The Skullcandy Crusher ANC available for £249.99 via Skullcandy.co.uk
Skullcandy has been a brand we here at What Mobile have tested a number of there products. The brand was always originally aimed for the 16-24 years olds who love their bass and the Crusher ANC takes over from the headshaking Crusher 360 we reviewed back in March.
On the first inspection, the Crusher ANC keeps the sensory bass slider and also keeps easy to use buttons but the new crusher adds ANC to the mix. The Crusher ANC also comes with a hardshell case and USB-C cable and 3.5mm cable for wired connection. Anyone who reads my reviews knows I love a good case to keep the headphones safe when not in use.
The crusher ANC costs £249.99 so at that price, I had certain expectations and where the crusher 360 before them had a metal construction but the crusher ANC version is now made mostly of plastic which is a little disappointing considering the cost.
Taking the fact Skullcandy has used mainly plastic they have created a great looking pair of headphones. These headphones come in two colours black or deep red which is what I picked for this review. The deep red is more eye-catching but I perfected that like so many pairs I get are black so this made a nice change.
As mentioned the headphones do use a lot of plastic but they have created a well-designed pair of headphones that felt study which is great when you consider the price. The headband is also cushioned with faux leather making it comfortable and prevented that pressure you get with the band on some overhead headphones out there. The headphones also fold and the cups rotate to add to that comfort.
The headphone cups are covered with faux leather and I found these very comfortable on long periods of use and I mainly used these for my daily trip to work and sometimes suffer from sweaty ears when using overhead headphones but not with the crusher ANC’s.
On the controls they are divided up on the left cup you have the Bass slider and the power control above with 4 LEDs to indicate the headphones are on and the amount of battery. The Sider does take most of the space on the left side but that to be expected and helps you get the required level of bass impact with ease. Which I will discuss later the review by placing 3 fingers on the side of the left cup it will switch between ambient mode and ANC mode.
The right earcup is where the rest of the controls are such as the volume controls and the multi-function button under the buttons you have the USB-C charging port and 3.5mm jack for that wired connection if you wish. My only negative is I have seen headphones that cost less cover that so these two ports can not get damaged I would have preferred these to be covered.
The Crusher ANC also introduces a built-in Tile tracker which is great if you have misplaced your headphones. However, this only works within a particular distance but is handy to have as they start to bleep louder the longer you’re looking for them
Moving onto how the crushers sound there are two slides of these like the crusher 360s before them if you have the sensory bass turned off they sound nice and balanced however turn up the sensory bass slider and you get a completely different sound. The sensory bass slider gives you incredibly strong bass that with the ANC on and the slider at 25/30% it creates an improvement to the sound that you will struggle to find on other headphones. However, crank this up to 100% and you will last less than 5 minutes it will simply shake your face and make the sound unbearable. However, My kids loved the bass slider on 50% when using these and playing call of duty or watching a film they come into there element.
What I found unique about these and have only seen this feature on the nuraphone headphones is when you pair these to your phone and download the app they give you a hearing test to build a unique equalizer curve and helps create a more balanced sound signature.
These headphones also have the ANC technology and I found it a bit of a mixed bag when committing the ANC did cut out a large amount of outside noise it even cut out a brass band happening at London Liverpool St station. However, We have also had some poor weather and the ANC did struggle with the outside wind. The headphones also have an ambient mode which reduces the sound a little to allow outside noise in while offering the chance to still listen to your music. This was good when I was waiting to hear train announcements at the station and was a nice feature to have.
Battery life on these are less than the crusher 360 which was 30 hours with the crusher ANC offering 24 hours or 20 hours if you are using the ANC and the sensory bass setting is being used.
So overall, The Skullcandy Crusher ANC are fantastic for the bass lover in you but I feel at the price of £249 it seems little expensive for a pair of headphones with one special trick that after a while you might only use at 50% bass. I also question Skullcandy on the use a lot of plastic but I feel they saved these headphones with the comfort of these headphones as I loved to wear these on my travels. The ANC I found was a great addition and was very welcome. I also found taking calls on these headphones were nice and clear and the microphone built-in picked up my voice perfectly.
These headphones also come with a built-in tile which helps to find your headphones if in a rush. Now some people will feel there are other headphones on the market at this price range that will offer a more premium feel and sound better and you would be right as the Sony WH-1000XM3 give you that premium quality. However, if you want to rock out to some Bon-Jovi or watch a film and feel every drop of excitement crack up that bass sensor and enjoy then these are worth buying.
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC available for £249.99 via Skullcandy.co.uk