We've currently bought and tested 28 pairs of Skullcandy headphones. They're a fashion-forward brand with a decent variety of models for casual listening, sports, and gaming.
Updates
- 09/29/2023 Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT True Wireless reviewed
- 07/21/2023 Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless updated
- 05/23/2023 Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless updated
- 04/25/2023 Skullcandy Sesh ANC True Wireless reviewed
- 12/12/2022 Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 reviewed
Best Skullcandy Headphones
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Best Skullcandy Earbuds
Neutral Sound7.5Commute/Travel7.4Sports/Fitness8.2Office7.0Wireless Gaming5.8Wired Gaming5.7Phone Calls6.2Type In-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless Truly WirelessTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesFor lightweight and portable headphones, the best Skullcandy wireless earbuds are the Skullcandy Push Active True Wireless. These sports-oriented headphones have an ear hook design to help keep the buds stable in your ears while you're running. They have a comfortable fit and are rated IP55 for dust and water resistance. Thanks to their bass-heavy sound profile, the extra thump, rumble, and boom added to mixes can help keep you pumped up during your workout. Their companion app has a graphic EQ and presets if you prefer a different sound. You can also access Skull-iQ in the app, a smart feature that allows you to make voice commands.
The buds have a continuous battery life of over nine hours, and their carrying case holds roughly 3.4 additional charges. Unfortunately, they lack active noise cancelling (ANC) and do a mediocre job blocking background noise, like the low rumble of bus and plane engines. You may find this a benefit if you want to stay aware of your surroundings, like when you're on a run on busy city streets. Overall, they're versatile earbuds suitable for lots of different listeners.
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Best Cheap Skullcandy Earbuds
Neutral Sound6.9Commute/Travel7.5Sports/Fitness8.0Office6.9Wireless Gaming5.2Wired Gaming5.1Phone Calls6.6Type In-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless Truly WirelessTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT True Wireless are a more affordable alternative. These headphones have a more traditional earbud design, so you won't find ear hooks for added stability like with the Skullcandy Push Active True Wireless. Still, they're more than suitable for most workouts and are even rated IPX4 for water resistance. With three different ear tip sizes to choose from, their fit is decently comfortable, although they can feel fatiguing in your ears over time. They also lack a noise cancellation feature, so they can only passively block out some background noise.
These simple, wallet-friendly headphones offer a good sound for the price, with lots of extra emphasis in the bass range to bring out the punch in genres like EDM and hip-hop. You can always switch between different EQ presets like Music, Podcast, and Movie if you prefer a different sound. If you prefer cheap earbuds with a more neutral sound out-of-the-box, check out the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless. Their battery life doesn't last as long as the Smokin' Buds, though, and they lack EQ presets.
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Best Noise Cancelling Skullcandy Earbuds
Neutral Sound7.4Commute/Travel8.0Sports/Fitness8.1Office7.3Wireless Gaming5.6Wired Gaming5.5Phone Calls7.0Type In-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless Truly WirelessTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling YesMic YesThe Skullcandy Sesh ANC True Wireless is a great option for those who want earbuds that can block out background noises. These headphones come with an excellent ANC (active noise cancellation) feature that can protect against a lot of ambient sound, like the low rumble of bus engines and the chatter of those around you. With this feature on, the battery lasts for over seven hours, and the portable charging case brings four extra charges to help you power up on the go.
These headphones are comfortable and well-built. They don't have ear hooks like the Skullcandy Push Active True Wireless, though, so they aren't quite as stable in your ears during more intense workouts. Their default sound is still quite balanced, so you get a clear and detailed representation of voices and lead instruments. You can adjust their sound with the graphic EQ and presets in their companion app, which is nice.
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Best Skullcandy Over-Ear Headphones
Neutral Sound7.5Commute/Travel6.5Sports/Fitness7.0Office6.5Wireless Gaming5.7Wired Gaming7.4Phone Calls6.3Type Over-earEnclosure Closed-BackWireless YesTransducer DynamicNoise Cancelling NoMic YesThe best Skullcandy headphones we've tested are the Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless. These headphones are a versatile pick, and they're especially well-suited to bass lovers thanks to their haptic bass slider, which lets you increase the bass to your liking. On the lowest setting, mixes have more warmth and boom without muddying vocals and lead instruments. In their highest setting, they deliver a very intense thump, rumble, and body, which will please fans of EDM and hip-hop. If you still prefer a different sound, their companion app offers three EQ presets to help you adjust their sound to suit your tastes.
These headphones have over 34 hours of continuous battery life, and you can even use them passively with their 1/8" TRRS cable if you run out of battery life. They're also well-built and decently comfortable, but the ear cups can trap some heat over time. Unfortunately, they have a poor noise isolation performance and struggle to block out the low rumbles of bus and plane engines around you, though this may not matter to you if you plan to use them in quieter environments. It's worth noting that their bass and treble delivery can vary depending on fit, seal, and positioning. You may also notice a drop in bass if you have thick hair or wear glasses.
Compared To Other Brands
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Colorful designs.
Skullcandy offers some of the most colorful headphones on the market. If you like to match your tech accessories to your outfits, they tend to have several color schemes for each model, including two or three-tone variants and camo/military color schemes. -
Good headphone variety.
Although we have yet to test Skullcandy's full lineup, they offer many models for different uses. While they don't have any audiophile headphones, the variety is still quite good, especially considering their price range.
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Plasticky build quality.
Most of the headphones from Skullcandy are pretty affordable. However, this may be due to their somewhat plasticky build quality. It's better than some super cheap brands, but they don't feel very durable compared to other affordable models. -
Mediocre sound quality.
They have many models for casual listening, but there's nothing designed with critical listeners in mind. They also tend to focus a lot on delivering a bass-heavy sound, so if you want a more neutral sound, Skullcandy may not be your brand.
Skullcandy vs Anker
Anker and Skullcandy are both well-known in the budget-friendly to mid-price range for their bassy in-ears and over-ears. Anker's product range delivers a wider array of features like multi-device pairing, Hi-Res Audio support, and LDAC. Some of their headphones also have powerful noise cancelling, which rivals higher-end brands, but don't expect the same flashy look or graphic collaborations as Skullcandy.
Skullcandy vs JBL
If you've been looking for affordable headphones, you've probably come across JBL alongside Skullcandy. JBL's lineup offers more choices for fans of neutral sound since they don't usually have the more bass-heavy sound common to Skullcandy headphones. Most have a companion app with a parametric EQ and presets, so they also tend to offer more robust sound customization features. You may still prefer Skullcandy's bass-heavy sound, especially for genres like EDM or hip-hop. Skullcandy also have flashier and more colorful headphones, but they feel more plasticky.
Overall, Skullcandy delivers a decent variety of fashion-forward headphones that come in many unique colors to match your taste, style, and preferences. They have sports and gaming headphones at an affordable price, too. Unfortunately, they don't have the best build quality, and their sound isn't the most balanced as they favor a bass-heavy audio reproduction over a neutral one.
Lineup
Skullcandy has a specific name for each model they release, so it can be unclear how their headphones are categorized. Sometimes, there are feature-specific variants of that model available. For this brand, we consider these variants (and their base model) as constituting a lineup. This includes the following:
- Crusher = Wireless over-ears with a bass-heavy sound.
- Hesh = Wireless over-ears.
- SLYR = Wireless over-ear gaming headphones with boom mics.
- PLYR = Wired over-ear gaming headphones with boom mics.
- Grind = Truly wireless in-ears with unique features like Skull-iQ Smart Feature support and hands-free voice control.
- Indy = Truly wireless in-ears with a stem design and non-detachable stability fins.
- Push = Truly wireless in-ears with ear hooks.
- Sesh = Truly wireless in-ears. They have a simple design and don't have companion app support.
Within these lineups, headphones come in feature-specific variations or colorways. Brand collaborations that impact design tend to be included in the headphones' name, like the Doritos Dime 2 True Wireless Earbuds. Following the lineup name, feature-related variants are denoted by the following:
- Active = Designed for sports and have better stability.
- ANC = Supports ANC.
- Evo = Base model.
- Fuel = Case supports Qi Wireless charging.
- Transparency = Transparent design.
- Ultra = Discontinued line. Tends to have better battery performance, rapid charging, higher IP rating, app compatibility, and Tile support.
In addition, there are also a handful of standalone models available. There may have been additional variants or previous generations of this model available in the past, but now there's only one model currently available from this manufacturer:
- Dime = Cheap truly wireless in-ears with a very simple design.
- Ink'd = Wired in-ears.
- Mod = Wireless in-ears with many customization features.
- Riff = Wireless on-ear headphones.
- Spoke = Discontinued cheap truly wireless in-ears. They don't have any extra features.
- Venue = Discontinued wireless noise cancelling over-ears that support multi-device pairing, which is very uncommon for this manufacturer.
Recent Updates
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Sep 29, 2023: The Skullcandy Venue Wireless are discontinued, so we've replaced them with the Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless as the 'Best Over-Ears'. We've added the Skullcandy Sesh ANC True Wireless as the 'Best Noise Cancelling'. The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT True Wireless replace the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless as 'Best Cheap'.
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Jul 27, 2023: We've validated the picks on this list and made minor updates to the text to improve its clarity. There hasn't been a change in our recommendations.
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Jun 02, 2023: We've added a comparison between the Skullcandy Push Active True Wireless and the Skullcandy Sesh ANC True Wireless. However, our picks haven't changed.
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Apr 03, 2023: Checked that the picks are relevant and that the products are in stock.
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Jan 31, 2023: We've added comparisons between Skullcandy, Anker, and JBL to this article to provide a better overview of the market. We've also made minor changes to the text for accuracy, but our picks haven't changed.
Conclusion
Skullcandy makes fashion-forward headphones. They have a large selection of headphones for casual listening, sports, and gaming but lack a more specific lineup geared toward audiophiles. Unfortunately, they're not the ideal brand for those seeking a more neutral frequency response since most of their headphones favor a bass-heavy sound profile. They're also not as sturdy or as durable as some other headphones in their price range. On the upside, their models are relatively affordable.