The Skullcandy Crusher may not sound like something you’ll want to put on your head, but wait: it’s a noise-canceling headset that packs in several unique features that you won’t find elsewhere. But can a button to adjust the basses and a personal tuning based on an ear test be enough to stand out from the crowd? There are plenty of rivalsâ ?? ¦

Advantages of ANC During the spring lockdown we are â ???? and probably more people â ???? will appreciate the benefits of noise-canceling headphones even more. NC headphones were already on the rise anyway, but the sales figures are now getting even more of a boost. So if you’re looking for an explanation of why so many new headphones are popping up that actively combat ambient noise, that’s it.

Among the many new models that have recently appeared we also saw this futuristically shaped Skullcandy Crusher ANC, which for approximately 220 euro is in the shops. Not to be confused with the â ???? ordinaryâ ???? and older Crusher Wireless headphones that only have Bluetooth, by the way. But given that the design of the two Crushers differs somewhat, the risk of making a mistake is rather small.

With its price tag of just over 200 Euro, the Crusher ANC is a middle class in the segment. That is significantly cheaper than the high-end models, such as the Sony WH – 1000 XM3 or Bose NCH 700, and still a bit more pricey than the loafers. The Philips PH 805 for example. What do you get for that amount? Some surprising and even unique things. The most important two: you can personalize the sound on the basis of an ear test and via a large slider you can adjust the basses while listening. Certainly the latter function is not only available for music, but also for people who play games and watch films while traveling. Most NC headphones don’t really do much with those audiences, so Skullcandy does.

Modern looks Like many of its peers, the Crusher ANC is a headphones designed for mobile use. You can fold it so that you can easily store it in the supplied case. It is a very solid fabric thing, by the way, with room for the charging cable and a thin audio cable for when the battery is empty. The headphones are available in different color editions (including a stylish black version with cognac brown ear cushions) and are made of plastic, so that the weight can be kept low. That is not at the expense of the build quality; the Crusher ANC seems solid and doesn’t crack when we twist it. That is immediately distinctive compared to cheaper devices.

The Crusher ANC looks a bit futuristic, an impression that is reinforced by the three large buttons on the right ear and Sensory Bass slider and a series of bright LEDs indicating the battery level on the left. And then there is the USB-C port (handy, you can use the cable from your new smartphone) and an aux input for wired listening. This remains a useful option if you want to watch a movie on an airplane via the inflight system.

Real buttons The buttons on the Crusher NC are large but very easy to operate by touch. That is a plus. And we prefer physical buttons to touchpads for headphones because you can always operate real keys, even when wearing gloves, so that’s worth a pat on the back. But don’t worry, touchpad lovers: Skullcandy has also thought of you. By tapping on the left ear you can switch on noise canceling or activate an ambient mode so that you become more aware of your surroundings.

If you look closely, the feeling of luxury disappears a bit, partly because the brackets and small visual elements that seem to be metal from far away still appear plastic at a few centimeters away. The ear pads are of high quality and rest softly on the head. Since the headband is also well padded at the top (with a shape that allows a little more cooling), the Crusher ANC deserves good marks when it comes to comfort. expected, to be fair.

The headphone housings and ear pads are a bit narrower than normal, which puts the Crusher ANC somewhere on the border between a large on-ear and a smaller over-ear headphone. Those looking for a more discreet, smaller device that sits more subtly on your head should check out this Skullcandy. Sure, that subtlety is somewhat undermined by the logo of an alien skull on both sides of the headband. But you don’t expect much subtlety from a brand with a name like Skullcandy, right?

All for you You don’t need to install the Skullcandy app (iOS, Android) if you don’t want to. If you do, you do get access to a number of useful things (such as firmware updates) and the show-off function of these headphones: personal sound. The underlying idea is that everyone’s hearing is different (and that is correct, partly due to age effects) and headphones should take this into account. Otherwise, you won’t hear your music the way the headphone designer wanted.

Skullcandy isn’t the first to discover this. The AKG N 90 Q and Sony WH – 1000 For example, XM3 use test tones to adjust the display to the fit on the ears. Because yes, that also has an influence. What Skullcandy does is different. It uses technology from Audiodo, a Swedish startup that has devised an algorithm to adjust the sound signal to your ear characteristics. To find out how and what you hear correctly, you have to go through a relatively extensive hearing test in the Skullcandy. You really have to take some time for it and â ???? above all – find a very quiet environment. A whole series of test tones are played per ear, including tones that are very quiet, each time indicating whether you hear something or not. Based on this inquiry, Audiodo creates a filter that adjusts the sound, and that per ear. After all, it is quite possible that one ear perceives certain frequencies better than the other.

It all sounds very technical, but in the app it is kept simple. Just tap a button if you hear the tone or not. Then yes, a curve is presented per ear, without explanation or checkpoints, but with a button so that you can immediately switch between â ???? offâ ???? and â ???? optimizedâ ????. This way you can decide for yourself what the function does and whether you think it is worthwhile.

It is also useful that you can perform the test several times and save multiple profiles. The first time we did that, there was some background noise, which prevented us from hearing certain tones. In a later test at a quieter time of the day we heard more tones and the personal representation was therefore slightly different. Is the feature really useful? We think so. The fact that we got a slightly different result for each measurement proves that an algorithm is only as good as the data you feed it, but the result was still slightly more balanced than the standard display. And by that we do not only mean per se in terms of frequency response, but above all that a better balance was created between left and right. Which in turn made the soundstage bigger and allowed the music to ‘escape’ more? out of your head. It’s not that the closed Crusher ANC suddenly took on the character of an open audiophile headphone, but thanks to the function it does take a step in that direction.

Flapping ears The Crusher ANC has one more function that you can call special: Sensory Bass. You operate it via a large slider at the bottom of the left driver housing. Slide this button up and basses will be thickened. But this is not just an extra bass button. It mainly works on very low tones, so that you do not immediately notice anything when listening to, say, violin music or when watching a film scene with only dialogues. That changes immediately when there are beats in music or that movie shifts into a higher gear and action starts. Then you get a good portion of sub bass served, including strong physical feedback, a bit similar to the vibration function on a Dualshock controller. In its highest position it is almost overwhelming. When we took the Crusher to the â ???? Old Guardâ ???? watched via Netflix on our LG GX8 smartphone, with Sensory Bass on max mode, we almost jumped out of our seat during a shootout and moments later when a helicopter came into view during Charlize Theron and Matthias Schoenaerts’ journey to South Sudan. It seemed as if our ears were flapping, and it even leaned a little towards the pain threshold! Perhaps this works so well because the sub-basses are delivered directly to your skull, thanks to a motor that is included in the driver housing. Sensory Bass is one of those things you love or despise, and it may also be a main reason for some to get that Crusher ANC. With games and films, it really adds value, if you ask us, but to an extent. At maximum strength it can really get too much.

Where is â ???? em? Are you someone who always loses things? Then the Tile compatibility of the Crusher ANC is a real asset. Tile is a service that works via an app and helps you to find a lost device. You must first register the Crusher ANC via the Tile app, then you can locate the headphones by having it play a loud sound. It’s a good idea, but the Crusher’s speakers can’t be loud enough for you to hear from afar. No problem if the headphones are on the couch, for example, but if there is a pillow or a stack of strips on it, you will only detect the sound from close by. The added value is therefore quite relative, especially in a messy house. Nevertheless, Tile functionality is a bit of hype. Bose and Sennheiser also provide it on select headphones, such as the Momentum Wireless 3.

Enough functions with this Skullcandy, but what about the sound quality? Sensory Bass and the personal sound profiles have a strong influence on what you hear. Still, we dare to say that the Crusher ANC is a commercially tuned headphone, with somewhat heavier basses that suit urban genres and electronic music. That’s fine if you’re looking for just that. More importantly, these headphones are good in terms of drivers and adjustment. A solid bass foundation is indeed provided, but basses remain clean and detailed, and they do not drown out higher frequencies. With that, the Crusher ANC plays at a higher level. You are not listening to bloated or bloated basses and otherwise a dull sound â ???? as you may experience with cheaper headphones.

Vocals are beautifully presented, we notice when listening to â ???? Meryemâ ????, an atmospheric album (CD quality via Qobuz) by the Moroccan singer Meryem Aboulouafa that mixes many influences around and sometimes towards trip hop and trance. Songs like the intense â ???? Retreat! Â ???? and the slow, cinematic â ???? Deeplyâ ???? sound good on the Crusher ANC, although we do find with the latter that the basses dominate slightly when the volume is really loud. We are sorry that there is no equalizer in the app. If we listen to this album via BubbleUPnP and EQâ € ™ and there, it balances out nicely. OK, that is far too cumbersome for many listeners, but it is a plus that the Crusher ANC handles such adjustments without any problems. By the way, confirm t also our Huawei P 30 Pro that the Crusher ANC aptX and aptX Supports HD, two Bluetooth codecs that give a better guarantee of quality. Good news for the mobile audiophile, which aptX HD will not often encounter in this price segment.

The noise canceling on the Skullcandy does its job, but is certainly not as effective as with the high-end models. Perhaps also because the passive isolation with these headphones is somewhat more limited, especially compared to the JBL Club One, for example. In our simulation, where we played a YouTube video of a train ride through a snowstorm, we could still perceive the typical track sounds when no music was playing through the headphones. If you do watch a movie or listen to music, the train mesh almost completely disappears into the background. Remarkable: voice noises are very well eliminated. The Crusher ANC therefore seems a good choice for an open office environment or if you are always listening to something while commuting. Travelers who use NC headphones to rest and don’t play anything should opt for highly effective noise-canceling headphones like the top Sony model.

Conclusion Some unique features make the Crusher ANC a special NC headphones, and at a reasonable price. The biggest flaw is the slight noise. You have that with many headphones with active noise cancellation, but here it is just a bit louder. At the same time, it is hardly bothering you when listening to music, and certainly not in a noisy environment. However, the NC cannot eliminate the loudest environmental noise. The Sensory Bass button is really great. At its highest setting it is crazy overkill for music, even for a convincing basshead, but at a lower setting it is a great bonus for movies and games. These headphones are definitely recommended for Netflix on the train or plane.

Skullcandy Crusher ANC

219 euro | www.skullcandy.com

Rating 4 out of 5