Skullcandy VenueImage used with permission by copyright holder
Skullcandy Crusher 360Image used with permission by copyright holder
While some of Skullcandy’s best-known offerings reside in the sub-$100 market, the company makes a variety of different types of headphones at a number of different price ranges. While neither the Venue nor the Crusher — both unveiled on Wednesday, August 22 — are as affordable as some of Skullcandy’s offerings, both of them are worth a look for different reasons.
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With the new Venue noise-canceling headphones, Skullcandy seems to be aiming at a more youthful market, not surprising given that this is typically the company’s focus. Saying that most noise-canceling headphones are “only seen in the business-class section of an airplane,” the company says that the Venue headphones are for everyone.
For a fairly affordable price, the Venue headphones are packed with features. The headphones feature up to 24 hours of playback, with Rapid Charge technology gaining you five hours of battery life on a 10-minute charge. While noise-canceling is intended to keep out the noise of the world around you, these feature a Monitor Mode, letting you hear the outside world with just a simple push of a button. Skullcandy has also partnered with Tile, letting you find your headphones with the Tile mobile app. The Venue headphones are available in black and white color varieties.
Following up on the Crusher Wireless, which was released in 2016 and built on the earlier Crusher, the Crusher 360 is the latest generation of the bass-booming headphones. In addition to standard features, these headphones feature a haptic engine that rumbles the headphones, letting you feel the bass instead of simply hearing it. These headphones are also wireless, providing up to 30 hours of playback time on a single charge. These will be available exclusively via Best Buy in Black/Tan and Black/Black color varieties.
The Venue noise-canceling wireless headphones will retail for $180 and are available for pre-order now, while the Crusher 360 will retail for $300 and will be available for pre-order beginning September 5. For more information or to pre-order, see the Skullcandy website. If you want to see how the competition stacks up, take a look at our list of the best headphones you can buy or our list of the best noise-canceling headphones.
Anker Soundcore says its new wireless buds will block up to 98% of external noise
Anker's Soundcore division has got a new set of wireless earbuds. And while the name may sound familiar -- they're called the Liberty 4 NC -- their price is a nice surprise: just $100. That buys you a set of hi-res-capable wireless earbuds that Anker claims have really impressive active noise cancellation (ANC) and battery life.
Anker calls it "Adaptive ANC 2.0" a system that uses two mics -- one inside your ear and one on the outside of the earbuds -- to adapt ANC performance instantly in any environment. The company must be confident that the system works well; it claims it blocks out up to 98.5% of external noise. Not even the superb Apple AirPods Pro 2 claim that kind of performance.
Skullcandy’s new earbuds mimic the AirPods Pro for just $100
Skullcandy's latest wireless earbuds are packed with features, and in typical Skullcandy fashion, they're priced much lower than the competition. The new Skullcandy Rail ($80) and Rail ANC ($100) look very similar to Apple's AirPods Pro 2, and in the case of the Rail ANC, they possess many of the same features. Both models are available on Skullcandy.com starting June 13.
Each Rail model uses the same shape and silicone eartips to seal your ear canal, with touch controls on both earbuds, however, the Rail ANC use transparent plastic for the inside half of the earbud, and they have an extra set of microphones. Here's what you can expect from each Rail version.
Skullcandy Rail
Skullcandy’s new $20 wireless earbuds get 20 hours of battery life
What can you expect from a $20 set of wireless earbuds? More than you probably expect, according to Skullcandy. The company's latest model, the Smokin' Buds True Wireless, boast an eight-hour battery life per charge, with a total of 20 hours when you include their charging case. That's a considerable bump up in longevity from Skullcandy's other budget earbuds, the Dime, which only last 3.5 hours on a charge, with 12 hours total.
The rest of the Smokin' Buds' features and specifications are fairly standard for the budget segment:
