Skull Crushers Headphone Review

There is one area that has been lacking with headphones and one company has stepped in to try and take care of things. The area that I am talking about is bass. Sure we have bass boost and all of that but you don't get to really feel it. A company by the name of Skullcandy released a set of headphones called Skull Crushers. At a retail price of $89.99, the Skull Crushers have an attached 'Bass Amplified Subwoofer' control. The headphones will actually vibrate with the bass so you can get the feeling of a subwoofer. Lets see how these $89.99 headphones stack up.

The headphones actually look a bit cheap, but at the same time look pretty cool. What is nice is that while the headphones are a bit bulky, they are able to fold up pretty nicely. There is even an included carrying pouch to put them in. The headphones also have a 6.3mm stereo phone adapter and airplane adapter. The 'Bass Amplified Subwoofer' control is actually battery operated, utilizing 1 AA battery. Again, a battery is actually included if you don't have any right away. So they are generous as far as providing optional accessories as included pieces.

The first thing I tested these Skull Crushers on was music. The new (*cough*upcoming*cough*) Disturbed CD, Ten Thousand Fists, was chosen as the first thing to try. The bass vibrations really do add a new dimension to headphone sound. Switching to regular headphones seemed weird. Wearing the Skull Crushers wasn't bad either. They are nicely cushioned and while they are not noise canceling, they will dampen the noise around you thanks to the padding. The control that I have mentioned is built into the wiring and is towards the end of the headphones cord and even has a belt clip on it. The nice thing is that you can have the bass subwoofer turned off to conserve battery life, though that defeats the headphones cost. Besides turning the bass on/off, the controller also has a dial to give you control over the amount of bass vibration you want. You'll probably need to play with the dial and the bass settings on whatever your output device is to get the best results.

In addition to music, I of course played some games and DVDs with the Skull Crushers on. For Halo 2, I went right into the last level for some fast paced action. A problem with the bass vibration become noticeable right away. The problem is with background music. I could feel the vibration of the background music but not so much with the close explosions of grenades and gun fire. Moving through the level, however, I was able to feel the explosions-as the bg music settled.

The end result is a mixed bag. You just need to realize that these are not high end headphones. They are adding a new element to your personal listening needs. After trying different music, I found some working out better than others. I mentioned the background music problem in games and the same is true in movies. Either way, the Skull Crushers do their job and add a new dimension to headphones. The sound quality is good though not high end, therefore some may not appreciate the price. Therefore, for those looking for some headphones solely for gaming may not want to spend this much on these. In the end, the Skull Crushers add something to headphones that has been lacking and does it quite well. In the future, we may look back and see Skullcandy as an innovator for this welcome addition.