We subjected the Oppo Find X5 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
The Oppo Find X5 offers average audio performance for an ultra premium device. Its playback strengths were listening to music and watching movies, aided by the default activation of Dolby SFX, which gives sounds clarity and brightness in all use cases. As a recording device, the Oppo did best in reminder and meeting room recordings, but when used in conjunction with the camera to record selfies or life video, the audio scored slightly lower.
Key audio specs include:
- Stereo speakers, upper front ignition, lower side ignition
- High resolution audio
- Dolby Atmos
- 3D audio recording
Reproduction
Pros
- Decent space performance
- Few artifacts during normal use
Cons
- Poor tone, with lack of bass and treble
- Poor dynamic performance
Registration
Pros
- Mostly clean of artifacts
- Good SNR in all use cases
Cons
- Dark and even muted tonal balance in most use cases
- Dynamics lack sharpness and precision
- Narrow stereo image, especially in selfie videos
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.
Playback performance on the Oppo Find X5 was average in terms of timbre, dynamics, spatiality and artifacts. The lack of bass and treble brought out all the imperfections of the mid-range and resulted in a poor overall tone performance. Dynamics were also hampered by the lack of bass. Not only was the low end lackluster, it was also rather blurry, affecting the precision bass performance. Also, the punch was quite weak. Decent spatial performance, with perfectly centered stereo sound providing medium amplitude in a horizontal orientation and good localizability of individual sounds. Unfortunately, the stereo sound does not rotate when the phone is held upside down in landscape orientation. The highest-scoring attribute was artifacts, mainly because there were so few of them playing in most use cases, except in games, where the speakers were easily occluded.
Hear about the playback performance of the smartphone tested in this comparison with some of its competitors:
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 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 | 75.5 dBA | 71.3 dBA |
| Sony Xperia 1 III | 74.2 dB | 67.9 dB |
| Viva X70 Pro + | 72.4 dBA | 73.8 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 was better than the playback. The artifacts outperformed the other attributes in the recording because the sounds were clear and artifact-free even at high volumes. The lack of clarity in tonal balance affected the spatial performance of the device. Despite a fair amount of bass, the low-end extension was lackluster, even more so in the case of using electronic gigs. Recordings of selfies and reminders showed better tonal performance, with clearer tonal balance and more pronounced mid-high range. The stereo scene was particularly restricted in selfie videos. The envelope rendering was deemed inaccurate, but all use cases showed a good signal-to-noise ratio. The lack of clarity in tonal balance and unnatural sound affected the background audio, even in the absence of artifacts.
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 fares in use case registration 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 | -23.4 LUFS | -20 LUFS | -18.1 LUFS | -18.4 LUFS |
| Sony Xperia 1 III | -30.5 LUFS | -22.4 LUFS | -20.2 LUFS | -21.3 LUFS |
| Viva X70 Pro + | -23.1 LUFS | -18 LUFS | -16.7 LUFS | -18.6 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.
Start a new Thread