Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT True Wireless  Headphones Review

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT Wireless are similar in appearance to the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless and Skullcandy Indy ANC True Wireless. They have a monochromatic design and feature a non-descript manufacturer's logo at the top of each stem. They're currently available in three color variants: 'True Black,' 'Bone/Orange Glow,' and 'Matcha.'

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds Wireless are quite comfortable. They come with three differently-sized ear tips to help you achieve the best fit. The body of the earbud is also big enough to fit snuggly in your outer ear. However, the ear tips are made of a stiffer type of silicone than other in-ear earbuds, and, depending on your ears, you might have to apply some force when putting them in. As a result, you might find them fatiguing to wear over extended periods due to the tight fit.

The controls on these headphones are passable. You input commands by tapping the buds with your finger. However, the sensor is located right on the Skullcandy logo and is quite sensitive, so it's easy to accidentally activate the touch-sensitive surface while readjusting your fit. You can input most controls on either bud, so even if you're only using one bud, you can still access all the necessary controls. There are voice acknowledgments for when pairing or changing the EQ preset, a max volume warning tone, as well as a tone played with every tap. The tone and voice prompts are all played at the same volume, which can be loud and jarring.

• Tap once: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and end calls.
• Tap twice: Raises the volume.
• Tap three times: Lowers the volume.
• Tap four times: Cycles through EQ modes.
• Tap six times: Re-syncs the earbuds.
• Press and hold for one second: Powers on the buds.
• Double tap and hold both buds for one second: Powers off the buds.
• Press and hold for three seconds: Pairing Mode.
• Hold down both earbuds for six seconds: Resets the paired device list.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds are extremely portable. Like most truly wireless earbuds, they're light and have a small form factor. They come with a small carrying case that'll allow you to charge them on the go.

They come with a small, very light case made of plastic. While the case itself doesn't feel flimsy or loose, the hinge is also made of plastic and could easily be damaged if you drop the case. A small LED light is next to the charging port that lets you know when the case is charging.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds are made from 50% recycled plastic but still feel decently sturdy and are certified IPX4 for resistance against water splash damage. The included ear tips are made of stiffer and lower-quality silicone than on other wireless in-ears, meaning they likely need to be replaced after long-term use. The case is plastic and feels quite durable. However, it's let down by its plastic hinge, which feels flimsy and prone to break down the line.

These headphones have decent stability. They won't fall out of your ear during a run, but more intense exercise can cause their fit to loosen and require re-adjustment.

• Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT Wireless earbuds
• User guide
• 3x silicone ear tips
• Charging case
• Charging cable (USB-A to USB-C)

Using the 'Music' EQ setting, the Skullcandy Smokin' Buds XT have a v-shaped sound profile that overemphasizes the bass and mid-treble frequencies. The bass is less prominent than in other Skullcandy headphones, like the Skullcandy Indy ANC True Wireless, but electronic music fans will appreciate the boom and punch in the low end. However, a few bumps in the mid-mid to mid-treble range cause lead instruments, vocals, and sibilants to sound very bright overall.

Tapping either bud four times also allows you to choose between three different EQ presets: 'Music' (which is the default setting), 'Podcast', and 'Movie'. These presets tweak the sound profile to fit these different media types. 'Music' and 'Movie' both have boosted bass for a thumpy, boomier sound, while the podcast preset rolls off a lot of these bass frequencies for improved speech clarity. The 'Music' and 'Podcast' settings also have a bit more treble than the 'Movie' setting, injecting some extra high-end sparkle to instruments and speech. You can see the frequency response of the 'Movie', 'Music', and 'Podcast' settings here. The 'Music' response is hidden behind the 'Movie' and 'Podcast' responses.

These headphones have excellent frequency response consistency. Once you get a decent fit with the provided silicone ear tips, it's easy to achieve a consistent sound every time you use them.

Their bass accuracy is decent. The response is overemphasized across the entire bass range. However, a particularly large overemphasis in the high-bass makes lower-frequency instruments, like kicks and basslines, sound boomy. Your music will have plenty of punch and rumble, but the prominent bass also overpowers other frequencies, causing mixes to sound muddy.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds have great mid accuracy. Their response is fairly flat, with a slight over-emphasis in the low-mid, which makes vocals sound quite cluttered but brings out the punch in snare drums. There's also a slight overemphasis in the high-mid that gives clarity to mid-range instruments. In songs like Feist's Inside and Out, this peak adds a nice intensity to instruments like the horn and piano stabs that punctuate the chorus.

These headphones have decent treble accuracy. The treble range, on the whole, is quite emphasized. Overall, lead instruments and vocals sound bright and present, but a significant peak in the mid-treble causes sibilants, like cymbals, to sound harsh and piercing.

The peaks and dips performance on the Skullcandy Smokin' Buds is very good, and they do a solid job of following their own sound profile. As with other Skullcandy earbuds, a slight peak in the high-bass and low-mid affects the left driver more prominently. There's also a dip in the mid-mid that makes vocals and lead instruments sound a little hollow. Finally, there's a significant peak in the mid-treble, which overemphasizes sibilants, like cymbals, causing them to sound harsh and piercing.

As with other Skullcandy in-ears, the imaging performance is excellent and indicative of the brand's quality control and ergonomics. The weighted group delay falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble response. The L/R drivers are also well-matched in frequency, amplitude, and phase response, except for a slight reduction in soundstage presence in the mid-range, which can cause vocals to be less impactful and wide-sounding. However, this is unlikely to be noticeable when listening to real-life content. Imaging can still vary somewhat between units, though.

These headphones have an awful soundstage performance, which is normal for in-ear headphones. Headphones with good soundstage performance require a degree of interaction between the outer ear and sound waves. However, these headphones' in-ear design bypasses the outer ear. As a result, the soundstage will feel narrow, small, and unnatural.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds' weighted harmonic distortion performance is impressive. There are a few peaks across the bass and treble ranges at lower listening volumes; however, they're difficult to detect when listening to music or movies unless you're an astute audiophile. Even at higher volumes, the frequency range still falls within good limits, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings we used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

These buds have a satisfactory noise isolation performance. While they lack ANC, their in-ear design does a good job of passively blocking background noise, particularly higher-pitched sounds like nearby conversations and PA announcements. While they block some lower frequencies, bass-heavy sounds like bus and plane engines will still be noticeable while listening to audio.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds XT have excellent leakage performance. They don't leak a lot of noise, and any escaping audio sounds thin and is unlikely to bother those around you. They're well suited to quiet settings like the office as their leakage won't be audible, even at high volumes.

The microphone on these headphones is of good quality. On the whole, speech is clear and easily understandable. That said, although it has slightly more presence in the bass range than the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless, you'll still find that your voice lacks body and sounds a little thin.

The microphone has a sub-par noise handling performance. Loud environments, like a busy street or subway platform while there's a train approaching, will drown out your voice. However, it does a passable job of separating your voice from quieter environments and can be used to take calls at home or in a quiet office. However, the AI-assisted noise handling in the Skullcandy Dime 3 True Wireless does a better job of cutting down this kind of noise.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds/Buds XT Wireless have a reasonable battery performance. They last for around eight hours of continuous use with an additional 12 hours of charge stored in their case, which aligns with what the manufacturer advertises. This means they'll last you throughout the workday, and you can always top up via the case while you're on the go. They also feature a 'Rapid Charge' function, which adds up to two hours of playtime with just 10 minutes of charging. However, these headphones lack power-saving features, like the Skullcandy Dime 2 True Wireless' standby feature. Battery life also differs based on usage.

It's worth noting that we had to replace our initial unit due to an issue that prevented the right bud from charging again after draining its battery. We don't expect this to be a common issue, but let us know in the forums if you've encountered a similar issue.

Their Bluetooth performance is decent. While pairing with a single device is easy, these headphones don't support multi-device or NFC pairing, and the lack of a companion app makes it difficult to switch between devices, as you can't see which device the headphones are currently paired to. That said, they have fairly low latency on iOS devices and passable Android latency. However, PC latency is quite high, so you'll likely notice your audio and video being out of sync. Some apps will automatically compensate for Bluetooth latency, so check which apps you'll use to play content.

You can only use these headphones wirelessly. They come with a USB-A to USB-C cable to charge the carrying case.

These buds have full audio and mic compatibility with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. However, you can't connect them in any other way.

The Skullcandy Smokin' Buds come with a portable case that supplies around 1.5 extra charges. It charges via the supplied USB-C cable.