True wireless earbuds belong to a segment that’s blowing up and it has some more miles to go before the action moves to... we believe it would be wireless charging. The popularity behind these earbuds has four motivating factors. First, phones are doing away with 3.5mm connectors, forcing users to switch to wireless options. Second, companies are building ecosystem products — an overused term — which means earphones from a certain brand would match well with phones from that same brand. Third, it’s far more disposal than headphones, which means we would keep buying them. Fourth, Apple did it, succeeded and is rolling in moolah from sales of AirPods.

So where does the OPPO Enco W51 true wireless headphones fit in? At a perfect price point where active noise cancellation is starting to see action. Here’s how it went in the week of our usage.

Enco W51 offers decent active noise cancellation without distorting the sound. The Telegraph

Active noise cancellation

Without boring you with the design — which takes a leaf out of Apple AirPods, complete with the long stem — it’s suffice to say that the fit is comfortable and there are enough ear tips in the box to help you. I didn’t have to look beyond the default option, which fits in so snugly that no amount of shake, rattle and roll could throw it off the balance.

Of more interest is the active noise cancellation (ANC) feature. Here there are two things to remember. ANC while listening to music or streaming and ANC while taking calls. First, streaming. The journey started with Goldspot singing Rewind, an earworm of a number about a girl who’s the star in the boy’s film that’s yet to be made. I made it a starting point because the band’s founder Siddhartha Khosla is also the man who has scored the music for the hugely-popular TV drama, This Is Us. Obviously, the action moved to the soundtrack. The opening theme played out well and on the complex Jack’s Theme each of the instruments could be heard distinctly and I expected a slight rumble when the tune grew to a crescendo. We are happy to report that there were no major rumbles. But there is a slight vacuum-like feeling which ANC brings. Apple deals with it in way of some unique design changes. OPPO should look at it too.

To the 7mm dynamic driver. Dynamic drivers are usually found on affordable headphones. Dynamic drivers at louder volumes may create some distortion but companies keep coming up with ways to tackle it. OPPO has done well and the sound is far better than most of the mid-segment earbuds in the market. Yes, listening to Bob Dylan’s Hurricane is good on the W51. But Dylan’s harmonica playing towards the end of the song alongside Scarlet Rivera’s soaring violin is elevated on the Apple AirPod or Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. Though an unfair comparison in way of pricing, it’s just to point out the difference in the sonic feel.

ANC while taking calls worked well, even though I could faintly hear my annoyed cat but all the other noises were cut off. In fact, I like call audio better on the Enco W51 than on OnePlus Buds. Though on the latter there is no active noise cancellation but call audio can have a slight robotic feel. At the same time, I should also add that on OnePlus, instrument sep aration is slightly better than on the Enco W51. So, one point each there.

Should you buy it?

There are some great features on this set of sound cans. There is wireless charging, IP54 dust and water resistance (making it good for the gym) and the music pauses automatically when the buds are not in your ears. Most importantly, each bud weighs only3.95g. Even the battery life is acceptable — four hours (ANC off) on the earbuds and 24 hours (20 hours with ANC on) with charging case. OPPO, with its Enco W51, has managed well to make active noise cancellation accessible at an affordable price point.

AT A GLANCE

Device: OPPO Enco W51
Driver: 7mm dynamic driver
Driver sensitivity: 103dB @1KHz
Frequency range response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Connection: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 25mAh (headphones) / 480mAh (charging case)
IP rating: IP54 rated; dust and water resistance; good during workouts
Price: Rs 4,999 (Amazon.in)