While Skullcandy has become synonymous with budget-friendly headphones and earbuds, that hasn’t stopped the company from trying to break into the more premium offerings of the audio world. A few short months ago, it debuted the Skullcandy Dime, an affordable set of earbuds retailing for $25. Now, Skullcandy is aiming its sights at the quality offered by more expensive sets, like AirPods, with the Push Active and Grind Fuel. I’m more of a fan of the Grind Fuel than the Push Active, but both sets of earbuds offer great audio quality and features. Being able to quickly change settings within the Skull-iQ app is a big improvement, especially compared to the options Skullcandy has offered in the past. But is it enough to pull Apple fans from their beloved AirPods? Probably not, but if you aren’t married to your AirPods, then Skullcandy’s latest offerings are a great grab if you’re working with a tighter budget.
Fine-Tuned
This isn’t the first time that Skullcandy has taken a swing at a more premium earbud offering. However, this time it’s a surefire home run. Not only do the Push Active and Grind Fuel offer great sound quality, but the features that they have helped make them even more appealing to audio lovers. First, there’s audio quality. Everything sounds good right out of the box. The bass and treble are both well balanced when listening to music, something that we’ve often seen skewing in one direction or the other in the past. The Skullcandy app also opens the door to setting up an equalizer, which can be handy for setting your audio content to sound the way you want it to. There are a few different presets, and each one works well. Skullcandy also lets you set up personalized sound, which uses beeps and tones to help you fine-tune the audio playback for your hearing. It’s a nice touch, but it takes quite a few minutes to set up. Still, if you’re someone who loves fine-tuning your sound, you’re going to be very happy with the options available.
And the Kitchen Sink
One of the best things about Skullcandy’s Push Active and Grind Fuel earbuds is the extra features that both sets offer. Part of its new smart feature tech, Skull-iQ, makes interacting with your media easier using voice command and tap options. I hate touching the earbuds once they’re in my ear, and a lot of earbuds let you control the music with short taps or swipes on the buds themselves. This usually results in pushing the earbud into your ear more, which can be uncomfortable. With the voice commands, you can say, “Hey, Skullcandy,” then follow it up with another command to interact with your music without ever touching the bud itself. If you don’t mind the taps, then you can use Skull-iQ to set up different things like Spotify Tap, volume changes, track skips, and even an option to take a photo when you tap the side of your earbud. The buttons on the side of the Grind Fuel and Push Active both require a bit of pressure to work with, though, so it does make the earbuds uncomfortable after a bit if you’re pressing them often. Both the Push Active and Grind Fuel come with over 40 hours of battery life, including the case’s battery. Individually, you’re looking at around four to five hours per earbud if you’re listening to something consistently. Still, that’s a good deal of time if you’re listening to something while working or out and about, and being able to chuck them in the case for a quick recharge is nice. Overall, both sets of Skullcandy’s new earbuds bring a lot to the table for what they cost. Admittedly, they aren’t the best set of earbuds under $100, but if you like Skullcandy and you want a lot of customization, there’s a lot to love here.
