Skullcandy Crusher and Beats Studio 3 are two of the popular Bluetooth headphones in the current market and they are getting all the hype for all the correct reasons. But, as a user or customer, you would want only one of these two.
Both of these headphones viz. Skullcandy Crusher and Beats Studio 3 come with some amazing features and some unfortunate cons. So, which one stands over the other in a comparison? Let us check it out!
There are some clear differences when Skullcandy Crusher is compared to the Beats Studio 3. The Skullcandy Crusher is soft on your wallet as it is a little less pricey than Beats Studio 3. Both of them are amazing wireless headphones but the Beats Studio 3 is one step ahead as it uses Apple’s latest WL chip.
Battery life differs remarkably between the Skullcandy Crusher and the Beats Studio 3. While Skullcandy offers an unbelievable battery life of 40 hours of continuous playback, Beats Studio is rated at 22 hours of continuous playback time with a single charge with the Noise Cancelation turned on. So, if battery life and price are two of the major reasons for you to purchase wireless headphones, Skullcandy Crusher is a no-brainer for you. But, for better sound quality and brand support from Apple, Beats Studio 3 is a straightforward choice.
Skullcandy Crusher vs Beats Studio 3 – Detailed Comparison
Skullcandy is a popular brand for headphones and audio devices that manufactures affordable devices for casual users. It offers the right blend of quality and affordability which makes it the go-to brand for a huge user base.
Skullcandy Crusher is a basic over-ear headphone that features an impedance rating of 33 ohms and is rated at a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The sensory bass is adjustable and comes with a dedicated microphone for calls. The charging is elevated due to the rapid charging technology and the battery backup blows the roof with 40 hours of non-stop playback at a single charge. It is available in 4 different colors viz- Olive, Deep Red, White, and Black.
Beats by Dr. Dre is popular for all the different reasons than Skullcandy. The headphones manufactured by Beats are targeted at professionals and audiophiles who are quite pedantic about the details of music and technology. This simply increases the price of the product and thus deems it premium compared to headphones from Skullcandy.
Beats Studio 3 headphones are too laden with great features and the active noise cancellation (ANC) is the first one we talk about. Beats Studio 3 headphones come with pure adaptive noise cancellation. And with the noise cancellation feature turned on, the battery life you get is around 22 hours. With the ANC turned off, you can get up to 40 hours of battery life anywhere. It comes with Apple’s W1 chip and is facilitated by rapid charging technology. Besides all that, you get plenty of options for colors.
As far as the design and the build quality are concerned, Skullcandy Crusher comes with a clean and stylish design. If you are into minimalistic looks, you will surely enjoy the design of the Skullcandy Crusher. The build quality of the Skullcandy Crusher is not super luxurious but decent at best. The body material is plastic which gives a cheap feeling. But, the comfortable memory foam earpads and the metal band along with sleek pleather on the headband make Skullcandy Crusher a decent-quality headphone. The flexibility on Skullcandy Crusher makes it adaptable to any head size.
Beats Studio 3 is way ahead of Skullcandy Crusher in terms of build quality and design features. It comes with a soft matte plastic body which gives Beats Studio 3 a premium feel. You will feel a crazy smoothness when you hold the headphones in your hand. The build quality is beyond par with the combination of plastic and metal. Metal is used for only the visible parts of the Beats Studio 3 which includes the adjustable headband and the hinges. The build quality justifies the price point and along with the different color options, it seals the deal.
Skullcandy Crusher offers a decent feel of comfort while wearing them. This can be attributed to the premium memory foam earpads along with the soft leather that tries not to hurt you when you are wearing the speaker for a long time. One drawback that is noticeable is that the Skullcandy Crusher headphones do not swivel horizontally. Further, they only swivel to a minimal 5 degrees on the vertical plane.
If you are someone with a small or medium head size, you won’t feel the difference. But, if you have a large head as I do, you will feel that the bottom of the pad clamps more on your ears than the top. You will experience that slight extra pressure and you should check it before buying it. But, overall, these Skullcandy Crushers are excellent in terms of comfort if you plan to wear them for a longer period.
With Beats Studio 3, there is a different level of comfort which is remarkable when you wear the headphones for an extended duration. You will not feel any kind of fatigue or difficulty in comfort at all. However, since Beats Studio 3 are closed-back headphones, it is bound to get hot after a certain time and you will feel that heat. Further, the soft over-ear cushion comes with an advanced venting system that tries to cool down your ears and provide you with all the comfort in the world.
Beats Studio 3 is insanely flexible and this will help you decide and optimize your right level of comfort. In addition to that, the foldable nature of the Beats Studio 3 makes them quite portable as they occupy minimal space in your bag.
When it comes to important features like noise cancellation and noise isolation, Skullcandy Crusher lacks the first one and has the second one. Though there is an absence of an Active and adaptive noise cancellation feature in the Skullcandy Crusher, it tries to compensate for that shortcoming with the noise isolation feature with the over-ear closed-back design. The sound isolation is quite effective as it does an above-par job of blocking unwanted noises. The most attractive feature of the Skullcandy Crusher headphones is the 40 hours of battery life. This will allow you to go for a week on a single charge even if you use them for 3 to 5 hours a day. To add, the rapid charging technology boasts that it will give the headphones 3 hours of battery life with only 10 minutes of charge.
There is active noise cancellation present with a pure adaptive noise cancellation feature on the Beats Studio 3 headphones. The active noise cancellation or the ANC works without any issue and cuts off almost all the noises from the outside. Further, the passive noise cancellation is facilitated by the over-ear closed design. To active the active noise cancellation on your Beats Studio 3, all you need to do is press the power button twice or you can also use the mobile app. With the ANC feature turned on, you get a battery life of around 22 hours, and with the ANC feature turned off, you can extract a massive battery life of 40 hours with a single charge.
Another feature on the Beats Studio 3 that is not present in the Skullcandy Crusher is the W1 chip installed on it. The W1 chip manufactured by Apple has a class 1 Bluetooth connectivity. This will ensure that you get a long-range Bluetooth connection with strong signal strength. This will further reduce the audio latency or delay which is quite obvious in wireless headphones. The drawback which might shatter you if you are in love with Beats Studio 3 is that the W1 chip works with Apple devices only.
Now, talking about the sound quality, Skullcandy Crusher is for someone who likes bass-heavy music. The insane 33-ohm impedance will make it possible to drive them on any source device without hampering the sound quality. Since Skullcandy Crusher headphones come with adjustable sensory bass, you can readily adjust the bass using the slider placed on the ear cup. You will still be able to feel a significant amount of bass even at lower bass settings. Audiophiles who are not much into bass will deem the sound as muddy and unclear. If you are someone who likes natural and acoustic frequencies, you should not get Skullcandy Crusher headphones.
Beats Studio 3 headphones are also bass-centric headphones and there is an insane emphasis on the lower ends or frequencies. The users have complained that the mid and the higher ranges are not much clear or pleasant. If your preferred genre of music is acoustic or jazz where you expect natural and equal frequencies most of the time, you might be disappointed badly. So, unless you are someone who is madly in love with bass, you won’t like Beat Studio 3 headphones much. The price point is not justified at all.
| Skullcandy Crusher headphones | Beat Studio 3 headphones |
| Pros: Decent and clean design The earpads are made up of premium memory foam The pleather on the headband is comfortable 40 hours of battery backup Adjustable bass slider Bass-centric headphones | Pros: Sturdy build quality with aesthetic looks Comfort has been taken care of with flexible headbands, soft earpads Active noise cancellation and passive noise cancellation Compatible with iOS and Android Audio calibration can be done in real-time Much more focus on the lower frequencies |
| Cons: The build material looks cheap due to plastic Not great for hearing natural and equal frequencies Comes with a micro USB charger instead of a Type C charger | Cons: Expensive at $360 Sound quality doesn’t meet the expectation given the price point. |
Final Verdict
After a detailed comparison, it is quite clear that Beats Studio 3 has some clear advantages over the Skullcandy Crusher. These are better build quality, comfort, Active noise cancellation, and Apple’s W1 chip.
However, if you are not into bass, it is a waste of money to purchase the Beats Studio 3 for its features as the sound quality doesn’t justify the price point. You can look for something else in that scene. But, for lovers of lower frequencies, Beats Studio 3 is the right way to go.
