TWS true wireless earphones - under $100
FOUR STARS - The Coumi ANC-850 is a pair of wireless ANC earbuds with pleasant warm sound and good battery life for a low price, but its active noise cancelling fails to convince.
Coumi ANC-860 specs:
Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC codec
IPX7 waterproof rating (heavy rain, shower and sweat resistant)
5-7 hours listening on a full charge
Charging case can charge earpieces fully 4 times
Comes with 5+ pairs of ear-tips and USB-C cable
$60 on Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon stores
Below this Coumi ANC-860 review, you will find comparisons between the Coumi ANC-860 vs Oppo Enco W51, Fiil T1 Pro, Dyplay ANC Shield Pro and Edifier TWS NB2.
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Design, comfort and battery life
Fun thing, this: out of 180+ wireless earbuds reviewed on Scarbir.com, the Coumi ANC-860 has the first charging case that comes with a string attached. Literally: it has a brown rope that looks quite cool and can be hung onto your jeans or bag. If you want to get rid of it: just as easy.
It doesn't cover the fact that Coumi's case is on the bigger and heavier side, thanks to its 600mAh battery that can recharge the earbuds four times. It charges via USB-C and has a solid lid. Open it, and you see a single LED-light indicating the case's charging status and two LED-lights on the earpieces.
The earbuds of the Coumi are quite large and kind of look like Sony's wireless earphones a bit. There's a compact round part that goes into your ears (with lots of rubbers and ear tips you can wrap around them, which Coumi delivers standard) and a large rounded stem that stays out of your ears while you're wearing them. They stick out and make the Coumi look large, but happily, they aren't too heavy to wear. Due to the small inner part, they're even comfortable to wear for a couple of hours and stay well in place too. Commuting with them is entirely possible - thanks to a claimed IPX7 waterproof rating.
Dependent on your volume level and whether you have ANC on or off, the Coumi offers 5 to 7 hours of playtime on a single charge. Plenty of time for your average workday.
Connectivity and controls
The Coumi ANC-860 has touch controls in the round, top-part of the stem. It's easy to operate them, and the controls are so sensitive you may accidentally change the volume without wanting to. The control scheme is extensive:
Tap R to increase the volume
Tap L to decrease volume
Double-tap R to play/ pause music
Double-tap L to switch between Ambient mode, ANC off, ANC on
Hold L/R one second to activate the voice assistant on your phone
Hold R two seconds to skip to the next song
Hold L two seconds to return a track
Hold L/R six seconds to shut off manually
All the controls you could want are right there on the earbuds. However, as a single tap, a 1-second hold, and a 2-second hold trigger different functions, it's easy to mix the controls up now and then.
Connectivity on the Coumi is more than decent. The earphones connect and pair quickly. It's possible to switch from mono to stereo listening - meaning you can charge on earbud while you're listening to the other, pick up the charged bud and immediately play in stereo again. The Bluetooth signal is stable up to ten meters away from your device, including in areas crowded with wireless signals.
Calling and watching movies
Taking a phone call or video meeting (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts) with the Coumi ANC-860 is doable, even though your voice can sound a bit thin through the microphone. In phone calls, your voice has that typical bright telephone-sound, unfortunately including some white background noise.
Surrounding noises are reduced successfully on the Coumi: except for wind noise and volume peaks caused by scooters or sudden laughter, voices and traffic are left out of your conversation.
Watching videos on the Coumi is doable on most video apps on iPhone and Android. Sadly, the YouTube-app on iPhone is an exception. Here, it misses good synchronization between audio and video.
How good is the ANC of Coumi ANC-860?
Functions and switching: The Coumi ANC-860 has active noise cancelling on by default, so it's activated when you turn the earbuds on. With a double-tap on the left earpiece, you switch to first Ambient sound and then 'Normal mode', which means ANC is turned off. Switching can be done quite fast, although you may decrease the volume (registers with a single instead of a double-tap) sometimes instead. Your choice is confirmed by English voice prompts, which sound a bit crackly.
ANC quality: Don't expect wonders from the noise canceling on the Coumi ANC-860. It doesn't matter when you listen to music or not: the noise canceling on the Coumi mostly seems to delete some brighter tones around you. That means traffic in the distance, and kids talking far away will be reduced in volume output. Other household sounds, like the vacuum cleaner, are softened too.
Sounds more closeby (like keyboard clicking or people talking around you) aren't removed at all, however. They lose some of their brighter edges, but you can still hear them. What's weird is that the right earpiece of the Coumi sometimes shows a bit of pink noise, a soft fan-like sound. As voices are barely reduced, the ANC on the Coumi is a letdown.
Ambient Mode/ Transparency mode quality: The Ambient mode, made to put through voices and traffic from your surroundings in the moments you need it, fails to convince on the Coumi 860. If you come from the ANC mode, switching over to Ambient, it will reveal louder keyboard clacks and voices around you, to name a few. However, double-tap the left earbud another time to Normal mode, and it becomes hard to experience a single difference between the Ambient mode and ANC off.
Wind noise reduction: With the ANC mode and Ambient modes, the Coumi is extremely prone to wind noise. Just walking inside your house or office will make you hear air flowing around your ears. Conveniently, ANC can be turned off - else you would always have wind noise battling your calls and music on these.
Also read: The best wireless earbuds under $100
Sound quality of Coumi ANC-860: warm
The Coumi ANC-860 has a sound signature that is reminiscent of other wireless earphones with noise cancelling features. It has a smooth, warm sound.
The lower tones play the main role in the Coumi's sound. Bass guitars, drums, and darker electronic tones in electronic music, dance, and pop are the first and last thing you'll notice on this TWS. The bass isn't of the power-type that pumps and shakes in your ears, but still, it has plenty of body and can occasionally even be boomy. It sounds full and always provides music with a decent slam.
Coumi's emphasis on lower frequencies makes for an enjoyable warm sound but can make music sound recessed. Darker male vocals can have a hard time presenting themselves over the darker tones, especially on lower volumes. Both male and female vocals sound recessed, and typical mid-instruments like guitars and piano tend toward the darker tones instead of sounding very natural. Specific higher-pitched songs, like Vampire Weekend's Jerusalem, New York, Berlin, are tonally dark and totally smoothed out.
Also, music on the Coumi can sound a bit cave-like. There's a fair soundstage, with music and instrumental details on your left and right, but a lack of natural mids and recessed darker vocals, can cause a hollow effect.
Rest assured: on many occasions, this won't be too big of a problem. If you're picking ANC earbuds to have a smooth ride, ideal sound for background listening, the Coumi ANC-860 comes a long way. It won't distract you one bit during your workday - yet you may want to switch to another pair for active music listening.
Coumi ANC-860 comparisons
Coumi ANC-860 vs Oppo Enco W51
The Oppo Enco W51 raises the bar for cheap ($60) wireless earbuds with good noise cancelling. It blocks much more background noise than the Coumi, it's very comfortable due to its compact earbuds, and it's fantastic at handling calls. The Oppo W51 has a richer sound, with more definition in the lower tones, more naturally presented instruments, and further extension of the highs. Vocals play a more prominent role and sound clearer on the W51 too. However, the Coumi is the better option for battery as it offers up to 2,5 hours more playtime on a single charge.
Coumi ANC-860 vs Fiil T1 Pro
As far as good ANC wireless earbuds with weak ANC go, you can't miss the Fiil T1 Pro ($60). The noise canceling is worthless on the Fiil, yet it gets five stars on Scarbir.com due to other factors. It's both comfortable and stays in your ears well due to the compact earpieces with sport-wings. It's sufficient for calls, has great equalizer settings in the app, and most importantly: the sound is great. The T1 Pro sounds brighter, more analytical than the warmer Coumi. The Fiil has a stronger and deeper-diving bass, a bigger soundstage, more upfront and clearer vocals, and instrument tonality is more accurate.
Coumi ANC-860 vs Edifier TWS NB2
The Edifier TWS NB2 ($80) is another pair of wireless earbuds with ANC, and its active noise cancelling is stronger than the Coumi's. The Edifier has around 2 hours more battery life on a single charge, handles both calls and videos better, and even has a Gaming Mode to synchronize sound effects in games well. Their sound profiles match in a way: both have a warm, almost dark sound. The Coumi has better left-right separation and more definition in the lower tones. Higher-pitched vocals are more upfront than on the Edifier, too. Even though the Coumi can sound a bit hollow, it's often more dynamic than the flatter Edifier.
Coumi ANC-860 vs Dyplay ANC Shield Pro
The Dyplay ANC Shield Pro is the most balanced sounding out of four comparable ANC earbuds; a series completed by the SoundLiberty 94, Tozo NC9, and 20Decebel. It sounds brighter than the Coumi, but also thinner. The Dyplay lacks the same amount of body in the lower-mids and bass, and fails to compensate for it with full, rich vocals. The Coumi has a more noticeable background pink noise and more recessed vocals, but it's stronger lows make it a more pleasant listen. Passive and active noise cancelling are a bit better on the Dyplay; the Coumi handles calls better.
Verdict
The Coumi ANC-850 is a pair of wireless ANC earbuds with pleasant warm sound and good battery life for a low price, but its active noise cancelling fails to convince.
Four stars - good
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