The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are Bluetooth in-ears that are alright for mixed use. They have a very dark sound profile and while they're better for bass-heavy music, they still sound fairly boomy and muffled. Also, our unit's left and right drivers are mismatched and the right earbud is noticeably louder. On the upside, these headphones are decently comfortable and have a good IP55 rating for dust and water resistance, although we don't currently have a test to confirm this. These headphones are a decent option with good value for people who want a stable and breathable truly wireless design for sports.
Our Verdict
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are alright for mixed use. These truly wireless headphones aren't ideal for critical listeners as they have a very dark sound profile. On the upside, their in-ear fit is quite comfortable and blocks a good amount of ambient noise, which can make them a decent option for commuting and at the office. Their portable and breathable design is great for sports, especially if you also use the stability fins for a more secure fit. However, like most truly wireless headphones, these shouldn’t be used for watching TV or gaming due to their high latency and mediocre microphone performance.
- Decently comfortable in-ear fit.
- Durable design with a good IP55 rating.
- Portable, stable and breathable design for sports.
- Dark sound profile.
- Our unit has mismatched drivers.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are mediocre for neutral sound as they don’t have the most neutral sound profile. They have an overemphasized bass that sounds thumpy and boomy. They also lack quite a bit of detail and brightness too. Overall, they sound very dark and are better suited for bass-heavy genres. Also, our unit has mismatched drivers which skew the stereo image to the right side as the right driver is noticeably louder than the left.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are decent for commuting. These headphones are lightweight and fairly comfortable, but they might not be as comfortable as over-ear headphones for long trips. On the upside, their battery life should be enough for your daily commute and their in-ear fit does a decent job at isolating ambient noise, although they shouldn't completely block out the rumbling noise of a bus engine. They are very easy to carry around and their charging case can easily fit in your pockets.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are very good for sports. These headphones are a bit bulkier than most truly wireless headphones but they shouldn't trap heat inside your ears, which means you shouldn’t sweat more than usual when working out. They also come with stability fins, which offer a more secure fit in the ear. They shouldn’t fall out of your ears when working out, but it’s possible that heavy head movements can break the air-tight seal, and you may need to reposition them. They are also rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, which is great, but we don't test this internally.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are okay for office use. They have very good isolation performance against work environment noise like ambient chatter and A/C systems. Unfortunately, their 4.5-hour battery life might not be ideal for a full workday and you’ll need to charge them during your breaks. Also, the in-ear fit may not be the most comfortable as their bulky design can put a bit of pressure inside your ears during long listening sessions. This shouldn’t be a problem if you listen to music from time to time during your day and often take them out of your ears.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are Bluetooth-only headphones and aren't recommended for wireless gaming. They aren't compatible with PS4 or Xbox One and while you can use them on Bluetooth-enabled PCs or mobile devices, their latency is likely too high for any competitive gaming.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are Bluetooth-only headphones and can't be used wired.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are unremarkable for phone calls. While you should still be intelligible to whoever is on the other line, voices recorded with its integrated microphone sound thin, muffled, and lacking in detail. The microphone also struggles to separate voice from background noise in even moderately noisy environments. The headphones themselves do an okay job of passively isolating noise but you may struggle to hear your conversation as some noise can still seep in.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Jun 28, 2019: Review published.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Skullcandy Indy are okay truly wireless headphones that are better suited for bass-heavy music. Unfortunately, our unit had noticeably mismatched drivers, and their overall performance is quite disappointing. They won’t be the best option and their value gets beaten by most other budget truly wireless headphones we’ve reviewed so far. See our recommendations for the best true wireless earbuds, the best wireless earbuds under $50, the best earbuds for small ears, and the best noise cancelling earbuds.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless and the Skullcandy Push Truly Wireless are fairly similar performing headphones. However, since our Indy unit had mismatched drivers, the Push might be a better option. The Push have a bulkier case, which isn't as easy to carry around, but they have an overall better-balanced sound profile and still pack a powerful bass. You also get 6.5 hours of battery life on one charge, which is two hours more than the Indy. On the other hand, the Indy have a sleeker stalk design and a smaller case but might sound too dark for some.
The Skullcandy Sesh Truly Wireless are a little bit better than the Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless. The Sesh feel slightly better made and have a better-balanced sound profile, though it's still quite bass-heavy. On the downside, their battery life is almost an hour less off a single charge, and you get one less full charge from the case. Overall, the Sesh are better value for most people.
The Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless and Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless perform very similarly, which is unsurprising given their similar design. However, some slight differences are present. The Indy have a more bass-heavy sound profile, a more accurate treble response, and a substantially longer battery life. Conversely, the Evo charge faster and have substantially lower audio latency on mobile devices.
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.
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The Skullcandy Indy have a stalk design, similar to the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless or the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless. They have a semi-gloss finish that isn’t as fingerprint-prone as that of the Anker, which is nice. The overall design of the buds is quite bulky for truly wireless in-ears, especially if you add the stability sleeves. They protrude quite a bit out of your ears. If you prefer an earbud-like design at an affordable price, check out the JBL Tune 120 Truly Wireless.
These headphones are fairly comfortable and are lightweight. They have a traditional in-ear fit that can get fatiguing over time, but they don’t put too much pressure in your inner ear. As their control scheme is touch-sensitive, you don’t have to push the headphones further into your ear canal. They come with three tip sizes, but only one size of stability fins. If you're using the stability fins, they can be less comfortable to wear if they don't fit you properly.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless have unremarkable controls. They have a touch-sensitive surface on both sides of the earbuds, which are fairly easy to press. However, the controls can be a bit frustrating to use as the commands aren't the most intuitive. You have access to common functions like call and music management, as well as volume and track skipping. However, they lack audio feedback. You can also accidentally turn them off as the 4-second hold command for pairing mode and the 6-second hold command for turning them off are very close in time. You need to be quick when using the track skipper as it tends to rewind back to the beginning of your song rather than returning back to the previous song.
Like most in-ear headphones, the Indy are very breathable and are a good option for sports. Even if they're a bit bulkier than similarly designed truly wireless in-ears, they don’t trap heat inside your ears and you shouldn't sweat more than usual.
Like most truly wireless in-ears, the Skullcandy Indy True Wireless can easily fit in your pockets or in a bag. They're easy to carry around at all times, especially since they come with a small charging case that protects the headphones when you’re on the move.
The hard charging case of the Skullcandy Indy is good. It's fairly solid and protects the headphones against scratches, minor water exposure, and physical damage from falls. However, it's ever so slightly bulkier than the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless' case, but you shouldn’t have any trouble fitting it inside pants pockets.
These headphones feel decently well-built and shouldn’t break from normal usage. The buds should be dense enough to survive a few accidental drops. They have a semi-glossy finish, which gives them a bit of a cheap feel, but they're not as fingerprint-prone as the Anker SoundCore Liberty Air Truly Wireless. They're also rated IP55 for dust and water resistance, although we don’t currently test this. The case also feels decently made and should help protect the headphones. The Skullcandy Sesh Truly Wireless are slightly better-built than the Indy.
The Skullcandy Indy are stable truly wireless in-ears. They shouldn't fall out when you’re jogging around, but head movement may make them break their airtight seal. They also come with stability fin sleeves. While the fit is slightly less comfortable, they feel more secure inside the ears when using their sleeve. Also, since they're truly wireless, you won’t have a cable that can get snagged on something and yank the headphones out of your ears.
- Skullcandy Indy headphones
- Charging case
- 3x tip sizes
- 1x stability sleeve
- USB to micro-USB charging cable
- Manuals
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless have an overall bass-heavy and dark sound profile. While fans of EDM and hip-hop may enjoy their thumpy, rumbly sound, others may find the bass to be overwhelming and muddy.
The frequency response consistency is excellent. Once you achieve a proper fit and an airtight seal using the assortment of tips that come with the headphones, then you should be able to get consistent bass and treble delivery every time you use these headphones.
The bass accuracy of the Skullcandy Indy is mediocre. The bass is overemphasized across the range, even though the left and right drivers aren't equally matched. This results in bass that's overly thumpy, punchy, and boomy.
The mid accuracy of the Indy is good. Although there's a bit of overemphasis in the low-mids that slightly clutters and muddies vocals as well as lead instruments, the rest of the response is fairly even.
The Skullcandy Indy have mediocre treble accuracy. The treble as a whole is mostly underemphasized and dark sounding. Lead instruments and voices lose some detail and presence while sibilants like S and T sounds are lispy and dull. The high-treble is also very hissy but it's at high enough frequencies that it may not be noticeable to all listeners.
The peaks and dips performance of these headphones is good. There's some mismatch between the left and right drivers, especially throughout most of the bass range and in the low-treble, meaning that one earbud can reproduce sound fairly differently than the other. There's a consistent dip in the mid-treble though, which makes sibilants sound lispy and weak. The peaks in the high-treble also produce hissy sounds but this may not be noticeable to all listeners.
The stereo imaging of the Skullcandy Indy is fair. Their weighted group delay is within very good limits. The group delay graph also shows that the entire response is well below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. However, we measured an important mismatch in frequency between the left and right drivers. This skews the sound in one direction and can create holes in the stereo image at certain frequencies. There’s also a mismatch in amplitude, making the right driver slightly louder than the left, which is noticeable. Note that these results are only valid for our unit and yours may perform differently, though our results may speak to the level of quality control on these headphones.
The soundstage is poor. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds is in such a way that fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it. Also, because these headphones have a closed-back enclosure, their soundstage isn't perceived to be as open as that of open-back earbuds like the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless or the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless.
These headphones don't have any virtual soundstage features.
The harmonic distortion performance of the Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless is good. Although there's a small peak in the mid-treble, it shouldn't be noticeable to all listeners. Otherwise, all other frequencies fall within good limits.
These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when listening using these settings.
The noise isolation performance of the Indy True Wireless is okay. These in-ears don’t have an ANC feature which means they only passively isolate noise. They're not the best option for commuting as they struggle to reduce low noise like bus or plane engines. However, they can block out more noise in the mid-range such as office chatter. They also reduce a lot of higher-pitched noises like A/C fans.
The leakage performance is excellent. The Indy basically don’t leak, so there's no need to worry about disturbing people around with your music, even if you listen at very loud volumes.
These in-ear headphones have an integrated microphone.
The Indy’s integrated mic has an okay recording quality. Voices recorded with their mic sound thin, muffled, and lacking in detail. However, in quiet environments, this shouldn’t affect the intelligibility of speech and people on the line should still be able to understand you.
The integrated microphone of the Skullcandy Indy is mediocre at noise handling. It struggles to separate speech from background noise, even in moderately loud situations and is best-suited for making calls in quiet environments.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless have an unremarkable battery performance. They have around 4.5 hours of continuous battery life which, on its own, isn't enough to get you through a workday. While their carrying case offers three additional charges, it can take some time for them to fully recharge too, especially when compared to their playback, which isn't ideal. On the upside, they go into standby mode if left idle for about five minutes which can help conserve battery life.
These headphones don’t have a companion app.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless have alright Bluetooth support. They can only be connected to a single device at a time and they don’t support NFC for a quicker and easier pairing procedure. While their latency is fairly high on PC and iOS, we measured a lower latency while watching YouTube videos on Android, though audio lag was definitely higher than the similar Skullcandy Indy Evo Truly Wireless. It's worth noting that apps seem to compensate for latency, though, so your mileage may vary in real-life usage.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless are Bluetooth-only headphones.
As expected, these truly wireless headphones don’t have an audio cable. They come with a USB to micro-USB charging cable to charge their carrying case.
The Skullcandy Indy Truly Wireless can be used via Bluetooth on Bluetooth-enabled PCs, but aren't compatible with the PS4. Due to their high latency, they aren't recommended for gaming.
These headphones are Bluetooth-only and therefore aren't compatible with the Xbox One.
The Skullcandy Indy have a charging case that gives you about 3 additional charges, for a total of about 16 hours, but the case doesn’t have any inputs other than to charge it, unlike the similarly-performing Skullcandy Indy Fuel Truly Wireless, which have a case that supports wireless charging.