We subjected the Oppo Find X5 Pro to our rigorous SBMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance both when recording sound using its built-in microphones, and when playing audio through its speakers.
In this review, we’ll break down how it fared across a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key audio specs include:
- 2 stereo speakers: top center and bottom right
- High resolution audio
- Dolby Atmos technology
- Noise reduction
- 3D audio recording
Reproduction
Pros
- Decent space performance
- Few artifacts during normal use
Cons
- Aggressive tone, with poor bass brilliance
- Poor dynamic performance
Registration
Pros
- Good tonal balance in all use cases
- Good dynamic performance
- Good spatial performance in the life video
- Clean from artifacts
Cons
- Aggressive sounding treble, depending on the content, in a high SPL scenario
- Limited amplitude in selfie and memo video modes
The audio performance of the Oppo Find X5 Pro was quite average for an Ultra-Premium flagship smartphone. Its forte is in recording, particularly when compared to its predecessor, Find X3 Pro, where it has made significant progress in spatial and volume attributes. But the audio on the Oppo Find X5 Pro is prone to occlusion, both in playback and recording. For example, the speakers can be completely occluded in a game scenario, as well as during a selfie recording in landscape orientation. For everyday recordings, sounds are generally free of artifacts. With Dolby’s SFX enabled by default, one tip is to use the “movie” preset for each use case because it results in clear and brilliant sound.
Test summary
Learn about SBMARK audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual assessment under controlled laboratory conditions.
(For more details on our reproduction protocol, click here; for more details on our registration protocol, click here.)
The following section collects the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyzes performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
How the audio playback score is composed
SBMARK engineers test playback through smartphone speakers, whose performance is evaluated in our labs and under real-life conditions, using apps and default settings.
The playback performance on the Oppo Find X5 Pro was decent in terms of timbre and dynamics, average in terms of space and artifacts, and quite good in terms of volume. Inadequate bass affected timbre and dynamics in different ways. Tonal performance was hampered by inadequate bass, which lacked low-end extension and strength, both at maximum volume and at low volume. Weak bass meant that the high mids and highs were prominent, affecting the overall tonal balance and making the audio harsh and sometimes slightly aggressive. In assessing dynamics, bass accuracy was not up to par, overshadowing the correctly defined sounds of attack elements such as kicks, thus seriously impeding the accuracy of the sonic envelope. Still, the sound had a decent level of punch, even if the performance was below average compared to others.
Of all reproduction attributes, Spatial scored the lowest. But with the Find X5 Pro’s stereo image rendering perfectly centered and various sounds easily localized, along with the amplitude of the audio in landscape mode, our engineers found the spatial performance to be decent overall. (The stereo image, however, did not rotate with the phone in inverted landscape orientation.) The Find X5 Pro performed well in terms of volume, but at maximum volume, some specific content suffered severe distortion. However, the artifact secondary score was the strongest of all attributes of the X5 Pro.
Hear about the playback performance of the smartphone tested in this comparison with some of its competitors:
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 Pro fares in playback use cases compared to its competitors:
The Timbre score represents how well a phone reproduces sound across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble, tonal balance and volume dependence. It is the most important attribute for reproduction.
The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as the precision with which a bass note or the impact sound of drums is reproduced.
Secondary attributes for spatial tests include identifying the position of a specific sound, its positional balance, distance and amplitude.
The volume score represents the overall volume of a smartphone and how the volume gradually increases and decreases based on user input.
Here are some sound pressure levels (SPLs) measured while playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:
| Hip-Hop | Classic | |
| Oppo Find X5 Pro | 76.2 dB | 71.9 dBA |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) | 74.1 dB | 70.2 dBA |
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | 69.1 dB | 66 dBA |
The graph below shows the gradual changes in volume from minimum to maximum. We expect these changes to be consistent across the range, so that all volume levels match user expectations:
The Artifacts score measures the extent to which sound is affected by various types of distortion. The higher the score, the less noise you notice. Distortion can occur due to the sound processing in the device and the quality of the speakers.
How the audio playback score is composed
SBMARK engineers test the recording by evaluating the files recorded on reference audio equipment. These recordings are performed in our labs and in real-life conditions, using apps and predefined settings.
The recording performance of the Oppo Find X5 Pro was significantly better than the playback. The artifacts outperformed the other attributes in the recording because the sounds, including the background, were clear and free of artifacts, even at high volumes. Tonal balance was overall good, even in high SPL scenarios, although the highs tended to sound harsh or aggressive, depending on the content. Despite the lack of bass in reproduction, the recordings produced good bass with satisfying low-end range, most evident in an electronic gig use case. Audio recordings contain good amplitude, with a realistic sounding and large-sized audio scene, except in selfie videos and memo recording, where it is more limited. The audio sources are also quite easy to distinguish within the stereo image.
One minor quibble includes the easy occlusion of microphones when recording a selfie in landscape orientation; however, this doesn’t seem to be the case with life video shooting.
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 Pro fares in recording use cases compared to its competitors:
The Timbre score represents how well a phone captures sounds across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble and tonal balance. It is the most important attribute for registration.
The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as how accurately the explosives of a voice (p, tek, for example) are reproduced. The score also considers the Sound-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), such as how loud the main voice is compared to the background noise.
Secondary attributes for spatial tests include identifying the position of a specific sound, its positional balance, distance and amplitude on recorded audio files.
The volume score represents the normalization level of the audio on the recorded files and how the device handles noisy environments, such as electronic concerts, during recording.
Here are the sound levels recorded in the audio and video files, measured in LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale); as a reference, we expect loudness levels to be higher than -24 LUFS for recorded content:
| Encounter | Life video | Selfie video | Memo | |
| Oppo Find X5 Pro | -24.2 LUFS | -20.4 LUFS | -18.5 LUFS | -18.6 LUFS |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) | -28.8 LUFS | -21.7 LUFS | -21.2 LUFS | -23.9 LUFS |
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | -25.8 LUFS | -23.1 LUFS | -20.4 LUFS | -20.2 LUFS |
The Artifacts Score measures the extent to which recorded sounds are affected by various types of distortions. The higher the score, the less noise you notice. Distortions can occur due to the sound processing in the device and the quality of the microphones, as well as user handling, such as the way the phone is held.
Hear about the artifacts in this excerpt, which was recorded in a fast-paced home environment:
Background evaluates how naturally the various sounds around a voice blend into the video recording file. For example, when recording a speech at an event, the background should not interfere with the main voice, but should provide context for the surrounding environment.
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