The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 are the latest Skullcandy headphones that come with improved bass response and active noise cancellation. Compared with the first generation Crusher ANC headphones, the ANC 2 comes with a few notable improvements such as customizable sound profiles which tailor the sound according to your listening preferences and an improved active noise cancellation with 4 microphones that reduce ambient background noise by up to 90%. The ANC 2 comes with custom sound features which automatically analyses your hearing and produces sound tailored specifically to your listening profile – all you need to do is a quick test and the Crusher ANC 2 will be optimised to you. The Crusher ANC 2 also comes with an improved battery life of up to 50 hours, compared with the ANC 1’s 24 hour battery life. It also supports quick charging where a 10 minute charge will give you 4 hours of playtime which is pretty good. The Crusher ANC 2 also supports multipoint pairing which is very convenient if you need to switch between your devices to take calls.
Sound Performance
The sound performance of the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 is very impressive and they deliver much more bass than we expected. The bass from the ANC 2 is not the kind of bloated bass that you would expect from any “bass-heavy” headphone – the bass feels controlled, well-defined and has plenty of depth and presence. It’s the kind of bass that you can literally feel on your chest especially when listening to EDM or rock music performances – the beats feel very realistic and lifelike with plenty of depth and substance. Compared with other bass-leaning headphones such as the Meze 99 Classics and the Sony XB950BT headphones, the Crusher ANC 2 delivers much more powerful bass that feels refined and controlled. Even with the bass slider at its maximum setting, the bass still feels loud but controlled; it does not bleed into the midrange frequencies or cause the sound to feel distorted. The ANC 2 produces bass that you can literally feel on your chest when the bassline drops.
Surprisingly, the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 delivers really crisp highs and clear midranges, despite its bass-leaning sound signature. The level of clarity that you get with the highs and midranges seems similar to the Meze 99 Classics which becomes apparent all the way through as you listen to different genres of music including classical, jazz and hip-hop. The midranges and highs are much cleaner than expected and you can hear vocal performances with detailed clarity. One of the good things about the ANC 2 is that you can adjust the bass slider according to your personal preferences, and at the maximum setting you can get bass pressure levels around 40Hz or as low as 30Hz. You can also crank up the volume on the ANC 2 headphones and get consistently clean sound performance without any distortion, which is a marked improvement over the Crusher ANC 1 headphones.
Design and Comfort
We really liked the design of the Crusher ANC 2 headphones. They are very comfortable headphones and do not clamp too tightly on your ears – the ear cushions go over your ears and provide plenty of breathing space. You can wear these headphones for hours on end and get very little ear fatigue. The active noise cancellation on these headphones works reasonably well and can cancel up to 90% of ambient background noise. While the noise cancellation is still not as formidable as the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones, they do help you to listen to music without any background interruptions. The bass feels really tight and enhanced with the active noise cancellation switched on, although we did hear a slight hissing noise when the ANC is switched on. However, you can also turn off the ANC when not in use and the hissing noise will go away – this does not affect the sound performance of the headphone. The headphone also features a bass slider and multiple buttons to adjust the volume which are easy and intuitive to use. The headband and ear pads are also soft and do not exert too much force, making them very comfortable to wear for hours on end.
Other Features
One of the things that we liked about the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 is that you get a custom audio profile which allows the music to be tuned according to your own listening preference. The headphones also feature a built-in Skullcandy voice assistant for hands free features, and you can also use the Skull-iQ to adjust the EQ settings according to your personal preferences and this gives you plenty of customization options. We also liked the multipoint pairing which works great if you need to switch between devices (e.g., an iPad and iPhone) and take calls. The headphone also comes with a solid headphone case and a USB-C fast charging cord. The Skull-iQ feature also allows you to control audio functions such as play, pause, next track, volume and also change the Crusher Bass level using your voice.
The Verdict?
We were really blown away by the sound performance and depth of bass that you get with the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones. These headphones are a major improvement over the previous ANC 1 headphones, and deliver much deeper and powerful bass with multiple customization options. We really liked the adjustable sensory bass – the bass goes very deep and punchy but does not sound muddy at all. It also comes equipped with improved 40mm drivers that deliver crisp highs and very detailed midranges; these headphones have very consistent sound clarity even though they are “bass-leaning” headphones. The active noise cancellation works effectively to block up to 90% of ambient background noise, and while it’s not as powerful as the Sony headphones (such as the Sony WH-1000XM5), it does get the job done and blocks out a decent amount of noise for music listening. The headphone also features custom listening profiles and Skull-iQ which provides plenty of sound customisation options that we really liked. The 50 hour battery life is also a solid improvement over the previous 24 hour battery from the ANC 1 headphones. Overall, the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones are a really solid pair of headphones that deliver really deep and powerful bass with numerous improvements over the Crusher ANC 1 headphones, and we highly recommend them.