicity, with a sprinkle of some useful features. In my years of reviewing tech, there has been just one brand that’s been following this recipe perfectly, and that’s OPPO. Their Enco earbuds, as people would say these days, hit the spot, and I’m a fan, so much so that I’m still daily driving the Enco Buds 3 Pro+ from the last review. A few days back, the Chinese maker announced the all-new Enco Air 5 Pro, promising even better 55dB ANC, Bluetooth 6.0 support, and LHDC 5.0.

As expected, OPPO sent over the 5 Pro a couple of weeks back. Since then, I’ve made them my primary set of earbuds, taking them to the gym every day, using them while working, and also on a short flight to Delhi to test their ANC capabilities. Spoiler alert: They are my new favorite pair of earbuds. Here’s why.

Design & Comfort

If you remember the previous Enco Air 3 Pro+, they were a pretty handy pair of earphones. They weren’t too big, and the matte finish looked pretty at first. But over the past few months, I’ve noticed permanent smudge marks on them that won’t go away. Very fortunately, that won’t be the case for the Enco 5 Pro. OPPO has redesigned almost every part, and I’m a fan. You still get the pill-shaped case, but OPPO has trimmed the dimensions. It’s now even more portable, which is great news.

Next on the redesign list is the finish. It’s a soft-touch black powder coat that feels really nice in the hand. It only picks up small smudges, and they can be wiped away with a wet towel in seconds. The opening/closing mechanism is still super satisfying, meaning I was using it as a fidget toy. Thankfully, OPPO hasn’t done away with the physical pairing button, so you won’t have to perform finger gymnastics to pair with a new phone.

Comfort has always been tricky for me. I have small ears, so anything that’s bulky just slips out after a few minutes. That’s exactly why I couldn’t daily drive the Noise Master Buds 2. Surprisingly, OPPO is the only brand that’s stayed in my ears just fine, and I’m glad to report the same about the Enco Air 5 Pro. They are lightweight and supremely comfortable, meaning I could wear them on a long flight without any hiccups and carry them out while doing my daily chores, forgetting they are in my ears.

OPPO has also bundled a couple of differently sized tips, so if the pre-applied ones feel small or large, you can experiment with others. The buds are IP55 certified, meaning they’ll withstand a sweaty gym session without a hitch, but submersion will be a problem; keep an eye out for that.

Sound Quality & ANC

The OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro comes with 12mm Titanium-Coated Diaphragm drivers and support for LHDC 5.0, and Bluetooth 6.0. All my testing was done on the Ultimate Sound preset, but there are a couple of other presets available, along with a full equalizer, which we will talk about soon. To put the Enco 5 Pro through its paces, I started my listening session with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and “Heartless” by The Weeknd. The earbuds are tuned to be balanced, irrespective of what song you listen to. The Hi-Fi vocals sound clear without distortion at higher volumes, and the background drums on Heartless have a little thump, which is always appreciated. The highs don’t screech your ears, and OPPO has even managed to hit the treble on point.

I also found that all the instruments have very good separation, but if you’d like them placed all around you, OPPO has its Live Audio feature. I’m not the biggest fan of this tech, but I’d be lying if I said the experience was bad. The Enco Air 5 Pro places different elements perfectly around you. For all my movie fanatics, I watched a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul with the earbuds connected to my Mac. The latency wasn’t an issue, as the dialogue was in sync with the lips and the audio quality was clean. Calls have been improved quite a bit compared to the predecessor, with crisper audio and better noise reduction.

As far as ANC is concerned, its biggest test is flights. That rumble of the jet engine can get annoying fast, and I absolutely don’t like it. Since I was due to attend an event in Delhi, I took the 5 Pro with me, and the experience did not disappoint. At 55dB of ANC, I’d say the buds canceled about 85% of the jet engine rumble, without any music on. That’s really good compared to the 3 Pro+, which were around the 40% mark. With any music on at around half volume, most engine noise disappears, and the experience is the same as if you were sitting in your living room. It is important to note that high-pitched noises, such as a couple arguing, will still make their way through.

OPPO claims about 13 hours of battery life on a single charge for the earbuds, and while my 8 hours is less than the claimed number, it’s still plenty good, especially with ANC turned on at all times. The case provides a couple of extra charges, so the total output should be around 24-25 hours, depending on your use case. Still, battery life is great overall.

Controls & Companion App

Controls can, at least for me, make or break the experience. Thankfully, the Enco Air 5 Pro gets this right, which has some of the best controls I’ve tested so far. Headlining it all is the new volume adjustment settings, which lets you slide up/down on both earbuds to raise or lower the volume. It works super effectively and doesn’t mess up the fit much. Beyond that, you get the basics like double-tap to play/pause the music, triple-tap to skip forward/rewind, and tap and hold to turn on ANC. All of these are customizable to your liking.

The earbuds can be controlled via the HeyMelody app or directly from the Bluetooth settings page if you’re using an OPPO or OnePlus phone. The app is slick and responsive, and this time OPPO has debuted the new Spotify Tap feature. For those unaware, it connects to your Spotify app and plays a song according to your taste whenever you tap your earbuds. I’m an Apple Music user, but I do see the appeal. There’s also Sound Space, which includes different white noises, like waves crashing on the shore, morning sunshine, and night camping. All of which can help you better concentrate at work or sleep better. Last but not least, a full 10-band equalizer lets you tune the sound output precisely to your liking. I did try it, but since I’m no musician, I left it in OPPO’s hands with the different presets.

Verdict

At ₹4,999, the OPPO Enco Air 5 Pro are probably the easiest-to-recommend earbuds I’ve ever tested, simply because they don’t put a foot wrong. The design has been refined to feel even more premium, and the case no longer picks up smudges. Comfort is top-tier across all ear sizes. The sound feels super balanced, with clear vocals and controlled mids and highs. Not to mention the awesome ANC, which can dampen any aircraft noise without issues, helping you zone out into the music. Controls are intuitive and easy to understand for just about everyone. They get a solid recommendation from me and should absolutely be on your radar.