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Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.5
Review updated Nov 05, 2021 at 11:17 am
Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless Picture
6.8
Neutral Sound
7.5
Commute/Travel
8.0
Sports/Fitness
6.9
Office
5.3
Wireless Gaming
5.2
Wired Gaming
6.3
Phone Calls

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless are simple, truly wireless headphones. They feel sturdy, are very portable, do a good job of staying in your ears, and have a fairly comprehensive control scheme. Unfortunately, their integrated microphone struggles to isolate speech from background noise. They also have short battery life, and the sound profile is light on the mid and treble ranges, which may be annoying for some listeners.

Our Verdict

6.8 Neutral Sound

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are fair for neutral sound. While they have a very accurate bass range, their mid and treble ranges are underemphasized, resulting in vocals and lead instruments being nudged to the back of the mix and sounding dull as well as veiled. Luckily, they have three built-in EQ modes, but you can only change them via their touch-sensitive control scheme, not on their companion app.

Pros
  • Consistent audio delivery.
Cons
  • Underemphasized treble response.
7.5 Commute/Travel

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are good for commuting and traveling. They're lightweight, feel well-built, and are small enough to fit into most bags or pockets without too much of an issue. Their case supplies roughly four additional charges, though their single-charge battery life is short. Unfortunately, they struggle to cut down the low rumble of bus and plane engines.

Pros
  • Sturdy build quality.
  • Low latency on mobile devices.
  • Stable fit.
Cons
  • 3-hour continuous playback time.
  • Struggles to block out bass-range noise.
8.0 Sports/Fitness

The Skullcandy Indy Fuelare great for sports and fitness. They’re sturdy-feeling and are certified IP55 for dust and water resistance. The buds have a stable in-ear fit, and while their touch-sensitive control scheme isn’t the most intuitive, it places a lot of functions within easy reach, so you don’t disrupt your rhythm while you're on the move.

Pros
  • Sturdy build quality.
  • Stable fit.
Cons
  • Companion app offers very little functionality.
6.9 Office

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are okay for office use. They’re decently comfortable, block out a decent amount of background speech, and leak next to no audio, so you should be able to listen to your music as loud as you want without fear of disrupting coworkers, even if you work in a quiet office. Unfortunately, they have a short continuous battery life, so you need to put them back in their case frequently to recharge.

Pros
  • Can block out office chatter.
  • Low latency on mobile devices.
  • Leak almost no audio.
Cons
  • 3-hour continuous playback time.
  • Companion app offers very little functionality.
  • No multi-device pairing capability.
5.3 Wireless Gaming

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are Bluetooth-only, and you can't use them with PlayStation or Xbox consoles. Their audio latency on PC is too high for them to be suitable for gaming.

5.2 Wired Gaming

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are Bluetooth-only headphones, and you can't use them with a wired connection.

6.3 Phone Calls

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are passable for phone calls. While their integrated microphone does a decent job of making your voice sound detailed and mostly distortion-free, it struggles with isolating speech from even moderately loud background noise, meaning people on the other end of the line may struggle to understand you in a crowded or noisy setting. Thankfully, the buds do a satisfactory job of blocking out background noise.

Pros
  • Can block out office chatter.
  • Consistent audio delivery.
Cons
  • Disappointing microphone noise handling.
  • Underemphasized treble response.
  • 6.8 Neutral Sound
  • 7.5 Commute/Travel
  • 8.0 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.9 Office
  • 5.3 Wireless Gaming
  • 5.2 Wired Gaming
  • 6.3 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Nov 05, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
  2. Updated Oct 22, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
  3. Updated Nov 23, 2020: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
  4. Updated Aug 07, 2020: Review published.
  5. Updated Aug 04, 2020: Early access published.
  6. Updated Jul 22, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
  7. Updated Jul 21, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  8. Updated Jul 14, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have two color variants: 'Chill Grey' and 'True Black'. We tested the 'Chill Grey' variant but expect the other model to perform similarly overall.

If someone comes across a differently-configured variant, let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.

Compared To Other Headphones

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless are good sports-oriented truly wireless headphones. They’re well-built, portable, and have very low latency on mobile devices. However, they have an uneven treble response, a short continuous battery life, and an integrated microphone with a lot of trouble isolating the wearer's voice from background noise.

Take a look at our lists of the best true wireless earbuds, the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds, and the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds for running.

Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless

The Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless and the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless are almost identical truly wireless in-ears. The primary difference between the Fuel and the Evo is the former’s wireless charging-compatible case. However, there are some other small differences. The Evo offer a more consistent listening experience due to their fractionally larger ear tips, while their integrated microphone does a slightly better job of isolating speech from background noise.

Skullcandy Indy ANC True Wireless

The Skullcandy Indy ANC True Wireless are a bit better for most uses than the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless. Thanks to their ANC feature, the Indy ANC have better noise isolation, longer continuous battery life, and presets you can adjust in their app. However, their sound is a bit more bass-heavy than the more neutral Indy Fuel, but both headphones have a dark and dull treble range.

Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless

The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless and the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless are very similar truly wireless in-ears. The Fuel have a slightly more comprehensive control suite, feel sturdier, charge much faster, and experience less latency on mobile devices. On the other hand, the originals have a better mic, last longer on a single charge, and offer a more consistent listening experience on separate re-seats.

Skullcandy Push Ultra Truly Wireless

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless are more versatile than the Skullcandy Push Ultra Truly Wireless. The Indy Fuel are more comfortable, deliver audio more consistently, leak less audio, and offer lower wireless latency. They also have a better-balanced sound profile. However, the Push Ultra have a longer battery life, and their inferior passive noise isolation might make them better for situations where you want to stay aware of your surroundings.

Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless are better suited for mixed usage than the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless. The Skullcandy deliver a more consistent listening experience with more accurate bass. They leak much less audio, feel more secure in the ear, and block out substantially more ambient noise. However, the open-back Apple are better built, generate a more spacious listening experience with a better-reproduced treble, feel more comfortable to wear for extended periods, and have a better-integrated mic.

Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless

The Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless are better all-around headphones than the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless. The Apple headphones have a more comfortable fit, a better build quality, a more neutral sound profile, and a far superior noise isolation capability.  However, the Skullcandy are far more affordable and have lower wireless latency on Android devices.

Anker SoundCore Liberty Air 2 Truly Wireless

The Anker SoundCore Liberty Air 2 Truly Wireless are better truly wireless headphones for mixed usage than the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless. The Anker provide a more consistent listening experience with better-reproduced treble and mids, passively block out more ambient noise, have a far more comprehensive companion app, and last far longer off of a single charge. Meanwhile, the Skullcandy charge substantially faster, and have a control scheme with greater functionality.

Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless

The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Truly Wireless are better headphones than the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless. The Samsung have a far more balanced sound profile, last more than four times as long on a single charge, offer a more comfortable, secure fit, and have a far more useful companion app, not to mention a better-integrated mic. Conversely, the Skullcandy offer lower latency on mobile devices, block out more ambient noise, and have a more comprehensive control scheme.

Skullcandy Grind Fuel True Wireless

The Skullcandy Grind Fuel True Wireless are better for most purposes than Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless. The Grind Fuel have a better-balanced sound profile, a longer continuous battery life, and a much better companion app with a graphic EQ and presets. They also have a 'Skull-iQ' feature that lets you control the headphones with voice commands. On the other hand, the Indy Fuel have a much better passive noise isolation performance.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Truly Wireless
Transducer Dynamic

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel have a stalk design that looks somewhat similar to the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air 2 Truly Wireless. They feature a matte plastic construction that shouldn’t retain too many fingerprint marks. They’re sleek overall and don’t poke out from the ears too much. They're available in black or grey, so you may want to check out the Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless if you're looking for a more eye-catching pair of earbuds.

7.0
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.02 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

These headphones are decently comfortable. They're lightweight, don’t put too much pressure on the inside of the ear, and come with a couple of differently sized ear-tips and stability sleeves, so finding a suitable fit isn’t too hard. That said, their slightly larger outer buds can start to cause some fatigue during longer listening sessions.

6.9
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use Okay
Feedback Decent
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
On/Off
Additional Controls Voice Assistant

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have alright touch-sensitive controls on both buds. They offer a lot of functionality but can be a bit tricky to use at first. While there are only voice prompts for pairing mode, switching EQs, and powering the headphones on and off, there are beeps to let you know you've registered a command.

On the left earbud:

  • One tap: Lowers the volume.
  • Touch and hold for two seconds: Skips the track backward.

On the right earbud:

  • One tap: Raises the volume.
  • Touch and hold for two seconds: Skips the track forward.

On either earbud:

  • Double tap: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers or ends calls.
  • Triple tap: Activates voice assistant.
  • Double tap and hold for two seconds: Cycles between the following EQ presets: 'Movie', 'Podcast', and 'Music', which is the default mode.
  • One tap and hold for two seconds: Activates ambient mode, which allows you to hear your surroundings without turning off your audio.
  • Touch and hold for four seconds: Powers the headphones on.
  • Touch and hold for six seconds: Powers the headphones off.
  • Touch and hold for 10 seconds: Resets the headphones.

9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have outstanding breathability, which is to be expected from truly wireless headphones. They don't trap heat in your ears, and you shouldn't sweat more than normal while wearing them.

9.5
Design
Portability
L 1.9" (4.8 cm)
W 1.0" (2.5 cm)
H 0.7" (1.8 cm)
Volume 1.30 in³ (21.30 cm³)
Transmitter Required No

Like most truly wireless headphones, these in-ears are exceptionally portable. They can easily be tossed into a bag or pocket and have a reasonably small charging case that doesn’t take up much space.

7.5
Design
Case
Type Hard case
L 2.5" (6.4 cm)
W 2.2" (5.6 cm)
H 1.1" (2.8 cm)
Volume 6.10 in³ (99.96 cm³)

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds' charging case is good. It’s made of dense matte plastic that should protect the headphones from bumps, scratches, falls, and minor water exposure. It also supports wireless charging, which is handy if you don’t feel like plugging the case in. Unfortunately, the case’s lid may not close if the buds aren’t precisely placed in their cradles.

7.5
Design
Build Quality

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds are well-built. The buds and case are dense plastic that shouldn’t take too much damage from drops or falls. The buds are also rated IP55 for dust and water resistance.

7.5
Design
Stability

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are stable in-ear headphones. Thanks to their included stability sleeves, they do a very good job of staying in your ear, especially once you’ve found the right combination of sleeve and ear tip sizes. Due to their truly wireless design, you won’t have to worry about an audio cable snagging on something while you’re on the go.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds
  • Charging case
  • 3x ear tips
  • 2x stability sleeves
  • USB-C to USB-A charging cable
  • Manuals

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
2.06 dB
Treble Amount
-4.57 dB

Using the 'Music' EQ preset, which is the default one, the Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have a bass-heavy sound profile. They have an accurate and neutral bass range, delivering adequate thump, punch, and boom. The rest of the response is underemphasized, so vocals and lead instruments are pushed to the back of the mix and sound veiled as well as dull. On the upside, there are three built-in EQ presets: 'Movie', 'Podcast', and 'Music'.

8.1
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.37 dB

The frequency response consistency is great. The headphones are sensitive to fit, seal, and positioning, which can affect their treble delivery. However, assuming you find the best fit using the included ear tips, you should be able to get a more consistent sound each time you use them.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
9.5
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
0.67 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
15.65 Hz
Low-Bass
-0.84 dB
Mid-Bass
-0.35 dB
High-Bass
0.72 dB

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel’s bass accuracy is outstanding. The range is flat and even, yielding adequate thump and rumble in genres like EDM or hip-hop without sounding boomy or muddy.

7.8
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.91 dB
Low-Mid
0.03 dB
Mid-Mid
-3.46 dB
High-Mid
-3.27 dB

The mid accuracy is very good. Vocals and lead instruments shouldn’t sound cluttered, but a sustained dip from the mid to high-mid range pushes them slightly towards the back of the mix and weakens their clarity and detail.

4.6
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
7.53 dB
Low-Treble
-7.35 dB
Mid-Treble
-7.58 dB
High-Treble
-11.61 dB

These headphones have poor treble accuracy. The range is uneven and underemphasized, which veils vocals and lead instruments. Higher notes, like sibilants, also sound dull and lispy.

8.6
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
0.94 dB
Dips
0.74 dB

The peaks and dips performance is excellent. They’re reasonably well-balanced and stay flat throughout the entire frequency range, though an extended low bump starting in the high-bass range generates a little boominess and muddiness, while a dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments toward the back of the mix. A bump in the high-mid can create a little bit of harshness, but it's a bit more prominent in the right driver. A small dip in the low-treble can slightly veil vocals and lead instruments, while a peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like S and T sounds piercing.

9.2
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.13
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.95
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.16
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.42

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel's stereo imaging performance is superb. Their weighted group delay falls entirely beneath the audibility threshold, ensuring tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers are exceptionally well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which results in the accurate placement of objects in the stereo image, like voices and footsteps. These results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

0.6
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
2.7
Acoustic Space Excitation
0.3

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds' passive soundstage is bad. Like most in-ears, these headphones bypass any outer-ear interaction. Combined with their closed-back design, this creates a small soundstage. Sound is likely to be perceived as coming from the inside of your head rather than from speakers placed in front or around you.

0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No
7.9
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.281
WHD @ 100
0.098

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel's have a very good weighted harmonic distribution performance. Aside from a slight spike in the low to mid-treble range, frequencies stay within good limits, ensuring mostly clean and pure audio reproduction.

Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
V3.14.18
Power
On
Connection
Bluetooth 4.2
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Music (Default)
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (medium)
Microphone
Integrated

These are the settings we used to test the Skullcandy Indy Fuel. We used the medium-sized ear tips, as the smallest tips were too small to ensure a secure fit. Our results are only valid when using this configuration.

Isolation
6.9
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-20.16 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-7.23 dB
Mid
-20.18 dB
Treble
-34.32 dB

The passive noise isolation performance is alright. Like the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless, they do an outstanding job of filtering out mid and treble-range ambient noise, so you shouldn’t hear too much chatter from nearby coworkers or the hum of an AC unit. Unfortunately, they aren’t nearly as effective in blocking out ambient noise in the bass range, so you're likely to hear sounds like the rumble of bus engines and construction equipment.

9.8
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
22.45 dB

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds' noise leakage is outstanding. They leak almost no audio, so you can listen to music at very high volumes without worrying about disturbing people nearby, even in quiet environments.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic Yes
7.0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
184.86 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.65 dB
HFE
4,561.4 Hz
Weighted THD
0.223
Gain
-11.63 dB

The integrated microphone has decent recording quality. Your voice should be easy to understand and reasonably natural-sounding, though perhaps a little thin and muffled.

5.3
Microphone
Noise Handling
SpNR
1.93 dB
Noise Gate
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
5.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel's microphone's noise handling performance is disappointing. The mic struggles to separate your voice from moderate ambient noise, so if you're taking a call from somewhere like a busy street, your voice can be drowned out.

Active Features
5.3
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
3 hrs
Additional Charges
4.0
Total Battery Life
12 hrs
Charge Time
0.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
Yes
Passive Playback
Charging Port USB-C

These headphones have a disappointing battery performance. While they're advertised as having a continuous runtime of six hours, we measured only three hours of playback on a full charge with our unit. Thankfully, their case provides an additional four full charges, which should be enough for a day at work and the commute back home. The buds are also advertised to provide two hours of playtime with only 10 minutes of charging. Our unit was able to provide three hours of playback on a 15-minute charge. Unfortunately, they don't have any power-saving measures like a standby mode to reduce battery drain when not in use. However, battery life can vary depending on usage, so your real-life experience may differ.

4.0
Active Features
App Support
App Name Skullcandy
iOS Yes
Android Yes
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds' companion app is poor. It offers very little functionality, with the only controls being a toggle switch for the ambient noise mode and enabling firmware updates. It displays your current EQ mode but doesn’t allow you to change it. If you want headphones that let you switch EQ presets in their app, check out the Skullcandy Indy ANC True Wireless, or the Skullcandy Grind Fuel True Wireless, which offer a graphic EQ as well as presets.

Connectivity
7.1
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
No
Line Of Sight Range
213.00 ft (64.92 m)
PC Latency (SBC)
231 ms
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
43 ms
Android Latency
57 ms

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have decent Bluetooth connectivity. They support Bluetooth 5.0, but not NFC or multi-device pairing, so you can't stream music off your phone while remaining connected to your computer. Their latency is too high on PC to be suitable for playing video games or streaming movies. That said, their latency on mobile iOS and Android devices is very low, so watching videos on YouTube on your phone shouldn't be too big an issue. Some apps and devices compensate for audio latency differently, so your own experience may vary in the real world.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
0
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
No
USB Audio
No
Detachable No
Length N/A
Connection
No Wired Option
Analog/USB Audio Latency
N/A

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel come with a USB-C to USB-A cable for recharging their carrying case. However, you can't use the buds wired.

Connectivity
PC Compatibility
Analog
No
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel are fully compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, you can't connect the buds to your PC in any other way.

Connectivity
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
No
PS4 Wired USB
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
PS5 Analog
No
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
No
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
No
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
2.2
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
Charging Case
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
Yes
Power Supply
USB-C

The Skullcandy Indy Fuel True Wireless Earbuds have a charging case that can supply roughly four additional charges. You can recharge it wirelessly or via the included USB-C to USB-A charging cable.