Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 review: A rapper’s delight

The Skullycandy Crusher ANC 2 is aptly named. It should nearly actually crush your ears with its thumping bass response, however its energetic noise cancellation is fairly weak sauce.

Skullcandy says it’s focusing on “tech-savvy audiophiles” with this headphone, however most audiophiles eschew energetic noise cancellation, and I don’t know of any who would search out an audio product that so zealously overemphasizes a given frequency vary the way in which the Crusher ANC 2 does the low finish.

However for these on the lookout for a headphone with large quantities of thump, that is the one to purchase. Word: Walmart sells these headphones in a field labeled Crusher ANC XT 2, however the identical product is inside.

How does the Skullycandy Crusher ANC 2 sound?

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC is provided with 40mm drivers with a frequency vary of 20Hz to 20kHz (no tolerance given). So, as you would possibly count on, it delivers greater than enough bass response even with out enabling the Crusher impact.

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the most effective noise-cancelling headphones.

The headphone is much less spectacular at producing increased frequencies; in truth, the jangly guitar and Hayley Williams’ vocals sounded fairly flat whereas listening to Paramore’s “Massive Man, Little Dignity,” from the band’s album That is Whystreamed from Tidal.

Turning to tracks with extra bass emphasis, I listened to Gorillaz’ “Tarantula,” from its Cracker Island album. With Crusher mode engaged at 20 p.c, the bass guitar and kick drum stomped all around the synthesizer arpeggios and the drummer’s hi-hat. I had the same expertise listening to Pharrell Williams’ vocals on Daft Punk’s “Lose Your self to Dance,” from Random Entry Reminiscences (10^th Anniversary Version)streamed from Qobuz.

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In response to Skullcandy, the Crusher drivers function at frequencies from 10- to 150Hz, with a peak round 40Hz. I discovered the Crusher impact downright disagreeable at something increased than 20 p.c. At 50 p.c and above, the strain from these haptic drivers—the supply of that thump—started to really feel as if somebody was rhythmically slamming their cupped fingers over my ears.

Does the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 have efficient noise cancellation?

The Crusher ANC 2 is outfitted with 4 microphones that monitor environmental noise, so the headphone can cancel it out. I didn’t detect a serious distinction in audio efficiency toggling the function on and off (utilizing a slider on the right-hand earcup), which suggests the headphone wasn’t negatively affecting the music I used to be listening to.

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However Skullcandy’s ANC wasn’t extremely efficient at masking undesired sounds. It eliminated at the very least among the low-end rumble from the simulated plane cabin noise that I performed on exterior audio system, nevertheless it was nearly completely ineffectual at masking the high-end shoosh.

The identical slider can allow a Keep Conscious mode for these instances whenever you need do need to hear what’s occurring round you. This makes use of the headphone’s mics to pipe exterior sound into the headphone, so you may hear visitors noises in the event you’re strolling, and for these instances whenever you need to hear for bulletins of a PA system or communicate to somebody with out doffing your headphones. If ANC is a crucial headphone function, you’ll need to persist with the higher-end choices from Sony or Bose.

Does the Crusher ANC 2 help voice instructions?

Skullcandy has a bigger-than-average bag of tips on the subject of voice instructions. It not solely has Alexa onboard, however you too can communicate instructions for play and pause, quantity up and down, and to skip ahead and again in your playlist. You can provide the headphone device-specific directions, resembling “Hey Skullcandy, ANC On,” “Hey Skullcandy, Keep-Conscious off,” “Hey Skullcandy, extra [or less] Crusher” to regulate the extent of the headphone’s bass-boosting Crusher impact.

You too can provoke Spotify and iHeart radio music streaming by saying to the headphone: “Hey Skullcandy, Spotify” or “Hey iHeart, play….” There’s even a setting that allows you to use voice instructions to take a photograph together with your cellphone’s digital camera. None of those options—other than Alexa—require a broadband connection.

Is the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 comfy to put on?

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Even with its headband and yoke being fabricated principally from plastic (the higher headband is chrome steel), the Crusher ANC 2’s 11.8-ounce weight places it on the heavier finish of the spectrum. The Sony WH-1000XM5, by comparability, weighs simply 8.8 ounces.

I nonetheless discovered the Crusher comfy to put on for lengthy listening classes, due to the 10-position, listed headband; the beneficiant quantities of reminiscence foam beneath the patent-leather cushions on its earpads; the padded twill material on the underside of its headband; and optimum clamping strain.

You’ll must keep in mind that the Crusher’s orange energy button, its thumbwheel for dialing within the quantity of Crusher impact, its USB-C charging port, and its 3.5mm aux enter are situated on the left-hand earcup, as a result of the black-on-black markers figuring out the left and proper parts of those cans are almost unattainable to see. That reminiscence can be helpful whenever you retailer the headphone in its case as properly.

Michael Brown/Foundry

Three buttons on the right-hand earcup deal with play/pause and reply/finish cellphone calls (center button); quantity up (prime button); and quantity down (backside button). A slider beneath that third button toggles ANC on and off and permits Keep Conscious mode, which pipes in some ambient sound into the headphone to extend your situational consciousness.

Skullcandy says consumers can count on as much as 60 hours of battery life with noise cancellation disabled, and as much as 50 hours with ANC turned on. A ten-minute “fast cost” delivers as much as 4 hours of battery life. The headphone has no “sleep” mode, nevertheless, which suggests its sensible battery life can be a lot shorter in the event you don’t keep in mind to show the headphone off whenever you’re not utilizing it.

On the intense facet, the headphone will function passively in the event you join it to a supply utilizing the offered 3.5mm audio cable.

How do cellphone calls sound on the Crusher ANC 2?

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The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 is outfitted with a Bluetooth 5.2 radio and exhibited wonderful vary each when related to my Dell laptop computer and to my iPhone 12. Help for multi-point connections meant I may hearken to music on the laptop computer and both make or take cellphone calls with out first needing to disconnect.

The headphone is outfitted with devoted mics for cellphone calls and voice instructions; in different phrases, it doesn’t use the identical mics for ANC functions. Throughout cellphone calls, folks on the different finish of the decision sounded clear, they usually stated the identical of my voice. However additionally they stated they may hear among the noises in my setting—together with my chihuahua barking because the letter provider got here to my entrance porch to ship mail.

There’s help for the AAC and SBC codecs, however Android customers will miss having the ability to use any of the aptX codecs. Sony’s high-resolution LDAC isn’t supported, both.

Does Skullcandy have an app?

Skullcandy IQ, accessible for Android and iOS, is a full-featured app that allows you to make exact customizations to the Crusher ANC 2’s function set.

One of many app’s most fascinating options is Private Sound Processing, through which you put on the headphones whereas taking a listening to check developed by Mimi Listening to Applied sciences. Based mostly on the outcomes of this check, the app suggests a customized EQ setting for you, which you’ll be able to tweak utilizing three presets (“softer” or “richer”), plus an “depth” slider. I didn’t discover the personalization to be significantly efficient, so I simply turned it off.

Michael Brown/Foundry

A separate Equalizer mode has EQ presets for music, podcasts, and films, or you may create your personal EQ mode by adjusting 5 sliders (for low, low-mid, mid, high-mid, and excessive frequencies). It can save you this tradition EQ and recollect it later by touching the Customized button, however you may retailer solely one among these customized modes.

The app additionally allows you to re-map the Crusher ANC 2’s buttons and its thumbwheel. The quantity-up, volume-down, and center buttons could be programmed to carry out actions with single-, double-, and triple presses in addition to 1-second holds.

The thumbwheel is proscribed to customized actions primarily based on a double-press; a single press rotates between setting the Crusher degree to 20-, 50-, and 80 p.c; a protracted press toggles Crusher mode on and off.

Does the Crusher ANC 2 include a case?

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Skullcandy gives a zippered, twill fabric-covered hard-shell case with its Crusher ANC 2 headphone, with an area to retailer the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable and three.5mm audio cable.

The case is lined with a delicate material, and the headphone’s articulated earcups fold in to make the unit smaller. The L and R markings contained in the case will aid you orient the headphone accurately when storing it—if solely the headphone’s earcups had been so properly marked.

Is the a Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 worth?

With a $230 asking worth, the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 isn’t a cheap headphone, nevertheless it’s less expensive than the highest names in over-ear noise-cancelling headphones; particularly, the $400 Sony WH-1000XM5, the $400 Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2, and the $329 Bose Quiet Consolation 45.

Every of these headphones delivers higher noise cancellation and–maybe extra importantly–extra devoted audio replica than the Crusher ANC 2. However Skullcandy’s headphone could be very properly constructed for the value, it additionally has a powerful function set and an amazing app that provides a raft of customizations.

The Crusher ANC 2’s actual declare to fame, nevertheless, is its polarizing Crusher haptic bass function. There actually is nothing prefer it, and listeners–and avid gamers–who worth thump over all will fully dig it. I do know my 16-year-old grandson does.