Oppo Enco W51 Review: Active Noise Cancellation On A Budget

Oppo Enco W51 is probably the cheapest TWS earphones with ANC in the Nepali market right now. But what else does it offer besides ANC? And is it worth your money? Let’s find out in this review of Oppo Enco W51. Before that, let’s take a quick look at its specifications.

OPPO Enco W51 Specifications:

• Driver: 7mm dynamic, Dual TPU composite graphene diaphragm
• Connectivity: Wireless (Bluetooth v5.0, 10 meters range)
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Driver sensitivity: 103 dB @ 1 kHz
• Microphone sensitivity: -38 dBV/Pa
• Audio codecs: AAC, SBC
• Music time: 3.5 hours (at 50% volume), 20 hours (with charging case)
• Battery capacity: 25mAh (each earbud), 480mAh (power case)
• Charging time: 80 minutes (with charging case)
• IP rating: Yes, IP54 dust and water resistance
• Noise-canceling: ANC, up to 35dB
• Power case charger: Type-C, Qi wireless charging
• Color: Starry Black, Floral White
• Price in Nepal: Rs. 8,990
• Available in Oppo authorized offline stores

Oppo Enco W51 Review:

Design and Build

• AirPods-like in-ear design
• Plastic build material
• Glossy, squarish case
• IP54 certified (earbuds)

Design-wise, what we have here is another Apple AirPods-inspired product. It is evident when you look at the oval-shaped earbuds from the inside. The stems are rather flat and have initial of the sides printed on the inside. The entire earbud is made of plastic. Oppo has used a glossy finish on the outside, while the inside of the earbud has a matte finish.

What I don’t like about the W51's design is the crease that is between the two surfaces. Over time, it will be home to a pile of dust which could get challenging to clean. The rest of the earbud can be cleaned with just one swipe using a clean cloth. The grille here feels metallic which is a warm welcome as there has been a number of cases where these wear out accidentally while cleaning or over time. The earbuds come placed inside a glossy case that match the color of the earbud. It’s a square case with round edges. The Oppo logo is stamped on the top surface, which I noted can be peeled off easily. Likewise, the Type-C port and an LED is placed at the back of the case. I do wish the company had gone for a sturdier hinge though.

Feel and Comfort

Talking about the actual fit of the Enco W51, even with an in-ear design, it doesn’t go deep into the ear. Instead, it’s the oval head that fixates onto the ear. Regardless, Oppo Enco W51 offers a tight fit, and not once did the earphone(s) fall off during the period of this review. Oppo also includes four sizes of the silicone tips in the box, including the one on the earbuds. So, if the medium size doesn’t fit you still have three more options.

Pairing

• Bluetooth v5.0 wireless connection
• 10 meters effective range

Pairing the device is pretty easy. The earphones enter the pairing mode as soon as you open the lid of the case. For initial pairing, press the button on the inside of the case till the LED turns white. Then, scan for nearby Bluetooth devices in your smartphone and pair it with Oppo Enco W51. The earphone remembers the last paired device for future pairing. Likewise, it disconnects automatically after the lid of the case is closed with the earbuds inside.

Enco W51 comes with Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless transmission. Oppo is claiming a stable connection within the 10m range. However, my experience with the earphone was different. At times, the earphone disconnected out of sudden and I had to manually re-connect it. Occasionally, the earphone would also just refuse to play and the only way to get it to work was by disconnecting and reconnecting it again. Similarly, you will have to be real close to your phone otherwise you will be facing connectivity issues.

Controls

• A touch-based sensor on each earbud
• Wear detection to play/pause music
• Double, triple tap actions to trigger assistant, NC, etc.

It is where it gets awkward. I mean, I can’t remember using any other TWS that won’t allow users to play and pause the music via the earbuds themselves. You heard it right—the touch control on the W51 does not have an option for play/pause. It can be done using the wear detection function but I think it would have been a lot easier if a single tap could do that instead. You can skip to the next song by double-tapping on the right earbud. A double-tap on the left side turns activates or deactivates the ANC. Similarly, a triple tap on either side summons the default voice assistant. The stem on the W51 is a narrow one and I had a lot of trouble getting the placement of the control right. On top of that, the touch-sensitive area expands almost to the middle of the stem. There were times when the earbuds recorded double-tap and skipped to the next song when I was adjusting the earphone.

Sound Quality

• 7mm dynamic driver
• Dual TPU composite graphene diaphragm
• 20Hz – 20kHz frequency response
• Standard AAC, SBC audio codec

For an in-ear earbud, the soundstage of the Oppo Enco W51 is actually good. There is enough separation between individual instruments and the vocal. When listening to the Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day, I could just follow Tre’s drumming and forget about everything else. The earphone also does a great job of separating the right and left channels. I found that Enco W51's 7mm driver can get pretty loud. So most of the time, I would listen to it at 50% volume. Talking about the sound quality, I found the bass and treble to be emphasized more than the mid-range. Thus, if we are into pop songs the device should serve you well. I had no complaints listening to the "Sold Out Edition" of MGK's Tickets To My Downfall. However, you won’t have the same experience with EDMs and hip-hop music. I wished the bass had more punch to it. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t even have a dedicated Bass mode that is available on the cheaper Enco W31.

ANC, Latency, and Call Quality

• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
• Noise reduction depth of up to 35 dB
• Dual-core digital noise reduction chip
• 3 microphones on each earbud

Oppo Enco W51 comes with Active Noise Cancellation, which is something unheard of in this price range. You can turn it on by double-tapping on the right earbud. While it doesn’t cancel the noise from the surrounding completely (like every other ANC-enabled earbuds, headphones), it suppresses them to an extent where you can feel, hear the difference between ANC and non-ANC sound. It only works with consistent low-frequency sound frequencies.

Besides this, the Enco W51 doesn’t have a dedicated low latency mode. Oppo is instead banking on the low-latency binaural Bluetooth transmission. And for the most part, it does an okay job. The latency didn’t bother me while streaming content from YouTube, Netflix. However, it will be better to invest in a good wired earphone if you are thinking of using it for gaming. Moving on, the call quality on Enco W51 is also great. I used the earphone for around two weeks and I received no complaints from the other end of the call during this period. I also had no problem summoning Google Assistant with this one.

Battery Endurance

• 25mAh (each earbud), 480mAh (case)
• USB-C, Qi wireless charging

Talking about the battery, Oppo claims that the earbuds can last up to 4 hours on a single charge with the volume set to 50%. In my review, the Oppo Enco W51 only lasted 3.5 hours with the volume set to 50% and ANC turned off. I repeated the test with the ANC turned on and got around 3 hours of playback time. The charging case has a USB Type-C port on the back that supports 10W (5V, 2A) charging. There is an LED on the side that turns green when the case is fully charged. Also, there is another LED inside the case, that indicates the charge of the earbuds—when it is placed inside, and of the charging case otherwise.

Using a 10W power adapter, I was able to charge the case in around 80 minutes. You can also use a Qi-certified wireless charger, but the charging takes a little longer than the wired alternative.

Conclusion

While there are a lot of TWS in the Nepalese market today, only a handful of them come with ANC. Oppo Enco W51 offers it under the Rs. 10,000 which is actually great. Unless you are an audiophile or a hardcore hip-hop fan, you won’t criticize the sound quality. The call quality is also great. However, the earphone doesn’t have the greatest connection and the controls make it very inconvenient for people like me that don’t have an Oppo smartphone. Songs referenced in the Oppo Enco W51 review:

• Green Day — Jesus of Suburbia
• MGK — Tickets To My Downfall ("Sold Out" Edition)

Oppo Enco W51 Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Lightweight and comfortable
• Tight fit with four pair of silicone tips in the box
• Sturdy build, IP54, easy to clean
• Great for casual listening
• Wear detection works well
• ANC at a budget
• USB-C, wireless charging

Cons:

• Sluggish control mechanism
• Controls can only be customized on select Oppo phones
• The connection is not the strongest
• Bass could have been punchier
• No dedicated game / low latency mode