Ekotek Ekowave Headphones Review - The Budget All Rounder!

After the success of the Ekobuds Lifetones, Ekotek immediately followed it up by crafting and release of their own high-quality budget headphone dubbed as the Ekowave. It's a headphone designed to provide a complete good headphone experience on a budget.

Ekotek Ekowave headphones review

Now the question is, can they replicate the success of the Lifetones? Will this be that another must have rare good sounding yet affordable headphone? Find out in this review. 

Disclaimer: This unit was provided by Ekotek for an honest review

Ekowave Headphones Specs

Driver type: 40 mm Dynamic 

Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20 KHz

Impedance: 32 ohms 

Sensitivity: 102 dB ± 3 dB

Connectivity: Wired 

Connecting interface: 3.5 mm 

Cable length: 1.5 m

Microphone: 6 x 5.0 MM
Sensitivity: -58 dB ± 3 dB

Price: PHP 999 (PHP 499 sale price)

Unboxing / Accessories

The box

Taking a look at the way Ekotek presented the Ekowave is nice. It's enclosed in an easy to open type of box that'll immediately give you the headphone. However, while it is understandable for an entry-level headphone, an inclusion of even just a cloth-like protective case would have made this a better package.

Build Quality / Design

The whole view of the headphone

The Ekowave is arguably has the best build and design on any sub-1K handset in the country today. It's crafted using high quality materials for the price that mimics the likes of higher-end Marshall Major headphone and Pioneer cans.

Soft leather-like headband cover 

Microphone with single button and switch 

Nickle 3.5 mm jack

It's construction is mostly made out of a plastic with metal skeleton inside the headband frame. Speaking of the headband you'll be treated with the softest faux leather material around on a budget headphone and the same goes with the pads to provide great comfort.

The flat cable Ekotek used here is also thicker and more flexible than what the Coloud Boom is using. Then there's a single strain relief on the left side of the cup that provides proper flex for increased cable protection against unwanted bends.

However, don't still expect this to have tank like build even if we think that it has one of the best in the price range. It's still mostly made out of light plastic material, so taking good care of it is a must.

In terms of design, this is an stylish looking on-ear headphone that can be considered as elegant for most. It also has the right size that can surely match most style on the go.

Aesthetically, Ekotek's Ekowaves is near the same level of Marshall Major II.

It also has an easy to adjust headband to fit most head sizes, swiveling ear-cups, and easy to reach microphone with single answer key and iOS / Windows or Android device switch.

Comfort / Isolation

It comes with the best comfort around

It's arguable that this headphone is the most comfortable to wear found in the entry-level category. How and why? The Ekowave has the right amount of head-clamp that isn't too light or strong. It's also using a softest faux leather pads and headband I ever tested under 1K Pesos. The result is it's easy on the ears and non-fatiguing.

For the price, the comfort on this headphones is the nicest we tried yet.

Most on-ear cans doesn't isolate that much, but that norm doesn't apply with the Ekowave headphones. Why? It has above average isolation level that can block most external noises well. It includes: the voice of the person talking next to you, normal television volume, and cars outside.

It could be a great thing if you want to listen to good music in peace, but could dangerous on your safety as it won't make you aware of your surroundings easily.

Sound Quality

Decent sound for an entry-level headphones

All those good things we mentioned above won't matter at all if this device won't sound good. At first, the Ekowave headphones sounds like an average sub-1K headgear. However, don't judge it easily.

Whether you believe in burn-in or not, we noticed that its one of the headphones that keeps on getting better over time. Right now, after almost a month of use, we think that this headphone fully reached it potential.

Ekowave headphones seems to sound better over time.

It goes with a dark and bass centric sound signature that's easy to appreciate if you are a fan of pop, hip-hop, and rock. The bass is big, deep, and has tight enough punch. It's also one of the few sub 1.5K headphone that can produce sub-bass response pretty well.

For picky listeners, you'll notice that the bass extends to the mids which can makes vocals sound a little muddy, congested, and thick at times. Fortunately, that's understandable for a budget can as it still has better clarity than 90% of under 1K headphones readily available in the Philippines today.

Highs are present too on a normal scale. Treble isn't that peaky and low hiss level too. As expected, it doesn't extend really well and cannot provide a soothing sparkling like effect.

To my surprise, micro-details are present of this headphones. Instrument placement will be easy to distinguish, you'll feel that there's decent layering, and the soundstage is far from narrow at all.

However, the Ekowave isn't the easiest headphone to drive. On most smartphones, around 80 - 100% of volume is needed to provide enough loudness and make the headphones shine. In terms of pairing, it sounds better and fuller with HiFI ready phones such as the Huawei P9, ZenFone 3, Vivo V3, and Flash Plus 2 nicely. For normal handsets,

Overall, it can easily match with most consumer ready headphones 2x its price. This headphones sounds good.

Note: The microphone included is great for calls. It has nice reception and not that noisy at all.

Pros - Made out of high quality materials for the price, nice bass response, average detail reproduction, above average comfort, good isolation

Cons - A little hard to drive using a phone (80-100℅ volume is needed on average), glossy Ekotek logo is prone to scratches

Verdict

For a local brand, Ekotek's Ekowave headphones is a revelation. It's a step or two ahead of the competition in terms of design, comfort, and isolation. Not only that, Ekotek was able to match it great sound that go toe to toe or even beat some of the slightly pricier mainstream competition.

This is a great headphone for individuals who wants a combination of style, comfort, isolation, and decent sound on a tight budget.

GIZ Rating: 4.25/Stars