The Skullcandy Hesh ANC are fine noise canceling headphones for their price. You get effective active noise canceling, decent battery life, fairly muted aesthetics, and a comfortable build. Although microphone quality could be better, that’s par for the course in this price bracket. The sound profile will mainly appeal to bass heads and those willing to mess with a third-party EQ app, but it’s a small price to pay for an otherwise complete package. In ANC mode, a slight background noise is perceptible, but otherwise, the noise-cancelling really doesn’t do a bad job, as outside noises are reduced over a relatively large range.
A female voice will let you know which mode you have just switched to. Pair the headphones as a new Tile device, and you are good to go. They’re reliable however, with quick and consistent pairing even when switching between devices. Even though they don’t have multi-point, the pairing process is quick enough to not be burdensome for use with more than one device.
However, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem being understood by whoever’s on the other end of the line. Although they have an ANC feature, it can amplify some bass-range noise like the rumble of a bus engine around you. It does a better job of reducing ambient chatter and the hum of an AC unit. The are satisfactory for sports and fitness. They have a stable and decently comfortable fit while their wireless design makes it harder for something to snag them off your head.
There’s a peak in the weighted group delay’s low-bass, which results in a loose bass. However, the rest of the response falls under the audibility threshold, resulting in transparent treble reproduction. Also, its L/R drivers are well-matched in regards to amplitude, frequency, and phase response.
The integrated mic does a decent job of capturing your voice, although it sounds a bit thin and dark. It also struggles to separate speech from moderately loud environments, so it’s better suited for taking calls in a quiet space like a room. That said, they have an active noise cancelling skullcandy wireless feature that can help reduce some ambient noise around you. The primary place the Skullcandy Hesh line falls short of the exclamations is that superior sound. Yes, the Hesh ANC features the same 40mm drivers and 20 Hz-20 kHz frequency range as its older Crusher cousin.
I did find that it wasn’t that different to have the noise-cancelling switched off entirely but still it’s a nice feature to have included, especially in an office environment. This Skullcandy Hesh ANC review is aimed at those who don’t want to spend hundreds on a pair of the best noise-cancelling headphones – these are cheap and surprisingly good. Up to a certain register, the treble balances out well with the bass, but as the high-notes get higher the audio begins to reverb and squeal. Portishead’s “Humming” is a cacophony of treble which was tiresome to listen to through the Hesh ANC. I know that candy can hurt your teeth but I wasn’t expecting it from Skullcandy headphones.
Sporting a contoured headband with extra padding on the crown, and soft sponge ear pads that cup the ear, these cans won’t bug you throughout the day. If you like to listen to your audio at a high volume, those around you can hear some of it, even in a moderately noisy environment like an office. It’s overemphasized across the range, resulting in harsh vocals and lead instruments. The mid-treble is especially overemphasized, so sibilants like S and T sounds are piercing. The low-mid is a bit overemphasized, so your mix sounds a bit muddy or cluttered.
As mentioned earlier, our favorite affordable noise-cancelling headphones in this price range are Sennheiser’s HD 450BT, which debuted for $200 but can now be found for much less. If you’re willing to go the true wireless route, we also like the $130 Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro. Beyond that, you really need to spend skull headphones more to get high-quality ANC, with the best pairs like the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 falling in the $300 to $400 range. All of this said, if you want wireless audio with boosted bass depth and bright highs, the Hesh ANC headphones also provide decent noise cancellation for the price.