There’s a huge difference between like and love. I like cheese, but I love Gruyere. I like beef, but I love filet mignon. I like phones, but I love my iPhone. You get the gist.
Long story short, I really like Skullcandy’s latest pair of over-ear mid-range headphones, the Hesh.
But do I love them?
Skullcandy has been revamping its roster over the past year, including re-engineering their popular over-ear mid-range headphones. They promise “attacking bass, natural voice, and precision highs.”
Where voice and highs are concerned, Skullcandy nailed it. But “attacking bass” is an overstatement. There’s no true thud, no tangible feeling that comes along with the bass on these things. Just a low note, like any other low note.
Truth be told, I don’t feel transported to a higher plane of audio ecstasy with these things on my head, but sound quality isn’t bad by any means. I’ve been running around with an older set of Bose over-the-ears for the past few weeks and it’s hard to compete with those noise-cancelling beasts. When I put the Bose cans over my ears, all the excess sound instantly disappears. I’m in my own little suction cup of silence, until I turn on the tunes, at which point I can feel the bass buzzing through my brain.
On the other hand, the Hesh headphones are certainly loud enough for just about any setting, including a subway platform, but passersby won’t have any line of defense from your tune choices. I made the mistake of listening to “Superman” by Eminem on the crowded elevator in AOL HQ this morning at full volume — I’m sure I’m only more popular now.
I don’t get the same kind of satisfaction from the Skullcandy Hesh as I do with my Bose cans, but I also don’t pay as much. The Skullcandy Hesh headphones only cost $69.99 with a mic, and $59.99 without, as opposed to the $250+ set of Bose. That said, sound quality is perfectly acceptable at this price point.
Comfort-wise, I’m pretty pleased. I wish the headphones cupped my ears a bit more tightly — feels like there is a little pocket of space that sound escapes through. The leather pillow cups are nice, weight isn’t an issue at 180g, and the soft-touch headband is properly flexible.
The Skullcandy Hesh headphones come in a variety of color flavors, a few of which you can see below. Availability begins May 7 on Skullcandy.com.