For gamers, tech fans and music lovers, there are plenty of headphones on the market to choose from. Some of the most popular pairs amongst gamers and music lovers at the moment include Amazon’s £20 KVIDIO Over Ear Bluetooth Headphones, which have thousands of five-star reviews.
Elsewhere, on Argos, Sony’s WH-CH720N Over-Ear NC Wireless Headphones are proving a hit, and are currently reduced down to £79 from £100. But one pair of headphones claiming to give ‘unbeatable bass and noise-cancellation’ is really disrupting the market at the moment.
Skullcandy’s Crusher ANC 2 headphones have a perfect five-star rating, and appear to have impressed the majority of those who have tried them. On the brand’s website, the £199 headphones have been showered with glowing reviews, with many gamers and music fans taken aback by their ‘loud and clear’ quality, and impressive bass.
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With an intriguing name that lives up to its reputation. The Crusher design is the latest in premium headphones by Skullcandy. The headphones come with active noise cancelling which is adequate, the 50 hour battery life isn’t the most but can last you a good three days with moderate use, the multi-device pairing is very helpful and convenient and the Bluetooth v5.2 gives it range and so you have freedom from your phone as you move around.
Retailing at £199 the headphones aren’t the cheapest out there, but they come packed full of features which you wouldn’t normally find in a more budget pair. But are they worth the money? I tried them for myself to find out.
The main appeal is without doubt the mind warbling ‘Crusher adjustable sensory bass’. To put it simply, listening to music through these head phones is like strapping two boomboxes on each side of your face and turning the volume to max.
The very first listen quite literally blows you away and gives you a chance to listen to music in a completely different way – especially if you are a fan of bass heavy music like rap, r’n’b or pop music.
Thanks to their integrated Crusher technology, the headphones are prone to vibrate and move in time with the knock of the 808’s in your song. The Crusher feature is activated by a black wheel on the left ear cup.
The wheel can be scrolled or pressed to adjust the level of bass you require for your listening session. Scrolling determines a more specific percentage, however, pressing the wheel gives you the pre-set levels of 20%, 50% or 80% bass.
As a rap music lover it feels amazing to not just hear the bass thump but the headphones actually move around your face while the music plays, if the song is loud enough the headphones double up as a head massager. It doesn’t just transform your music listening experience but the technology lends itself to other forms of media.
For example, watching a movie means you’ll get a real sense of a the force of an explosion thanks to the headphones sensory qualities. Even in the more smaller moments like an actor placing a heavy object on a wooden table, rather than just hearing it, you will feel a satisfactory thud as if the movie you’re watching is a special ASMR version of the flick.
It’s not all fun and games however, songs that aren’t bass heavy and rely more on the trebles do end up getting short changed due to the feature. The headphones do such a good job of amplifying bass that they can drown out other instruments and vocals and this is especially prevalent with indie, rock, folk or jazz music.
It also means that you spend more time fiddling with your headphones to get the optimal listening experience. For those of you with an eclectic music taste it means being on hand to adjust the dials and settings for almost every song that comes on.
Rather than providing a one size fits all type of headphone like the popular Marshalls Major IV or Sony wh-1000xm4, it feels like Skullcandy have a very music listener in mind for these headphones.
In terms of practicality, the headphones are comfortable enough. They are designed with a lovely cushioned headband and as the speakers basically encapsulate your whole ear there are no issues with prolong use.
They do run a little on the large size, roughly around the same size as Beats Studio headphones so storage can be difficult, but they are foldable and come with a bag so you don’t have to carry them around your neck all day.
Phone calls sound clear and responsive on the headphones and the buttons place on either side of the speakers are intuitive and make sense. Although, there are no prompts or buttons to skip songs and instead you either have to do it manually on your phone or use your built in voice command which you cans set as either Siri, Google Voice Assistant or the Skullcandy headphones themselves with the Skull-IQ app which can be temperamental.
All in all, the Crusher ANC 2 headphones are a brilliant buy even for the £199 pricetag. They are packed full of features which means you can genuinely have fun with your music listening experience. However, it’s main feature might not be for everyone.