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Sep 17, 2023

Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Review

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 noise-cancelling headphones ($229.99) cost less and

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 noise-cancelling headphones ($229.99) cost less and last longer than their predecessors, but the main draw here is the crazy amount of bass they can produce. If that's the type of sound signature you're after and you appreciate a comfortable, stylish design, you can end your search here. Just keep in mind that competing headphones such as the $329 Bose QuietComfort 45 offer far better active noise cancellation (ANC).

Available in matte black, the circumaural Crusher ANC 2 headphones look refined and modern. They feel comfortable over long listening sessions thanks to the generous memory foam cushioning in the earpads and the fabric-lined headband. I never felt fatigued from the clamping pressure and my ears never got uncomfortably warm in testing.

Internally, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 and support the AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX. Bose offers the same choices, while even pricier alternatives like the Sony WH-1000XM5 ($399.99) and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 ($349.95) respectively include the more premium LDAC and AptX Adaptive codecs.

The headphones sport an array of push-button controls, with a dedicated power button (in red) and a dial to adjust the bass effect on the left earcup. Skullcandy actually employs two sets of drivers—the 40mm dynamic drivers we mentioned above and a pair of haptic drivers that produce vibrations (much like passive bass radiators on Bluetooth speakers) in concert with frequencies between roughly 10Hz and 150Hz. Turning the dial up or down changes the amount of vibration, but doesn't impact the main drivers. If you press the button, it cycles between 20%, 50%, and 80% settings. You can also just set the dial to off and adjust the sound via the app's five-band EQ.

The right earcup's side panel has a three-button array. The middle button handles playback, calls, and Spotify Tap integration (depending on how many times you press it or how long you hold it), while the outer buttons control volume. An additional button next to those switches between the ANC On, ANC Off, and Stay Aware (transparency) modes.

As for connections, the left earcup houses a USB-C port for the included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable and a 3.5mm headphone jack for the included audio cable. You also get a hardshell zip-up case with a fabric-lined exterior that easily fits the headphones and cables.

Skullcandy estimates that the headphones can last roughly between 50 and 60 hours per charge (depending on your use of ANC), but your typical volume level also affects that figure. The company claims that you can get four hours of listening time after just 10 minutes of charging.

The Skull-iQ app (available for Android and iOS) lays out its myriad controls in an accessible assortment of tiles that sit below an image of the headphones and a battery readout on the main screen. The app might feel slightly overwhelming in its scope but some sections are more essential than others.

First up are the Voice Control and Voice Assistant sections. These should have been part of the same tile, but, essentially, you can pick between Alexa or iHeartRadio voice assistants and change their language. The app also allows you to use Skullcandy's built-in voice control technology—once you enable it, the headphones listen for the "Hey Skullcandy" wake phrase and can carry out basic operations.

In the Button area, you can assign almost any control to most of the physical buttons. I like this level of customization, especially because you can reset everything to the default layout with a single press.

The Crusher tile lets you adjust the intensity of the bass effect. Tap the Hearing Modes section to tweak the levels for the ANC and Stay Aware modes. On the EQ screen, you can choose between Music, Podcast, and Movie presets, as well as create a custom signature with up to five bands.

Otherwise, select the Personal Sound tile to measure your hearing, the Spotify Tap option to set up that integration, and the Take a Photo section to allow the headphones to work as a trigger for your camera's shutter. The Multipoint tile helps you set up a connection with more than one device at a time, while the Find With Tile option enables a built-in location-based feature that helps you find your headphones if you lose them.

In the settings menu, you can disconnect the headphones, adjust the app language, update the app, and access basic customer support resources.

In testing, the four-mic system delivered merely decent noise cancellation. For the best results, make sure to set the ANC slider to the maximum level in the app.

The headphones somewhat dial back low-frequency droning noises like from an airplane, but those sounds are still fairly audible. A more complex recording of a crowded cafe didn't come across very differently with the ANC on or off either; the bulk of the mids and highs made it through cleanly.

Simply put, Skullcandy's ANC implementation doesn't come close to that of the Bose QC45 headphones in either of the above tests. Unfortunately, the ANC mode also affects audio playback—the bass response is richer and fuller when it is active. You might enjoy this sound signature more, but noise cancellation modes should ideally never influence the sound signature.

The Stay Aware mode doesn't present environmental noise quite as clearly as others we've tested, but you can adjust its level in the app and you shouldn't have any major issues hearing your surroundings.

For testing, we left the bass boost feature on because it's one of the main selling points of the headphones. Besides, the headphones lose a bit of their low-end oomph with it off. For reference, we mostly stuck with a setting of around 50%.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the drivers produce some seriously heavy bass with dramatic vibrations. At full volume, those rattles border on uncomfortable. Keep both the volume and bass levels lower if you want any semblance of balance. For due diligence, I tried the headphones at full volume and with the bass at its highest level—I wanted to throw them off my head immediately once I did. Bass vibrations at a concert can be fun when you feel them throughout your body, but feel uncomfortable when they're solely on your skull.

Interestingly, the pair can't quite reproduce all of the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar's "Loyalty." The last note in the descending bass progression is just too low for the drivers to handle. Something weird happens as a result—you get a massive amount of vibration for the first two notes, and then that rumble just disappears. At the maximum bass level, the effect is the same for the deepest lows, but you just don't notice it as much because the drum loop takes a massive step forward. All of this is to say that there is a technical limitation to the bass implementation at the lowest sub-bass levels.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass, better reveals the sound signature. At bass levels of 50% or higher, the drums sound absurd. They resonate so much that they overpower everything else in the mix. At 10%, however, the drums still get some thunder without ruining the richness and crispness of the vocals. Use these lower levels to maintain a more reasonable sound signature.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound a little ridiculous. At super-low bass settings, you can somewhat enjoy these tracks, but anything past the 20% threshold causes audio artifacts (such as unintentional rumbles) to randomly emerge. Simply, this feature doesn't gracefully complement typical stereo recordings of orchestral music.

The mic array works well enough and I could understand every word of an iPhone test recording. The signal was strong overall, but other headphones offer slightly better clarity.

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones don't cancel noise as well as the competition, but that's not really their purpose. The reason to get these is their over-the-top bass response. You get some flexibility in how intense the bass sounds, but you should go for a different option if you prefer a more reasonable sound signature. The Bost QuietComfort 45 headphones, for example, are a great alternative because they offer best-in-class noise cancellation and provide more enjoyable (but still bass-forward) audio, though at a considerable extra cost. But if you just want to feel vibrations in your brain, nothing we've tested in recent memory comes close to these crushing cans from Skullcandy.

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones don't particularly excel at noise cancellation, but they feel comfortable and deliver brain-rattling levels of bass.

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