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The Skullcandy Crusher ANC headphones offer a much improved adjustable bass level with haptic feedback, but for the price you also get stronger noise cancellation. The Skullcandy Crusher ANC is a headphone with highs and lows. Its sound is modernly tuned and overall quite pleasant, but the constantly present background noise disturbs the listening pleasure.

There are some people who just want the best headphones possible. While everyone perceives sound differently, trained ears definitely have a few favorite brands and headphones they would recommend. For everyone else, there’s Skullcandy, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The company is probably one of the most well-known audio companies, in no small part due to the fact that it’s available from electronics stores to drugstores. Today we’re looking at the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless, one of the company’s more interesting headsets.

Skullcandy Headphones has always been known for its bass response, and it’s never been more pronounced than with the Crusher ANC, which replaces last year’s Crusher 360 headphones. The latest version retains the Sensory Bass slider and large, easy-to-use buttons, but adds active noise cancellation (ANC) to the company’s flagship over-ear headphones. It’s just a shame that some compromises are made in the process: Compared to the previous generation Crusher 360, which had a metal construction, Skullcandy has opted for a plastic housing for the Crusher ANC. Furthermore, the addition of ANC also means that the battery life is lowered to 24 hours, instead of 30 hours like the Crusher 360.

The Skullcandy Crusher ANC is a nice, unobtrusive pair of headphones, especially if you opt for the black variant. Our test unit in Deep Red attracted a bit more attention due to its unique color, but overall the design is understated. Skullcandy has a typical aesthetic that focuses on colors and the distinctive skull logo rather than edgy design or build quality. The Crusher ANC adheres to this and looks quite similar to the Crusher wireless headphones.

However, there are some key differences, such as the slight curvature of the ear cups and the noise-canceling microphones on the new model. Even though there’s nothing wrong with the looks of these headphones, they don’t quite live up to what you’d expect from premium headphones. In our opinion, they look a bit cheap and ordinary compared to models like the Sony WH-1000XM3 and the Jabra Elite 85h headphones. We also did not particularly like the maroon color of our review unit, but there are other color options – black and black/brown – that look a bit classier in our opinion.

The headset is large and comfortable. It completely covers our ears when we put it on, provides good passive noise isolation and minimal sound loss even at high volumes. Thanks to the thick padding around the ear cups and at the bottom of the headband, we were able to wear the headphones for hours without any issues. The headphones fold inward for easy storage and come with a handy carrying case, a cable for wired listening, and a USB Type-C cable.

The Skullcandy Crusher Evo are very comfortable. They are lightweight and don’t hug your head too tightly. Also, the padding on the headband and ear cups feels comfortable against the skin. They feel similar to the Skullcandy Crusher 360 Wireless. However, they can get warm after prolonged use.

The Skullcandy Crusher Wireless uses Bluetooth 4.1 and offers a solid connection in everyday use. There are some notable dropouts once you exceed the 10-meter limit of Bluetooth range, which is to be expected. If you prefer a wired connection, there’s also a 3.5mm input on the bottom of the left ear cup.

Note that the Crusher Wireless only uses the SBC codec. If you have a choice between the common AAC and SBC codec used on many headsets, we’d go with SBC if you’re using Android. This is a bit of a downer for iOS users, as AAC usually works better than SBC when paired with an Apple iPhone.

Noise cancellation is another aspect that sounds better on paper than in practice. Noise is audible as soon as you activate the function, and the headphones do not block as much background noise as the competition in the same price range. Wind can also sometimes interfere with the ANC feature on a gusty day; there’s a strange feedback when the headphones’ microphones pick up the wind, which is a minor annoyance.

The Crusher ANC’s active noise cancellation is mediocre at best. Similar to the Skullcandy Venue headphones, the ANC is associated with a slightly annoying hiss when no music is playing. It also doesn’t shield outside noise as well as the best-in-class Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NCH 700, and the Crusher ANC struggles when it’s windy and amplifies wind noise when you’re outside.

You might be interested in the Crushers because of their noise-cancelling technology, but the real reason you should buy them is their monumental bass. The noise cancellation isn’t great, but the bass is out of this world. However, let’s start with the noise cancellation. It can be turned on and off by holding your fingertips to the left earcup for a few seconds until you hear a voice that says, “Ambient Mode,” which directs outside noise into the earphones, or “Noise Cancellation On” if ANC is enabled.

Noise cancellation is adequate, but not nearly as robust as other offerings on the market at a similar price, such as the Sony WH-1000XM3 or the Bose 700, and the Crusher produces an unfortunate amount of noise when ANC is enabled. However, what the Crusher ANC lacks in noise cancellation, it more than makes up for in bass.

The center button serves as a pause/play button for music and media, and as a button to answer or reject calls. To activate your device’s voice assistant, you have to press the center button twice in succession. This is sometimes a bit tricky, as the headphones registered two consecutive presses of the middle button as one and simply paused the music. The buttons above and below the middle button allow the user to increase or decrease the volume and also skip tracks or go to the previous track. The elliptical button on the left earcup turns the device on when pressed for 3 seconds. A voice prompt informs you that you have successfully turned on the device, which we always appreciate. Also, the LED lights turn blue when the cans are on.

To turn the device off, you simply need to press and hold the button for 4 seconds and the LED lights will turn off. You can also turn the active noise cancellation (ANC) on and off by pressing the power button twice. The headphones also have an ambient mode that allows you to sense your surroundings. To activate it, you need to place your palm on the left earcup for three seconds. Once the mode is activated, a voice prompt will inform you about it and the LED lights will turn purple. To turn the ambient mode off again, repeat the same process. We liked this feature because it is quite intuitive and works every time.

Skullcandy claims a battery life of about 40 hours of constant playback, which would be pretty impressive in itself. However, this was even surpassed in our objective tests with 57 hours and 28 minutes. To be fair, though, the bass control was turned all the way down in the process. So if you expect to use pumping bass frequently, you should expect a bit less.

The biggest downside is that you have to use an older microUSB cable for charging instead of the newer USB-C cable. That may not be a problem for most people now, but in a few years when everything is USB-C, it will become a bit more of a hassle. The good thing is that 10 minutes on the charger will give you about 180 minutes of constant playback.

We hope you understand and like this Skullcandy Crusher ANC review. Well, the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless is no longer available, but you can still find it at certain retailers like Amazon. Unfortunately, it can no longer be found on Skullcandy’s website. The company has so many headsets that the selection is dizzying, but if you’re looking for something similar to the Crusher Wireless, we recommend the Skullcandy Hesh ANC.

The Hesh ANC has very good noise cancellation that cuts low frequencies by half to a quarter of their perceived volume, making it a great ANC headset that costs just $99. The headset is not waterproof, but very few headphones have that kind of durability.

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