Skullcandy, well-known for its range of affordable and colorful headphones and earbuds, is throwing its hat into the compact Bluetooth speaker ring with a new lineup of waterproof speakers that boast some impressive battery life and that range in price from just $30 to $80.
With summer in full swing, Skullcandy’s got eyes on poolside parties and camping trips with its first attempt at the price-conscious Bluetooth speaker crowd that includes five new cleverly-named devices that start with the basic Ounce ($30) and Kilo ($40) models before moving into the slightly more feature-rich Terrain Mini ($40), Terrain ($60), and the biggest in the line, the Terrain XL ($80).
Skullcandy says that all of its new speakers are ruggedly designed, and each has an IPX7 rating, which means that they can withstand complete submersion in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. It’s worth noting, though, that the “X” in that rating accounts for the absence of a dust-resistance rating (it’s usually ranked 0 to 6), which just means that you might want to be a bit careful at the beach. Additionally, across the entire range, all the speakers share the same Bluetooth 3.5 connectivity that’s good for up to 33 feet, USB-C for charging, large, physical buttons, and waterproof fabric mesh covering.
What separates these speakers comes down to shape, playback features, battery power, and price. The Kilo and Ounce speakers share the same thin, rounded design, similar to that of the popular JBL Clip lineup, with the Kilo also sporting a carabiner clip ring. The 5-watt Ounce and 7-watt Kilo have down-firing, passive radiators for bass resonance, and both deliver impressive battery power for their size at up to 16 and 24 hours, respectively (the $100 JBL Clip 4, in comparison, only boasts 10 hours). The Kilo can also be stereo paired to another Kilo for bolder sound.
The larger Terrain lineup, on the other hand, shares a similar squared-cylinder shape, and ranges in size from the smallest 6-watt Terrain Mini, which stands at 5.9-inches high, the 12-watt Terrain at 7.1-inches, to the largest 20-watt Terrain XL at 8.5 inches tall. While the Mini sports a single 48-millimeter driver compared to the Terrain and XL that each get two of them for bigger sound, all three of the Terrain speakers can be stereo paired with any of the Terrain speakers, and they all feature Skullcandy’s SKDY Multi-Link connectivity that allows for connecting up to 99 SKDY-capable speakers, which we can only assume would sound insane. The Terrain speakers also throw down some respectable battery power at up to 14 hours for the Mini and Terrain models, and up to 18 for the XL.
“We developed this line of speakers to extend our consumers’ experience from listening solo to gathering with friends,” said Justin Regan, Skillcandy’s Vice President of Marketing. “Purpose-built for all-day use, these products last as long as the party, with no limits to how far you can take them.”
The Skullcandy Ounce, Kilo, Terrain Mini, Terrain, and Terrain XL Bluetooth speakers are available in four colors: black/orange, light grey/blue, blue blaze, and astro dust (orangey). The pre-release press materials also listed malachite (green), and dopamine pink, but they so far have not appeared on the Skullcandy website.
The lineup of Skullcandy speakers are available now at retailers and on Skullcandy.com
