Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 - Black (Discontinued from Manufacturer)

I have used them for over a year; they have a great bass and amazing sound cancellation.My only recommendation is that they include an extra pair of foam rollers, as they can last around 8 months when used for gym workouts.

I never leave reviews but I believe these deserve more positive attention.Let me take you back on a journey, about 24 years ago. A teenage me, browsing through a PC magazine looking for parts to build my stepfather a new rig. My stepfather was living in Phoenix at the time and we had settled on going to this small PC shop just outside of downtown I believe. There we looked at acrylic cases for the build when something piqued my interest in the store add that I hadn't noticed before. There was a set of headphones that claimed to have subwoofers in them. They used a single AA battery in a case in-line with the cord and had a small thumb dial to adjust the bass. They were on special for $10.99 down from $19.99. With a look of excitement, I turned to my stepfather and asked if he would be willing to purchase them for me. He agreed happily, stating that these would be a form of payment for my labor in building his PC.Needless to say, I could not wait to try them out with my CD Walkman and some hip-hop/rap music. Now, at the time, i dont bleieve these headphones were skullcandy brand. The band was plastic and flimsy, so were the swivels for the ear cups but I'll never forget the first time the bass came on and I could feel it on my ears. The audio quality was average but it was just the way I could experience the bass that made them wonderful. Expectedly, those headphones were not long lived. The band broke about 6 months after constant use but the drivers were still in working order so sometimes I would just hold them up to my ears and enjoyed them.Fast forward about 8 years, I discovered skullcandy. While browsing through their site, I saw the original Crushers. The design was almost identical to the ones I used to have except the band was slightly different, a little more beafy but still looked like they wouldn't last. Wanting the experience again but knowing that the quality might end up the same, I held off on buying those and ended up with a pair of Hesh in Snow Camo. The Hesh were good, standard 40mm drivers but they were power hungry. You really couldn't enjoy the full quality of the drivers unless they were plugged into a PC with a good sound card, a studio Amp or a small in-line Amp along with an ipod, phone etc. With the experience from the Hesh, I figured the Crushers would suffer from the same symptoms so I waited.When I saw the first Bluetooth Crushers, I knew it was a step in the right direction for the line. When I read through the reviews, it gave me high hopes but I was still on the fence and stuck to my Beats Solo that I'd had for years. Now, finally, I decided to take the plunge with these ANC Crushers. For what these are, I am not disappointed in the least. Those original headphones just really adjusted the vibration with little affect to the audible bass but these ANC Crushers are everything I hoped for. The mids and highs are clear and the bass is powerful. Now, these may not be for everyone, the lowest bass adjustment might still be too much for some but for what I wanted them for, they are everything.

I purchased the SkullCandy Crusher ANC-2 after reading many reviews....starting with the 1- & 2-Star reviews. I don't feel the need to read good reviews if I can be content with the bad reviews. Many of the bad and/or negative reviews I read were either about:- Bass overpowering/ inadequate ability to adjust- Noise Cancelling didn't work well enough- Comfort- The 'matte' finish got blemished too easilySo to quickly touch on the BEST points about the SkullCandy Crusher ANC-2.- ***** BLUETOOTH Distance WELL OVER 175+ FEET AWAY. Tested this over a 10-minute period in open, unobstructed line-of-sight........and over 60+ feet within a house, many rooms away.- ***** SOUND QUALITY is Clear, Crisp, and seems to auto-adjust (not sure if it does or not) for the music I am listening to....and I listen to pretty much all of the major genres...i.e. Rock, Rap, Country, and even Electronic Dance Music (EDM)....sounds great with all!- ***** COMFORT fit and holds to the head whether you are working out or working in the yard, the SkullCandy Crusher ANC-2 maintains comfortability!- ***** BATERY LIFE IS PHENOMENAL!!!! After my initial charge, I wore the SkullCandy Crusher ANC-2 for a full day (8-hours of play time) and only used 20% of the battery....so the following day, I wore for about another full day again and used 20%....CRUSHER told me I had 60% battery remaining after 2-days of use.- ***** HANDS-FREE Voice control and SK app makes connecting to music easy once set-up properly!As for what most reviews "complained" about....I didn't see an issue with any of them really!- The intensity of the "Crusher" Bass 'can' be turned up/down, however it should be noted that the dial that rolls, also needs to be PUSHED in to make adjustments to bass output....but this is NOT like the "BASS KNOB" on your car radio....meaning, you can not adjust the bass the near-0...or even to a "4-level", to be honest. The headphones are made to put a bit more bass-bump into your ears. PERFECT for gym time and those audiophiles!- I mentioned my thoughts about comfort above.- The MATTE FINISH IS THE BEST!!!!....(for me!)I have a pretty active lifestyle that includes wearing around the house....doing yard work....driving tractors and backhoes...gardening...etc. In the short time (2-1/2 weeks) I have had the SkullCandy Crusher ANC-2, I have dropped (or otherwise) them numerous times. The matte finish has never scratched, as I fear a "glossy finish" would have, making imperfections more obvious. I just take a disinfectant wipe to clean the headphones.- I feel MANY PEOPLE who "complained" about the ANC "noise cancelling" feature not working are CONFUSED as to what this is exactly! This DOES NOT mean that these headphones completely "soundproof" your ears!!! AND THIS ESPECIALLY doesn't work if you have no sound coming through the headphones at all!!! If you want those headphones, you're better off looking in an aviation-pilot store somewhere. BUT the ANC feature does do it's job in cancelling outside noise while listeninng to tunes at an adequate level.----BTW...I'm not one to ever write reviews for products, but I have been legitimately blown away by the SkullCandy Crusher ANC 2, that I felt a need to counter some of the negative reviews that made me ponder my decision to buy. It wasn't until a good friend of mine told me she loves her SkullCandy products, that I took a chance and purchased.I'm glad I did!TJ