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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

Cowin E7 Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.5
Review updated Mar 23, 2020 at 01:54 pm
Latest change: Writing modified Dec 09, 2021 at 04:48 pm
Cowin E7 Wireless Picture
6.1
Neutral Sound
6.8
Commute/Travel
6.8
Sports/Fitness
6.4
Office
4.9
Wireless Gaming
6.5
Wired Gaming
6.1
Phone Calls

The Cowin E7 are budget noise cancelling headphones with a great wireless range but mediocre sound quality. They're decent for most uses but tend to sound a little dark and muffled. On the upside, they have a moderately comfortable design, a long battery life, and block a decent amount of noise for commuting. Unfortunately, their budget price shows in their build quality, which feels a bit cheap at times.

Our Verdict

6.1 Neutral Sound

The Cowin E7 are passable for neutral listening. They have good bass and an average mid-range but lack a good treble performance, which makes them sound a bit dark and muffled. They also have a relatively narrow soundstage due to their closed-back, noise cancelling design. They won't be the best headphones for neutral listening.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
6.8 Commute/Travel

Decent for commuting. The Cowin E7 Wireless block enough noise for moderately loud environments. They don't leak much and have a decent control scheme. However, they're a bit bulky and are not the most portable headphones to carry around on your person.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
6.8 Sports/Fitness

The Cowin E7 are decent for sports. They're wireless and have a tight fit on some listeners, which prevents them from easily falling off your head. However, they're a bit bulky for running and working out. They're also not as comfortable. They're a bit more breathable than most over-ears, but will still make you sweat more than usual during intense exercises.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
6.4 Office

The Cowin E7 are okay for office use. They don't leak much, at relatively high volumes so you won't distract your colleagues. They also block a decent amount of ambient noise but may not be able to cancel out the chatter of a particularly lively office. Unfortunately, they're not the most comfortable headphones to wear for really long and extended listening sessions.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
4.9 Wireless Gaming

The Cowin E7 aren't recommended for gaming. Their latency is likely to be too high for wireless gaming, they're not compatible with consoles via Bluetooth, and can't be customized to the extent of other gaming headphones. They also have a mediocre-at-best integrated microphone.

6.5 Wired Gaming

The Cowin E7 are mediocre for use as a wired gaming headset. Although they have well-padded ear cups and are decently comfortable, the headband is rather short and won't fit all head sizes. Latency shouldn't be an issue when they're used wired, and they have enough bass extension to produce deep thumps and rumbles. Their microphone is passable and recorded speech sounds understandable, but can come across thin and muffled.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
6.1 Phone Calls

The Cowin E7 are passable for making phone calls. Speech tends to sound thin and muffled but is still understandable. The microphone should be fine in a quiet setting, but it struggles to separate speech from background noise in a noisy environment.

Pros
  • Low leakage.
  • Great wireless range.
  • Good battery life.
Cons
  • Slightly bulky design.
  • Mediocre microphone.
  • 6.1 Neutral Sound
  • 6.8 Commute/Travel
  • 6.8 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.4 Office
  • 4.9 Wireless Gaming
  • 6.5 Wired Gaming
  • 6.1 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Nov 18, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
  2. Updated Feb 06, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
  3. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  4. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  5. Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  6. Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
  7. Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  8. Updated Jul 18, 2017: Review published.
  9. Updated Jul 18, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  10. Updated Jul 16, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
  11. Updated Jul 14, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Compared To Other Headphones

The Cowin E7 are average mixed usage headphones thanks to their great wireless range, good battery life, and decent noise cancelling. However, they're not the most comfortable pair of headphones compared to some of the other budget headphones we've reviewed. See our recommendations for the best headphones and the best-over ear headphones.

Cowin E7 Pro Wireless

The Cowin E7 Pro Wireless are slightly better headphones overall than the Cowin E7 Wireless. The E7 Pro have a more balanced sound profile that favors instruments and vocals, compared to the E7's more bass-heavy sound. This makes the Pro variant a bit more suitable for fans of neutral sound. The E7 Pro also last a bit longer on a single charge than the regular E7, but take considerably longer to charge, too. On the other hand, the regular E7  performs almost as well in all other categories when compared to the Pro. The more bass-heavy profile also makes them a better pick for bass-lovers that want a noise cancelling wireless headset on a budget.

Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless

The Anker Soundcore Life Q20 Wireless are slightly better mixed-use headphones than the Cowin E7 Wireless. The Anker are quite a bit more comfortable, have better controls, feel better built, have a longer battery, and have much better ANC. On the other hand, the Cowin have a more balanced sound profile and lower overall latency.

Cowin E8 Wireless

The Cowin E8 Wireless are better noise-canceling headphones than the Cowin E7. The E8 have a better noise canceling performance and are a bit more comfortable than the E7. They also have easier to use controls and a better-balanced sound overall. On the other hand, the E7 have more bass, which some listeners may prefer. They also have a longer battery life and support NFC, so they're a bit easier to pair with your phone.

Mpow H5 Wireless

The Mpow H5 Wireless are better budget noise cancelling headphone than the Cowin E7 Wireless. The Cowin have a better noise cancelling performance and a longer battery life. The Cowin also have a lightly clearer mic and a better isolation performance overall, since they also leak a little less. On the other hand, the Mpow look and feel a bit more premium, have better and less confusing controls, and also have a more comfortable fit even if they're a little tight on the head. The Mpow also have much better sound.

Mpow H10 Wireless

The Mpow H10 Wireless are better headphones than the Cowin E7 Wireless. They are more comfortable to wear for long periods of time and the padding is very soft compared to the rigid one on the Cowin. The Cowin also have mediocre sound quality with heavy bass and treble that lacks a lot of detail. The Mpow also isolate more ambient noise and will be better suited for commuting. The only thing that the Cowin have over the Mpow is that their battery life is slightly longer, but it takes more time to charge. However, this doesn’t overcome the massive difference in sound quality.

Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless

The Anker SoundCore Life 2 Wireless are better headphones than the Cowin E7 Wireless. The Anker are noticeably more comfortable, have a slightly better-build, and their sound quality is also better and more accurate. On the other hand, the Cowin don’t get as hot as the Anker after use and don’t have an in-line microphone like the Anker. The Cowin's build has a plastic feel, and their glossy finish is fingerprint-prone.

Mixcder E9 Wireless

The Mixcder E9 Wireless are better headphones than the Cowin E7 Wireless. They are noticeably more comfortable, better built, and they offer a superior sound quality. The controls are also better, and the overall noise attenuation of the Mixcder is better than the Cowin. They also come with a nice hard case that protects the headphones better than the Cowin’s pouch. On the other hand, the Cowin offer more battery life and have NFC pairing, but that’s about it.

TREBLAB Z2 Wireless

The TREBLAB Z2 Wireless are better headphones for mixed usage than the Cowin E7 Wireless. The TREBLAB feel more comfortable and durable, have easier-to-use controls, and support multi-device pairing. Their sound profile is also much better-balanced, with a much more accurate treble range. On the other hand, the Cowin last longer off a single charge and have a slightly better ANC feature, though neither headphones block very much background noise.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Type Over-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic

The Cowin E7 look decently stylish; however, they're a bit on the bulky side and their glossy finish picks up fingerprints and smudges easily.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.6 lbs
Clamping Force
1.1 lbs

The Cowin E7 are well-padded and decently comfortable headphones, but the headband doesn't extend far enough to accommodate all head sizes. They're relatively lightweight and the padding used for the ear cups and headband is soft, which reduces some of the clamping effect that these headphones have on some listeners. They're not especially uncomfortable, but because the headband is rather short, they will feel a bit tight on larger heads. For a more comfortable budget headset, take a look at the Mpow H10 Wireless or the Anker SoundCore Life 2.

6.7
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use Mediocre
Feedback Decent
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control On/Off
Talk-Through
No
Additional Controls No

The button layout for the Cowin E7 feels a bit cramped but delivers good feedback. They have responsive and clicky buttons for volume control, call/music, and skipping tracks. They also have a dedicated switch to enable Bluetooth and noise cancelling. However, the cramped layout and the odd placement of the volume controls aren't as intuitive and may take some time to get used to.

6.8
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 4.6 °C

The Cowin E7 are decently breathable for an over-ear design. They'll warm up your ears and make you sweat during more intense exercises, but you can listen to them for longer periods without being too bothered by the temperature difference. However, they won't be the most ideal headphones for sports or long listening sessions. In this case, in-ears or open-back headphones would be better options.

6.0
Design
Portability
L 7.2" (18.3 cm)
W 7.2" (18.3 cm)
H 2.0" (5.1 cm)
Volume 104.00 in³ (1,704.25 cm³)
Transmitter Required No

The Cowin E7 aren't particularly portable headphones. They're fairly large and they can't fold up to save space. The ear cups can lay flat, making them a bit more comfortable when resting the headphones around the neck.

5.5
Design
Case
Type Pouch
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A

The Cowin E7 come with a basic pouch that'll protect the headphones against minor scratches but won't shield them from impacts, drops, or water damage.

6.5
Design
Build Quality

The Cowin E7 have an ordinary build quality that feels a bit cheap. The headband is well constructed with a metal frame for reinforcement. However, the plastic used for the ear cups feels low grade and a bit cheap. They shouldn't break from a few falls, but the ear cups and hinges don't feel as durable as the more recent Cowin SE7 Wireless or even some of the other budget headphones we've reviewed in this price range.

7.0
Design
Stability

These headphones are decently stable. They have a relatively tight fit on some heads, which means they won't move a lot during casual listening sessions and even a mild jog. However, they're not sports headphones. Due to their bulk and size, they still sway a lot during strenuous activities, so they won't be the most ideal headphones for running or working out. On the upside, they're wireless, so they won't get yanked off your head because the cable got hooked on something.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Cowin E7 headphones
  • Carrying pouch
  • Audio cable
  • USB cable
  • Manual

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
2.13 dB
Treble Amount
-6.74 dB

The Cowin E7 have a dark sound. The over-emphasis in the high-bass and low-mid introduces some muddiness, and there's a sharp dip in the high-mid and low-treble, making vocals and leads sound farther away and less detailed.

8.4
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.31 dB

The frequency response consistency is great. The Cowin showed very little variance in bass delivery across our five human subjects. This could be due to their noise cancelling system, similar to what we noticed with the Bose QuietComfort 35 and the Sony WH-1000XM2. Overall, they should be able to deliver consistent bass and treble across multiple re-seats and users.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
8.3
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.46 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
Low-Bass
-3.42 dB
Mid-Bass
-2.12 dB
High-Bass
1.72 dB

The Cowin E7 have a very good bass accuracy. They have great bass extension to produce a thumping sound, but the over-emphasis in the high-bass makes them sound a bit boomy.

6.5
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.64 dB
Low-Mid
1.87 dB
Mid-Mid
0.02 dB
High-Mid
-6.06 dB

The mid-range accuracy is mediocre. Low-mid is overemphasized, making vocals and lead instruments sound muddy and thick. The dip around 2kHz hurts the presence and projection of lead instruments.

1.0
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
13.43 dB
Low-Treble
-15.86 dB
Mid-Treble
-7.04 dB
High-Treble
-10.88 dB

The Cowin E7 have a bad treble accuracy. The overall response is rather inconsistent, which could result in an uneven treble. The lack of low-treble negatively impacts the presence and articulation of vocals and lead instruments. Mid-treble is also underemphasized, placing the overall treble tone and brightness just south of neutral.

6.0
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.41 dB
Dips
3.26 dB

The peaks and dips performance is mediocre. The huge dip in the high-mid and low-treble causes vocals and leads to sound distant, and the over-emphasis in the mid and high-treble can make the headphones sound piercing on some tracks.

7.3
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.21
Weighted Phase Mismatch
23.26
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.26
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
2.06

The imaging is decent. The maximum weighted group delay of the Cowin is 0.21, which is pretty good. It can also be seen in the graph that the group delay is constantly below our audibility threshold. The rise in the group delay below 20Hz isn't ideal, but shouldn't be audible to most. Additionally, our test unit showed decent matching between the L/R drivers. This helps with accurate placement and localization of objects (like footsteps, voices, instruments) in the stereo image.

5.3
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.18 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
4.72 dB
PRTF Distance
9.9 dB
Openness
3.3
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.2

The soundstage of the Cowin E7 is poor. The PRTF response doesn't quite follow our reference speaker's in accuracy, size, or distance. Also, due to the closed-back design and active noise cancellation, their soundstage won't feel as open and spacious as open-back headphones. The overall soundstage will be average in size, but mediocre in distance and accuracy, which may be perceived as unnatural and located inside the listener's head.

0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No App

There's no virtual soundstage feature on the Cowin E7.

7.1
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.502
WHD @ 100
0.247

The weighted harmonic distortion of the Cowin E7 is decent. There's slightly more distortion in the treble range when listening at moderate volume levels, but it shouldn't be noticeable for most people.

Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Unknown
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Microphone
Integrated

We used the settings above to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

Isolation
6.3
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-17.85 dB
Noise Cancelling Yes
Bass
-7.5 dB
Mid
-13.23 dB
Treble
-33.15 dB

The noise isolation performance of these headphones is okay but not as good as some similar headsets we've tested like the Anker SoundCore Space NC. The active noise cancelling system achieves about 8dB of reduction in the Bass Range which is below average. This range is occupied by the rumble of airplane and bus engines. In the mid and treble ranges, mostly occupied by speech, these headphones isolate passively using their ear cups, achieving 13dB and 33dB of reduction in the nid and treble ranges respectively. Both values are within decent limits. However, these headphones are a bit on the noisy side, performing below average in our self-noise test. See our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones.

7.2
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
38.56 dB

The leakage performance is decent. The significant portion of leakage sits between 300Hz and 3kHz which is a relatively broad range and it covers most of the mid-range. This results in a leakage that sounds fuller and more comprehensible than the leakage of in-ears and earbuds. However, the overall level of leakage isn't too loud, so the leakage should not be an issue in most situations unless you blast music in a quiet environment.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic Yes

The Cowin E7 have an integrated microphone.

6.0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
257.68 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.69 dB
HFE
2,597.24 Hz
Weighted THD
11.967
Gain
37.05 dB

The integrated microphone has a mediocre recording quality. Recorded speech sounds thin and muffled, but still comprehensible for the most part.

6.7
Microphone
Noise Handling
SpNR
10.72 dB
Noise Gate
Always On
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

The noise handling of the mic is mediocre. In our noise handling test, it achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 11dB, which means these headphones will mostly be suitable for quiet environments and will struggle to separate speech from background noise even in moderately loud environments.

Active Features
7.9
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
26 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
Total Battery Life
26 hrs
Charge Time
3.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
Charging Port micro-USB

They have a long-lasting battery life but a long charge time. Although they do give you about 45 minutes of playback from a 10 minutes charge, you have to leave them plugged in for more than 3 hours to charge them fully, which isn't ideal. On the upside, they can be used passively even while charging.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

They don't have a mobile companion app.

Connectivity
7.7
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
4.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
189.00 ft (57.61 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
131 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
54 ms
Android Latency
46 ms

Update 12/09/2021: These headphones were updated to Test Bench 1.5 and their latency values have changed. Our previous Test Bench 1.4 measurements reported 'PC Latency' at 164 ms, 'iOS Latency' at 151 ms, and 'Android Latency' at 130 ms. However, our new test bench uses an average of three measurements instead of one, resulting in 131 ms of latency on PC, 54 ms on iOS, and 46 ms on Android. As a result, we have updated our text to better reflect test bench 1.5 measurements.

These headphones have good Bluetooth connectivity and support NFC for easy pairing with smartphones. Unfortunately, they can't pair simultaneously with multiple devices but should be relatively easy to pair with one Bluetooth source. Overall, their latency on PCs as well as Android and iOS devices is also fairly low, so you shouldn't notice delays between your audio and visuals. That said, if you're looking to reduce audio latency further, check out the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x, which have a wired design.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A

The Cowin E7 can only be used wirelessly via a Bluetooth connection.

9.5
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
No
Detachable Yes
Length 3.90 ft (1.19 m)
Connection
1/8" TRRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms

The Cowin E7 come with an audio cable with no in-line remote or USB adapter. This means that while they can be used wired with gaming consoles, you won't be able to use the microphone.

Connectivity
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No

The Cowin E7 can be used wired by plugging it into the Xbox One controller, however, the microphone won't work. If you want a headset that's fully compatible, check out our recommendations for the best Xbox One gaming headsets.

0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock

These headphones don't have a base/dock. If you want a versatile headset with a base that you can also use wired, check out the Arctis Pro Wireless by SteelSeries.