The Crusher headphones is Skullcandy's answer to various other high priced premium headphones out there, and for a much cheaper price than its competitors, the Crusher's hold up very well.
Design and Features:
The Skullcandy Crushers are full sized headphones, and rather than take your traditional circle shaped design, the Crusher takes more of a rectangular shape when it comes to the ear cups. This was the first design choice that caught my attention, and I at first didn't like it too much. Since I wear glasses, the rectangular ear cups didn't mesh to well with the side of my head. After a few minutes of tinkering with them however, I didn't find them to be uncomfortable. Skullcandy has a persistent reputation for putting out the most eccentric headset designs around, but the Crusher headphones appear quite normal. The Skullcandy Crusher have a removable 3.5mm jack cable that features a ‘universal’ remote with a single button, which works much better than other remotes for Android, iPhone, and Windows phones alike. The biggest feature of these headphones is the option for extra bass. The Crusher omits a cool vibrating effect when you turn up the bass, which depending on your listening tunes, can really improve the sound of your music. The bass slider is easily adjusted, via the plastic slider on the left earcup that you can easily access while using the headphones. Now this feature does require a single AA battery(which is included in the package). Depending on how much you use the added bass, the battery will last for quite some time. The battery lives under the right earcup, and although swapping out batteries can be a bit flimsy, you won't have to do it so frequently. It's a nice subtle way to hide a AA battery, while keeping the weight and cost down.
Performance and Quality:The Crusher headphones utilizes two drivers that produces the sounds, with one mainly focusing on making you feel the bass through the vibrations the headphones exudes. If you're a person who loves extremely high levels of bass when listening to music, the Crusher can satisfy your needs. Depending on the song, the bass can get pretty violent when turned up to the max levels. It's pretty impressive when you remember it's only a $99 headset. When the bass level is at it's highest, you won't find another headset out there that will vibrate like the Crusher, and that's all thanks to the custom bass driver they included. When you turn the bass levels down, the sound is clear and smooth, so if you're not a fan of heavy bass, then you'll be fine. There is an obvious treble trade off, even when the bass is turned off, the treble always remained a bit low for my taste. The bass can also add to explosions while watching movies and playing games. It's not meant to be a gaming headset though, but if you're looking to add some extra oomph when playing Battlefield or Titanfall, this will do the trick. The box touts a 40 hour battery life with the bass turned up, and although it didn't make it the full 40 hours, I can't knock it too much for the 30-some hours it does last for. I know we all would've liked a rechargeable battery included, but for the price, it didn't hinder my experience when having to switch out a battery when one goes dead.
Final Thoughts:The vibrating headphones may sound a bit gimmicky, and it is, but it's one of the coolest features I've found in a crowded headphone market. I have no problem with the sound quality, and they make good on their promise of 'supercharged bass.'
+Crushing Bass
+Solid Overall Sound Quality
+Cheaper Price
-No Rechargeable Battery
S&S Rating: 8/10
