Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
our rating
2.9
(out of 5)
Specs
- Driver – 40mm dynamic drivers
- Frequency Range – 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Cable – USB-C to USB-C charging cable, USB-A to USB-C charging cable. 3.5mm audio cable
- Weight – 332 g
- Impedance – Driver: 32 Ohms; Crusher 8 Ohms
- IP Rating – Not Specified
- Battery Life – Up to 50 hours with ANC on
- Bluetooth Version – 5.2
- Codecs Supported – SBC, AAC
Pros
- Battery Life: Up to 50 hours with ANC on
- Quality Build
- Comfortable
- Affordable (at current sale prices)
- Reliable Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, Multipoint pairing
Cons
- Ridiculous Sound – Made for bassheads who don’t care. Bass bloat dominates.
- Weak ANC Performance
Bottom Line:
For bassheads only. The bad: Ridiculous sound, poor ANC performance. The good: quality build, excellent battery life.
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Introducing the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
Skullcandy is known for its chunky, emo, skateboardy designs and bass-heavy sound profiles. The Crusher series, in particular, markets its “sensory bass” feature, which uses haptic feedback to enhance low frequencies.
With the release of the Crusher ANC 2 headphones, we tested these thoroughly to assess whether Skullcandy has struck the right balance between their signature bass experience and the expectations of discerning listeners.
Check out our gear category page for more on ANC headphones and other audio gear.
Alternatives to the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
Sony WH-1000XM4
Still a great option in the ANC over-ear market. Great bass and overall quality sound, great ANC, comfortable.
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Sennheiser Momentum 4
Best value ANC headphones in our book. Bass forward profile, excellent detail, massive 60-hour battery life.
Check Price:
Beats Studio Pro
You can get these for a bargain at current sale prices. Surprisingly good sound quality, satisfying bass. (see our complete Beats Studio Pro review)
Check Price:
Who are the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 for?
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones are clearly aimed at a younger, bass-loving audience that doesn’t want to shell out serious cash for ANC cans.
They cater to listeners who prioritize music genres like EDM, hip-hop, and rock, where deep, punchy bass is a defining feature.
Who are the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 NOT for?
The Crusher ANC 2 headphones are not the best choice for audiophiles who prioritize balance, detail, and clarity across all frequencies. Nor are they ideal for commuters seeking premium Active Noise Canceling (ANC) performance.
If you’re looking for good bass with proper sound quality, consider the Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sony WH-1000XM4 (or XM5), or a class up, the Focal Bathys. (full review of the Bathys).
What’s in the Box?
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 box arrived with the following:
- USB-C to USB-C and USB-A to USB-C Charging Cables
- 3.5 mm AUX Cable: For wired listening
- Travel Bag
Build / Comfort
The build of the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 strikes a solid balance between comfort and durability, reflecting some thoughtful improvements over previous models.
Design
The design is less in-your-face, especially the low-key black and grey model that we reviewed. You wouldn’t immediately be marked as a goth or skater with these on.
Materials
Having never seen these in person, I assumed they would look and feel a little bit cheap. I was wrong. The materials are high-grade plastic, a brushed metal headband, and metal to reinforce the joints.
The headphones are very easy to clean, but the matte plastic does pick up fingerprints.
Comfort
Compared to earlier models, the Crusher ANC 2 has refined its comfort factor with lighter materials and better earcup articulation for a more natural fit.
The memory foam ear cushions feel very comfortable. The ear cups are a bit narrow, touching the outsides of my medium-large ears. But they’re soft, snug, and provide enough padding for long listening sessions without causing pressure or discomfort.
The adjustable headband is also well-padded, and the clamping force feels secure without being overly tight. The 332 grams of headphone weight is evenly distributed and never felt heavy.
Sound: Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
Frequency Response Diagram Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
As you can see in the diagram above, the Crusher ANC 2 is predictably insane in terms of frequency response. Like other bass focussed headphones, such as the Sony ULT, the desired response is clearly worlds away from what audiophiles prefer.
But do they have to sound so crazy? Am I supposed to understand this frequency response?
For what it’s worth, I’ll get into the details here…
Bass
Skullcandy markets these as an “immersive sensory bass experience.” It is an experience. At 100% Crusher Level, the cans literally shake on your head.
What bothers me most is that the sub-bass is almost non-existent. If you’re going to have a bass experience, shouldn’t the sub-bass, more-felt-than-heard regions be well represented?
What dominates the sound of these headphones is the crazy 60-150 Hz mountain of bass bloat.
Midrange
Despite the 400 Hz scoop on the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2, the midrange is washed out by the bass bloat. Most tracks sound a bit unnatural and distant.
Treble
The high frequencies are fine for the most part. They taper off at the top, but the details are mostly lost due to the overall imbalance and poor transient response of the drivers.
Conclusions about the Sound
It’s not worth the analysis, really. They sound exactly like I thought they would and will please most bassheads who aren’t looking for any kind of balance.
Just know that headphones can and do sound better than these.
Connectivity
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 operate on Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring a stable and efficient wireless connection. In my tests, pairing was swift, and the connection remained solid even at distances up to 50 meters in open spaces.
Regarding audio codecs, the Crusher ANC 2 supports SBC and AAC. As you might expect from headphones in this price range, options like aptX or LDAC are not supported.
The Crusher ANC 2 do, however, offer multipoint pairing capability, allowing simultaneous connections to two devices. This functionality lets you easily switch from watching a video on your laptop to answering a call on your phone without manual reconnection.
In terms of wired connectivity, the headphones include an AUX cable and a standard headphone jack on the left ear cup.
Skull-iQ App
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones integrate with the Skull-iQ app, available on both iOS and Android platforms. This allows you to adjust settings for hands-free voice control, customizable button functions, adjustable ANC, and custom EQ modes.
I actually like the app a lot. There are loads of personalization tools and the menus are clean and easy to use.
Controls
The controls of the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 felt intuitive and well thought out.
Tactile Buttons
Fans of tactile buttons will be pleased with the Crusher ANC 2. On the left earcup, there’s an orange multifunction button for power and pairing, along with a rotary wheel below it for adjusting the Sensory Bass levels.
On the right earcup, the layout is equally straightforward. Three buttons handle volume, playback, and call controls, and there’s a sliding switch to toggle between ANC, transparency mode, and standard listening.
Customized Controls
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones offer a high degree of customization through the Skull-iQ app, allowing users to remap the physical button controls to suit their preferences.
This feature enables you to assign different functions to various button presses. For instance, you can reassign the volume buttons to control track navigation or set the multifunction button to activate your device’s voice assistant.
Room for Improvement
For the most part, the controls worked flawlessly for me, but there are a couple of things I think could be improved.
One is the lack of an auto-pause feature—playback doesn’t stop when you take the headphones off. That’s something I’ve gotten used to with other headphones, and I missed it here.
Another small issue is that while the buttons are functional, they don’t have a premium feel; they’re more about practicality than aesthetics.
Overview of the Controls on the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
| Control | Function | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Power Button | Power On/Off | Press and hold to turn the headphones on or off. Also used for Bluetooth pairing. |
| Sensory Bass Slider | Adjust Bass | Rotary wheel on the left earcup allows for precise bass level customization. |
| Volume Up Button | Increase Volume | Single press to increase volume incrementally. |
| Volume Down Button | Decrease Volume | Single press to decrease volume incrementally. |
| Multi-function Button | Playback & Calls |
|
| ANC/Transparency Switch | Toggle Modes | Slide to toggle between ANC, transparency, and normal modes. |
| Customizable Buttons (via Skull-iQ App) | Personalized Controls | Reassignable through the app for functions like activating voice assistant or specific EQ presets. |
Noise Canceling
The Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones claim to offer quality ANC and passive noise isolation, but we never found that to be the case in our tests.
Passive Isolation
Considering the good seal these ear pads make with my head, I expected more passive isolation. Unfortunately, they barely attenuate outside noise without ANC.
ANC Performance
Active noise canceling on these headphones is mediocre at best. High frequencies come straight through, as do high mids. The low frequencies get about half as quiet with ANC on.
Given the extremely competitive ANC headphone market, this performance doesn’t really hold up. Headphones in a similar price range, like the Sony WH-1000XM4, will give you far better ANC performance.
Battery Life
Battery Life of Popular Over-ear, ANC Headphones Compared
The most impressive feature of the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 is the battery life, up to 50 hours with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) turned on. This is outstanding in the current market.
In our tests, these claims held up. On continuous play at 70% volume with ANC on, the Crusher ANC 2 lasted just over the 2-day mark at 48 hours and 3 minutes.
This kind of battery life at this price point is truly impressive. As you can see in the chart above, only the Sennheiser Momentum 4 offers more (60 hours).
Additionally, the Crusher ANC 2 supports rapid charging, providing up to 4 hours of playback from just a 10-minute charge.
Calls
For our call tests, we tested in normal and windy conditions.
Calls with the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones worked well and were pretty clear under normal conditions. However, windy conditions challenged the mics on these cans quite a bit.
You can hear the results of our tests below.
Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Mic Tests
Final Thoughts: Are the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 Worth It?
As someone who prioritizes sound quality over all other features, I cannot recommend these headphones. Even if I valued bass above all other aspects of sound, these fall short due to their lack of sub-bass.
That said, these do have a surprisingly impressive build quality and battery life. For bassheads who just don’t care about balance or anything other than something that rocks their skull, these will probably tick the box.
For the more discerning listener who prefers bass that actually rocks, consider the Sony WH-1000XM4 or the Sennheiser Momentum 4. Both provide excellent bass response, better ANC, and are priced competitively.
Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
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Questions or Comments?
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FAQ
How do I pair the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 with multiple devices?
To pair with a second device while already connected, press the power button once, then press and hold it for 1 second to enter pairing mode. This allows you to connect to another device without disconnecting the first. Note that only one device can stream audio at a time.
Can I use the Crusher ANC 2 without battery power?
Yes, you can use the included AUX cable for a wired listening experience when the battery is depleted. However, features like Crusher Bass, Bluetooth, and ANC won’t function in this mode.
