Skullcandy certainly crushes it with its Crusher headphones

One listen and I quickly understood why this pair of over-ear headphones from Skullcandy is called ‘Crusher’. It comes from a line of Crusher products from the company. The Crusher Wireless is definitely not positioned for audio purists as the sound it gives you is not particularly realistic. Instead it’s ‘enhanced’ for those who insist on deep bass in their music. It’s also being positioned as a product for those who want to combine prominent sound with movies for a more ‘immersive experience’. Skullcandy claims a proprietary built-in amplifier powers both audio and stereo immersion drivers resulting in a ‘dual-sensory’ and ‘dual-channel’ bass experience. All I’d say is yes, it’s got bass all right.

The Crusher Wireless happens to be built rather well. It’s made up of synthetics but looks very stylish.

Comfortable grip The pair I saw for review had quite a few colours in it: tan coloured ear-cups, beige on the outer part of the cans and partially on the headband. The ear-cups are quite plush and comfortable and the headset overall has a very good grip without weighing down or hurting anywhere. There’s soft springy material on the underneath of the headband and a sort of felt in grey on top.

It’s obvious some care has been taken in making these both look good and feel just as good. I rather enjoyed touching the headset all over because they’ve used material that feels nice to the touch. But it’s also a little prone to stains, so one has to make sure not to let anything bleeding colour get to it. It isn’t affected by everyday sweaty or slightly dirty hands, luckily. I reviewed it when the humidity in the city had set in and didn’t feel hot or uncomfortable or sweaty wearing this headset. The buttons are unusually not tiny and recessed but on the larger side with good tactile feedback. You can reach out to them without ever fumbling around. They’re also simple and minimal — the usual suspects plus the dedicated bass slider. If you pair it with an iPhone you can tap the power button twice to trigger Siri and give commands on track changes and more. In the box, you’ll find a soft pouch to carry it around and it folds in to take up much less space.

The big punch What is unusual about this pair of headphones is the extent of bass it gives you. When I first turned it on, I very much fell off my chair as the bass was turned up to maximum. At that level it’s probably enough to do some damage.

Logically, SkullCandy shouldn’t have allowed the bass level to go quite so intense because it completely overwhelms the music in any case and ends up become an extending vibrating pounding. The sensible will protect their eardrums but you never know with young people who may not be that careful.

A slider provided on the left ear-cup lets you adjust the bass. That’s rather unusual and wonderful because you can quickly bring the bass level down to something more realistic.

But even at its lowest that level is more intense than is usually found on other products. For music tracks that themselves have an enhanced bass, the experience can be downright uncomfortable unless the level is at its lowest.

All the same, the bass-loving Indian customer base will probably be deeply appreciative of this sound signature. There’s no active noise isolation but the build and type of sound will obviously cut out a bit of the world outside.

The Crusher charges in about two hours and then lasts 40 hours. At ₹11,999, I wouldn’t say it’s that expensive for an audience that hungers for exactly this sound.

Price: ₹11,999

Pros: Deep sound, bass slider, comfortable, well-built, good battery life

Cons: Overly deep, loud and vibrating at max levels

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