The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are the next generation of the Skullcandy Riff Wireless and are budget-friendly wireless on-ears. Skullcandy has improved their continuous battery life and added features like multi-device pairing and companion app support, which is good if you want to adjust their sound profile to suit your tastes. The app also provides a low latency 'Game Mode' to help lower audio lag on your Bluetooth devices. Their cheap price point reflects in their plasticky build quality.
Our Verdict
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are satisfactory for neutral sound. Out of the box, they have a pretty excited sound, which delivers intense punch and boom to audio while sibilants like cymbals are piercing. Their on-ear design doesn't create the most immersive soundstage either. Luckily, you can fine-tune their sound using their companion app's graphic EQ and presets.
- Lightweight design.
- Mediocre passive soundstage.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are passable for commute and travel. Even though they can fold up to save space, these on-ears have a plasticky build quality and lack a carrying case to help protect them on the go. They don't have noise cancelling (ANC) and don't block out any of the low rumble of bus engines or passenger chatter. On the upside, their battery easily lasts through long days on the go, and they have a fairly comfortable fit.
- Lightweight design.
- Long continuous battery life.
- Plasticky build.
- Barely blocks out background noise.
- Leaks audio at high volumes.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are decent for sports and fitness. They're lightweight, portable, and have a fairly comfortable fit. However, they can easily fall off your head with moderate physical movement, and their pretty plasticky design may not be the most durable.
- Lightweight design.
- Plasticky build.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are mediocre for office use. These on-ears have a long-lasting continuous battery life that won't run out during long shifts at the office. They can't block out much background noise like your coworkers talking. They also leak a lot of audio at high volumes, so if you like to crank up the volume to your favorite tunes, others around you can hear it. On the upside, they support multi-device pairing, meaning you can connect them to your PC and smartphone simultaneously.
- Supports multi-device pairing.
- Long continuous battery life.
- Barely blocks out background noise.
- Leaks audio at high volumes.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are Bluetooth headphones, and their latency is likely too high for wireless gaming.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are decent for wired gaming. These on-ears come with a 1/8" TRRS cable that you can use to connect them to most consoles with an AUX port. Their excited sound can help bring out sound effects like footsteps in gameplay, although dialogue and instruments sound thin. Their integrated mic also has a very good recording quality, which ensures that teammates hear you clearly. The mic has a little trouble separating your voice from background noise, though.
- Mic has very good recording quality.
- Mediocre passive soundstage.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are fair for phone calls. These on-ears have an integrated mic. It does a very good job of capturing your voice clearly, although if you're taking calls from a busy street, speech can be harder to hear amongst the background noise. Unfortunately, the headphones really struggle to block out background noise, and you'll hear most of the sounds around you.
- Mic has very good recording quality.
- Barely blocks out background noise.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are the next generation of the Skullcandy Riff Wireless and come in two color variations: 'Black' and 'Forest Green', a limited edition collaboration with the non-profit organization, Protect Our Winters. We tested the 'Forest Green' model, and you can see our unit's label here. Since the difference is merely cosmetic, we expect both models to perform similarly.
If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are the next update of the Skullcandy Riff Wireless and have more features than their predecessor. They're a lot more customizable, thanks to their companion app's graphic EQ and presets, and they support multi-device pairing, meaning you can stay connected to two devices at the same time. Like most on-ears, they're fairly comfortable, but their design is very plasticky, especially compared to similarly priced and designed headphones like the JBL Tune 510BT Wireless.
Check out our recommendations for the best on-ear headphones, the best wireless Bluetooth headphones, and the best Skullcandy headphones.
The Sony WH-CH520 Wireless are slightly better headphones than the Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2. Both headphones have a graphic EQ and presets for sound customization and support multi-device pairing. However, the Sony headphones' clamping force is slightly lower than the Skullcandy, and their ear cups are better padded, making them more comfortable for long commutes and days at the office. Their battery also lasts longer and can isolate you from more mid-range ambient noise, like background conversations or leaking audio from a co-worker's headphones.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 are slightly better on-ears than the JBL Tune 510BT. While both headphones are both fairly comfortable and support multi-device pairing, the Skullcandy have a better mic performance, a significantly better battery performance, and sound customization features via their companion app. However, the JBL are better built and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer.
The Beats Solo Pro are better on-ears than the Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2. While both headphones are fairly comfortable, the Beats have a significantly better build quality, a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, and ANC, meaning they can block out a superior amount of background noise. They also have an H1 chip for seamless pairing with your Apple devices. However, the Skullcandy have a better battery performance, and are more customizable, thanks to their companion app. They also support multi-device pairing with up to two devices at a time.
The Skullcandy Riff Wireless 2 have more features than the Skullcandy Hesh 3 Wireless. The Riff 2 are on-ears with a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, their mic has better overall performance, and they have a longer-lasting continuous battery life. They also have a companion app with a graphic EQ and presets to help you adjust them to your liking, and they support multi-device pairing. However, the Hesh 3 are over-ears with a more comfortable and better build.
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