Oppo Enco W51 Review: Most Feature-Packed TWS Earbuds In Sub-5k

 

Design & In-Ear Fit

The Enco W51 TWS earbuds look identical to the Enco W31 which we titled the ‘Best Budget True Wireless Earphones For Bass Heads'. The new buds have the same in-ear shape and dimensions and the only way you can differentiate the new ones from the older TWS earbuds is the finishing over the outer layer of the buds. The Ecco W51 have a mirror finish on the outer layer of buds which look more subtle and make the overall design slightly more premium. You can buy the Enco W51 in two colors- Starry Blue and Floral White. The blue variant with golden finish over buds looks striking.

The Enco W51 earbuds are half in-ear buds with soft silicone tips. The buds feel comfortable in ears and offer a secure fit. They stay at their place and do not fall off even while running or cycling. Importantly, these buds are IP54 rated for dust and water resistance. A secure fit with good durability standards makes the Enco W51 a great TWS pair for fitness enthusiasts.

As far as the charging case is concerned, it is now smarter but the glossy finish makes it prone to scratches. Unlike the Pebble shaped capsule of the Enco W31, the Enco W51 ships inside a square-shaped capsule that supports Qi Wireless Charging. It is lightweight and easily fits inside pockets. The built quality is decent but could have been better. The case has a Type-C charging port at the back side along with an LED light indicator. The inside of the case also has a LED light indicator.

Setup Up And Touch Controls

The Enco W51 works on the Bluetooth 5.0 and can be paired with Bluetooth-enabled smart devices in a jiffy. Similar to the Enco W31, the new earbuds also feature Binaural latency, which means both the buds connect to the smartphones individually and maintain a stable wireless connection. I used the Enco W51 with various smart devices including multiple smartphones, an Android tablet, Windows 10 notebooks and the OnePlus smart TV and did not face any connectivity issues. If you are connecting the TWS earbuds for the first time with a device, you need to open the lid and long-press the function button to start the pairing process. The green LED will turn into white indicating that the pairing process has started. It will flash green again the earbuds have been paired with a smart device.

As far as touch controls are concerned, double-tapping the left earbud enables/disables the Active Noise Cancellation. You can double-tap on the right earbud to play the next song and can invoke the voice assistant by triple tapping on either side. Unlike the Enco W31, the Enco W51 has just one music mode. Importantly, there are no on-bud volume controls on the Enco W51. You have to use the source device to tweak the volume which affects the usability if you don't have the connected device handy or mostly when you cannot access the device, especially while cycling or working out in the gym.

It is also worth mentioning that you can customize the touch controls if you have paired the Enco W51 with an Oppo smartphone running the Color OS 7. Every TWS earbud in the market, be it from Oppo, Vivo, Realme or Xiaomi, is affected by such limitation and it's high time brands start to offer cross-device support for the better overall end-user experience.

Audio Performance And Voice Call Quality

Similar to most of the budget earphones and headphones, the Enco W51 has a warmer tone and the audio produced by the TWS earbuds sounds pleasant for casual listening. The focus is on enhancing bass delivery while keeping vocals clear which work well for casual listening. The treble delivery does not sound as refined as some of the sub-5k headphones we have tested in the last few months. Moving on, the Enco W51 gets fairly loud and with added ANC, the environmental noise is cut to almost zero percent making the Enco W51 a good option for commuters who want budget ANC-powered earphones.

If you get into audio details, you will find the bass lacking the precision and sounding boomy. It lacks attack and leaks in other frequencies creating a slightly unrefined listening experience. Add to it the unrefined treble and things start getting bad. After all, the Enco W51 earbuds are powered by only 7mm drivers which have their limitations. As a result, the Enco W51 does not come across as a good pair of TWS earphones for listening complex tracks which have multiple instruments playing simultaneously.

Moreover, I also wish Oppo had offered the dual sound mode feature that was there in the Enco W31. The feature allowed you to achieve some level of audio customization by choosing between two audio profiles- Balanced Mode and Bass Mode. With the Enco W51, you don't get any customization features but you get ANC. And how does it perform? Let's find out but before that let's talk about the voice call performance.

The Enco W51 is possibly the best sub-5k earbuds for day-to-day voice calls. The triple microphone setup effectively reduces the outside noise and makes for an excellent voice call experience. I mostly used these buds for everyday calling and not for once the caller complained about my voice quality, be it calls made over WhatsApp or network operator. Also, you can switch off/on ANC while making calls.

How Good/Bad Is ANC?

For its price, the Enco W51 simply nails the ANC part. For instance, I couldn't hear my phone's ringtone while listening to music with Enco W51 paired with my workstation. The phone was lying on the table in from of my eyes and the ANC simply cut down the noise to almost 100% percent. With music being streamed above 80% to 100% and ANC enabled, you won't get disturbed by the ambient noise. The noise reduction is that good. The Enco W51's ANC is at par with the ANC offered by the Huawei Freebuds 3i which are priced at Rs. 9,990. But due to bigger 10mm drivers, the Freebuds 3i produce cleaner and immersive audio.

Battery Life

The Enco W51 lasted for 3 hours 10 minutes with ANC on which is acceptable since the ANC consumes a fair amount of power. This is a trade-off that you have to make for cancelling the unwanted noise around you. Disabling the ANC can give you an additional 20-30 minute boost which means the Enco W51 can last for around 3 hours 30 minutes on one full charge. The charging case with a 480 mAh battery can give three additional battery cycles depending upon your usage. The accounts to a total battery life of 12-13 hours which is decent but not impressive and you can easily find sub-5K earbuds with better overall battery life. But mind you, none of them come equipped with ANC so choose wisely.

Verdict

Oppo has once again offered a great pair of TWS earbuds at a budget price-point. The Enco W51 is the only True Wireless Earbuds in the sub-5k that offers both ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and Wireless Charging. The TWS earbuds offer excellent call quality, a secure fit and durable design. The audio performance isn't the most immersive and refined which can be a deal-breaker. Moreover, the battery life is also not outstanding. Despite these shortcomings, the Enco W51 is worth considering as the true wireless earbuds deliver an enjoyable listening experience on a budget.