Skullcandy Crusher 360 Headphones Review
My search for the best headphones takes me by Skullcandy - a company that I’ll freely admit always made me nervous in the past.
They always fell into the same category as Beats by Dre, those 50 Cent headphones, and other rapper-branded audio equipment. You paid for the brand, rather than sound quality. But I’m happy to be proven wrong and on the surface of it, the Crusher 360 headphones could do just that.
Open up the box and you have a nice portable case for your headphones, which are a nice premium construction of metal with diamond cut edges and a plush memory foam for pure comfort. It’s not too loose on the head and not too tight either. They are just right - fitting nicely into all use cases of my life from home use to 5K runs.
Under the hood, you have a battery that lasts 29 hours (with rapid charge capabilities, to get 3 hours power from 10 minutes charge), volume and track control buttons on the right ear, and a rather fiddly but unique touch-based sensory bass control on the left.
Of course, a new emerging important element of any set of bluetooth headphones is their ability to take calls via their microphone. The Crusher 360 is bafflingly good when it comes to this. Even in the windswept corridors of Nottingham’s Lace market – thin streets of tall buildings leading to a near-permanent state of gusty breezes – my voice was still clear and understandable to the person on the other line.
Whenever I’ve reviewed a big set of cans like this in the past, the wireless experience stops at the moment of using them for phone calls. While I’ve made excuses for inferior products in the past – explaining how the microphone is just to far away from your face for acceptable usage outdoors, it turns out that’s no longer an excuse.
Which leads me to the most obviously important part of any headphones… The sound. They can do all the convenience things well, but if they don’t sound good, then what is their purpose for being?
And in true undecided fashion, I am in two minds about it. The tech specs show its all there in terms of dynamic range - 5Hz - 20KHz frequency response, pumped out of 40mm Acoustic drivers with corresponding 35mm Crusher drivers, leading to 32 Ohms and 8Ohms Impedence respectively (translation: they’re good).
One special element I have to talk about is what makes the Crusher 360s truly special - the Sensory Bass. Basically, it’s bass you can feel, as they vibrate like a subwoofer when deep sounds occur. Simply put, that bone rattling sensation you get when stood in a night club and something bass-y comes on? That’s now been condensed into a set of headphones, and it’s awesome.
I’ve found it to be particularly good in three scenarios – playing shooter video games (grenade explosions shake the Earth around your ears), hip hop and the bass drop-laden sounds of late 00s metalcore (miss you, old The Devil Wears Prada).
In any other genre, the bass literally drowns out every other element of the musical production, so you’re going to need to turn this down.
However, when the bass is turned down, you realise some of the levelling issues. The highs aren’t as bright as they should be, the bass all but disappears when turned down (and quickly go out of control when you so much as turn it up a little).
At £269, they are certainly pricey. And if you’re looking for perfect sound clarity, there are plenty of other options that will give you this at a reduced price.
But if you love bass, and have lived your best musical life mostly in the mid-late 2000s, these are worth it. It’s like nothing else you’ve quite experienced, being able to literally feel the bass in a song. Perfect if 2006 Parkway Drive is your thing.
