- The first Skullcandy Crusher headphones made for the gym
- Sweat and water resistance, plus a nano-coating and silicone band
- Lots of bass promised, but no active noise cancellation
Skullcandy's new Crusher 540 Active headphones look like nearly perfect over-ears for the gym: they're sweat-resistant, they've got great battery life, and they promise to deliver pumping and motivational sound, too. But there's one big feature missing: active noise cancellation.
That's an odd choice for headphones when many gyms have a pretty loud soundtrack, and given the price tag – £169.99 / $199.99 (about AU$353) – that means the lack of ANC is all the more apparent; our list of the best headphones has options half the price that come with very good ANC.
That's a shame, because the rest of the specifications are very good.
Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active headphones: key features
The key features here are focused more on comfort and longevity: the headphones are sweat and water resistant with a nano-coating and silicone TPU band to cope with even the heaviest workouts.
The ear cushions are made from a breathable fabric and have enhanced clamping so they'll stay in place. Skullcandy says the cups feature a "noise-isolating over-ear design" to reduce distractions even without ANC.
Sound-wise the big feature is Skullcandy's own Crusher technology, which enables you to drive the bass up to match the intensity of your activity, and there's built-in Tile finding so you won't lose them if you leave them in the locker room. Drivers are 40mm with dual bass drivers, and there's Bluetooth 5.0 with integrated controls on the headphones as well as full Skullcandy app integration – including the ability to dial back the bass if you prefer.
Battery life is 40 hours, with 10-minute rapid charging delivering four hours of playback from flat.
It all sounds great, but other great headphones at this price offer ANC, such as the Sony ULT Wear headphones or the Sennheiser Accentum Plus. It's true that Beats' gym-focused headphones, the Beats Solo 4, are a similar price and don't have ANC either – but we also slammed those for the omission.
There might be lots of people who don't want to use ANC in the gym, to keep more aware of their surroundings – but you'd want to use these headphones at other times, and wouldn't you want ANC when on public transport or in the office? There's a reason the best noise cancelling headphones are so popular.
Still, if the comfort and sound are good, these could be very popular – sweat-resistant over-ears aren't that common. The new Skullcandy Crusher 540 Active headphones are available worldwide from Skullcandy and the usual retailers.
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