In our last review of headphones (Skullcandy Ink’d wireless headphones review) that was also a product from Skullcandy, I said how a little disappointed I was with the connectivity, but here, the new product from the company is impressive in almost every way, and has flawless connectivity. We’re reviewing the Skullycandy Grind Wireless headphones, which are an on-ear set of headphones with an attractive design and is claimed to offer a great battery life.
Skullcandy already has a Grind headphone under its portfolio, but as the name suggests, this is the Wireless edition of the same relying on Bluetooth for the connectivity with a device. Let’s talk about these and let me share my experience of using these headphones for over a couple of weeks.
The Skullcandy Grind Wireless headphones come in different color options, and if you know the wired option, it is the same range of colors you are seeing here. The one I used is the Black + Tan option, which has a smooth finish on the top frame. To start with the design, the need for padding is always there if you are planning to use headphones for hours of music playing on a continuous loop, and lack of that here might hurt a bit, even though it sits comfortably on the head.
Unlike some of the headphones that offer a lot with the design part, these are fixed on size and structure, and Skullcandy is not offering any hinges to fold one of the ear cups to save space in your bag during travels, but that shouldn’t be a dealbreaker in most of the cases. For different head sizes, the adjustment is quite easy and you won’t feel that you are playing around with a delicate unit because the metallic adjustment frame joining the ear cup and the headband is strong enough. The right ear cup has all the control buttons while the left one has nothing on it.
The + control is not just for the volume increase but also to go to next track when you hold it down, and the – button does the opposite. The button in the center helps play or pause the track, and also helps in receiving or ending calls. A 3.5mm headphone input is given, in case the headphone runs out of battery and you still want to listen to music, away from the power source, and just beside to the jack is the MicroUSB port for charging.
Since we are talking about Wireless headphones, it is important to know how good is the connectivity and whether Skullcandy has been able to keep up with it. Thankfully, the experience this time isn’t like how it was with the Ink’d headphones from the same company. There’s a different though, with this having a proper space in for the receiver, and the connectivity was always swift and kept up for about 20 feet without any glitches or breaks while music is being played.
Wired and wireless options often differ with the sound quality offered as well, and thus, I tried using and judging the sound output while using the Grind headphones wirelessly. The bass is perfect and if you are someone who loves bass, you’ll never regret getting this pair of headphones. The high-tones are not the best though, when you max the volume and then notice little harsh tones, but if bass-heavy songs are the choice, the headphones do complete justice with good sound output levels and bass as well.
The battery life is very important when it comes to wireless devices, as you cannot stay around chargers all the time, and cannot compromise with the music if your headphone battery keeps draining from time to time. The battery is rated to offer about 12 hours of continuous music playback. I got around 8 hours when the volume levels were around maximum for most of the time. Not bad, even though the numbers claimed were higher, but when you are getting about a third of the day on a single charge, it is good enough.
So, the final verdict. Is Rs. 6999 a good price or is the company asking a lot for it? To be true, the Skullcandy Grind Wireless headphones are all worth the price tag, thanks to the great sound quality, the near-flawless connectivity and the battery life offered, not to forget the comfort and easiness offered by the headband. The only downsides are the size of the ear cup and them being non-foldable. But then, if that doesn’t matter much and you give importance to connectivity and quality more than anything else, then you should surely get these.
