So the Skullcandy Hesh ANC are a decent pair of entry level ANC headphones that block out an impressive amount of noise and the Skullcandy Crusher Evo are a pair of fun headphones cause they have a lot of bass. But now we have the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2’s and these have both active noise cancellation and a lot of bass… but are they worth the upgrade? Lets find out.
Regarding pricing, the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2’s have a retail price of $230, where as the Crusher Evo have a retail price of $200, and then there are the Hesh ANC which have retail price of $135 but they like to go on sale for $100. Now I think the crushers are both good options as secondary headphones where as the Hesh ANC are decent daily drivers. Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these two headphones up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
Now first lets talk about the included carrying cases. Now both the Hesh ANC and Crusher Evo come included with a carrying pouch. Now the carrying pouch that comes with the Crusher Evo is nicer and theres a fur lining inside… but if you plan on traveling with either of these two headphones you still run the risk of crushing these headphones if theyre in a cramped back pack. But then there are the Crusher ANC 2’s and these come included with a decently sized hard shell case. Overall I dont have any complaints about this case… but with these other two headphones, you will want to invest in a hardshell case if you plan on commuting with them.
But with the cases out of the way lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding fit, skullcandy’s headphones aren’t the best fitting headphones out there for multiple reasons. Now first off all of these headphones are big head approved, but they do have a firmer fit to them. But most importantly, the Hesh ANC are better suited for people with smaller heads or just children, cause I actually have to extend the headband on these headphones all the way out. Where as with the crushers, both of these will be able to accommodate adults. But then theres the padding on these headphones. Now the headband on the Hesh ANC has soft padding to it, so hot spots aren’t an issue for these headphones. But for the crushers, thats another story. Now the padding on the Crusher ANC 2’s is relatively soft and they’ll create a hot spot on the top of your head after like the one hour mark. Where as with the Crusher Evo… this padding is a lot stiffer, so I have noticed that these are much faster to create a hot spot on the top of your head. But then there are the earpads on these headphones, the ear pads on the Hesh ANC are a little small, so if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, these will might not work for you. Where as the earpads on the Crusher Evo are a little more spacious, but again if you have very large ears or ears that stick out a lot, these might not be for you. And then there are the crusher ANC 2’s which have the most spacious ear cups here. So they’ll be able to accommodate most people. But finally theres their weight, now the Hesh ANC weigh in at 228 grams, so weight isn’t an issue for these headphones, cause this is what they are supposed to weigh… but the crusher ANC 2 weigh in at 332 grams and the Crusher Evo weigh in at 312 grams… and both of these crusher are little heavier than your otters headphones like lets say the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s cause these weigh in at 295 grams, the beats studio pro weigh in at 260 grams, the Bose QC Ultra and Sony 1000XM4’s weigh in at 255 grams, the Sony XB910N’s weigh in at 252 grams, the Sony 1000XM5’s weigh in at 250 grams and then there are the Bose QC’s which weigh in at 235 grams… So with both of these crusher headphones, these are a lot more noticeable when they are on your head whether you’re sitting still or especially when you’re walking around with them on. So overall, skullcandy’s headphones aren’t for everyone. The Hesh ANC are just a little small in general, therye better for smaller heads, children or woman, and the crushers are noticeably heavy.
But with fit out of the way lets talk about tech specs. Regarding battery life the Hesh ANC have an advertised battery life of 22 hours… which is okay but we have seen better. The crusher evo have an advertised battery life of 40 hours which is decent… but then theres the Crusher ANC 2’s which have an advertised battery life of 50 hours with their ANC turned on, and with their ANC turned off they can go for as long as 60 hours which is both very impressive and above average.
And when it comes to chargning these headphones, they both charge via a USB C port as they should. But these USB C ports are strictly used for chargning, you cant use these USB C port as a wired connection. But all of these headphones still have an audio jack and they all come included with an audio cable, so you can use them with a wired connection. And I know this sounds basic but I do have to point it out cause some headphones dont have audio jack anymore
But when it comes to wireless connectivity, both the Hesh ANC and Crusher EVO can only be connected to one device at a time, where as the Crusher ANC 2’s can be connected to any two bluetooth devices which is good if you’re a power user cause you can easily hot swap from on device to another regardless of eco system.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device, and when it comes to audio codecs, all of these headphones have support for SBC and AAC which is perfectly fine.
But now, lets talk about actually listening to music with these headphones. Now as with any other pair of Skullcandy Headphones… the Hesh ANC have a bass heavy sound signature which is a lot of fun to listen to. However these headphones sound very different when they have their active noise cancelation turned on versus when they have their ANC turned off. Now if you want to get the best sound quality out of these headphones you gotta use them with their ANC turned off. With their ANC turned off they are going to sound way more open and their bass is also going to hit a lot harder and physically rattle your head. Now over all with their ANC turned off these headphones sound good. They have strong mids with hard hitting bass that doesn’t bottom out. My only critique about the sound signature of these headphones is that their highs are a little too pronounced… so they can get a little ear piercing in certain situations. And unfortunately the Hesh ANC don’t connect to Skullcandy’s app so you can’t directly adjust their EQ. And I do think thats a shame cause I really want to lower the mids a bit on these headphones. But overall the Hesh ANC are a pair of very fun bass heavy headphones to listen to which do rattle your head a fair amount.
But then there are these two crushers. Now these two headphones have a ridiculous amount of bass to them… they are both going to make your teeth chatter. However, the Crusher ANC 2’s do have more bass than the Crusher EVO. With the Crusher Evo maxed out, its like 50% bass on the Cursher ANC 2. Now just so that we’re clear, the Crusher EVO have way more than enough bass… but if you’re really obnoxious about your bass, you can go with the Crusher ANC 2 cause they have more bass. Now all of this bass is a lot of fun and adds an extra level of immersiveness when watching movies with these headphones, but it can get old. Now you can use these headphones with their bass features turned off, but with their bass turned off they sound narrow cause they dont have the best instrument separation, and they put an emphasis on the mids so that you can actually hear the vocals when you have the bass turned on on these headphones. But sound quality wise, I dont think these crushers are worth using without their bass turned on. And like I said earlier, the Crusher EVO already have a lot of bass, but the Cursher ANC 2’s have even more bass then the Evos.
Now when it comes to the media controls on these headphones, they all have the same 3 button layout… but something thats unique to the Crusher ANC 2’s is that that have Skull IQ…which is a dedicated voice assistant where not only you can control your media, you can also turn your active noise cancellation, ambient mode and bass on or off. but the thing about skull IQ is that you do have to have the app running in the background of your phone. And saying Hey Skullcandy is a little awkward.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now the Crusher EVO’s dont have active noise cancelation… where as these other two do. But most surprisingly, the Hesh ANC block out more noise than the Cursher ANC 2. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
ANC
Now the Hesh ANC dont block out all that much more noise than the Crusher ANC 2… but I did expect more from the Cursher ANC 2 just given their price and also since these are 2 years newer than then the Hesh ANC. Overall I wouldn’t recommend these headphones for flying… but their ANC will help in your bus ride commute or if you’re in a slightly chatty office.
But then theres the ambient modes on these headphones. Now the Crusher Evo dont have an ambient mode. Where as the Hesh ANC and Crusher ANC 2 do. Now both of these ambient modes get the job done, but with the Crusher ANC 2’s you can adjust their ambient mode to your liking, where as with the Hesh ANC you cant.
Mic Hesh Quite
But finally heres the microphone test and overall all of these headphones have a decent enough sounding microphone to take phone calls with while in a quiet room.
Mic Evo Quite
But the Mic on the Cursher Evo sounds a little better
Mic Crusher ANC Quite
And the microphone on the Crusher ANC 2’s sounds a little better as well
Mic Cursher ANC Road
But when it comes to blocking out noise pollution, all of these headphones to struggle quite a bit
Mic Evo Road
All of these headphones are letting in decent amount of road noise and there is some interference in my voice
Mic Hesh Road
And its the same thing when it comes to the Hesh ANC
Mic Hesh Chatter
And its the same thing when it comes to blocking out chatter, the Hesh ANC are letting in a decent amount of noise and theres from interference going on with my voice.
Mic Evo Chatter
And its the same thing with the Cursher EVO
Mic Crucher ANC Chatter
And its the same thing when it comes to the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2. So overall all of these headphones have decent enough sounding microphones on them to take phone calls with while in a quiet room, but noise pollution is a problem for all of these headphones
But with all of that being said, The Skullcandy Hesh ANC are a decent pair of Entry level ANC headphones which surprisingly block out a little more noise than the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2. The main thing to lookout with the Hesh ANC is that they are little small… so these are better suited for women, children or smaller guys. But if you’re trying to choose between the Crusher Evo and the Crusher ANC 2… with the Crusher ANC 2 you’re going to get a lot more bass… but the Evo’s already have a lot of bass to begin with, you’re going to get a longer lasting battery life and you’re going to get a hardshell case which is good for traveling. Now the Crusher ANC 2’s also have active noise cancellation and an ambient mode… but these shouldn’t be the main reason why you’re getting these headphones. And with both the Crusher Evo’s and Crusher ANC 2’s… these are better suited as secondary headphones.