Review: Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones – feel the bass

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In a past life, I was a big ole bass head. I went (and competed) in car audio competitions where only one thing mattered – bass. It butchered my hearing (tinnitus is a real bish) but even to this day, I get excited when I hear a nice car audio system.

Now, in my old age, I stick to stock car audio systems, but still miss the feeling a good bassline invokes. Now, I think I have found the product to scratch that itch – the Skullcandy Crusher Evo wireless headphones. If you are familiar with Skullcandy, you know that bass is a big part of its products, but these headphones seriously take it to the next level.

This is due to the Crusher Evo’s use of haptic bass feedback. This replicates the feeling of a solid bassline in that it is more than just in your ears, you can feel it in your bones. Skullcandy puts this feature front-and-center, with a haptic bass slider directly on the left earcup that makes tweaking the haptic bass as easy as raising your hand. Is it a bit gimmicky? Sure. Is it awesome? Absolutely.

Let’s talk about features on the Skullcandy Crusher Evo headphones

Image: Josiah Motley / KnowTechie

READ MORE: Skullcandy’s new Mod earbuds let you connect to 2 devices at once

Ok, so before I gush about the bass of the headphones, let’s look at some of the features. First of all, the headphones use USB to USB-C to charge. The best part however is that a 10-minute charge can power these puppies for a whopping 40 hours according to the company. From my testing, this is pretty accurate, and even with haptic bass turned up I was seeing 30+ hours of playtime without charging.

There’s also the Tile tracking system baked directly into the set. That means that you can set them up with your Tile app and hopefully located them easily in case you misplace them on the bus, at an airport, or at the office. You also get phone call functionality with these, but admittedly, I didn’t test this feature. I’m not going to be using these for phone calls and if I need to take a call, I would absolutely just take these off before answering.

You also get access to the Skullcandy app, which lets you fine-tune the music experience to your personal earbuds. You’ll take a three-minute test that has you identifying different tones and Skullcandy will use that information to present music in the best way possible, for you.

Also, a quick note regarding comfort. I don’t have big ears, but still found the earcups to be a little too snug, causing small amounts of discomfort during longer sessions. The headset itself is an acceptable weight and not overly heavy, but those small earcups are a bit of a bummer.

So, how do they sound?

Image: Josiah Motley / KnowTechie

Features are great and all, but you’re buying headphones for the sound they produce. As this is Skullcandy, an emphasis on bass is expected and these do not disappoint. Your mids and highs are solid, but will not blow you away. If I was using these to listen to more acoustic, singer/songwriter tracks, I’m not sure the Crusher Evo headphones would be my go-to. They sound fine, but you’d be hard-pressed to pick up the intricacies more stripped-down music presents.

But, let’s talk about the bass. These headphones do a great job of picking up a wide range of lower frequencies, with the sweet spot seemingly in the 30-45hz range. Some of my old, go-to bass tracks like Late Night Tip by Three 6 Mafia, Hypnotize by Jeezy, and Throw It Up by Pastor Troy and Lil Jon are perfect on these. Some of the lowest of lows get lost, but I can’t imagine a world where any wireless headphones are able to get to those notes. It also manages to produce quick basslines relatively well, and the muddling of quick lines is pretty minimal.

And all of this is bolstered by the adjustable haptic feedback provided by the Crusher Evo headphones. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, bass is best when you can feel it, and the vibration produced by the headphones replicates that feeling extremely well. Sure, you don’t feel it in your chest like you do with a full-blown audio system, but c’mon, we’re talking about headphones here.

At $199, these are priced competitively. If a lot of your music tastes include heavy bass lines, there’s not much to dislike about this offering from Skullcandy.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Review: Audeze LCD-1 headphones – planars that don’t break the bank
• Review: HiFiMan RE-600S and RE-400C in-ear headphones
• Review: The TaoTronics SoundLiberty earbuds pack plenty of features at a budget price
• Review: The CLCKR is a cool, combined grip and stand for your smartphone

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more. A sample unit was provided for the purpose of this review.

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.