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If you're a bass head just any kind of headphones isn't going to cut it. No, you need headphones that deliver the amount of bass you demand and then some. And two of the most poplar options on the market are the skull candy crusher wireless and the Sony XB950N1. And although these both have lots of bass, there are some key differences between them. So which are right for you? We're about to find out don't forget to like comment and subscribe and you can watch some of my other videos here after you're done watching this video.
Let's talk money… the Sony XB950N1 technically retail for $250 but they're usually on sale for $178.99 on Amazon. And sometimes even as low as $129.99 which is just nuts. And you've got two colors to choose from black or green. The skull candy crusher wireless retail for $200 but they're usually on sale for $149.99 or a little less. And they also come in two color ways black or gray and tan. If you want to pick either of these headphones up I'll have links in the description below and I'll keep it updated so you can get the best deal possible.
OK, let's do a run down of design and build quality. Like I said in my initial review, the build quality of the skull candy crusher for their price point is amazing. The majority is covered in soft touch rubber, the headband is stainless steel the ear cups slide to adust and over all they are very sturdy. The Sony XB950N1 are made mostly out of textured plastic panels that are snapped into place the head band is also made out of stainless steel and they have a whole lot more padding than the skull candy crusher. But even though the xb950n1 costs more than the crushers their build quality is no where near as good. I also want to shine some light on the included carrying cases and cables. The skull candy crushers come included with a very durable yet plush soft shell carrying case and soft touch rubber coated and branded audio babel with inline controller and micro USB cable for charging. The carrying case included with the Sony is really just a thin bag and the cables are run of the mill. I have to give props to skull candy for their choice in materials here.
Getting into the technical specifications, the Sony XB950N1 do offer active noise cancellation… it's OK in already quiet environments but it's not comparable to the Bose QC35 Or the Sony Wh-1000XM2 which are the newer version of the Sony mdr-1000X. But the skull candy crushers completely out class the xb950n1 in the battery life department. On a full charge the crushers should last you 40 hours at moderate listening levels. Wireless of course. But I've actually managed to get more hours than that. With noise cancellation on the XB950N1 should last 22 hours. But with ANC off I've managed to get around 26 hours of playback. And both of these headphones have similar wireless ranges at 35 feet for both.
When it comes to design and comfort, the skull candy crusher are sleek and low profile enough. Where as the Sony's have a very polarizing design. Some people love the round ear cups and others hate it. Personally I don't mind it. But the ear cups on the xb950N1 are huge, you can actually see them in your peripheral vision when you put them on. And some people feel silly when they wear them in public. But even though the ear cups are larger on the Sony the cut out for the ear is a little too small and the padding ends up sitting on my ear lobes. Where as the cut out on the crusher is slightly bigger and encases your ears better. But the ear cups on the crusher do heat up faster than the xb950N1.
Concerning comfort, the XB950N1 win hands down. The skull candy crushers have a lot of clamping force and they cause discomfort in the jaw after awhile. And the range of motion of the ear cups on the crushers is very limited, they don't swivel and they pivot very little. They don't sit right on your head. Where as the ear cups on the Sony have a lot more range of motion and they will adapt to more people's heads. Basically if you have a big head the skull candy crusher ain't for you.
Now let's get into the sound quality… both of these headphones have lots of bass to them and they're both adjustable. If you want more bass on the skull candy crusher you just have to slide the slider up on the left ear cup. If you want to adjust the bass on the xb950N1 you have to do that through Sony's headphones app available on both Android and Apple. And through the app you can also turn noise cancellation on and off and you can play around with surround sound settings. And for those wondering… when set at max bass the skull candy crusher do have more bass than the xb950N. But believe it or not too much bass can be a bad thing. So for real world use I like to keep my xb950n1 set at plus 7 and the slider on the crushers at a little below half. And when it comes to sound quality I have to give it to the Sony. The XB950N1 manage to keep the bass and the rest of the sound separate while with the crushers if the bass really gets going it's going to muddle the sound. But the sound on the crusher is also more pushed back and the highs do cause constant discomfort. Snares and symbols and anything of the like are just too sharp. and there was also a lot of crackling in the background and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a connection issue cause my phone was right next to the headphones. And vocalists on the crushers sound like they are in an entirely different room. in order to hear them you have to really crank up the volume. Where as the mids and highs on the Sony don't cause any discomfort and there's really no tinning. The sound isn't as pushed back as the crushers and they do have better instrument separation. And they also get louder without distorting the sound too much. So sound quality has to go to the Sony xb950n1.
I also want to touch on the controls really quick. In order to control your music playback on the Sony you just have to use the rocker. It's fast and very efficient. And if you want to adjust the volume you just use the volume rocker which is easy to find. On the crushers if you want to skip or go back a track you have to press and hold the plus or minus button for 3 seconds. I hate when headphones do this cause it takes too long. I would much rather double press or triple press the center button.
So, if you're in the market for some bass heavy headphones I would have to recommend the Sony xb950N1 over the skull candy crusher wireless. I can't say enough good things about the skull candy crushers wireless build quality but they aren't very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Although the crushers have more bass than the Sony their overall sound quality isn't as good. Like I said in my initial review, skull candy just needs to make some adjustments with this next model to make the crushers great. But right now I think most people will be better off with the Sony xb950n1.