Showing its Mpow(er)
Mpow H19 IPO
$45 at Amazon
Pros
- Excellent noise cancelation for the price
- Lightweight
- Quick charging
- Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity
Cons
- The headband doesn’t have much adjustment
- Earpads a bit stiff
- Only available in black
The Mpow H19 IPO have a nice design and even better features inside like Bluetooth 5.0 and quick charging. Add in solid noise cancelation as well as great battery life and you have a great set of headphones at an affordable price.
The stalwart
COWIN E7
From $60 at Amazon
Pros
- NFC pairing option
- Good battery life
- Quality noise cancellation
- Multiple color choices
Cons
- Dated design
- Long charge times
- Buttons feel a bit cheap
- Heavy
The Cowin E7 have been one of the best headphones in this price point for years, and while these are still a good choice, their age is starting to show. The design is getting a bit long in the tooth, and there are better technologies that could be implemented.
Mpow and Cowin both make some of the most popular Bluetooth headphones at very attractive prices. With only a few dollars separating these two headphones, it can be challenging to decipher which option is the one to buy. Aside from the slight price discrepancy, there are a few other details that lie beneath the surface that separate one from the other.
What are the differences between the Cowin E7 and Mpow H19 IPO?
When looking at these two headphones side by side, there are a lot going for each of them. With pricing between these two so close, it takes a bit of digging to see their differences.
Let’s start with the first big difference, the style of the headphones. While the appeal of how something looks is subjective to each person, the Cowin headphones design is starting to look a bit dated. This make sense considering the E7 have been out since 2015. This doesn’t diminish the quality of these headphones, but it does mean there are some technologies missing that the Mpow cans have.
| Active Noise Cancelation | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Noise Reduction Depth | 28db | 22db |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0 NFC 3.5mm jack | Bluetooth 5.0 3.5mm jack |
| Sound | 40mm large-aperture drivers | 40mm large-aperture drivers |
| Battery | 30 hours | 35 hours |
| Quick Charge Capable | ❌ | ✔️ |
One of the bigger points of difference is the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.0 in the Mpox H19 IPO. While Bluetooth 4.0 that Cowin employs does a fine job, there are some real benefits to the upgraded option on the Mpow headphones. First off, 5.0 has lower power consumption. Due to the less power-hungry standard for Mpow, the headphones only need a 500mAh battery as opposed to the 750mAh in the E7. This is a big reason that the H19 IPO headphones are lighter — that smaller battery cell shaves off an ounce or so itself. Bluetooth 5.0 also brings a more significant connection distance to the device.
Even though the Mpow headphones have a significantly smaller battery, they still have the same, and in some cases, better battery life.
One of the other very useful features in the table above is the quick charging capability in the H19 IPOs. Thanks to this technology, you’ll be able to get up to two hours of listening from your headphones with only 10 minutes of charging. So even if you’re in a rush to head out of the house, you can plug up your Mpow headphones for just a few minutes, and you’ll get some decent usage time from them.
Both Cowin and Mpow have speakers that employ 40mm drivers to deliver quality audio for the price. To go with the sounds you hear, each also offers active noise cancelation (ANC) to help drown out the sounds you don’t want to hear. Each headphone brings a good amount of reduction to the ambient noise, with Mpow eeking out a 22db rating rather than the 28db with Cowin. While it isn’t a huge difference, if you want the most noise reduction for your headphones, the Cowin will get you a bit more.
A nice feature that isn’t found on the Mpow H19 IPOs is NFC. Cowin included this useful piece of tech in the headphones to assist in pairing with your devices. Both headphones can be paired using the typical Bluetooth method, but being able to tap your NFC-enabled device to the headphones makes the process easy.
You’ll also find the option for analog connection with a 3.5mm audio jack on each of the headphones — for those devices that still have them to connect to. Each of these Bluetooth headphones also has a microphone for taking calls. Mpow has improved its microphone technology to give a better focus on voice, which could be very useful to some.
So, should you buy the Cowin E7 or the Mpow H19 IPO headphones?
Both of these headphones are regularly found at under the $50 mark, and both have a good track record of being a solid pair of Bluetooth headphones. However, the aging design and lack of updated tech in the Cowin E7s gives the edge to Mpow H19 IPO in this match up. Bluetooth 5.0 brings some very real benefits to the user in more stable connections, less power usage that saves on the battery size as well as weight, and also a better connection at longer distances.
Mpow does have a more sleek design to its headphones, but if you don’t want another pair of black headphones — Cowin E7s come in seven different color choices. Cowin has had a winner in the E7 for years, and they are still a reliable pair of headphones. However, the NFC that is included isn’t enough to beat out the quick charging, lighter weight, and better Bluetooth in the Mpow H19 IPOs.
The new champ
Mpow H19 IPO
Price and power in tow
$45 at Amazon
Bringing Bluetooth 5.0 to this price category is a great thing. It brings the improved connection stability and range along with delivering great battery life from a smaller battery you want. This means you get a good sounding pair of headphones that won’t weigh you down, or break the bank.
Still a sound choice
COWIN E7
Also, a reliable one.
From $60 at Amazon
Good ANC, long battery life, NFC pairing, and a wide range of colors are great things to bring to a solid pair of headphones. The design is a bit old at this point, and they are also kind of heavy, but these have been a long-standing favorite in the budget category for a good reason — they just work.
