An In-Depth Cowin E8 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones Review

Everyone loves a pair of good quality noise-canceling headphones. They let you escape into your own world, no matter how loud it gets around you. The only issue is that most noise-canceling headphones are pricey. That’s why we were glad to find the Cowin E8 noise-canceling headphones which come at a good price.

Now, we know that most people aren’t really familiar with the Cowin brand which is why we decided to do some digging. We put their latest offering to the test to bring you this comprehensive Cowin E8 review. Read on to find out more.

Design

The Cowin E8 headphones are well-built with intuitive controls and comfortable pads. It might be a bit difficult to put them on and keep them around your head due to the bulky construction but this is all thanks to the premium quality build which is a considerable improvement from the Cowing E7 and E-7 Pro models.

The ear cups are bit tight but the padding will protect you from some of the pinches. Just be aware that these are not your average breathable earcups and your ears might start feeling a little warm after a few hours of listening. We also noticed while doing our Cowin E8 review that some of the components are a bit flimsy and cheaply made.

CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON.COM

Comfort

First of all, these are some heavy-duty headphones. You’ll definitely notice them when they’re in your backpack. But, Cowin made up for this by making sure that they’re comfortable to actually wear. This is all thanks to the padded earcups which are cushioned in thick padding to protect your ears from the wiry frame.

But, the heavy-duty weight can definitely affect your listening experience as they might become uncomfortable over time.

Sound

When it comes to sound quality, the Cowin E8 is average at best. They come with heavy bass, great imaging, a balanced and consistent mid-range, and a powerful overall sound. The issue we have is with the bass.

We noticed that it was muddled and hyped up to the point where the mid-range sounded overwhelming and cluttered, not to mention the uneven treble.

There’s no vibrancy of detail present in the sound. Instead, we noticed a peak in sharpness at particular frequencies which means the Cowin E8 isn’t built for vocal-centric music.

However, the E8’s sound profile is much more balanced than the previous E-7. The lower treble is less pronounced while the lower mid-range is more pronounced. This means that the base can be a bit overpowering sometimes.

Performance

You can connect the Cowin E8 headphones to any Bluetooth-enabled device, and it has an impressive listening range of 33 feet. However, Bluetooth connectivity isn’t always reliable and we noticed the sound jumping around a bit even when we were at the close listening range.

This can obviously be a frustrating experience but Cowin makes up for it with a long battery life of up to 20 hours.

Bass

Next in our Cowin E8 review, we take a look at the bass. Our first impression is that it’s definitely above average with a low-frequency extension of 13Hz.

The low bass is at 1dB with a 4dB mid-bass and high-bass that makes for punchy, warm sounds. The result is a heavy bass that’s often muddy in some instances.

Mid

The Cowin E8 has a fantastic mid-range with a flat and even low-mid. But, they overdid it by more than 3dB which leads to thicker vocals and can cause audio to sound somewhat cluttered. As for mid, it’s at a neutral 2dB which gives the Cowin an overall mid-range sound with a hyped low bass.

Treble

The low-treble is balanced at a consistent 5dB target which often peaks sharply at 5.5KHz. This means that you can expect a sharp and piercing peak when the cymbals, leads, and vocals come in.

Frequency Response Consistency

The frequency response frequency of the Cowin E8 headphones is quite decent. We noticed a maximum deviation bass range of less than 1dB with a balanced treble range that sits just below 10KHz. The headphones managed to stay consistent across different positions and re-seats.

Imaging

Next in our Cowin E8 review, we’ll take a look at the imaging performance. We were impressed by its 0.29 weighted group delay response which caused a clear treble reproduction and a rather tight bass.

Both the left and right drivers had the same phase, frequency and amplitude response which means that it accurately localizes and places different objects within the stereo field. This includes video game effects, instruments, and vocals.

Soundstage

Cowin E8’s sound stage could use some improvement. According to the PRTF graph, it didn’t even feature a 10KHz notch, the interaction was inaccurate but the pinna activation was quite decent.

This is further accentuated by the headphones’ closed-back design which makes it feel like you have a sound stage happening inside your head. It’s quite an immersive experience for the price.

Isolation

Since these are noise-canceling headphones, it’s not surprising to find that they truly shine when it comes to this one characteristic. We noticed a bit of a leak at high volumes but they’re still good enough for use in loud environments.

Other people might be able to hear what you’re listening which means the Cowin E8 headphones might not be suitable for use in noisy environments such as the office. But, you can always keep them at a low volume to avoid sound leakage.

Conclusion

Unless you’re looking for noise-canceling headphones particularly, then the Cowin E8 may not be suitable for you. These headphones are heavy, they’re loud at high volumes and definitely aren’t suitable for everyday use.

They’ll take up space in your backpack and you can’t exactly wear them all day or while at the gym or jogging around the block due to the bulkiness. We should also mention in this Cowin E8 review that the over-ear design creates excess moisture and discomfort over time.

paramountind

What do you get from three nerds (Joe, Ray, and Paul) that decide to create a functioning tech gadget review site? The first is data-driven arguments lasting way into the night. You can read more…