Skullcandy Crusher Evo - Black (Discontinued from Manufacturer)

First of all, a bit about me that's relevant. Idk if I'd call myself an audiophile per say, but, my range of hearing is fine to the level of better than most musicians.Nothing messes with me more than when I have a cheap pair of headphones which interfere with what I'm listening to.... If their cheap and they distort the sound, or, are insane with treble so as to be piercing, I'll notice and it'll probably be painful to my ears. Most of the audio ranges I hear are at the - 10 range, meaning, almost perfect hearing.That means, even on a $20 set of headphones, I'll probably use them because of necessity, but hate the experience because of how much they interfere with my experience since I can tell if there's a quality issue even at a very fine degree, I'll find it and it'll bug me, and, given that I have headphones on most of they day and listen to things frequently, it's important that I buy quality headphones.So, I'm no stranger to Skull Candy. Their audio quality is the best of all the headphones I've had over the decades. The issue which always has me hesitant to buy them is a matter of durability.Most of my less expensive Skullcandy headphones have broken very easily, which sucked when I was on the go... It was to the point which I was hesitant to buy these headphones because of similar fears and the price...That said, these headphones were an investment, and and investment that panned out.I've been using the Crusher Evo headphones for more than a year now, constantly, daily, most of the day and even when sleeping, so, this review is based on almost 24/7 usage for more than a year... And...They're still working amazing, the battery life is still phenomenal, the advertising that states they're able to play for hours on a charge of only a few minutes is absolutely true too. I've accidentally stepped on them, I've slept with them on most nights, and nothing has happened except that, after such heavy usage, today one of the earpads got a tear around the edge that tucks under the plastic of the headphones which... Thankfully, they sell replacements for the foam.The product is sturdy, has a very nice feel, solid, durable weight and plastic, the foam wraps around the ears nicely, and I can easily get a proper, snug fit every time which, I have a big-ish head and long-ish ears, so, that's not something that's easy for me usually.Not only are they extremely comfortable and scream quality from their physical aspects, but it came with a rugged carrying bag and nice aux chord, and extremely high quality long charging cable. It didn't come with a charging brick, but has worked with all the charging bricks I've used on them, including my Nintendo Switch charger.Now, all that's fine... Being the most durable and comfortable feeling headphones is important... But, headphones can feel amazing, but have Crap sound quality so, that's the aspect I love the most about these... That sound quality.... One word... Amazing...So, everything sounds accurate, there's no distortion and, even having been playing things at max volume for a year straight, there's still no distortion and everything sounds just as amazing as they used to. One of the aspects I love is the bass...That's another thing I need to be spot on with headphones, bass. They could be clear, have accurate sound and everything, but of there is no bass, or the bass is very weak, I physically can't use the headphones... That's how important bass is to me... Furthermore, accurate bass is a necessity. Idk how many pairs of headphones I ended up chucking into the bin because, yeah, they had powerful bass, but that bass wasn't accurate, and that bass lead to the rest of the sounds being obscured/distorted/sounding like someone is talking normally right next to a sub-woofer.These headphones play the bass loud, accurate, and do so without compromising the quality of the rest of the audio... And... Holy gods.... I was startled to the point the headphones flew off my ears by how powerful the bass is when you adjust the slider on them to max bass boost... Why? They vibrated intensely. Not in a bad way, as in, when you have them on and the bass hits and vibrates the speakers, you won't be bothered by it/it won't cause an unpleasant feeling, but it is there and.... Idk... I find I like it because it's a part of the engineering of the headphones and not an unintended result.That said, these are, by far, the best audi investment I've ever made. I have used them constantly for a full year extremely heavily, and they're still here and working just the same. By contrast, previously, I'd have gone through 5/6 pairs of other headphones by Now, so.... If you can afford these, get them.They are technically a headset unit, and actually prefer to take calls with them, but, I can't tell you if the microphone quality is the best, just that I haven't had any complaints from anyone, so, given that even with the best microphone on prior headsets, I got complaints, I'd imagine that is also good with these headphones because, I have never gotten a complaint or someone saying "You're breaking up. What did you say?".These will be used when I get back to mixing tracks and making music when I fix my computer, that's how good they are.Tl;Dr - Worth it.

After like 9 sets of over-ear headphones, I've FINALLY found my winner! I've heard other Skullcandy stuff before, so I'd have literally chosen these DEAD LAST for who I suspected would be my favorite. I literally scowled at their stuff when I saw it in stores. NOT ANYMORE!!! I'll start with the cons, since that's the easiest thing to get out of the way.Cons: My only complaint is comfort. They aren'y UNcomfortable, they're just NOT comfortable. But for the first time ever, I don't even remotely care. They clamp tighter than I like (I use them for VERY long sessions, so the lighter, the better). Also, the cups are slightly too small for my ears to relax in. Most people as picky about sound as me (I'm literally a sound guy) can hear that they aren't "premium" in that department. These are NOT for listening to lossless sound, but if you're dealing with lossless, why are you even dabbling in this price bracket, yo? But as someone that can HEAR a VBR mp3 change it's bitrate, these still sound great overall.Pros: Can definitely feel a more premium material feel than sub $100, so that's good. The slit on top for bald guys is actually VERY nice! Only time I've ever seen that and it DOES make a difference! I can't believe I'm gonna say this about Skullcrusher, but the sound is actually AWESOME. I always hate having to EQ new sets for an hour or 2 as soon as I get em. These are exactly where I like it, out of the box. Maybe a TINY bit more lows could be better, but I'd rather just leave it because of the bass "booster". It doesn't actually bring out any more bass than what's there, it's more like a vibrator for your headset (and depending how high you set it, your actual head, lol). What's neat is that it actually REALLY improves the listening experience WITHOUT having to ruin how it sounds! REALLY adds to immersion when gaming, ESPECIALLY in racing games where you can FEEL your V8! Easily the COOLEST feature of ANY headphone set anywhere!Conclusion: I'm going to have to slowly buy more of these, because I don't think I can ever go back to regular sets after this. That "booster" is THAT cool! No BS, before half "boost", these can BLUR YOUR VISION! Doing something where you don't want that? They were BRILLIANT and put the slider for it on the other side, so it's VERY easy to find, away from everything else.The greatest word choice in the WORLD cannot do these things justice. You have to EXPERIENCE them to understand them. But go ahead and pass on them. More inventory for me to eventually buy anyway!