Do You Want to Boost the Bass?
Skullcandy Crusher Wireless Review

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless is a solid wireless headphone that bass lovers will love for its ability to put the bass on blast.

I think we can all agree on this:

When it comes to headphones, there are a lot of products out there that could really benefit from having more bass.

One particular company that has heard this call and has responded with aplomb is Skullcandy, which has come out with bass-heavy headphones called the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless.

In this review, we’ll going to take an in-depth look at this product and see if it truly delivers the goods, especially for it price tag.

A few years back, Skullcandy introduced audiophiles to the Skullcandy Crusher headphones.

These were wired headphones that utilized AA batteries to give listeners a boost in bass. The company latest salvo — the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless — does away with the AA batteries as well as the wire in lieu of a rechargeable battery and wireless capability.

Now, we totally get that not everyone likes too much bass. So, who did Skullcandy make the Crusher Wireless for?

Let’s take a look:

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless does not have active noise canceling capabilities that other premium headphones have.

That is okay though since the product makes up for that with some plush earpads that do more than an average job at blocking out the usual noises that you encounter on your daily commute.

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless currently retails at a little over $100.

However, if you have the patience to hold out on a little while longer, you may be able to pick these up at just $100, which is quite the bargain considering the high quality of this particular product.

If you’re wondering why we believe the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless exudes of premium quality, let us tell you why:

When it comes to the design, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless takes a classic approach, moving away from the usual gaudy sheen that other offerings have, and dresses in all black.

The headphones also have a matte finish, which means you are safe from any unsightly scratches that might dull its look.

If you want to go for something with a brighter color, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless also has a white variant that features tan earpads.

At the end of the day, it really depends on your aesthetic preferences whether the simple nature of the headphones’ design will catch your attention or not.

As far as build is concerned, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless feels sturdy.

The matte black finish on the cups and the faux leather on the ear pads and the headbands feels smooth to the touch.

However, one drawback is these materials are magnets for marks, which means it does not take long for these to look grimy.

However, these headphones offer a superb and comfortable fit, thanks to the memory foam earpads and the headband that features a very soft cushion.

Most times, when using other headphones for an extended period of time, the pressure on your ears and temples tend to build up.

That did not happen with the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless even though they are firmly placed against the ear.

As a matter of fact, the earpads completely cover your ear and although these do not have a noise-cancellation feature, it still manages to provide users with a decent amount of passive noise cancellation, which is just enough to lessen ambient noise that might be coming from either the train or airplane engine.

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless comes with a carrying bag that not only looks great but is also functional.

It is made of thick material, is totally waterproof and has a lining made of faux fur that will keep your headphones from getting marks and scratches.

The headphones itself can be folded to fit into the bag, making it a very convenient device to bring with you wherever you go.

Diving into the controls, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless has nifty buttons on it that allow you to control the music without having to bring out your smartphone.

You will find these buttons on the back of the right ear — one is a circular button accompanied by a plus and a minus one.

These buttons are responsible for a whole lot of things such as turning the headphones’ power on and off, pairing it with a device through Bluetooth, skipping to and from songs, answering calls, volume control, and playing and pausing music.

Admittedly, this is not a preferred setup amongst music lovers as it is quite easy to end up skipping a track when you just meant to raise or lower the value.

It can actually be frustrating at times, as holding a button for three seconds just to skip a song is just far too long especially when there are other products in the market that offer a single touch setup.

To be fair to the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless, it is not the first or the last product to make use of this particular kind of control setup.

The control buttons are positioned neatly but at the same time, they are also flat, making the process of finding them to be a bit tricky.

On the left earcup is where you will find a micro USB port mean to charge the device as well as 3.5-millimeter aux cable if you prefer wired listening.

The red and blue colored cable also features a remote that has a single button for playback, call management and song navigation.

On that very same left earcup is where you will find the bass adjuster, which essentially controls the amount of bass that you will be hearing.

However, you will not see any numbers on this particular slider, leaving you to experiment with the controls to find a level that suits your audio tastes.

Skullcandy projects the battery to last up to 40 hours but it really depends on how loud your volume is and how powerful your bass levels are.

Nevertheless, battery life is one of this product’s strong suits.

During our testing, we used the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless at average to high volume with the haptic bass level set at low and ended up getting more than 40 hours of playing time before it needed to be charged.

All told, the overall design of the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless is pleasantly discreet with the only visible branding being a small logo right above the earcup.

The all-black color of the headphones also makes it unassuming enough to be used on daily commutes, which is something that can’t be said for other brands and products that boast of rather garish color schemes.

Now that you know that it already looks good, but how does it perform?

Let’s find out:

Skullcandy has made it pretty clear what the Crusher Wireless’ main feature is. And no, it isn’t the fact that these are wireless headphones.

Rather, it the adjustable bass feature that also has haptic feedback.

The brand’s marketing spiel says the device provides you with bass that you can actually feel.

In this regard, they certainly were not lying.

However, coming upon a suitable point to fix the slider is an arduous trial and error process.

And more often than not, you will not even get past the halfway point because when you do, what you will end up with is a sound that is, to be perfectly blunt, outlandish.

The vibration caused by this adjustment is palpable and you’ll hear more bass than you will ever like.

It is akin to wearing a subwoofer that can result in sound that is all over the place; distorted vocals, overbearing drum sounds, and low-frequency sound that deliver a rather nasty pulsing sound than a satisfying beat.

Even the most ardent bass fans will not hesitate to tell you that the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless provides just too much bass for its own good.

The headphones without the bass adjuster or the bass turned off were quite different.

The sound delivered was rich, and while it leaned toward the bass, it still kept other frequencies no matter the song genre.

If you are a true blue audiophile, it will be too much to expect a crisp and detailed sound especially for headphones at this price range.

However, for the casual listener, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless comes through in more ways than one.

Whenever we pushed the bass slider up a little, it managed to slightly push low-frequency sounds to the forefront, while drums and bass sounds featured more punch than when the bass slider was turned off.

Whenever the same settings were used when watching the movies, the result was a pleasant movie experience wherein orchestral soundtracks really complimented the action on the screen.

When used playing video games, the haptic feedback during explosive moments added another layer of excitement to the gaming experience.

To be quite blunt, there are times when we’d rather use these to enjoy a movie or a video game rather than listen to songs.

In addition, we noticed that there is some hollow space between the ear cups which allows room for the vibration to have a much more substantial impact.

If you tap these without any music playing, you can actually feel the entire device vibrate with some resonance, much like if you were knocking on a large PVC pipe.

This is not really an issue but it’s still worth mentioning for the purpose of this comprehensive review.

As mentioned several times already, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless are not noise-canceling headphones so it’s safe to say that there will be some sound leaking in and out.

Still, the degree of noise cancellation that these headphones offer is still way better than most, which means you won’t have to worry about others learning about your fascination with BTS and K-Pop or be bothered too much by ambient noise.

When it comes to connectivity, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless is very easy to pair with pretty much any device.

Once connected, the connection is seamless and strong with consistent sound quality even from some distance away.

However, do note that walls and doors will disrupt the connection like they always do with virtually any Bluetooth connection.

When it comes to taking calls, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless delivered surprisingly great call quality with a microphone that clearly conveyed whatever I had to say to the person on the other end of the call.

Even in a somewhat noisy outdoor environment, we still managed to have a coherent conversation.

 So how does the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless add up to?

Here is our verdict:

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless headphones are snug and comfortable to use and fun to use especially if you are an audiophile that loves to put the bass on blast.

They also offer a superb battery life of up to 40 hours on a single charge.

The best part is:

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless can be had at a more than reasonable price.

And even though this device will draw more than its fair share of bass lovers that will have a lot of fun tinkering with the haptic bass slider in an effort to find the right level, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless still delivers a rich and well-rounded sound for people that are looking for more balance in their listening experience.

And for as long as you don’t go too crazy with the adjustable haptic slider, these headphones do more than a decent job of providing the audio and sounds for both movies and video games — especially the action-packed ones that feature its fair share of explosions and an orchestra soundtrack.

Let us be very clear though:

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless is not necessarily the best-sounding headphones at this particular price point.

However, what they offer is an appealing package that delivers good-enough sound without burning a hole right through your pocket.

These headphones are more than capable of letting anyone listen to their favorite tracks or e-books on their daily commute to work, so much so that we would even go out on a limb and recommend these to be your everyday, go-to headphones.

And even though they do not give off the vibe that they would last for a few years, they still look like they could hold up the rigors of daily life.

They also provide more than decent isolation from external noise, which means you can enjoy your music, movies or video games without much disruption.

Even at its current price point, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless headphones are as solid purchase as any so long as you are aware of the sound quality that you will be getting.

The adjustable haptic bass slider may look like it is a lot of fun to play around with.

However, in reality, it just might be nothing more than a gimmick involving bass sound rather than an actual, functional feature that can give bass lovers a heck of a good time.

It definitely works for explosions in either a flick or a video game but you do have to remind yourself to bring it back down to a lower level so that you can hear whatever dialogue the movie has.

In exchange, you’ll be benefiting from prolonged use, thanks to its long battery life and durable, portable construction.

Comfort is also one of these headphones’ strong points with its plush ear padding.

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless headphones will not stand out because of its aesthetic value, but we reckon it will still appeal to those that like their everyday devices to be unassuming (they certainly don’t get any more unassuming than the matte black finish).

As discussed, the bass switch did not really hit the mark but some might take a liking to it, given how it can boost the bass from zero to 100 real quick.

 The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless has some serious competition from other headphones at this price point but if you do decide to pick these up, we don’t think you’re making a wrong choice.