There are two types of people in the world when it comes to audio devices, one who believe in class and perfection. These people seek perfect notes, perfect sound. The other bunch is all about fun and frolic, even if the sound is not exactly perfect. Sony and Bose are often the favourites of the first category of people, Skullcandy and JBL are for the people who want to have fun.
Skullcandy’s Ink’d wireless headphones are directed at the listeners who enjoy the music in a way that is different from someone who might like to close his or eyes while listening to Mozart. And that is perfectly alright. After all, music is all about whatever rocks your boat. For some people it is sublime jazz. For others, the hip beats of Bollywood.
Priced at Rs 3,999, the Skullcandy Ink’d wireless headphone has a slightly higher than normal price for Skullcandy cans. But it is not an outrageous price, if the product can deliver what it promises. But does it? After using the headphones for nearly a month, I think it’s time to look into this question.
Design and build quality
The first thing you notice about the Skullcandy Ink’d Bluetooth headphone is its flexibility. While it is indeed very convenient to fold it and put it inside a bag, it is also feels uncomfortable around the neck at times when the collar slips to one side or other when worn. Mostly such design is used for headphones that can be used during workouts. However, similarity in design doesn’t bring the functionality. This one you can’t use in gym, because it keeps slipping even when walking. Though, I must stress that these headphones are not billed as gym headphones.
There is another inconvenience which is caused by the length of the collar and also the earphone wires – its length. It should have been better if there were some means to shorten it to one’s comfort.
On the bright side, the earphones are extremely light. Most of the times you won’t even feel something is around your neck, other than the nagging slip I mentioned earlier. The earbuds are comfortable.
If you mostly listen to bass-heavy tunes or Bollywood dance numbers, you can’t go wrong with these Skullcandy earphones
The left side of the headphone houses volume and call controls along with a mic and a microUSB port for charging. Unlike most Bluetooth headphones, the controls on Skullcandy Ink’d earphones are big enough, which provide for easy access and limits wrong clicks.
Talking of its looks, there are designs that are plain yet elegant, something what Bose does. Then there are designs that are plain and boring. I wouldn’t be understating anything if I say nothing could be more plain-looking than the Ink’d headphones. For a brand that bills itself funky with its colourful products, the Skullcandy Ink’d could have been prettier. More fun. But sadly, it’s not.
Overall, the Skullcandy Ink’d does have a convenient, comfortable design. It is made of soft material but it is not a product that will catch some eyes design wise, neither for sophistication nor for being trendy.
Also read: u-Jays headphone review: Great looks, good sound
Performance
As noted earlier, Skullcandy Ink’d is for the people who want their music to sound fun. Or in other words, the Skullcandy Ink’d is for those people who are all about bass and beats.
The Ink’d earphones will almost always give you great music experience with current Bollywood music, by which I mean songs by Honey Singh, Badshah and the likes. It will also be a treat if you are into Hip Hop and similar bass-heavy genres. The best use of Ink’d earphones is listening to EDM. You can feel the thump to the core when the beat drops, just the way it is intended by the music maker.
The headphones can produce bass on the heavier side, clear beats and decent vocals across the genres. While the above mentioned things can be considered good – more or less — they can also end up giving you sore ears.
More bass in a headphone is not that big a deal, managing it across genres is more important. The Skullcandy Ink’d earphones don’t do a really great job with the bass management. No matter what you are listening, the bass will always be there at varying degrees.
If you are into Hindi or other classics, you will get good enough musical output from the Skullcandy Ink’d earphones. But these earphones will never surprise you in a good way while listening to this kind of or similar music.
The same goes for Metal. The earphones have a tendency to jumble up instruments when there are too many of them. Drumbeats will be lost somewhere between heavy bass strums of a guitar, which is not a pretty experience if you are into subtleties of music.
Also read: Bose SoundTrue Ultra review: Bose says, Bose delivers
If you mostly listen to bass-heavy tunes or Bollywood dance numbers, you can’t go wrong with these Skullcandy earphones.
The earphone also has a mic, which means you can use it for calling. Again there was nothing extraordinary here, in fact I had to talk a little louder than I would prefer since the headphone slips to left or right. The voice quality is average, which means neither crisp nor muffled.
The company promises 8 hours of battery life on these earphones. You do get this much of battery life. You will get around 7 hours on one full charge, which is usually what Bluetooth earphones offer.
Should you buy it
The official price of Skullcandy Ink’d is Rs 3,999 but it is available for as low as Rs 2,899 online. Price aside, let’s weigh it on its usability. If you like your music to have some extra bass and your beats to have some extra jump, don’t think twice before buying these earphones. Along with the extra thump and clean beats you get a flexible and lightweight design, which is not a bad thing if you are not planning a workout with these on.
If you are into the subtleties of music and prefer classic rock and Rafi etc, these are not the earphones you should buy. It is true that no good choices are available for serious music lovers in this price range when it comes to wireless headphones although some of the wired Sony and JBL headphones perform better.
[source;intoday]
