Skullcandy Mod Review | Trusted Reviews

Verdict

Stable, if unspectacular, however for £50 Skullcandy’s Mod buds don’t disappoint 

Introduction

Skullcandy is up there with EarFun and Rock Jaw relating to unhealthy names for audio firms, however, dodgy moniker apart, it has constructed up a fame for churning out moderately priced, moderately well-performing headphones.

At £50, the Skullcandy Mod don’t buck that pattern on the affordability entrance, however do they sound ok to face out in an extremely overcrowded area?  

Design

• Not significantly distinctive wanting
• IP55 ranking
• Bodily contact controls

Skullcandy isn’t afraid to go garish relating to selecting the color of its headphones, however the largely black end of the Mod means there’s little or no right here to make them stand out. They’re additionally accessible in mild gray.

The buds themselves are a sort of flattened oval form, with three pairs of gray eartips included within the field that can assist you discover the appropriate match. They match snugly, and whereas they keep put after some bursts of forceful head-shaking, you may not really feel completely snug carrying them for extra prolonged vigorous train, though their IP55 ranking does imply they’ll have the ability to address being drenched in sweat.

Not like numerous buds lately, Skullcandy has plumped for bodily buttons on the Mod. These clearly require extra pressure to activate than touch-sensitive controls, so one of the simplest ways to make use of them is by slipping a finger between the again of the bud and your ear, and utilizing your thumb to use the required stress. Some will discover that old school, however there’s nothing worse than a set of contact controls that don’t reply constantly when tapped or swiped.  

The case they reside in is a bit on the cumbersome aspect and the plastic it’s made from doesn’t precisely scream high quality, however the greatest challenge is the way in which the buds sit within the case. The hinge on the lid feels good and stable, however the holes the buds slot into to cost are fairly shallow, which makes getting them out and in simple, but additionally will increase the prospect of them by chance falling out. It additionally makes the case really feel lots greater than it actually must be. What’s in all that area beneath the buds?

On the underside you’ll discover a USB-C port for charging the case and a lightweight that flashes each time you open or shut the lid to point how a lot battery is left. When it goes crimson you realize it’s time to plug in, with the shortest USB-C cable you’ve ever seen in your life included within the field. 

Options

• Customisable controls
• Keep Conscious mode
• Tile app monitoring

For £50 you wouldn’t essentially anticipate to get too many extras with the Skullcandy Mod. And whereas there’s no noise-cancelling, which might be the characteristic that’d be prime of most individuals’s most-wanted listing, there may be an accompanying app that provides a number of further methods.

Out there for each iOS and Android, Skullcandy’s well-designed app lets you customise the controls if you happen to don’t like the way in which they’re arrange by default. You may assign completely different instructions to double, triple and lengthy presses, however a single press will at all times play or pause your tunes. In case you’d reasonably maintain issues easy and stop any unintended activation, you may flip all of the others off fully.  

Activation of the Keep-Conscious mode may be assigned to one of many instructions, which, regardless of the dearth of ANC, makes use of the built-in microphones to let in among the outdoors world. You may also use them to summon your cellphone’s voice assistant, though I discovered it simpler to maintain issues to a minimal.

The app additionally provides you entry to an EQ, which provides three fundamental presets – Music, Podcast and Film – but additionally has a Customized mode that lets you tweak 5 completely different frequency bands. Chances are high, if you happen to’re solely spending £50 on a pair of buds, you’re not going to be too bothered about fine-tuning the efficiency. 

Battery life is quoted as as much as 34 hours. Testing that with real-world use isn’t a precise science as a result of it will depend on a number of variables, however I used them usually for a number of weeks earlier than they wanted to be plugged in. The app will present you ways a lot battery life is left in every particular person bud, and the sunshine on the case provides you an thought once they want charging, however some form of audible warning would even be useful. There’s no wi-fi charging both.

One factor the Skullcandy app can’t do is activate the Tile monitoring. You’ll want Tile’s personal app for this, however it’s undoubtedly value doing if you happen to’re susceptible to leaving your earphones mendacity across the place and might by no means discover them when it’s time to exit. It solely takes a couple of minutes to do, and after you have you’ll have the ability to provoke a chirping SOS name from the buds that makes them simpler to find. Whenever you get shut sufficient your cellphone may even vibrate to let you realize. 

Sound High quality

• Sound a bit of too bassy
• Good steadiness at high and low volumes
• Common name high quality

There’s a guidelines of sonic fundamentals you’re on the lookout for with a pair of finances earbuds and it’s truthful to say the Skullcandy Mod fulfill all of them. There’s sufficient bass to cease them sounding skinny, they don’t lose all their life when performed at decrease volumes, they usually don’t distort once you pump it up. 

That doesn’t imply they’re excellent, in fact. The low-end is perhaps a bit of overemphasised to some ears, they usually don’t dig out as a lot element or sound fairly as musical as extra succesful (and inevitably costly) buds, however for the typical listener with solely £50 to spend there’s little right here to essentially complain about.

Whereas there’s no noise-cancelling right here, they nonetheless have a Keep-Conscious mode that permits among the outdoors world, however primarily simply appears to amplify any wind noise, so it’s finest left turned off.

Skullcandy says it has fitted every bud with a Clear Voice Good Mic to make calls “the closest factor to speaking in particular person.” That’s a daring declare that doesn’t actually get up except you’re utilizing them in a quiet room with no background noise. Introduce any sort of competitors to your voice and it’s more durable to make out what’s being stated, with louder sounds equivalent to background music inflicting actual issues.

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