Like I mentioned in the full review, I am very impressed by the new Skullcandy Hesh
ANC and these headphones have me really excited for the future of Skullcandy. And I feel the
Hesh ANC are so good they give both the Sony WH-CH710N and Sennheiser HD 450BT’s a real
run for their money. So if you’re looking for a pair of entry-level ANC headphones…
let see which ones right for you.
Now normally I wouldn’t compare the Hesh ANC to the Sony WH-CH710N’s or the Sennheiser
HD 450BT’s cause both of these headphones retail for $200. Where as the Hesh ANC have
a retail price of $130. But both of these headphones routinely like to go on sale for
around $150 and on major shopping holidays they can be found for as low as $99. Now I
know some people are going to say that I should be comparing these headphones to the Skullcandy
venue… but like ive mentioned in the past I don’t like these headphones and I vastly
prefer the Hesh ANC over the Venues. So for that reason I think its fair to compare the
Hesh ANC to the Sony’s and Sennheiser. Now all three of these headphones are very different
from one another but if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked
down below.
Now first off let's address their carrying cases. Unfortunately the 710N’s don’t
come included with any kind of case or pouch. And quite frankly I think its time that sound
should cause the majority of their competition does throw in some kind of a case with their
entry level headphones. Cause both the Hesh ANC and HD 450BT’s come included with a
carrying pouch. Now these pouches aren’t the greatest and I do recommend that you invest
in a hardshell case if you plan on traveling a lot with your headphones… but at least
its something.
But now lets talk about their build quality. Now all three of these headphones have decent
build quality and they all have zero cracking or squeaking whenever you handle or flex them.
But they’re all very different. The Sennheiser’s are the most durable feeling headphones here.
They have a mostly smooth plastic body and silicon underneath their headband. These headphones
are so durable they don’t even need a case. The Hesh ANC are the most premium feeling
headphones here cause their ear cups have a slight soft touch finish to them, their
arms are glossy, their headband has a slight slate finish to it and the leatherette on
these headphones doesn’t feel half bad. And the Hesh ANC also get extra points here
for being the only headphones here that are both fully collapsible and they have fully
swiveling ear cups. But finally there are the Sony’s… now these headphones have
decent build quality but they aren’t as durable feeling as the Sennheiser’s and
they surly don’t feel as premium as the Skullcandy. Now these headphones have a textured
plastic body and their headband has a good click to it whenever you extend it. But the
biggest let down for me about these headphones is their leatherette. The leatherette on these
headphones feels very course where as the leatherette on these other two headphones
is a lot smoother and softer. But like I said, the Sony are decent but if you want something
more durable you should go with the Sennheiser’s or if you want something that feels more premium
you should go with the Skullcandy.
But when it comes to fit… the Sony’s are the most comfortable headphones here for multiple
reasons. First off there’s clamping force… the Sony’s have the least amount of clamping
force here where as both the Sennheiser’s and Skullcandy have a firmer fit to them.
Now all three of these headphones are big head approved but you do have to give the
Skullcandy a good stretch when you first get them. But even after a good stretch they aren’t
going to fit as loose as the Sony’s. So if you are looking for something with a loser
fit then you definitely want to go with the Sony’s. But then there’s also the ear
pads on these headphones. Even though im not a fan of their course feeling leatherette…
the Sony’s do have the roomiest ear pads here. Where as the ear pads on both the Skullcandy
and Sennheiser are nowhere as roomie. Now personally I can make the ear pads on the
Skullcandy work with my average sized ears… but the ear pads on the Sennheiser’s can
be rather cramped. So if you have larger ear’s then you definitely want to go with the Sony’s.
However one critique that I do have point out about these earpads is that even though
they are spacious… they are a little shallow. So if you have ears that stick out a lot then
they’ll might still press down on them. But over all when it comes to comfort the
Sony’s are the most comfortable headphones here cause of their minimal clamping force
and roomie ear cups. The Skullcandy come in second albeit it they do ahem a firmer fit
and smaller ear pads. And unfortunately the Sennheiser’s do come in last here cause
of their very cramped ear pads.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Now all three of these headphones charge a USB C port
as they should. And all three of these headphones have good battery lives… but the Skullcandy’s
are trialing behind here a little bit by comparison. The Skullcandy’s have an advertised battery
life of 22 hours with their ANC turned on but they also have an advertised battery life
of 30 hours if you use them with their ANC turned off.
Where as the sennehsier’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours with their ANC turned
on and the Sony’s have an advertised battery life of 35 hours. But just like with the Skullcandy’s
if you were to use either of these headphones with their ANC tunred off you’ll be able
to stretch out their battery life. Nonetheless if you want something with the longest battery
life then you’ll might want to go with the Sony’s.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… all three of these headphones have been upgraded
to bluetooth 5.0 but only the Sennheiser’s can be connected to 2 bluetooth devices at
the same time so that you can easily hot swap from one device to another. Which could be
a big deal for power users. Where as these other two headphones can only be connected
to one device at a time. Now ultimately its not a huge deal if your headphones have simultaneous
multi device connectivity… but it is nice to have.
And finally when it comes to
audio codecs… both the Sony’s and Skullcandy have support for both SBC and AAC… where
as the Sennheiser have support for SBC, AAC, APTX, and APTX Low Latency. But fi you want
to you can still use a wired connection with any of these headphones cause they all still
have an audio jack. Now I know this is back but I do want to point it out cause some manufacture’s
have started to remove the audio jacks on some of their headphones and speakers.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Without a doubt the
HD 450BT’s are the best sounding headphones. Now even though these headphones have an adjustable
EQ… I feel these headphones sound best when they’re set to their stock neutral EQ. Now
in their stock EQ these headphones have strong mids so vocals are front and center and the
bass on these headphones resonates nice and deep. Now the bass on these headphones is
going to rattle your head… but not all that much. But it's something. But performance
wise these headphones have far better instrument separation and a much wider sound stage than
these other two headphones. Plainly said if you’re looking for the headphones here with
the best sound then the HD 450BT’s are the way to go. And these headphones sound great
whether they have their ANC turned on or off. But also thanks to their adjustable EQ you
can make them sound however you want. So if you want more bass in your music… you can
do that. But generally speaking these headphones are better suited for people who like a more
neutral or vocals focused EQ.
Next up are the Skullcandy Hesh ANC… and even though I like how these headphones sound
they do have some draw backs. For starters these headphones sound very different when
they have their ANC turned on versus when they have their ANC turned off. If you want
to get the best sound out of these headphones you want to use them with their ANC turned
off cause with their ANC turned on they are going to get narrowed up a lot and their bass
won’t resonate as deep or hit as hard. Now as with any other pair of Skullcandy Headphones,
the Hesh ANC have a bass heavy sound signature which is going to rattle your head a decent
amount and these headphones also do the most head rattling here. So if you want to physically
feel your music then these are the ones to go with. Now even though these headphones
do have a lot of bass to them… their vocals are still very pronounced. But I do feel the
highs on the headphones are a little too raised so in certain circumstances these headphones
can get a little ear piercing for a brief second. And unfortunately you can’t directly
change the EQ on the headphones like with the Sennheiser’s. But nonetheless if you’re
looking for headphones with lots of head rattling bass then these are the ones to get.
And finally there are the Sony’s… now just like the Skullcandy’s you can’t directly
adjust the EQ on these headphones. And I do think thats unfortunate cause you could with
their predecessors. Now the WH-CH710N’s have a bass heavy EQ but unlike the bass heavy
EQ on the Skullcandy which will physically rattle your head… the bass on the Sony’s
is mostly on the audible side. So they aren’t going to rattle your head as much. And unfortunately
since the mids on these headphones aren’t very pronounced, these headphones do sound
rather shallow. So if you want to actually hear the mids on these headphones you gotta
use them at higher volumes. And personally I don’t like how the Sony’s sound. So
if you’re looking for the headphones here with the best sound quality than you want
to go with the Sennehsier’s and off you want to most head rattling bass then you’ll
want to go with the Skullcandy.
Now when it comes to the active noise cancelation on these headphones… the Skullcandy’s
actually manage to block out the most amount of noise here. And I think thats a big deal
cause when the WH-CH710N’s came I was impressed at the amount of noise they blocked out for
a pair of entry level headphones. 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 Skullcandy’s block out significantly more noise than both
the Sony’s and Sennheiser’s. But they’re not without their draw backs. Like I mentioned
earlier the ANC on the Skullcandy really changes how they sound. With their ANC turned on they
get narrowed up and their bass doesn’t hit as hard. Where as the ANC on these other two
headphones doesn’t change how they sound. And also the Hesh ANC have more cabin pressure
than these other two headphones. Now the cabin pressure on the Hesh ANC isn’t unbearable
and cause me headaches like other headphones out there. But you do feel a little something
something. But the cabin pressure on the Skullcandy’s is bearable. But other than that the ANC on
all three of these headphones has zero hissing in the background and all of their microphone
array’s do a good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. So overall even
though the Skullcandy’s do block out the most amount of noise here they do have their
draw backs to keep in mind. Where as the Sony’s are a good middle ground. They block out a
decent amount of noise but with less cabin pressure and with minimal affects to its sound
quality.
But when it comes to their Ambient modes… I gotta say its a draw. Both the Sony WH-CH710N
and Skullcandy Hesh ANC have very natural sound ambient modes with zero hissing in the
back ground which is super important for when you’re watching movies or videos with these
headphones. And like I mentioned earlier their microphone array’s do a great job of blocking
out wind noise when walking out doors. But unfortunately the Sennheiser’s don’t have
an ambient mode which is do think is a real bummer.
Now before we jump into the micophone test I do want to quickly point out that the Hesh
ANC have tile support where as these other two headphones don’t. Now personally I am
indifferent about tile support on my headphones I would rather have and adjustable EQ on these
headphones rather than Tile. But it is there is you want it.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now the Sony’s have the worst sounding microphone
here. The mic on the 710N’s has a lot of amplification to it but it still manages to
sound shallow.
Now the microphone on the Sennheiser doesn’t have as much amplification to it but I still
sound a little shallow. Nonetheless I do think this microphone is still usable for like a
quick phone call.
But finally there’s the microphone on the Skullcandy Hesh ANC. Now ill might sound a
little far away but this mirphone does sound much better than both the microphones found
on the Sony WH-CH710N and Sennheiser HD 450BT.
So with all that being said… if you’re looking for a pair of entry level headphones
then all three of these are good options. But unfortunately there isn’t one pair that
I can say is a definitive winner. The Sony WH-CH710N are the most comfortable and the
most convenient headphones here. They have the least amount of clamping force, they have
the most spacious ear pads, their Active noise cancelation has very little cabin pressure,
they have a solid ambient mode and they have the longest battery life here. But personally
I don’t like how shallow they sound. Where as the skullcandy Hesh ANC block out the most
amount of noise here but they do have a little more cabin pressure and their ANC does affect
how they sound. So personally I only use the ANC on these headphones when I have to. But
these headphones do have a really good ambient mode as well and they also have a very fun
bass heavy sound signature that is going to rattle your head a good amount. The thing
is these headphones might not not everyone cause of their firmer clamping force and smaller
ear pads. And then there are the Sennheiser’s… these headphones are the best sounding here
and they also have an adjustable EQ. But these headphones do block out the least amount of
noise here and they also lack an ambient mode. And these headphones are the least comfortable
headphones here cause of their firmer fit and even more cramped ear pads. But all in
all… all of these headphones are good, it all just boils down to your needs.