Skullcandy Aviator Headphone Black, One Size

This is my first review and I'm mainly writing it because the headphones are lying right next to me and I've been getting into the whole "audiophile" thing recently (though I don't currently have the money to go crazy with the really serious cans). These replaced a pair of DJ headphones I had gotten on the suggestion of my bass teacher a while back and it sent me into a couple months of research on headphones and stats and reviews and all sorts of nonsense that distracted me from my school work. These aviators thoroughly surprised me. As a pair of skull candies I expected an unbalanced bass head pair of headphones meant purely for looks. They do look good, and because of their design they feel very durable. The frame never feels fragile and has maintained its shape perfectly especially considering that I usually keep it in a backpack with some heavy books and such.
 
These headphones sound pretty good. The treble is nice and stands out which is the opposite of what my earlier headphones were. It stood out but wasn't ear piercingly sharp. I think part of the treble standing out did come from the complete lack of bass. I listen to quite a lot of music so these were put through the wringer.
 
I used "fish don't scream" by Serj Tankian to really test the bass sound and instrumental separation.
-the bass was incredibly lacking especially when compared to the Sennheiser HD518s or the AKG K7xx (way out of price range but its the other pair I have so its the pair that I can best compare to)
-the bass wasnt very clear or impressive and just doesnt sound as good as the HD518s which, for a cheaper pair of headphones, had a much clearer bass sound that really sounded like a stand up bass.
 
I used "at the edge of time" and "a night at the opera" by Blind Guardian to see how they preformed with large and impressive bands.
-Again the highs are pretty good but the lows lack, especially when compared to headphones like the ATH M50Xs that just have great bass (you may start to notice a pattern that the bass on these things isn't so good)
 
I used every single SOAD song to see how they did with modern metal songs. 
-the guitar riffs were great, the separate vocals could easily be differentiated from one another and didn't blur together, the percussion sounded great and even the intro to ariels sounded wonderful so bravo to these cans for making my favorite band continue to sound amazing.
 
I used "friends on mushrooms" by infected mushroom to see how they did with some energetic and heavy EDM.
-shrill highs of electronic music sounded great but not ear piercing or overly sharp
 
I even used some of the bastion soundtrack (which I highly recommend listening to) to listen to how it sounded with more interesting instruments.
-These headphones actually separated the wide variety of instruments used in the bastion OST surprisingly well. The cellos stood out nicely and the varying percussion all sounded unique and apart from each other. Most importantly the varying high string instruments such as banjo, mandolin, etc. were all separated instead of being muddied together.
 
 
Over all its actually a pretty great headphone, I've listened to all sorts of genres and bands from Viza and Darren Korb to Infected mushroom and Pendulum to Powerwolf and Blind guardian all the way to Techn9ne and OFWGKTA and it all sounds pretty good. I'd say a really weak genre for these would be jazz and old blues, the bass simply isn't good enough for genres that so often have such prevalent bass parts. Would definitely recommend these for the price, especially if you aren't a bass head, a decent equalizer can somewhat remedy the bass issue so if you have a equalizer on whatever device you use then these would be perfect. For their price they're a great pair, sadly once you move on you wont want to look back, its frighteningly easy to hear the lack of bass on a good jazz track if you're going from the HD518s back to the Aviators.
 
Sorry if I tend to ramble a bit, its my first review and I don't really know what I'm doing, I just like a good sounding pair of headphones and a lot of music so I thought I'd bring some interesting taste to this forum.

To be honest I’m usually a bit iffy about mainstream headphone. Not because they are inherently worse than their audiophile counterparts or are overpriced (case in point, the headphone I’m reviewing today) , but I generally don’t like the styling and typical sound signatures of such headphones. But with the aviators at 31 cad, I just couldn’t resist picking one up.

Unboxing
Pros:Carrying case with cloth, nicely designed box
Cons: Sleeves hard to take off
                                                                       
 
The packaging is pretty nice reminding me of beats packaging (say what you will about the sound quality of beats, but the presentation is pretty good). Taking out the outer cover/sleeve does take some effort, but then you’ll be greeted with the double door like cover, with the skullcandy logo cutout in the middle. Open that up, and unzip the carrying pouch that contained inside, you’ll get your aviators and a cloth to clean them.
Burn in
Cons: Utter muffled garbage initially
Pros: Gets way better after that
If you’re the type to not believe in burn in, you’ll probably not give the aviators a chance. On first listen, the sound was to put it bluntly horrible. Muffled, slow and congested are the initial impressions I would give to them. But after even a few hours, the sound clears up considerably. Enough that I thought, hey they actually sound good!
 
Design and portability
Pros: Trendy looks, small and portable, folds, removable cable
Cons: None
 
 
 
 
Most mainstream headphone usually gets this part right, and so does the Skullcandy. Nice design with the ear cup design referencing aviator sunglasses (hence the name). The brown/brass colour scheme is pretty classy. Throw in the small foldable design and removable cable, and these are ideal for on the go listening.
Build
Pros: Decently sturdy, reinforced with metal
Cons: Plastic parts are cheap, flimsy and slimy, doesn't stand too well against drops, meh cable
 
 
The build quality is a mix bag, on one head the metal reinforcements makes the headphones quite sturdy with minimal flexing and no creaking. But the plastic cup and rims are cheap slimy fingerprint magnets with one drop scratched the brass rims and opened a gap between the seam and the cup. I'd be careful with these.
Isolation and leakage
The aviators aren't great at this front. It’s far more isolating and leaks far less than your average open backed headphone, but it’s below average for a closed back. It only manages to muffle outside sounds and at loud volumes it leaks more than it should. However even at a crowded bus or subway you can still find a good volume level that block outside sounds but isn't loud enough for others to hear.
Comfort
Pros: Very comfy with soft pads
Cons: It’s more on ear than over ear

These are very comfy and are easy to put on however, despite it supposedly being a over ear headphone, the wear more like an on ear, with most of the apd sitting on my earlobe.  Not a big deal as the pads are very soft.
Wired unamped sound quality (no fi)

 
Pros: Mids!!, surprisingly wide soundstage
Cons: A bit flat sounding, quiet bass and treble, no depth whatsoever.
Plugged into my z ultra, my first thought was this could tuned any further form the typical mainstream sound. Where as most of these types of headphone has big bass sometime to the poit of muddying the sound. These are very mid forward. Vocals are a particular treat, smooth sweet forward.. The entire middle spectrum is particularly detailed, surprisingly so. The mis are at least in the $200 territory. The bass and treble however are IMO almost nonexistent. If the bass lines are already pretty quiet in a song, you’ll likely not hear them at all with the aviators. The high hats and cymbals fare a bit better, but are still pretty back in the mix. Moreover the relative lack of bass and treble leads to a sound without much body or air. Umamped it’s a decent choice for mid heads, but is not particularly well rounded.
The soundstage is not actually very wide in open standard, but for a small closed portable, it’s pretty impressive. And the imaging while a bit left/rightish still utilizes the width quite well. Just htat there’s no depth whatsoever.
With E07k dac/amp (low fi)

 
Pros: Same pros as unamped, with a more dynamic sound, engaging bass, cleanish treble
Cons: lacks air, blurry bass, dull and splashy treble
Honestly without an amp, I didn’t really like the headphone much at all. But amped via the e07k with full bass boost and level 6 treble boost fixed alot of the problems. The treble louder without being harsh. And bass got a lot more engaging. It hits decently hard and can rumble a bit when called for. It also remians pretty undistorted even at loud volumes. The sound now has a lot more weighty, dynamic and textured. However the treble is bit dull and splashy, and the bass are bit blurry or “one note”  The soundstage is still pretty much the same, and is still pretty closed sounding.
With a Fostex HP-A4 dac/amp (mid fi)
Improvements :increased overall clarity, more forward mids, nice vocals, spacious sound, 
Cons: less bass quantity

 
 
With a smoother mid forward amp and better dac the increase in overall clarity is noticeable. The mids get even more forward while the bass quantity is decreased but can still slam/rumble at loud enough volumes. The vocals while already good before is now something special. The treble remains the same but the overall soundstage has gotten lot more spacious, making the e07k a bit congested sounding. It’s not warm sounding either unlike the eo7k,
With WA6 amp and HP-A4 dac (high fi)
Improvements: More detailed, warmer punchier sound, slightly more bass quantity while keeping the same clarity
Con: Mids are less forward

 
Honestly my favourite right here (but it should be, considering how much the wa6 costs), it now warmer, bassier while being clearer and more detailed, offering the most dynamic sound yet. The mids are more inline with the rest of the sound which can be good or bad depending on your taste.

 
Conclusion
The conclusion is quite simple. Even at it’s typical street price of 50-100, it a good great headphone. Me buying it for 31 cad is just a bonus. If you like a mid forward presentation with a portable form factor at a low price, these should be on your radar. If you have an amp with bass boost, these can be great all rounders. But even with a high end amp and dac, don’t expect extended sparkly treble, detailed bass, big soundstage and an open sound.
 

I had this headphone for 2-3 months before purchasing more serious cans.
 
 
I found these to be better and less conjested than my ATH m50 ....... (Oh boy I said It!)
 
They seem to provide a nice mid section and a colored treble that sounds ok but does not extend as deep as some cans will. Infact, my HD 558s have more bass than these (and the 558s are an open can, This proves the aviators are NOT a bass-head can)
 
For 60 bucks though, they deserve 5 stars because they really sound like 100-150$ pair of headphones to my ears.
 
I absolutely recommend this headphone to begin getting into better audio since they are so forgiving they literally smooth up highly compressed, highly annoying music as much as realistically possible on portable devices.
 
5/5