That’s not to say audio with the Hesh ANC is just an overwhelming amount of bass. Overall, it seems to trend towards the loud end of the spectrum, but smaller details in music can be picked up here without issue. It’s just that the bass has been boosted beyond its normal levels, resulting in a particularly booming skullcandy hesh anc sound stage. This makes the Hesh ANC great for things like metal and rap music that tend to have more heavy bass, and not as great for things like podcasts or pop music. I also had one instance where the sound completely went out, replaced with what sounded like computer interference, which I could not stop.
If you forget to charge them then you also get about 3 hours of music from a quick 10-minute charge. If you don’t even have time for that then you’ll be rescued by the included audio cable which will keep the music playing through a wired connection. If you’re looking for more headphones with an ANC feature, check out our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones under $200 and the best noise cancelling headphones. If you want to check out more wireless headphones, consider our recommendations for the best wireless Bluetooth headphones. The Skullcandy Hesh ANC is an over-ear noise canceling headset made of plastic, with a memory foam cushion on the band and thick memory foam ear pads wrapped in faux leather. The ear pads fit snugly but are comfortable around my ears.
The sound quality is flawed but it’ll be fine for casual listening, and there’s plenty of battery life too. The Hesh ANC’s four mics are also used to pick up external noise so that the cancellation algorithm can analyze and negate it. And it was effective, letting me do some work in the same room where my 3.5-year-old daughter watched a “Chip and Potato” cartoon. Honestly, unless you find that feature handy, or know that you’ll be in a particularly noisy commuting/work environment, save money and go for the Evo. You get nearly identical sound quality and both models feature a noise-isolating fit that does a nice job of passively muting your surroundings.
I’ve spent the last two weeks with these canned headphones, and let’s find out how these stack up in a full review. That’s nice for when you’re carrying them around, and skullcandy wireless even if you’re wearing them for a long time on your head. But they also gave them a bit less heft, which I missed, and even the ear pads felt just a bit less plush.
You can find your perfect fit using the adjustable headband. Straight out of the box, the Hesh ANC are cozy like your favourite hoodie. Your perfect fit, soft in all the right places, comfortable for hours kind of hoodie. Sporting a contoured headband with extra padding on the crown, and soft sponge ear pads that cup the ear, these cans won’t bug you throughout the day. The Skullcandy Hesh ANC’s mic’s noise handling performance is just alright.
The Skullcandy Venue Wireless are somewhat better headphones for most uses than the Skullcandy Hesh ANC Wireless. The Venue are better built and their ANC is able to reduce more ambient noise around you. They can also be paired with up to two devices at the same time and you can listen to audio while they’re charging, which is nice. However, the Hesh have a more neutral sound profile and their integrated mic offers better overall performance.
When it comes to audio, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones deliver powerful low-frequency response, and at top volumes, avoid distorting. The bass depth still sounds strong at moderate skullcandy hesh anc listening levels. I think that Skullcandy has given us a decent pair of headphones with a good battery and lots of possible connections. But, they’ve also missed out by not providing an app to allow users to customize their sound.