OnePlus Buds Pro 2 review: Supports LHDC codec, spatial audio and 48dB noise cancellation

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is an “ambitious” TWS earbuds. The addition of spatial audio allows it to make up for the biggest shortcoming of OnePlus Buds Pro. At the same time, the sound quality and ANC noise cancellation performance of earbuds have been significantly improved. This true wireless earphones can get a very good experience whether it is on iOS or Android phones.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 specs and features:

• Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC/LHDC codec
• 11mm + 6mm dynamic driver
• 8-10 hours playback of per charge (ANC ON/OFF)
• Charging case can charge earbuds fully 3 times
• IP55 waterproof raiting (sweat, rain)
• $106 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries or Banggood

Appearance Design & Comfort

If you have OnePlus Buds Pro, then OnePlus Buds Pro 2 will definitely feel very familiar to you. As far as the design of the charging case is concerned, the difference between the two is almost negligible, but the original shiny appearance is changed to a metal texture design. Overall, I prefer the texture of the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 charging case. The metal texture is more advanced and it is not easy to be stained with fingerprints.

The OnePlus Buds Pro 2 charging case continues the classic design of the previous generation, adopting a square design, and the overall is relatively flat. The two brand logos of “ONEPLUS” and “DYNAUDIO” are printed in the middle of the top, indicating that the product is jointly developed by OnePlus and Dynaudio. The surface of the charging case is made of matte material, which is smooth to the touch, not easy to be stained with fingerprints, and more resistant to scratches.

The charging case is similar in size to the AirPods Pro 2 and fits easily in a jeans pocket. However, due to the different opening directions, the charging case cannot be easily opened with one hand.

There is a chamfer on the front opening of the charging case for easy opening. Below is a charging indicator light, which is used to indicate the charging status and remaining power. The Type-C charging interface is located on the back of the charging case. The opening of the cover adopts an independent shaft structure, and there will be obvious damping feeling when the cover is opened to the maximum angle, keeping the case cover open and not automatically closing.

The appearance design of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 earbuds is similar to that of OnePlus Buds Pro, with a handle-shaped in-ear design as a whole. The earbuds are processed by two processes of pearlescent paint and special topcoat to form a high-grade metallic texture, which is quite unique.

In addition, earbuds also uses multiple sprays and hardened surface coatings to further enhance the texture of earbuds. Not only skin-friendly and oleophobic, but also scratch-resistant, wear-resistant and durable. Among them, the metal texture part is the pressure-sensitive touch control area, so that earbuds can allow users to distinguish the touch range without designing a touch groove.

After actual measurement, the overall weight of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is about 57.2g. The actual weight of a single earbud is about 5.0g.

In terms of wearing comfort, as a design that has been verified countless times, the comfort of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is naturally not bad. Moreover, it has been fine-tuned on the basis of OnePlus Buds Pro, and I personally feel that the wearing comfort and stability are higher. Matte spraying also increases friction to a certain extent. According to OnePlus official introduction, the coating also has a certain oleophobic function. For users with more ear secretions, the wearing experience of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is better than that of AirPods Pro 2.

The cavity design of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is based on the big data of thousands of people in the human ear database. After more than 1,000 professionals’ wearing evaluations and man-machine wearing tests, an ergonomic design suitable for more people has been created. Effectively improve the pressure of earbuds on the tragus, concha cavity, ear canal and other positions during wearing, thereby improving wearing comfort and stability. The actual wearing feeling fits in place, is fixed firmly, and is light and comfortable at the same time.

Connectivity, App and Control

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is equipped with BES BES2600YP flagship chip, using Bluetooth 5.3 technology, good compatibility, more stable connection, and lower power consumption. At the same time, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 also supports LHDC 5.0 audio transmission (subsequent OTA upgrade), and the acoustic performance has reached Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification.

The new LHDC 5.0 technology can greatly improve the sound quality transmission bit rate, and the adaptive range of 128kbps-1000kpbs can better ensure the sound quality performance and connection stability in complex environments. The sound details are fully preserved, and the listening experience is equally stable and smooth.

When connecting for the first time, just select “OnePlus Buds Pro 2” in your phone’s bluetooth device list to connect quickly. Open the charging case for subsequent use to connect to a successfully paired bluetooth device. The earbuds are stably connected to the mobile phone within a distance of 10 meters. In an environment without obstacles, the connection will be intermittent if the distance from the mobile phone is more than 11 meters.

Pop-up window for quick pairing and connection

When used with a OnePlus mobile phone, it can be quickly paired and connected through a pop-up window. During subsequent use, the device connection status and remaining power will be displayed through a dedicated pop-up window. The pop-up window also supports free switching of more than 10 themes to meet more personalized needs.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is equipped with a dedicated mobile APP, in which you can perform various personalized settings for earbuds. Such as switching noise cancellation mode, setting EQ equalizer, earbuds fit detection, custom touch control and so on. You can also check the remaining power of earbuds and charging case, all kinds of functions are available, very comprehensive.

Noise cancellation effect selection and custom touch control settings

In the settings, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 provides four noise cancellation effect options: mild, medium, deep and smart dynamic noise cancellation. It also supports personalized noise cancellation function. Earbuds can personalize the noise cancellation effect according to the wearing fit and the structure of the ear canal, allowing users to hear clearer and more immersive.

In other settings, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 supports functions such as switching equalizer, adding custom EQ, Hi-Res mode, golden hearing, shooting assistance, device dual connection, fit detection, find earphones and firmware update etc.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is designed with a pinch operation, and you can play/pause music, switch songs, etc. with a light pinch. After the actual test, the response of earbuds is sensitive when pinched, and there is a slight sound feedback, which further improves the operating experience of earbuds. In addition, earbuds also support the in-ear detection function, the music will automatically pause when the earbuds are removed, and playback will automatically resume when the earbuds are put on.

Noise Cancellation Effect

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 earbuds are equipped with a triple-core noise cancellation chip, and the maximum 48dB noise cancellation depth is achieved through the 4-MIC noise cancellation solution of earbuds. However, the noise cancellation depth can only represent the noise cancellation peak of the earbuds, and cannot explain the comprehensive noise cancellation ability of the earbuds. The noise cancellation bandwidth of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 has reached 4kHz, double that of OnePlus Buds Pro. In addition, the earbuds are specifically targeted at the frequency band of the human voice for noise cancellation processing, which still has a good noise cancellation effect even in the office.

ANC quality: In terms of personal experience, the ANC effect is very close to the level of AirPods Pro 2. In most scenarios, its noise cancellation effect is comparable to AirPods Pro 2. For some common noise scenes, it has obvious noise cancellation effect.

Moreover, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 did achieve noise cancellation without affecting the sound quality. After repeated testing, the noise cancellation mode and the normal mode have almost the same sense of hearing. Even if there is a subtle difference, most people can’t hear it. In addition, according to the ear structure of different users, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 can carry out ear modeling through special audio, and then adjust the noise cancellation effect according to the modeling results, so that the noise cancellation effect can be better improved.

In addition, the noise cancellation effect can be adjusted by yourself. There are four noise cancellation modes, namely mild noise cancellation, medium noise cancellation, deep noise cancellation and smart dynamic noise cancellation. Among them, the intelligent dynamic noise cancellation mode will automatically match the best noise cancellation effect according to the surrounding environmental noise. After actual measurement, the noise cancellation effect of earbuds in the deep noise cancellation mode is the strongest, which is very suitable for use in subways, airplanes and other scenarios.

Wind noise: In addition to losing to AirPods Pro 2 in windy weather, wind noise is basically not heard in general cycling, running and other environments, and the effect is greatly improved.

Transparent mode: The effect of transparent mode has improved compared with the previous generation, but there is still some gap compared with AirPods Pro 2. However, among the TWS earbuds I have tested, it can be regarded as the first echelon.

Sound Quality and Spatial Audio

First, let’s take a look at the audio unit structure of OnePlus Buds Pro 2. According to the official information, it uses a coaxial dual dynamic driver acoustic system jointly developed with Dynaudio. The advantage of the coaxial dual-unit structure is that it can use a smaller acoustic space structure to achieve better high and low frequency separation, which improves the separation and resolution performance of audio equipment.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is equipped with an 11mm woofer and a 6mm tweeter configuration. The former has excellent low-frequency performance, good extension and transient performance. The latter’s high-frequency extension up to 40kHz gives it a fairly good high-frequency quality. Twice the high-frequency range of ordinary true wireless earphones, making OnePlus Buds Pro 2 have a better performance in the face of symphony.

In terms of bluetooth transmission, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 supports the new LHDC 5.0 transmission technology, which can automatically switch between 128kbps and 1000kbps. It not only ensures connection stability and low power consumption, but also provides high bit rate when HiFi sound quality is required. Since earbuds adopt many of the above acoustic configurations, the acoustic performance of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 has also obtained Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification.

With a solid hardware foundation, the lower limit of sound quality of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is very high. At the same time, users can also modify the tuning tendency of the earbuds through the HeyMelody APP or the settings of the ColorOS system. There are two functions that directly affect the hearing experience of earbuds, namely “master tuning” and “golden hearing”. The Hi-Res mode is for high-quality lossless music transmission, which has little effect on the sound.

Master Tuning: OnePlus offers four different tunings, with the default being “Balanced Mode.” The remaining three modes enhance high frequency, mid-frequency and low frequency respectively. The change in hearing sense after switching is still more obvious, but it will also make the tuning tend to be extreme. Balanced mode is the best choice most of the time.

Golden Hearing: Simply put, it is to optimize the tuning of earbuds according to your hearing response range and ear structure. I tested the enhanced mid-frequency, and the mid-frequency of the earbuds did improve significantly after turning it on. If the singer is singing while standing 10 meters away before turning it on, then the singer is standing within 5 meters after turning it on. The “close-to-ear” human voice is obviously improved for friends who like pop music, but it is weaker in other types of music.

I chose several different pieces of music to test the performance of OnePlus Buds Pro 2, namely “Canon in D”, “Sorrow Is Meaningless”, “A Sweet Rendez-vous” and “Eutopia”. The range of songs covers three common music styles: symphony, folk and pop.

Judging from the test results, the performance of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is similar to what I guessed before. The acoustic system and tuning scheme jointly developed by Dynaudio fully utilize the strength of the coaxial dual dynamic system. It can cope with various styles of music with ease, but its performance in “Canon in D” is mediocre. Considering the stringent requirements of the symphony on earbuds, this result is acceptable. And only in terms of high-frequency performance, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is much better than AirPods Pro 2.

In terms of vocals, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is satisfying. Although the overall tends to be younger, but the good low frequency makes it have a good performance in both male and female voices. Moreover, with good high-frequency performance, the listening experience of female voices is slightly better than that of male voices. Female voice lovers and ACG lovers should like OnePlus Buds Pro 2.

Overall, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is a tws earbuds with a wide range of applications. It have pretty good performances in different types of music, but the home court is still pop music. The excellent tri-frequency enables it to cope with various types of pop music, and it can be regarded as meeting the needs of the current mainstream music audience.

When using OnePlus Buds Pro 2 for the first time, it is recommended to turn on the golden hearing function of earbuds first. Earbuds will scan the ear canal after turning on the golden hearing function, and provide you with an exclusive personal hearing solution after modeling and analyzing multiple dimensions of the ear canal. In terms of hearing, the sound of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is very pleasing, and the sound field of earbuds is very wide. The tri-frequency of earbuds has a good performance, and the low-frequency performance is very powerful and flexible. In addition, I was very surprised by OnePlus Buds Pro 2’s restoration of sound details, which is very rich.

After actual measurement, the spatial audio listening effect of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is very real. After the earbuds enable the spatial audio function, the sound can obviously feel more three-dimensional. The feeling of being surrounded by music is very wonderful, and it can be said to be unforgettable. In addition, the spatial audio of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 can not only be turned on when listening to music, but earbuds can also enjoy the sense of spatial audio when watching videos. The earbud collects head data through the built-in six-axis IMU sensor, and then combines the head rendering algorithm to realize the dynamic head tracking function of OnePlus Buds Pro 2 under spatial audio, which further improves the realism of spatial audio and makes the experience more immersive.

Battery Life and Smart Experience

With the ANC mode turned off, the earbuds only dropped 20% after playing music for about two hours. It is estimated that the single battery life is up to 10 hours, the charging case can provide an additional 29 hours of battery life, and the overall comprehensive battery life can reach up to 39 hours. After the ANC mode is turned on, the battery power drops by about 30% after two hours of music playing, and the estimated single battery life is about 8 hours. The specific battery life should vary according to the intensity of noise cancellation.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 supports fast charging function: charging for 10 minutes, listening to music for 3 hours. In addition, the charging case supports Qi wireless charging, making daily charging more convenient.

True wireless earphones made by Internet mobile phone manufacturers have never been as simple as listening to music. OnePlus Buds Pro 2 also brings a lot of intelligent functions this time. First of all, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 supports full-link cervical spine health detection. When wearing earbuds, OnePlus Buds Pro 2 can monitor and record the angle and posture of the head in real time, so as to make a health assessment of the current sitting posture, and record the neck health through the health APP in the mobile phone. This health detection function can be said to make full use of the characteristics of earbuds. When wearing earbuds, you can check whether the cervical spine is in a healthy posture by the way, which is very clever.

OnePlus Buds Pro 2 also has a feature that I like very much, which is the white noise of earbuds. The white noise function can be turned on by pressing and holding the earbud for 3 seconds. In the HeyMelody APP, there are five kinds of white noise that can be switched. I generally like to turn on white noise when writing articles, which can make me more focused.

Another very useful feature for me on OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is the dual-device connection. I usually carry my phone and tablet with me when I go out. After the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is paired with the two devices, the earbuds will automatically switch between the two devices according to the current usage status of the device.

Check OnePlus Buds Pro 2 price:

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