The Skullcandy Crusher Evo Wireless Bluetooth Headphones are over-ear headphones built around a bass slider on the left earcup. Pushing the slider up dials the bass up until the cups start vibrating against your skull, and sliding it back down flattens the sound. Battery life is 40 hours between charges, USB-C tops it back up quickly, and a hearing test in the Skullcandy app tunes the EQ specifically to your ears.
Excellent over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones for every use case
Crusher Bass is Skullcandy’s name for the technology, and it’s a physical feedback system rather than an EQ boost. Extra bass drivers are mounted inside each earcup, alongside the 40mm full-range drivers. Sliding the wheel up sends a low-frequency signal to the bass drivers, which vibrates the cups against your ears. The effect is closer to standing next to a subwoofer than what a normal EQ bass boost can do. Movies with heavy explosions and hip-hop with sub-bass hit noticeably harder with the slider maxed.
Battery life comes in at 40 hours per charge, enough for about a week of daily commutes between plug-ins. Rapid Charge adds another 4 hours off a 10-minute top-up when you leave the house with an empty battery. The USB-C port is on the right earcup for charging and firmware updates. Bluetooth 5.0 is on board for the wireless link, with SBC and AAC codec support, though there’s no aptX, LDAC, or multipoint for connecting to two devices at once.
Setting up the app takes about five minutes, mostly a hearing test on your phone. The Skullcandy app plays tones at different frequencies, listens for what you can and can’t hear, and builds an EQ profile tuned to your ears. Personal Sound is what Skullcandy calls the result, noticeable enough on vocals that you may not want to go back once it’s applied. Tile tracking is built in, so you can find the headphones in the Tile app if they get buried in a couch.
Physical buttons line the right earcup for playback, calls, volume, and Bluetooth pairing, so you don’t have to fumble with touch controls. A hidden mic in the same earcup takes calls, though the voice quality is closer to a laptop mic than to a headset mic. The ear cushions and headband are padded with memory foam, and the ear cups swivel and fold flat for a jacket pocket or a bag. A 3.5mm cable is also included for wired use on a plane or a game console.
The Crusher Evo trades active noise cancellation for an adjustable bass slider and a longer battery than either Crusher ANC generation. Skullcandy sells the Crusher ANC 2 at close to double this price for anyone who wants active cancellation instead. The current sale price is $100, or $110 below the $210 list, a 52% cut. For a first pair of wireless over-ears or a Crusher Wireless upgrade, the Evo fits the bill.
