If you’re a bass head then both the Sony XB910N and Skullcandy Crusher Evo’s are
great options to choose from.
But these headphones are very different from one another.
The XB910N’s are for the responsible bass head.
These headphones are fun to listen to, but they're also very versatile.
Where as the Crusher Evo’s these are for the I don’t care give me all you’ve got
bass heads.
So if you’re a bass head… lets see which ones right for you.
Regarding pricing… these headphones are in the same ball park.
The Crusher Evo’s retail for $200 where as the XB910N retail for $250.
But just knowing sony…
I expect these to go on sale on a regular basis.
Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these two headphones up theyll be linked down
below.
And if you want to learn more about either of these headphones please watch their full
reviews cause we’re only going over the main differences here.
Now first lets talk about cases.
The Crusher Evo’s come included with a very high quality carrying pouch.
Its rugged polyester on the outside and inside there’s fake fur.
This is a very cool looking pouch.
However if you plan on constantly commuting with your headphones then you’ll might want
to go with the XB910N’s cause they now come included with a hardshell case.
So they’re going to be protected if you cram them into an over stuffed back pack.
Now when it comes to the headphones themselves… both of these headphones have good build quality.
They’re both fully collapsable, they both have a good click to them when you extend
their headband, and they both have zero cracking or squeaking whenever you handle them or flex
them.
But when it comes to their materials… the Sony's have a mostly textured plastic body.
Now there’s nothing wrong with having a mostly plastic body but the Crusher Evo’s
do feel way more premium when you’ve got them in your hands.
The majority of the body on the Evo’s has a soft touch feel to it, the top of their
headband has a hit of alcantara, which is so Bose QC35 of them…
underneath the headband there’s padded silicon and when we get to the ear pads… the crusher
Evo’s have really good feeling leatherette.
Now the XB910N’s also have really good feeling leatherette… but overall they just don’t
feel as premium as the Crusher Evo’s when they're in your hands.
But now I want to quickly touch on the looks of these headphones.
Now the XB910N’s have gone through a minor design refresh from their predecessors the
XB900N.
And personally I am not the biggest fan of this minor redesign specifically cause this
headband is much more bulbs this time around.
Now the Crusher Evo’s aren’t the most low profile headphones out there… but I
do think these look sleeker than the XB910N’s.
So looks wise, I gotta say the Crusher Evo’s take the win here.
However when it comes to fit… thats a whole other story.
Plainly said, the XB910N’s are way more comfortable than the Crusher Evo’s for multiple
reasons.
First off when it comes to clamping force even though both of these headphones are big
head approved, shirts down below… the Sony’s have way less clamping force than the Crusher’s.
The Sony’s have a looser fit where as the Crusher’s have a firmer fit.
And when it comes to weight, since the Sony’s weigh in at 252 grams they’re much easier
to forget that you have on.
Where as the Evo’s weigh in at a hefty 310 grams so you never forget that you have these
headphones on and you really notice them when you’re walking around with them on.
And when it comes to the padding on these headphones… the Sony’s have much better
padding as well.
First off since the Sony’s have a good amount of soft padding underneath their head band,
this headband doesn’t create a hot spot on the top of your head which is super important
for long use sessions.
Where as since the silicon padding on the Evo’s is much stiffer this headband does
like to create a hot spot at the one hour mark.
I can muscle through it but at the hour and half hour mark is when I start to either shift
this headband back and fourth or I’ll just take these headphones off and take a 5 minute
break.
And when it comes to the ear pads… the ear pads on the Sony’s are way more spacious
than the ear pads on the Evo’s.
The ear pads on the Evo’s are very cramped even for my average sized ears.
Where as the Sony’s should be able to fit most people just fine.
So over all if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to wear for hours and hours
on end the Sony’s are the obvious choice here.
They have less clamping force, they’re much lighter making them easier to forget that
you have on, their headband doesn’t create a hot spot on the top of your head and their
ear pads are much roomier.
Where as the Evo’s are really only good for an hour long listening session.
But now lets talk about tech specs.
Regarding battery life the Crusher Evo’s have an advertised battery life of 40 hours.
But that really depends on how much bass you’re using.
More bass less battery life less bass more battery life.
Where as with the XB910N’s they have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their
active noise cancelation turned on.
And with their active noise cancelation turned off they can go for as long as 50 hours.
Now when it comes to actually charging these headphones, they both charge via a USB C port
as they should.
And fast charging numbers on these headphones are pretty much the same.
If you were to charge these headphones up for 10 minutes from a dead battery the Crusher
Evo’s are going to get you 4 hours of playback time where as the XB910N’s are going to
get you 4 and half hours of playback time.
Now when it comes to connectivity… the Crusher’s can only be connected to one device at a time.
Making them not the best option for power users.
Where as the XB910N’s can now be simultaneously connected to 2 devices at the same time so
you can easily hot swap from own device to another regardless of operating system.
Now if you do decide to use this feature than you’re going to have to sacrifice LDAC.
Now if you’re an iPhone user you should definitely turn this feature on because iPhone
top out at AAC.
LDAC only applies to android users.
However when it comes to performance both of these headphones have zero latency across
the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone
or an android device Now when it comes to audio codecs the Crusher’s only have support
for SBC and AAC.
Which is fine especially cause these aren’t meant for audiophiles who are trying to listen
to lossless audio.
Where as the XB910N’s have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony’s own LDAC.
Now they don’t have APTX support like their predecessors cause sony I posing out APTX
support on their newer headphones in favor of their own LDAC… but like I mentioned
earlier LDAC only applies to Android users.
But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with either of these headphones
cause they both have an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they still come
included with an audio cable.
Something that apple will might think is not cool.
But in all seriousness, you can’t use the USB C ports on these headphones as a wired
connection… but you can always use them passively.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones… even though both
of these headphones are bass head headphones… these headphones sound and perform very differently
from one another.
Now the Sony’s have a fully customizable EQ so you can make them sound how ever you
want.
And you can have different preset EQ settings for different listening situations.
But I know what you’re really wondering about here is the bass.
Now the XB910N’s have more head rattling bass than your average pair of headphones.
And like ive mentioned in the past, having the clear bass slider on the 1000XM4’s set
to ten is like having the bass on the XB910N set to 6.
With the XB910N’s you are definitely going to feel the bass in your music.
But bass isn’t everything, with the XB910N’s you are going to get the better instrument
separation and the better clarity.
Now I will admit having all of the extra bass on the XB910N is a lot of fun… but having
a lot of bass can get old after awhile so with the XB910N if you want to switch it up
and go for a neutral EQ for awhile you can do that and you’re also going to enjoy better
clarity and better instrument separation.
However I do think that it is also important to note that even though the XB910N’s have
an above average amount of bass… they do have a little less bass than the out going
XB900N.
So if you’re someone thats thinking about upgrading from the XB900N’s…
I think thats something that you should take into consideration.
But then there are the Crusher Evo’s… these headphones are all about bass.
Plainly said the bass on the XB910N doesn’t come anywhere near the Crusher’s.
The XB910N’s will rattle your head, but the Evo’s are going to rattle your head
so much that your teeth are going to chatter to the point where you’ll might chip a tooth.
Okay thats a little exaggerated but the bass on these headphones is insane.
Now the bass on the Evo’s is tight and well managed.
It doesn’t roll off like the original crushers and it doesn’t muddy up your music which
is great!
The bass on the Crusher’s is more like getting punched by your headphones cause this bass
is actually very precise.
Now the evo have your standard 40 millimeter drivers just like the XB910N’s but what
makes the Crusher’s special is that they have a separate pair of drivers that put out
the bass on these headphones essentially acting as vibration motors.
Now essentially these headphones are all about bass and vocals… cause the instrument separation
and sound stage on these headphones isn’t the best.
But quite honestly you’re not really going to care cause the bass on these headphones
is just over whelming and distracting.
And besides you’re here for the bass.
And in that case the bass on the Crusher Evo’s will over deliver.
I guarantee that the first time you fire these headphones up you’re going to jump out of
your seat.
So over all when it comes to sound quality the Sony XB910N’s are far more versatile
than the Crusher Evo’s because they have more than enough head rattling bass to satiate
your average user but thanks to their fully customizable EQ they can also be used for
different listening situations or if you’re taste changes than the XB910N can keep up.
Where as the Crusher Evo’s are a one trick pony.
These headphones are all about bass and they have way more and much more dramatic bass
than the XB910N’s.
Now even though the Crusher’s are a one trick pony they’re an insane amount of fun.
With the evo’s you can’t help but grin when you’re using these headphones.
Now even though yeah these headphones do have a few preset EQ settings to choose from and
they do have personalized audio… personally I would still prefer if these headphones just
had a fully customizable EQ like the Sony’s.
Now like I mentioned in the Crusher Evo’s full review, even though these headphones
are a lot of pure dumb fun these headphones are better suited as a pair of secondary headphones.
Since the Crusher’s aren’t as comfortable as the XB910N they aren’t the best for commuting
or for long use sessions and the Crusher’s are also lacking active noise cancellation.
Now obviously the XB910N’s aren’t going to block out as much noise as the 1000XM4’s…
but their ANC is useful nonetheless.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
Now for starters I included the AirPods Max in this ANC test because they currently block
out the most amount noise because they brutally go after constant low frequency sounds.
However, the AirPods Max are not my favorite headphones when it comes to active noise cancelation
because they have a lot of cabin pressure.
Thats why I still prefer both the Bose NC 700 and Sony 1000XM4.
But nonetheless you can defiantly see that the XB910N’s do a good job of blocking out
road noise and chatter.
And they do so without changing how your music sounds, their microphone array do a good job
of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors, and most importantly they have very little
cabin pressure.
Which is great for over all comfort.
And then there’s their ambient which is also very good on the XB910N’s.
With an ambient mode you’re going to be able to be aware of your surroundings if you’re
walking around the city… or if you’re watching a movie at home you’ll still be
able to hear if someone calls your name.
And overall… the XB910N’s have a really good ambient mode.
Its sounds very natural with zero hissing in the background and their microphone array
also does a good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors.
And this is another feature thats sorely missing on the Crusher Evo’s.
But also, the XB910N’s have quick attention where if you fully cover their touch pad theyre
going to lower the volume of your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you
so that you can talk to someone without having to take your headphones off like this.
And then when you let go the headphones will go back to normal again.
Now I feel that quick attention should be locked after you fully cover the touch pad
for 2 seconds or so so that way you don have to keep the touch pad covered the whole time
you’re talking to someone… but hey, what do I know… but nonetheless I think quick
attention is a useful feature especially for my constant commuters and frequent flyers.
However…
I do feel that I have to point out that the Crusher’s have tile support.
Which could come in handy.
But if you’re an android user then the XB910N’s also have a similar feature.
But finally here’s the microphone test.
Plainly put, the crusher evo’s don’t have the best sounding microphone.
I sound a little shallow and there’s some hissing in the background.
Where as the Sony XB910N’s have a much better sounding microphone by comparison.
There isn’t as much hissing in the background and my voice is more amplified.
And the XB910N’s also try to block out ambient noise.
Now when it comes to blocking out road noise this microphone isn’t the best cause it
is interfering with my voice.
But at least the XB910N’s are doing something cause the crushers just let in everything…
And the same thing can be said about block out chatter… these headphones are just letting
in everything.
Where as with the XB910N’s… they're doing a pretty good job of blocking out chatter.
But over all I say the XB910N’s have the clearly superior microphone here.
Now personally I recommend that you take phone calls with these headphones in a quiet room…
but you could get away with a little bit of chatter.
So with all that being said, like I said at the top of this video.
Both of these headphones are great bass head headphones but these headphones are very different
from one another.
The Sony XB910N’s are the logical and responsible choice here.
These headphones are way more comfortable than the Crusher Evo’s so you can wear them
for hours on end without any problems and they have active noise cancellation and an
ambient mode making them far more versatile for different situations.
And when it comes to their sound, if you wanna feel your music then the bass on these headphones
definitely have you covered but thanks to their fully customizable EQ you can have them
set for different listening situations or if your tastes changes than these headphones
can keep up.
And besides from a performance standpoint these headphones have far better clarity and
instrument separation.
The Sony XB910N are not just a great pair of bass head headphones… they can also easily
serve as your daily drivers.
So these are the better long term investment here.
Where as with the Skullcandy Crusher Evo’s these are better suited as a pair of secondary
headphones.
These headphones aren’t the most comfortable and since they lack Active noise cancelation
or an ambient mode they aren’t the best for commuting.
And these also aren’t the best sounding.
But the bass on these headphones is truly insane and it just pure dumb fun.
Quite honestly when you listen to music with these headphones you can’t help but grin
from ear to ear.
And also there’s the fact that these headphones do feel much more premium in your hands cause
of their soft touch body, alcantara and silicon underneath their headband.
And I also can’t help but feel that
they look better too.