Skullcandy Hesh 3 Bluetooth Wireless Over-Ear Headphones with Microphone, Rapid Charge 22-Hour Battery, Foldable, Memory Foam Ear Cushions for Comfortable All-Day Fit, Black

Product Information

The over-ear headphones are mainly plastic with a metal headband. Build quality is subpar (more about that later). The ear cups, however, boast a modern matte finish that both looks and feels good, and not being a fingerprint magnet is a big plus. The young, cool vibe the device exudes is designed to go with the casual look. Buttons They’re a solid buy, although not quite the best-sounding in their class – and some won’t like their clamp-like fit.

Skullcandy is light on accessories here. There's a micro USB charging cable and a 3.5mm audio cable, both of which connect to the right earcup. Though there's no included tote or case, the earcups do swivel and fold down into a compact size for easy stowing. I felt Skullcandy could have done a better job with the headband. It could have been longer and more flexible. The current design grips far too tightly and may cause discomfort to the ears, especially during longer listening sessions. Despite being a V-shaped sounding headphone, it is not really your typical V-shape where full-bodied bass hits hard where you can feel your heart thumping to the beat. It really takes on a more relaxed type of bass while giving enough quantity. Hence, it is more suited for pop and vocal/acoustic but not for EDM as it does not get your feet tapping. Portability is definitely a factor when considering these as part of your everyday carry for your daily commute to school, to work, or to shut out your naggy spouse… Treble is surprisingly crisp, far more than is on display in other Skullcandy headphones I’ve used. This treble is responsible for quite a lot of the Hesh 3’s energy; the sound isled by the treble and bass, not just the low-end. Throughout the battery test, I detected very minimal heat. When plugged into a 2A charger, it takes about 2.5 hours to go from 0 to 100. The Hesh 3 also sports a Rapid Charge function which provides 4 hours of play time after a 10-minute charge. ComfortIn terms of a feature set, the Skullcandy Hesh 3 are a basic pair of headphones: You won’t find active noise cancellation, auto play/pause, or multipoint Bluetooth here. It’s annoying that the Hesh 3 can’t connect simultaneously to two devices at once but it’s par for the course in this price range. If you’ve got small ears then this is unlikely to be a problem. This is one instance when it might be wise to try before you buy.

The Hesh 3 are Bluetooth headphones, but they don’t offer more special features such as aptX HD and active noise cancellation. However, if you’re simply after a solid, affordable wireless set of headphones then you won’t necessarily be wanting these extras. Female vocals shine slightly brighter than male vocals as it brings out the details in them more clearly. Guitar strings response pretty well, and this would be able to handle fast-paced songs; aka pop, EDM, etc. Treble

How does the Skullcandy Hesh ANC sound?

While the Skullcandy Hesh 3 don’t come with a carrying case, they fold flat or up for easy transport. It would have been nice to see a carrying pouch or case but the headphones feel durable enough to be stuffed in a bag without a case. Features and performance Vocals (especially female) are very sweet sounding to the ears as the treble causes it to sound airy and detailed. However, more bass could have been “injected” into the headphones to make the sound signature more energetic.

The Skullcandy Hesh 3 pairs well with neutral or dark sounding sources to give the headphones a little more bass if that’s your thing. Skullcandy hasn’t just taken the insides of the old Hesh 2 and plugged them into the Hesh 3’s grown-up shell. The sound is significantly different, and offers a huge improvement. The Hesh 3 don’t stand out like the Method Wireless do in their class, but they’re enjoyable, if not the smoothest headphones around. If you’re happy to switch to on-ear headphones then the AKG Y50BT and Urbanista Seattle Wireless sound better. But if you’re not too treble-sensitive and love the look of the Skullcandy Hesh 3, you could do a lot worse. VerdictThe soft, well-padded pad that sits between the top of your head and the headband somehow feels bigger than its actual below-average size. Skullcandy has the basics nailed down. Bluetooth stability is very good and at 22 hours battery life is solid. The headphones offer rapid charging, too. Five minutes of charging from flat gets you 90 minutes’ use. The mechanism swivels around the X-axis only, which has its limitations. However, putting it on is no effort at all. The headphones collapse compactly for convenient storage when not in use.

One of the side effects of this type of construction is limited isolation. While I haven’t experience any issues with music playing, when simply walking around wearing the Hesh 3 it’s clear they don’t cut out any more than high-frequency sound.The Hesh 3 was tested with my iPhone 7+ via the wireless connection. The Hesh 3 carries a V-shaped sound signature with a slightly more forward midbass, leaning towards treble and technical issues due to its treble performance, which I’ll go into below.