If listening to the identify Skullcandy invokes recollections of vivid, clashing colorways, gaudy designs, and the overall vibe of teenage angst, that makes two of us. So, after I noticed the most recent from the corporate, Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones, the muted, all-matte black design made me query in the event that they have been made by the identical Skullcandy I as soon as knew.
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Whereas the brand new Crusher ANC 2 headphones omit Skullcandy’s over-the-top design selections of the 2010s, the corporate’s revolutionary strides in audio expertise are nonetheless current, promoting the headphones a patented Crusher Bass expertise.
So, how do the Crusher ANC 2 headphones sound, and are they price your cash? This is the breakdown.
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The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 are a well-constructed pair of headphones that ship sound you may’t beat and a few actually distinctive options.
To start out, even with out the added bass, the Crusher ANC 2 are a great-sounding pair of headphones. Excessive-mid sounds, like guitar riffs, are clear and vivid, whereas low-mid and low-pitch sounds, akin to basslines and bass drum punches, are deep and exact. All components of the music Stress by The 1975 communicated splendidly by way of the Crusher ANC 2’s 40mm dynamic driver, which aids in protecting low-frequency sounds clear and low with out getting too crunchy.
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Now, let’s get into essentially the most thrilling function these headphones supply: Crusher Bass. It is Skullcandy’s patented bass expertise that guarantees a sensory bass expertise. Mainly, you get bass you may each hear and really feel, which is the place the “skull-crushing” tag line comes from.
Crusher Bass will be adjusted on a slider within the Cranium-iQ companion app, or by rotating the dial on the left ear cup. To actually take a look at the function, I listened to Yosemite by Travis Scott with the amount at excessive and Crusher Bass set to 100%.
In a short time, I discovered that this was a mistake, as I barely lasted 20 seconds underneath the high-intensity stress of the subwoofer-like output. It is intense, it is skull-crushing, and listening to it at that prime quantity for too lengthy feels prefer it simply cannot be good for you.
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However lo and behold, on the decrease finish of the spectrum, Crusher Bass turned out to be the spotlight of those headphones. On the proper stage, mixed together with your most popular EQ settings, you may hear the deepest components of a music with spectacular readability, and you may really feel the thump and punch of the bass.
Whereas songs sound superb by way of the Crusher ANC 2 headphones, watching films has been extra game-changing. I watched John Wick 4 with Crusher Bass set to twenty%, and each blow landed, bullet fired, and automobile crash made me really feel like I used to be proper there within the film.
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So, whereas the Crusher ANC 2 headphones can really feel like a subwoofer on prime of your head, they’ll additionally really feel like a stereo setup in your ears. And that setup is healthier than knowledgeable or house theater audio setup since you do not lose any sound to air journey — or value an arm and a leg.
The Crusher ANC 2, because the identify suggests, are geared up with adjustable noise cancellation, however it does have a hum when turned on and you are not taking part in music. The hum is indicative of lower-quality ANC (which you are hopefully not particularly shopping for these headphones for), however these headphones get extremely loud, even at low quantity, in order that they naturally block out exterior noises.
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The plushy polyurethane ear cups on the headphones are tight with out being too constrictive, so that you get a pleasant seal between your ears and the skin world. Both your ears will want a break, or your skull will flip to mush earlier than the battery runs out, as a result of the Skullcandy headphones can run for as much as 50 hours, longer than the Bose QuietComfort 45, Sony XM5 over-ear headphones, and Apple AirPods Max.
Skullcandy says the Crusher ANC 2 has “Completely. Each. Function,” which might be true if they’d put on detection. However regardless of that hole, they’ve nearly each different function.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
I like to recommend the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 to anybody in search of a pair of extremely succesful headphones which can be loads of enjoyable to put on and use. The Crusher Bass expertise will not be as gimmicky as I believed it might be; it actually provides an enormous quantity of enjoyment to the Crusher ANC 2, particularly when movie-watching.
In case you like your music, films, and TV exhibits to be so loud and booming that it is nearly obnoxious, you will wish to verify these headphones out. In order for you a great-sounding pair of headphones that may attain the pits of the human listening to vary, these are nice for that, too.
