As you guys know, I have been doing a lot of headphone reviews lately, basically trying out a lot of different types of headphones and seeing which ones are truly the best and why. When it comes to the Cowin E7, the reviews on Amazon are through the roof.
Everybody that has bought a pair of these seems to love them. So I said, you know what, let me get a pair and see if the hype is real. That is exactly what this review is all about, so stay tuned and let us get right into it.
Table of Contents
What You Need to Know Before Buying
I am kind of mad at myself because when I was ordering these, I thought I was ordering the noise canceling version and it turns out that I was not. I just ordered the regular version. They are pretty much the exact same pair of headphones without the noise cancellation feature. So just keep that in mind going into this review.
The price point on the Cowin E7 is currently 49 dollars on Amazon, and they come in a bunch of different colorways if you do not want the regular one you see here. When you get them, they come in a box along with a micro USB cable, an aux cord to plug them into whatever you are listening to, and a nice little carrying pouch.
According to the specs, they take about four hours to charge and on a full charge you should get thirty hours of listening time. The Cowin E7 also supports Bluetooth 4.0 as well as NFC connection.
Build Quality and Design
Getting up close with the Cowin E7, the headphones are made primarily of plastic and to be honest, it is kind of cheap looking plastic. On the underside, you have your on and off switch, the port where you plug in the aux cord, and the charging port.
The ear cups have some decent cushioning, which is not bad at all. The headband, in my opinion, could use a little bit more cushion, but we are not going to complain just yet.
On the right side of the headphones is where you will find your controls. There is a triangle shaped button that controls your music and phone calls. If you press the top part of that triangle, that is your play and pause.
Pressing the sides of the triangle lets you increase or decrease the volume, and it also serves as the way to go to the next song or go back to the previous one. The way it works is that if you press and hold it, doing a long press, that controls the volume. If you press it quickly, that controls advancing or going back to the previous song.
My first impressions on the overall build quality of the Cowin E7 are that it feels very cheap. It even looks cheap. The plastic they use almost feels fake, like it is a toy. Then again, these are definitely a budget conscious pair of wireless headphones, so you cannot expect too much.
Most headphones are made out of plastic anyway, but this particular plastic feels especially cheap compared to others. One other thing that stood out as being cheap is the button on the side of the headphones. When you click it, it makes a very cheap clicking sound, and I am definitely not a fan of that.
One other thing about the Cowin E7 that I am not necessarily a fan of is that the ear cups do not fold up. We see so many headphones that allow you to fold them up so the ear cups go in and make them more compact, which is great if you need to put them in a bag or if you are traveling on the go. That feature is missing here.
How They Look When Worn
Putting the Cowin E7 on, these are not exactly the most flattering headphones to wear. They protrude out from your head quite a bit, which makes for kind of a funny look in my opinion.
But again, these are your budget conscious type of headphones, so you are not exactly worried about aesthetics all that much. Now let us move on to what really matters, which is the sound quality.
Also Read: Audio Technica ATH M40x vs M50x Comparison
Sound Quality
Now these are some sleeper headphones, I am not going to lie. Obviously when you take them out of the box and look at them, they do not really look like anything too spectacular.
Like I said, they look cheap, they kind of feel cheap, almost to the point that they feel fake, like they are a toy. But when you put these headphones on and you listen to music, you realize why they have such great reviews. I was so impressed with these. They sound fantastic.
When you first put them on and start playing music, it does not really sound like anything mind blowing. But when you turn up the volume on the Cowin E7 and realize how well they stay consistent and intact in terms of quality, it is genuinely impressive, especially for the price point.
I would put the way these sound, especially at high volumes, above a lot of other higher priced headphones that I have reviewed so far. Those 400 dollar Bose noise canceling headphones that I reviewed? In terms of sound quality, the Cowin E7 sounds better than those. I was definitely impressed. Turning the volume up on these is really when they shine and show you what they have to offer.
These headphones get loud. The volume control on the headphones is not synced to your phone or whatever device you are listening on. So if you change the volume on the headphones, it is not going to change the volume on your phone.
If you have the volume on your phone set at halfway and you turn the headphones all the way up, it is still only going to be at halfway from the phone side. With most headphones, the volume syncs to whatever device you are using, so controlling it on one adjusts the other.
With the Cowin E7, you can turn the volume all the way up on your phone and then turn the volume all the way up on the headphones to get them even louder, which is kind of both a good and a bad thing. The good part is they get really loud, which is great if you are someone who likes loud music. The bad part is the inconvenience of having to manage volume on two separate devices.
I am a person who likes loud music, so I was blown away by how extremely loud these get without losing quality at high volume. The bass is very surprising. It is a nice, clean, rich, punchy bass. It is not a sloppy, overwhelming, trying too hard type of bass. It is real consistent, rich and punchy, and it really gives the music that added presence. The mids and the highs are very clear, and all of them come together to make for a very immersive sound experience.
Sound Bleed Warning
One thing I will say about the Cowin E7 is that while they get incredibly loud, they also bleed sound like crazy. If you are somebody who listens to headphones in a library, at work, or somewhere where sound is not really welcomed, I would probably not go with these.
If you have them on with the volume turned all the way up on both the headphones and your phone, everybody around you is going to hear exactly what you are listening to. My wife actually pointed this out to me. I was in a whole other room in our office and she was in our bedroom, and she said she could hear those headphones clearly. So that is definitely something to keep in mind before purchasing.
Controls Issue
One other thing I forgot to mention is that the controls on the Cowin E7 as far as volume go are backwards. That was one of my pet peeves with these headphones. If you want to turn the volume down, you press up on the control. To me, that does not really make sense and it took some getting used to. Just something worth pointing out.
Specification Table
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Model | Cowin E7 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Aux (3.5mm) |
| Charging | Micro USB |
| Charge Time | Approximately 4 Hours |
| Battery Life | Up to 30 Hours |
| Noise Cancellation | No (Regular Version) |
| Foldable Design | No |
| Controls | Triangle Button (Play, Pause, Volume, Skip) |
| Includes | Micro USB Cable, Aux Cord, Carrying Pouch |
| Price | $49 (Amazon) |
| Available Colors | Multiple Colorways |
Final Verdict
Other than those issues, these are definitely sleepers in terms of sound quality. They are not the best things to look at, they look kind of funny, and they look and feel kind of cheap. But in terms of sound quality, I can completely see why the Cowin E7 has the reviews it has on Amazon.
To be honest, out of all the headphones I have been reviewing lately, these might be my favorite based simply on the value you get. For 50 dollars, you are getting a pair of headphones that sound amazing and that sound better than a lot of higher priced headphones I have reviewed.
Read More: Bose 700 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones Review
