Skullcandy Hesh 3 Review - Review 2022

With the Hesh iii Bluetooth headphones, the typically excessive Skullcandy seems to be refining both its blueprint and its sound signature. The $129.99 headphones have almost no blueprint flourishes—they look blank. That in and of itself is a statement, merely the other notable aspect is a balanced, crisp audio. There'southward a stiff bass presence here, but it's never over the top, and the high-mids and highs arguably control more of the spotlight. It's a good new await (and sound) for the company, and a solid pick in this price range.

Design

The circumaural (over-ear) Hesh iii headphones are available in blackness, blueish, grayness, or red, all with a matte finish. There initially appears to exist no markings of any kind, but if y'all squint closely you lot'll see the Skullcandy logo. There is something undeniably cool near this await—it says nothing and it reflects zilch, so it's whatever you lot project upon it. It'southward also pretty comfortable—the memory foam earpads are plush, and the underside of the headband is well-cushioned. Inside each earcup, 40mm drivers deliver the sound.

The right earcup houses onboard controls in the form of a three-button remote. The central button controls playback, call direction, and summons vocalism controls, while the plus and minus buttons handle volume and track navigation. The earpads themselves block out a substantial amount of ambient noise passively. Many headphones make this claim, but it's immediately noticeable when you put the Hesh 3 on.

Skullcandy Hesh 3 inline

Skullcandy is lite on accessories here. There's a micro USB charging cable and a 3.5mm audio cablevision, both of which connect to the right earcup. Though at that place'south no included tote or example, the earcups exercise hinge and fold down into a compact size for like shooting fish in a barrel stowing.

Connecting the included audio cable immediately powers the headphones down. It's great that you can apply the Hesh 3 in passive style when you're trying to save battery life (or when the battery is kicked), nonetheless, the cablevision lacks an inline remote, so you can't field phone calls or control your music in wired manner.

The headphones get a respectable 22 hours of estimated bombardment life, but the real selling point is that a mere x minutes of charging should cyberspace iv hours of playback. Your results will, of course, vary with your book levels.

The mic offers solid intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded, although the sound was laced with typical artifacts, making it fuzzy in spots. This is pretty much par for the course with Bluetooth headphone mics, and the Hesh 3 has improve intelligibility than enough of models we test.

Operation

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife'due south "Silent Shout," the headphones delivers strong deep lows. At moderate volumes, the depression frequencies sound total and well-defined; at higher volumes, things audio even more more powerful; but fifty-fifty at top, unwise listening levels, the drivers never misconstrue. Despite the powerful bass response, the sound is brilliant and clear, fifty-fifty on this rails—there'southward enough of high frequency presence to residuum things out.

Bill Callahan'southward "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives u.s.a. a better sense of the overall sound signature. The drums on this runway receive a solid bass presence without e'er sounding too boosted or thunderous. Callahan'south baritone vocals also receive a pleasant low-mid richness, but the real story here is the high-mids and highs. The vocals become a crisp treble border, and the guitar strums and percussive attacks go some vivid, well-defined presence as well. Fifty-fifty the tape hiss on this track seems elevated a bit. It's not that the headphones are thin, breakable, or overly bright sounding—they deliver excellent high frequency clarity and don't overdo the low frequency boosting and sculpting.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West'south "No Church building in the Wild," the kicking drum loop's assail gets some added high-mid presence, helping information technology retain its precipitous border and slice through the layers of the mix. Just nosotros likewise hear more of the higher frequency vinyl crackle that is usually relegated to the groundwork. The vocals on this track are delivered with solid clarity, though at times they can audio just a tad more sibilant than usual, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with strong presence, but nix over the peak.

Orchestral tracks, similar the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel Co-ordinate to the Other Mary, receive the platonic amount of low frequency boosting—not much, just a tad, elevating the status of the lower annals instrumentation always so subtly. The spotlight still belongs to the higher register brass, strings, and vocals, which are delivered with ideal brightness and clarity.

Conclusions

Those looking for booming low frequency response are looking in the wrong place. Skullcandy'due south Hesh three headphones are certainly capable of delivering deep lows, simply only when the mix calls for it. If anything, the drivers seem to favor the loftier-mids and highs, but generally speaking, this is a balanced, clear audio signature across genres. Throw in the comfy blueprint and cool visuals, and you lot've got a very highly-seasoned option in the wireless sub-$150 realm. If y'all're looking for more bass, check out the Marshall Mid Bluetooth, the JBL E55BT, and the Sony MDR-XB650BT.

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