Coumi ANC-860 Headphones Review: An AirPods Pro Alternative?

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I’m a long-term AirPods and AirPods Pro user, but the Coumi ANC-860 wireless noise-cancelling headphones caught my eye.

Let’s look at the headline features:

• active noise cancelling;
• a quick-charging case;
• IPX7 water resistance; and
• 41 hours of battery life.

All for $50? Really? Can these really be a worthy alternative to the $250 AirPods Pro?

During a week with these Coumi headphones, the results were… interesting.

Build quality

There’s no escaping the fact that the ANC-860s feel a little cheaper to the touch, compared to the AirPods Pro. This is particularly evident with the case, which uses relatively cheap plastic and doesn’t feel particularly pleasing in the hand.

This is to be expected. There’s a colossal $200 difference between the headphones I’m comparing and the decisions Coumi has made on build quality are entirely in line with the price they’re asking.

Despite this, they’re rated as IPX7 water-resistant which means they can technically be submerged in up to one metre of water for 30 minutes. I haven’t tested this, but I have got them wet on several occasions with no issues. By comparison, the AirPods Pro are IPX4 rated, and Apple is quick to point out that this is for splash resistance, as opposed to submersion.

I’d never go swimming in a pair of headphones, therefore IPX ratings have always acted as a comfort for me – nothing more; I know that no matter what happens (within reason), the headphones I’m wearing are going to be ok if things get a bit wet.

The fact that the ANC-860s are rated higher than the AirPods Pro is quite a feather in their cap because they give me that little bit more confidence when it comes to the defence against sweat and water ingress.

Sound and comfort

The Coumi ANC-860 are a great sounding pair of headphones. They’re not audiophile-grade (nor should they be, at this price), and they won’t be for everyone, but Coumi has done a marvellous job of catering for the masses when it comes to audio.

They’re definitely bass-centric, but not overpoweringly so. There’s also little fatigue when listening for long periods and no rogue frequencies.

Ideally suited to pop, electronic music and hip-hop, these headphones make perfect gym companions, almost solely because of how they sound. But their performance also makes a really important point about budget headphones in general.

I remember buying budget headphones to either tide me over or for casual gym use. I didn’t have any big expectations for the sound, back then; I automatically conceded that they’d sound tinny – and they did.

This isn’t the case with the Coumi ANC-860 – they’re full-bodied, confident-sounding headphones which suggest we really shouldn’t settle for anything less when it comes to budget headphones.

Lastly, a quick note on call quality – it’s absolutely fine; people can hear me, I can hear them – job done!

Noise-cancelling

If there’s one area where the ANC-860s fall squarely into the ‘budget feature’ category, it’s, unfortunately, their noise-cancelling capabilities.

It’s not bad but I can’t always tell whether it’s active or not. The passive noise-cancelling you get from these types of earphone often make it difficult to distinguish between that and the ANC-860’s active noise-cancelling. Which is a shame.

Many have said that the AirPods Pro feature some of the best noise-cancelling at their price range and for in-ear headphones. The Coumi ANC-860s fall far short on that front, and they lack one killer feature that Apple introduced with the AirPods Pro.

In my review unit’s manual, the transparency mode section has been covered up. I asked why this was the case, and the response was that transparency mode had been cancelled.

That’s a shame because being able to filter in outside noise whenever you want is one of the highlights of Apple’s pro earbuds. The fact it was considered and dropped for the ANC-860s is such a shame.

Noise-cancelling is also tricky to turn on and off these headphones, and that’s because they – like so much tech these days – rely on incredibly sensitive touch-sensitive buttons. Whereas the AirPods Pro mimic haptic feedback by forcing you to squeeze the earbud tips, Coumi has opted for a tap-based interface to control noise-cancelling.

It is so frustrating to use.

Three taps is supposed to turn the feature on and off, but it seems ridiculously intermittent.

Despite these grumbles, you might as well leave noise-cancelling turned on because it barely touches the battery life. And, again, at this price, can we really grumble that hard?

Battery life

The Coumi ANC-860s are rated at 41 hours battery life, which is achieved by combining the playback time with the additional battery life afforded by the charging case.

This is exactly how the AirPods Pro work, too, but the latter are rated at 24 hours.

I’ve not done any extensive testing, but in a week’s worth of pretty heavy use, I’ve not had to charge the ANC-860s at all. They deliver stellar battery life – even with ANC turned on.

They also charge via USB-C which, if you’ve read or watched any of my content before, you’ll know is a big thing for me. Bravo, Coumi!

What I like

So, now that we’ve covered the main aspects of the Coumi ANC-860 headphones, here’s a random list of what I like about them:

• the sound really is more enjoyable than I was expecting
• there are loads of buds included for different sizes and replacements
• they connect and pair incredibly quickly
• the battery life is legitimately awesome
• USB C!

More importantly, I love that they’re such a competent alternative to the AirPods Pro – and $200 cheaper.

What I don’t like

Now for what I don’t like:

• the noise-cancelling is so minor it might as well not be there
• it’s a shame transparency mode was cancelled, but illustrates that it may not be a particularly easy feature to implement at this price
• those touch buttons – they are so annoying
• the left bud falls out of my ear when running (this was the case with the original AirPods, but not AirPods Pro)
• the case is simply too big and the odd strap thing that comes with it is just… weird
• attaching new buds can be a little tricky

Conclusion

The Coumi ANC-860s are a great pair of headphones and they compete handsomely against the far more expensive AirPods Pro.

They’re worth your money if you just want a decent pair of workout headphones or headphones which you can confidently take out, no matter the weather. If you’re into big, bass-centric sound, they’ll scratch that itch, immediately, too.

The ANC-860s are perfect for anyone who isn’t brand conscious and who thinks spending beyond $50 on a pair of headphones is daft. And that’s a huge market, as Coumi knows.

So, why would you spend the extra $200 and get the AirPods Pro? Well, if you’re smack-bang in the middle of their ecosystem, you’ll benefit from effortless device switching. They also have a smaller case, and the noise-cancelling is second to none.

But how important is that stuff to you when such a great sound, battery life and water resistance can be had for a fraction of the price?

Buy the Coumi ANC-860 on Amazon