Cowin E7 Pro Wireless Headphones Review

The Cowin E7 Pro looks almost identical to the original Cowin E7 Wireless but with different backplates on their ear cups. This gives them a more premium appeal, thanks to the brushed metal look. Everything else is pretty much the same. The ear cups are the same size and shape, the headband also hasn't changed, and even the location of the buttons are the same except that they're now more flush with the ear cups than on the previous model. They don't have the best build quality, and unfortunately, the plastic used in their build quality feels low grade and a bit cheap, but they should look good enough for most listeners.

The Cowin E7 Pro, like the original Cowin E7 Wireless, are well-padded and fairly comfortable headphones. They still have the same issue with the headband that doesn't extend far enough to accommodate all head sizes, but on the upside, they're lightweight, and the padding used for the ear cups is slightly softer than on the original model. They're not uncomfortable, but because the headband doesn't extend far enough and the ear cups are small and round (which doesn't always fit over the ears), they may get a bit fatiguing to wear for long periods.

The Cowin E7 Pro's button layout is the same as the Cowin E7 Wireless. They have slightly worse feedback since the buttons are flush with the back of the ear cups and don't have as much travel as in the original. The layout is a bit more spaced out but still feels slightly cramped on the right ear cup. They provide the essential controls for volume, call/music, and skipping tracks. They also have a dedicated switch to enable Bluetooth and noise canceling. Unfortunately, the cramped layout and the odd placement of the volume controls are not as intuitive and may take some time to get used to.

These headphones are fairly breathable, mostly because they don't always cover the ear. They can make you sweat more than usual if used for working out, but you can listen to them for more than an hour and not be too bothered by the temperature difference since they're a bit more breathable than typical closed-back designs. Unfortunately, they won't be the ideal headphones for sports.

Unlike the Skullcandy Hesh 3 Wireless, these headphones don't fold to take less space. They're on the larger side for over-ear headphones with a slightly bulky design that's not convenient to carry on your person. The ear cups do lay flat, but it doesn't save much space, so you may most likely need a bag to carry them around.

The Cowin E7 Pro come with a good but bulky hard case that offers a lot more protection for your headphones than the pouch included in the original Cowin E7 Wireless' box. Unfortunately, it won't be the easiest to carry around but will shield your headphones from scratches, drops, impacts, and minor water damage.

The Cowin E7 Pro have the same build quality as the regular model. They look a bit more premium thanks to the brushed metal look of the backplates on the ear cups instead of the glossy finish. However, their build quality still feels a bit cheap and plasticky overall. The headband is decently well-constructed with a metal frame for reinforcement. However, the plastic used for the ear cups feels low-grade and a bit flimsy. They won't break from a few falls, but the ear cups and hinges don't feel as durable as the more recent Cowin SE7 Wireless.

These headphones are decently stable. They have a relatively tight fit on some heads which means they won't move during casual listening sessions and even a mild jog. However, they're not sports headphones, and due to their bulk and size, they still sway a lot during strenuous activities, so they won't be the 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.

• Cowin E7 Pro headphones
• Carrying case
• Audio cable
• USB cable
• Manual

The Cowin E7 Pro have great frequency response consistency. In the bass range, the maximum deviation across our five human subjects is less than 2dB, which is great. They also have a very consistent delivery in the treble range, and the response doesn't change much across multiple re-seats and positions.

The Cowin E7 Pro's bass is passable. The low-bass is underemphasized, so mixes lack thump and rumble. However, the rest of the range is overemphasized, delivering intense punch and boom. Some users may find they sound very muddy.

The mid-range performance is sub-par. The overall response is rather uneven and not very balanced. The low-mid is somewhat neutral, although there's still some overemphasis coming from the high-bass, which could make mixes sound slightly cluttered. The mid-mid and high-mid are also overemphasized, so vocals and lead instruments are boxy and honky.

The Cowin E7 Pro's treble accuracy is okay. It's overemphasized across the range, so vocals and lead instruments are slightly harsh. Sibilants like cymbals are very piercing and painful, though.

The Cowin E7 Pro's imaging performance is excellent. Weighted group delay is at 0.61, which is decent. Also, the GD graph shows that the group delay response crosses the audibility threshold below 80Hz, but not by much. This may result in a loose and slow bass response, but it won't be very audible since the E7 Pro doesn't produce much bass below 40Hz. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our unit were exceptionally well-matched, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo field.

The Cowin E7 Pro have a disappointing soundstage. The PRTF graph shows a decent amount of pinna activation; however, the interaction is not accurate, and there's no 10kHz notch present either. This and their closed-back design suggest a soundstage that is perceived to be located inside the listener's head, as opposed to in front.

The Cowin E7 Pro have decent isolation (see our recommendations for the best cancelling headphones). In the bass range, where the rumble of airplane and bus engines sits, they isolate by about 12dB, which is decent. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they achieved about 14dB of isolation, which is also good. In the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and Ts, they reduce outside noise by about 29dB, which is also great.

Note: The ANC system of the Cowin E7 Pro is very sensitive to movement and changes in the seal, and for some people, even small head movements and seal changes create an audible noise and cause the sound to cut out. This may be a deal-breaker for some.

The leakage performance is decent. A significant portion of the leakage is between 500Hz and 2kHz, which is a relatively broad range. It results in a leakage that is fuller sounding than that of in-ears and earbuds. However, the overall level of the leakage is not very loud. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at 1 foot away averages at 39dB SPL and peaks at 54dB SPL, which is just above the noise floor of most offices.

The Cowin E7 Pro's integrated microphone has a sub-par performance. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 247Hz, indicating that speech recorded/transmitted with this mic will sound relatively thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 2.6kHz results in a speech that's noticeably muffled and lacking detail. The response between the LFE and HFE points is also quite uneven, negatively affecting the understandability of speech.

The noise handling of the integrated microphone is mediocre. In our SpNR test, it achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 12dB, suggesting it's best suited for quiet environments. In moderate and loud environments, it will struggle to fully separate speech from ambient noise.

The Cowin E7 Pro have a great battery performance, longer than the Cowin E8 Wireless, and can easily last you through an entire day, better than the standard Cowin E7 Wireless. They're very slow to recharge, though. They can be used while charging, which is nice. Unfortunately, there's no power-saving feature, and they must be turned off manually.

There's no companion app available for the Cowin E7 Pro.

The Cowin E7 Pro are easy to pair with your device since they support NFC, which is a good thing as they can't pair with multiple devices.

Their latency is likely too high for watching movies on PCs, and the audio may be noticeably out of sync. If you need them to watch movies, wired headphones are better. Depending on your source, it might be possible to manually delay the video to get the sound back in sync.

The Cowin E7 Pro come with a simple audio cable with no in-line mic or remote. They're universal and can be used with any device, but only for audio.

The Cowin E7 Pro, like the Cowin E7 Wireless, don't have a base/dock. If you want good wireless headphones with a dock, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017 or our recommendations for the best wireless headphones.