Skullcandy Crusher Wireless Headphones Overview

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless are good over-ears for most situations, featuring a unique bass slider to boost the already bass-heavy sound. Out of all the Skullcandy headphones we've tried so far, they feature the greatest build and design. They're also simple to use, have a long battery life, and sound nice even when not using the slider. Unfortunately, the bass is a little too strong for most people, especially when the slider is engaged. They also don't block much noise and are a touch too snug on the head, which may be irritating at times.

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Skullcandy Crusher Design

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless circumaural (over-ear) headphones are available in matte black and include memory foam earpads and a well-cushioned headband. The earcups completely enclose the ear and even provide a reasonable level of passive noise isolation—enough to muffle adjacent office noise or reduce harsh jet or train ambient noise by a small amount.

On the right earcup's side panel, there are three buttons. Playback, Bluetooth connection, and call management are all controlled via a single multifunction power button. The plus and minus buttons manage volume (in combination with the master volume settings on your mobile device) and track navigation—not our favourite method of control because it makes it easy to skip a track when you don't plan to only adjust the volume. However, the Crusher Wireless are hardly the only headphones utilizing this type of control asssignment.

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A micro USB charging port and a 3.5mm connector for wired listening are included on the left earcup. For wired, passive listening, Skullcandy includes a micro USB charging cord as well as a flat, linguini-style 3.5mm audio cable. The cable, which has a red-and-blue connector on the earcup end (the only colour flair in the entire design), also features an integrated remote with only a single button that uses a sequence of clicks to control playing, track navigation, and call management. It does not, however, have volume control. The adjustable bass slider is likewise on the left earcup's side panel, and it's incredibly easy to use and won't move if your fingers accidentally hit it. The headphones come with two cords, as well as a black drawstring tote with faux-fur lining and a mesh pocket for the wires.

Skullcandy Crusher Battery

Skullcandy claims a battery life of up to 40 hours, but your mileage may vary depending on your volume, bass, and mix of wired and wireless playing. When you connect the audio wire, the headphones will turn off automatically, but the bass slider will continue to work.

Skullcandy Crusher Performance

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The headphones give a solid bass response when the levels are low on tracks with significant sub-bass content, such as The Knife's "Silent Shout," and the most absurd sound I've ever heard from headphones when the bass slider is set to maximum. At this volume, you can feel your eardrums pounding and hear absolutely nothing in the mix save for a massive bass presence. For drummers and sound engineers, it sounds like a microphone inside a massive kick drum with all of the high frequencies filtered out. Although the bass response may "go to 11," as Nigel Tufnel would say, even dedicated bass fans will likely be satisfied with the performance around level four or five (though there are no numerical demarcations to use as a guide). The headphones provide this audio without any distortion (and lots of high frequency presence) at the lowest bass level, and with no distortion at the highest, absolutely absurd bass settings. However, it will feel as if your brain has been replaced with a subwoofer in your head.

This tune throbs owing to the tactile bass sense, even with only a smidgeon of extra bass from the slider. About that: It's evident that Skullcandy designed earcups with hollow recesses that allow vibrations to travel through more easily. You can really hear the entire device vibrate with a massive, low frequency resonance if you press a button or even just the exterior of the earcups while there is no music playing, as if you were tapping a gigantic, hollow PVC pipe.

With the bass slider at zero on tunes like Bill Callahan's "Drover," the headphones nonetheless deliver a rich, powerful bass sound, with Callahan's baritone voice receiving a strong low and low-mid presence. They could probably use a bit more high-mid clarity to bring out their treble edge, which would also help the guitar strums. However, as claimed, this is a bass-heavy sound. The low frequency presence alters substantially when you add even a little bass from the slider. At level three, for example, you have as much bass presence, resonance, and vibration as any mix can manage, and things sound as nice as they're going to sound at level one or two. The drums have a greater feeling of depth and space in these realms, and the bass is more forceful. Strange things start to happen at higher levels: voice plosives start to generate bass vibrations, and the drums just take over the entire mix.

Final Verdict

Headphones that may be used for a variety of purposes. The Crusher Wireless has a long battery life and a good sound quality, but it's very bassy. They're also easier to use and have a superior build quality than the other Skullcandy headphones we've tried so far. Unfortunately, they're a little snug on larger heads and don't block enough noise in loud areas like commutes and trips. They also have a bit too much delay, like most Bluetooth headphones, for watching a lot of video material or gaming.

Pros and Cons of Skullcandy Crusher Wireless Headphones

Pros

The battery life is excellent.
Build quality is excellent.
It's simple to use and has nice controls.

Cons

With or without the slider, the sound is very bass-heavy.
On the head, it's a little tight.
Poor noise isolation.

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