We subjected the Oppo Find X5 Lite 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:
- Lower side focus speaker
- 3.5mm jack
- Noise reduction
- Dirac technology
Reproduction
Pros
- Performance remains consistent across all phases of the volume
- Decent volume at maximum volume
Cons
- Tonal balance is medium-high centric
- Poor performance in Dynamics
- Mono device
Registration
Pros
- Pleasant tonal balance with the memo app
- Decent dynamic performance in most use cases
- Good localizability and amplitude, excellent distance yield
Cons
- Treble that is too low, which is particularly distorted at higher volumes
- Lack of inferior content in all use cases
- The volume of the recording is average
- Microphones clog up easily
The Oppo Find X5 Lite is the lowest priced device in the X5 line and the specs reflect that, including the fact that it is a mono smartphone (a speaker). With an overall score of 56, the X5 Lite is among the lowest-scoring devices in our high-end price segment, although it surpassed the 53 earned by its brand sibling, the Oppo Find X3 Lite. In playback, the X5 Lite was hampered by having only one speaker, which affects its performance in more than one attribute. While functional and sufficiently loud, the X5 Lite has a mid-to-high centered tonal balance and performs particularly poorly in the dynamic attribute. When it comes to recording, this Oppo smartphone does much better, with decent tonal balance and consistently good performance in dynamic and spatial characteristics.
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.
In playback, the Oppo Find X5 Lite suffers from having only one speaker, among other problems. Its score here, a 51, places it at the bottom of the chart at this price point, just one point higher than the X3 Lite. Tonal balance, while not unpleasant, lacks bass power, low-end extension, brilliance, and low-midrange. It results in an uneven sonority as it is overly focused on the mid-high range. Treble is muted, with uninspired brightness and high-end extension. Turning up the volume produces some changes in emphasis (more aggressive low treble and higher mids) but not in quality. Despite the emphasis on the mid-high range, the sound isn’t particularly clear. Bass and bass are largely absent in action, resulting in a subtle sonority. The X5 Lite performed poorly in terms of dynamics. At nominal and maximum volumes, attack is limited and compression crushes transients. Bass accuracy is compromised by the imprecise attack in the low end. The punch is weak at all volumes due to the lack of medium to low energy. Since this Oppo smartphone is a mono device, it showed a lackluster appearance in the spatial attribute, with zero amplitude and blurry localizability. As for the volume, loudness at full pitch is actually decent. The minimum volume level, however, is not adjusted correctly. Highly dynamic content, such as classical music, is not always audible. In the artifacts attribute, the X5 Lite exhibits strong distortion at maximum volume on some test tracks. Some slight volume jumps occur when you hit play on a track after pausing. It’s easy to block a speaker here if you’re not careful how you hold the X5 Lite while gaming.
Hear about the playback performance of the smartphone tested in this comparison with some of its competitors:
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 Lite 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 Lite | 70.5 dBA | 70.6 dBA |
| Oppo Find X3 Lite | 70.6 dBA | 69 dBA |
| Realme GT Neo 2 5G | 76.3 dB | 70.6 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 score of the audio recording 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.
As a recording device, the Oppo Find X5 Lite is on firmer ground, scoring (69) above average among its peers in this price range. Tonal performance is decent in most use cases, and it was certainly better with the recorder app, where recordings sound pretty much the same as the device’s big brother, the Find X5 Pro. However, there is some inconsistency between use cases. Tonal balance is a bit poor overall, with a good focus on intelligibility and clarity of the upper content, but overall it lacks warmth in the low-mid range, as well as in the bass. Lower treble lends clarity to vocal content in selfie and memo app use cases, but in real videos that boost in treble tends to induce some harshness and dull the brilliance, which is already far from ideal. in all use cases. Dynamic performance is solid. In most use cases, the envelope is rendered accurately no matter which app you are using, although the explosives may sound a little sharper. In the case of using the electronic concert, a strong distortion of the treble and a slight compression attenuate the attack and decrease the accuracy of the envelope rendering. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is average, on par with the Find X5 or Find X5 Pro. There does not appear to be any reduction in background noise, although the clarity of the superior content in tonal balance helps the vocal content rise to the upstairs. In the spatial attribute, the X5 Lite benefits from surprisingly good localizability of sound sources in its recordings, even in selfie videos, which is rare. Voices are distinct from each other, aided by an appreciable breadth, which is particularly good in live video. The remote yield is very good. The volume is slightly above average in the recordings made by the X5 Lite. Objective measurements show moderate distortion over most of the high SPL sound spectrum, but the highs are quickly distorted. In the artifacts attribute, the Oppo smartphone suffers first and foremost from treble distortion. The problem is even more present in real video recordings when the volume gets loud, while selfie videos were mostly free of this distortion. Microphone occlusions were also a problem – the bottom microphone can be easily occluded, completely blocking the signal, if you’re not careful how you hold your phone. Finger noises on microphones can get quite loud and there doesn’t seem to be any noise reduction in this case. The background rendition is natural and clear. No background artifacts were detected.
Here’s how the Oppo Find X5 Lite 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 Lite | -24.6 LUFS | -18.4 LUFS | -16.8 LUFS | -18.6 LUFS |
| Oppo Find X3 Lite | -28.6 LUFS | -21.4 LUFS | -21.6 LUFS | -21.2 LUFS |
| Realme GT Neo 2 5G | -25.2 LUFS | -22.9 LUFS | -21.8 LUFS | -22.2 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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