Skullcandy feels like it’s been around forever. As one of the original accessory makers in the modern smartphone era, the company has years of proven products. That includes great offerings with wireless headphones.
Our friends at Skullcandy sent me the latest from this lineup with the Hesh ANC wireless headphones. I’ve spent the last two weeks with these canned headphones, and let’s find out how these stack up in a full review.
Design
The overall design of the Skullcandy Hesh headphones will be familiar to anyone who has owned a set of recent wireless over-ear headphones. You get an oval-shaped padded earphones with an adjustable headband.
All the controls and ports are located on the right-sided earphone. Directly on the bottom, you have two inputs: the USB-C charging port and an auxiliary 3.5 mm audio jack.
On this same side, you’ll find the tactile buttons for controlling audio and power functions. This includes power, volume up and down, and a dedicated button for turning the ANC (active noise cancellation) mode on and off.
Holding the volume up for a full second will jump you forward a track, while the same on volume down returns you to the previous track. A single tap of the middle button will play/pause audio playback, as well as answer and end calls. Double tapping this button will launch your voice assistant.
Sound
I couldn’t be happier with the quality of sound from the Skullcandy Hesh headphones. The active noise cancellation works great to field off the outside interference. You can alter this with the previously mentioned button, and even with ANC turned off, the experience is rock solid.
Highs and mids pop through these over-the-ear headphones. Whether listening to more acoustic music or your favorite podcast, you won’t be disappointed. The same can be sound about the bass. It’s punchy without being overbearing.
Battery life
Battery life is outstanding. Skullcandy rates the Hesh ANC at 22 hours of playback, and I’ve found this to be fairly accurate. I can easily get through multiple eight-hour workdays without recharging.
When you do reach for the outlet and cable combo, you don’t need much time. With rapid charge on board, you get three hours of battery with just 10 minutes. A full charge took around 90 minutes.
Tile built-in
One last hidden feature of the Skullcandy Hesh ANC headphones is that it has the ability to be tracked by the Tile app. This means once you sync it to the mobile Tile app, you can always have an option to track them down when misplaced.
This works just like any other Tile device. Download the app. Pair the headphones as a new Tile device, and you are good to go.
Conclusion
Skullcandy has a compelling alternative to much pricier options with the Hesh ANC headphones. You get very comfortable over-ear audio, good sound, and great battery life for much less than much of the competition. Throw in little things like Tile integration, and you have a winner at $135.
You can purchase the Skullcandy Hesh ANC earphones through Amazon or the company’s website. There are four colorways to choose from: Chill Grey, Mod Grey, True Black, and Mod White. Our sample is the just in case you were wondering.
Purchase direct from Skullcandy
