Im going to start off this video by saying that I really like the new Skullcandy Hesh
ANC and over all im really excited about the future of Skullcandy right now cause Skullcandy
just put out two bangers back to back. A few weeks ago we checked out the Crusher Evo’s
and I think they’re a great pair of secondary bass head headphones and the Hesh ANC have
very impressive active noise cancelation and ambient mode for a pair of entry level headphones.
Now the Hesh ANC retail for $130 and quite frankly these headphones really do give other
entry level ANC headphones like the Sennheiser HD 450BT and Sony WH-CH710N a real run for
their money. Now thats going to be a separate video on its own. But something that I will
say right now is that I vastly prefer the Hesh ANC over the Skullcandy Venue which retail
for $180 and plainly said ive never liked these headphones. But the Hesh ANC is a completely
different story. So if you want to pick these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first off lets talk about the included accessories… Now the Hesh ANC comes included
with a carrying pouch. So if you do plan on traveling a lot with these headphones I would
recommend that you invest in a hardshell carrying case. However something that my business brain
would like quickly point out is that both the Hesh ANC and Crusher Evo’s which were
released in Q4 of 2020 come included with carrying pouches… where as the Venue’s
which were released in Q4 of 2018 come with a hardshell carrying case. Now even though
its nice that the venues come included with a hard case… it looks like Skullcandy is
cutting costs on their cases and relocating that budget to improving the build quality
of their headphones. Which is perfectly fine with me.
Cause when it comes to build quality… the Hesh ANC are very impressive and they are
much better built than the Venue’s. Now the Hesh ANC’s are mostly made out of plastic,
but they do feel more premium specifically cause they have different touch surfaces.
Their ear cups have a slight soft touch feel to them, their arms are glossy and their head
band has a slightly slate finish to it. There’s also a decent amount of padding of underneath
this headband and overall the leatherette on these headphones feels good for a pair
of entry level headphones. Now this leatherette doesn’t feel as good as the leatherette
found on the Crusher EVO’s… But for a pair of entry level headphones there are no
complaints from me. But the most important thing about the Hesh ANC is that when you
handle or flex these headphones there’s zero cracking or squeaking. Where as with
the Venue’s whenever you handle this headphones these sound like they’re going to fall apart.
So overall I think the Hesh ANC are a solid pair of headphones and they feel much better
than the Venues.
Now when it comes to comfort… over all these are a pair of good fitting headphones. Now
let me be the first one to tell you that you do need to give these headphones a good stretch
when you first get them. Cause right of the box these headphones do fit very tight. But
after a good stretch, the clamping force on these headphones isn’t bad and they are
big head approved. Now one very important thing that I do want to point out about these
headphones is thankfully the padding underneath this headband is soft and it doesn’t create
a hot spot on the top of your head like the padding on the Crusher Evo’s. Also combined
with the fact that these headphones are super light weight weighing in at 225g you can easily
wear these headphones for hours on end, you barley notice them when you’re walking around
with them on and you do forget that you have them on after while. However when it comes
to their padding… even though I can make them work with my ears… the padding on the
Hesh ANC can be a little cramped. Now these ear pads are more spacious than the ones found
on the venue which is great… but they aren’t as spacious as the ones found on the Crusher
Evo. So if you do have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot then you’ll might want
to go with something like the Sony WH-CH710N. So over all the Hesh ANC are a decent fitting
of headphones. They’re big head approved, they’re super light weight, their headband
doesn’t create a hot spot on the top of your head like the Crusher Evo’s and their
ear pads don’t over heat. However their ear pads are a little on the cramped side
so they aren’t the best for people with larger ears or ears that stick out a lot.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Now the Hesh ANC charge via a USB C port which is
a major upgrade from the Venue which still charge via a Micro USB port. And when it comes
to battery life these headphones aint half bad. They have an advertised battery of 22
hours with their ANC turned on but if you were to use them with their ANC turned off
that have an advertised battery life of 30 hours. But these headphones also have good
fast charging where if you were to charge them up for 10 minutes from a dead battery
they’re going to get you 3 hours of playback time.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, these headphones are rocking bluetooth 5.0
but they can only be connected to one device at a time meaning that you can’t hot swap
from one device to another which can be a draw back for some power users out there.
Now ultimately its not a huge deal if your headphones have simultaneous multi device
connectivity but it is nice to have.
But more when it comes to watching movies or video on your phone these headphones do
have zero latency across the board whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device
which is good and when it comes to audio codecs these headphones do have support for AAC.
But if you want to you can always still use a wired connection with these headphones cause
they still have an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack. Now I know this sounds basic but
I do want to point it out cause a lot of headphones in this price range are starting o remove
their audio jack. Sennheiser did it with their HD 350BT’s which are similarly priced to
these.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Now as with any other
pair of Skullcandy Headphones… the Hesh ANC have a bass heavy sound signature which
is a lot of fun to listen to. However these headphones sound very different when they
have their active noise cancelation turned on versus when they have their ANC turned
off. Now if you want to get the best sound quality out of these headphones you gotta
use them with their ANC turned off. With their ANC turned off they are going to sound way
more open and their bass is also going to hit a lot harder and physically rattle your
head. Now over all with their ANC turned off these headphones sound good. They have strong
mids with hard hitting bass that doesn’t bottom out which I feel is very important
to point out cause the bass on the Venue’s does like to bottom out quite a bit and start
sputtering. My only critique about the sound signature of these headphones is that their
highs are a little too pronounced… so they can get a little ear piercing in certain situations.
And unfortunately the Hesh ANC don’t connect to Skullcandy’s app so you can’t directly
adjust their EQ. And I do think thats a shame cause I really want to lower the mids a bit
on these headphones. But overall the Hesh ANC are a pair of very fun bass heavy headphones
to listen to which do rattle your head a fair amount.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Like I mentioned earlier
if you want to get the best sound out of these headphone you gotta use them with their ANC
turned off cause with their ANC turned on they do get narrowed up quite a bit and their
bass won’t hit as hard. So for that reason I only use their ANC when I have to. But besides
that this Active noise cancelation is very impressive. Its doesn’t have a lot of cabin
pressure and it blocks out an impressive amount of noise. But so that you can see for yourself
we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the entry level Hesh ANC clearly block outs more road
noise and chatter than the Mid teir Sony XB900N. But the Hesh ANC does have a little more cabin
pressure than XB900N and their ANC really does affect how their music sounds. Where
as the ANC on the XB900N doesn’t really change how its music sounds. Now even though
the Hesh ANC blocks out a good amount of noise… it doesn’t block out nearly as much noise
as a pair of premium ANC headphones like the Sony 1000XM4’s… and thats to be expected.
But nonetheless I am impressed by the ANC On the Hesh ANC cause it does have less cabin
pressure than the Skullcandy venue and its microphone arry does a much better job of
blocking out wind noise when walking out doors than both the Venues and the Skullcandy Crusher
ANC.
And the microphone array on the Hesh ANC also does a great job of blocking out wind noise
when walking out doors when you’re using their ambient mode. And overall the ambient
mode in the Hesh ANC sounds great as well. It sounds very natural with zero hissing in
the back ground. Cause for comparison sake, the ambient mode on the Crusher ANC’s which
has a lot of hissing in the background which can be very distracting when you’re watching
a movie or videos at home, and the ambient mode on the Crusher ANC picks up a lot of
wind noise as well when walking out doors.
And again for comparison sake, another reason why I like the Hesh ANC so much over the Venue’s
is cause with the Hesh ANC you can have their ambient mode turned on and play music normally.
Which is great either for commuting or watching movies at home. Where as the Venue’s they
don’t have an actual ambient mode they have a monitoring mode where if you press this
button they’ll lower the volume of your music, and pump in the ambient sound so you
can talk to someone with out having to take your headphones off like this.
But if you try to raise the volume of your music it won’t go up. So ultimately the
ambient mode on the Hesh ANC is way more useful than the monitoring mode on the Venue’s…
and the ambient mode on the Hesh ANC sounds way better than the ambient mode on the Crusher
ANC.
Now before we jump into the microphone test I do want to quickly point out that the Hesh
ANC also have tile support just like the Crusher ANC, Venue, and even the Crusher Evo. Now
personally I am indifferent about tile support on these headphones. Personally I would prefer
that these headphones would connect to Skullcandy’s app so that I can adjust their EQ. But tile
support is there if
you want it.
But with all that being said, personally I really like the Hesh ANC and they have me
really excited for the future of Skullcandy. From a build quality stand point the Hesh
ANC are a pair of very well built headphones that fit good, albeit they might not be the
best for someone with larger ears or ears that stick out a lot. These headphones have
a very fun bass heavy sound signature and they are going to rattle your head a good
amount. Personally I just wish we could dial the highs back a little bit. And keep in mind
if you want to get the best sound out of these headphones you gotta use them with their ANC
turned off. But the biggest thing that has me excited about these headphones is their
Active noise cancelation and ambient mode. The Hesh ANC manage to block out an impressive
amount of noise for a pair of entry level headphones and the ambient mode on these headphones
is miles better than the ambient mode found on the more premium Skullcandy Crusher ANC.
So over all if you’re looking for a pair of entry level headphones, the Hesh ANC are
a solid pickup.