Skullcandy Crusher Evo Review: bass you actually feel, with a few trade-offs

I’ve been using the Skullcandy Crusher Evo as my main headphones for a while now, both at my desk and when I’m out walking or commuting. I bought them mainly because I was curious about this “vibrating bass” thing and I wanted something wireless that didn’t die after one day. Before these, I was bouncing between cheap Bluetooth headphones and wired in-ears, so I was ready to pay a bit more if it meant I’d stop fighting with cables and weak sound.

Right away, the first thing that stands out is the bass slider on the left earcup. This isn’t just a tiny EQ tweak – when you push it up, the headphones literally vibrate on your head. If you like bass-heavy music (rap, EDM, trap, drum & bass), it’s pretty fun. If you’re more into acoustic, podcasts, or classical, you’ll probably keep that slider very low or even close to minimum. It’s not subtle; it’s very noticeable.

Beyond the bass gimmick, I tried to use them like a normal pair of all-purpose headphones: music while working, Netflix on laptop, calls on the phone, and a bit of gaming on PC and console. They connect by Bluetooth quickly, they also have a 3.5mm jack, and the claimed 40-hour battery isn’t just marketing; it lasts a long time in real life. I charge them way less often than my other Bluetooth gear.

They’re not perfect though. The sound is clearly tuned for fun, not for super accurate listening. The clamp is a bit strong at first, and the plastic build feels solid but not premium. Still, for the price, they hit a good balance: strong bass, long battery, and decent comfort. If you want neutral, studio-style sound, these are not it. If you want something that makes your head rattle on bass drops, then we’re in the right area.

On the value for money side, it really depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re specifically after a wireless headphone with long battery life and very strong, adjustable bass, the Crusher Evo gives you a lot for the price. The combination of the bass slider, the personal sound feature in the app, and the 40-hour battery makes it feel like a good deal compared to some “big name” brands that charge more and don’t hit as hard in the low end.

However, if you don’t care about heavy bass and you mainly want balanced, neutral sound or features like active noise cancelling and multipoint Bluetooth, your money might be better spent elsewhere. There are models from Sony, Anker/Soundcore, and others that focus more on ANC and a more even sound profile for a similar or slightly higher price. Those won’t shake your head like the Crusher Evo, but they’ll be better suited for travel and for people who want more accurate sound.

In everyday use, I feel like I’m getting good value because the headphone covers a lot of my needs: strong bass when I want it, solid sound quality for movies and games, reliable battery, and a build that hasn’t fallen apart. I don’t feel like I’m paying mainly for a logo, which is often the case with some fashion-focused brands. At the same time, I’m aware this is not a cheap impulse buy; it’s a bit of an investment compared to budget headphones.

If I had to summarize the value: for bass lovers and casual listeners, it’s a good deal. For people who want studio-like accuracy or top-tier features, it’s more of a fun second pair than a main work tool. So the value is high if your priorities line up with what the Crusher Evo is actually built to do: deliver strong, adjustable bass and long battery life in a simple, no-nonsense package.

The design is pretty straightforward: all-black, over-ear, slightly chunky. If you’re expecting some flashy RGB or shiny metal, that’s not what this is. They look clean and low-key, which I like because I can wear them outside without feeling like I’m wearing some toy. They also fold flat and collapse inward, so they don’t take a huge amount of space in a bag. That folding mechanism feels decently solid; I’ve folded and unfolded them a lot and nothing is loose or creaky so far.

The main “design feature” is definitely the bass slider on the left earcup. It’s a physical slider you can move from almost no extra bass to full “vibration mode”. The slider has some resistance, so it doesn’t move by accident when you brush against it. This is key because the difference between minimum and maximum is big. On low, the Crusher Evo behaves like a slightly bassy normal headphone. On max, it becomes a kind of portable subwoofer on your head. I usually keep it around 25–40% for music and maybe bump it higher for some tracks or movies.

The buttons are all on the right side except the slider. You get three main buttons: volume up, multi-function (play/pause/answer calls), and volume down. Once you memorize the layout, it’s easy to control without looking. I prefer this over touch because I know exactly what I pressed. The only downside of the design is that everything is plastic. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it also doesn’t feel premium like metal headbands or hinges on more expensive brands. You’re paying for the sound and bass gimmick more than for fancy materials.

On the head, they look a bit bulky but not ridiculous. If you have a small head, they might look a bit big, but I’ve seen plenty of people wearing them in public and they just look like normal over-ear headphones. If you care a lot about a very slim, minimalist profile, these are a bit on the thick side, mainly because of the extra hardware for the bass drivers.

If there’s one area where these headphones really stand out in day-to-day use, it’s the battery life. Skullcandy says “up to 40 hours”, and honestly, that feels realistic. I use them several hours a day for work, music, and some gaming, and I only end up charging them roughly once every week and a half or so. I’m not sitting there with a stopwatch, but compared to other Bluetooth headphones I’ve had that died every 2–3 days, the difference is obvious.

The rapid charge feature is also genuinely handy. I’ve had a few situations where I forgot to charge them, got the low-battery voice prompt, plugged them in for around 10–15 minutes while making coffee, and then they easily lasted the rest of my work session (2–3 hours). So the “10 minutes = a few hours” claim is not far off. This makes them way less stressful to own because you don’t need to baby-sit the battery or keep them constantly plugged in.

Charging is done via USB‑C, which is nice because I can use the same cable as my phone, laptop, and other devices. From nearly empty to full, you’re looking at roughly 2–3 hours of charging time, which is fine considering how long they last. There’s a small LED indicator to show charging status, and the headphones give you a battery voice prompt when you turn them on. It’s not super detailed like a percentage readout, but it’s enough to know if you’re close to empty.

Another useful detail: you can still use them wired with the AUX cable even if the battery is dead. Obviously, you lose the Bluetooth convenience and the powered bass effect, but at least they don’t become useless if you forget to charge them. Overall, if you hate constantly charging gadgets, this is one of the main reasons to pick the Crusher Evo. The battery life is simply long enough that you stop thinking about it most of the time.

Comfort-wise, I’d say pretty solid overall, with one thing to be aware of: the clamp force out of the box is a bit strong. The first few days, I definitely felt the pressure on the sides of my head after a couple of hours. After about a week of use, they seemed to loosen up slightly, or maybe I just got used to it. Now I can wear them for 3–4 hours straight at my desk without feeling like my head is in a vise. If you have a very large head, you might feel it more than I do.

The ear pads themselves are soft and go fully around the ear (at least for me). They’re not super deep like some studio headphones, but they create a decent seal for passive noise isolation. My ears don’t touch the drivers unless I push the cups really hard. The padding on the headband is okay, nothing luxurious, but it does the job. The weight is reasonable; not featherlight, but not so heavy that your neck gets tired. I’ve worn them while lying in bed and even fallen asleep with them on, and the only real annoyance is when the side presses into the pillow.

Heat build-up is there, like with most closed-back over-ears. After an hour or two, especially in summer, your ears get warm. That’s normal, but if you’re sensitive to that, just know these don’t magically fix it. On the plus side, that snug fit and padding give you decent noise isolation even without ANC. On trains and buses, I can listen at a moderate volume and still block out a lot of background noise, especially with the bass slider a bit up because the low-end masks a lot of ambient rumble.

In terms of adjustability, the headband extends enough for bigger heads, and the earcups tilt and rotate just enough to sit flat on your head. I’ve also lent them to someone with a smaller head, and they managed to get a decent fit too. So I’d say they fit a pretty wide range of people. Overall, comfort is good once they break in a bit, but if you’re extremely sensitive to clamp, you might want to try them on somewhere before buying.

I’ve had cheaper Skullcandy models in the past that snapped or cracked pretty fast, so I was a bit skeptical when I bought the Crusher Evo. So far, they’ve held up much better. The headband is flexible enough that I can stretch it to put it on with one hand, and it doesn’t feel like it’s about to snap. The folding hinges still feel tight, and there’s no weird rattling or creaking when I move them around. I’ve tossed them in a backpack, accidentally sat on them once on the couch, and they survived without any drama.

The weak point on most headphones is usually the ear pads, and it’s the same story here. After long, heavy use, the fake leather can start to crack or peel. I’ve seen this happen on a friend’s pair after a couple of years of near-constant use. The good news is that replacement pads exist, and swapping them is not rocket science. So if you plan to use them daily for years, just expect at some point to buy new pads, like with most over-ears in this price range.

The plastic finish does pick up some small scratches over time, especially if you’re rough with them or throw them into bags with keys or other hard objects. But these are cosmetic. Structurally, they’ve stayed solid for me. The sliders to adjust the headband still click into place, and the clamping force hasn’t suddenly gone loose. I’ve also used the buttons a ton, and they still respond with the same clicky feel they had from day one.

Overall, I’d say durability is good but not indestructible. If you baby them, they’ll look almost new for a long time. If you’re rough, they’ll get cosmetic wear, but the core structure should hold up. For the price, considering the tech inside (extra bass drivers, battery, Bluetooth), the build quality feels reasonable. Just don’t treat them like a tank and then be shocked if the pads wear out or the plastic gets scratched.

Let’s talk about how they actually sound. Out of the box, with the bass slider near minimum, the overall sound is V-shaped: boosted bass, slightly lifted highs, and okay mids. Vocals are clear enough, but the headphones are clearly tuned for fun, not for neutral accuracy. Once you start pushing the bass slider up, the low-end becomes very strong and you literally feel kicks and sub-bass hits. For hip-hop, EDM, and movie soundtracks, it’s pretty entertaining. For podcasts or acoustic music, I usually slide the bass way down because it can get overwhelming.

The nice part is that, even with the bass boosted, the mids and highs don’t completely collapse. You still hear vocals, snares, and details. It’s not reference-grade, but it’s not a muddy mess either, especially if you run the hearing test in the Skullcandy app. That test actually helped pull some clarity back in my case. I’ve used them for everything from Spotify to YouTube, Netflix, and a bit of gaming, and they handle all of it fine. Footsteps and gunshots in games have enough detail, and explosions obviously hit hard with the bass slider.

Volume-wise, they get loud enough. I almost never go to max volume because it’s just too much, especially with the bass up. At high volumes, I didn’t notice obvious distortion unless I did something silly like max volume + max bass on a really bass-heavy track. In normal use, the drivers hold up well. Call quality is decent: people hear me clearly indoors, and outdoors it’s acceptable. It’s not on the same level as some high-end headsets with beamforming mics, but for normal phone calls and Discord chats, it works.

One thing to note: there is no active noise cancelling (ANC) on the Crusher Evo. Noise isolation is purely from the pads and clamp. It’s good enough for public transport, but if you really want quiet in planes and loud offices, you’ll need ANC headphones instead. Also, if you’re into studio work or mixing, I’d treat these as a second fun pair, not your main reference set. The bass profile is just too colored for serious, accurate work, even if it does sound enjoyable.

Out of the box, you get the headphones, a hard-ish carrying case, a USB‑C charging cable, and a backup 3.5mm AUX cable. No charging brick, but that’s standard now. The case is not a full hard shell like some high-end brands, but it’s rigid enough to throw into a backpack without worrying too much. I’ve done exactly that on trips and commutes, and they came out fine, no bending or cracks.

The headphones are over-ear, wireless with Bluetooth 5.0, and can also go wired if the battery dies or if you want zero latency for gaming or music production. Skullcandy advertises up to 40 hours of battery and a kind of “rapid charge” where 10 minutes of charging gives you a few hours of listening. In practice, that’s pretty close: I’d say I easily get several days of normal use (3–4 hours a day) before I even think about charging.

There’s also the Skullcandy app that does a “personal sound” test. You sit through a short hearing test and it builds a profile that slightly adjusts the EQ. I actually noticed a difference: vocals came forward a bit more, and some details in the mids and highs were clearer. It’s not magic, but I ended up leaving it on because it made the sound a bit less muddy when the bass slider is at mid-level.

Control-wise, everything is done with physical buttons on the earcups: play/pause, volume, track skip, and a button for calls/voice assistant. No touch gestures, which I personally prefer because touch pads tend to misfire when I adjust the headphones or wear a beanie. Overall, as a package, it feels like a “daily driver” type product: not fancy, but fairly complete. The focus is clearly on bass impact and battery life rather than fancy features like ANC or multipoint Bluetooth.