CES Days 2 and 3: Skullcandy. That's right...Skullcandy. - Page 4  

After owning the Aviators for about two weeks or so, I have to say they do sound very good, surprisingly good, and they look awesome, but the only thing that made me bring them back was the build quality. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't exactly make me feel too confident either. Too much of a plasticy feel.

Jude brought the Roc Nation Aviator to the Michigan mini meet and I have to say, wow, I would have never guessed skullcandy could make a pair of headphones that sounded good! 

You know i'm not surprised skullcandies actually dont sound as bad as one would think...but it does take some experimenting to unlock their potential.

For example, on christmas i was gifted some skullcandy double agents, a gift i winced at because i knew it came out of heart but felt bad for because of skullcandies bad reputation. I knew they wouldnt even compare to my grados or re0's and sure enough as soon as i put them on they sounded terrible. Not to give up i remembered what had happened with my portapros when i used cheap faux leather pads and swapped them for foam. I took off the pads the skullcandies came with and tried using my grado comfies (quarter modded) and sure enough the sound blossomed! I couldnt believe it! the only problem is the comfies wont stay on and i fixed my grados

Nope, same guys, worked for two years on it. They knew what they were doing: make money at the big, fat bottom; then start working your way up.

First impressions regarding the Aviators (brown and gold)...

The packaging is very solid.  Not blister packaging, but everything was very well secured, and I had to manhandle it a bit to get the accessories out of the back end (behind the display part).  Build quality is okay.  The driver sections themselves feel pretty good, but the headphone cable is very thin, kind of disheartening for $150 headphones (paying for looks, I know, I know), and the headband section feels a bit flimsy.  The addition of a soft case and cleaning cloth are nice touches (the case kind of looks like a purse for women's hygiene products, though).  They're smaller than I thought.  Some might argue that the Denon D1001s are supraaural, but when I had them, they were circumaural for me.  The Aviators have smaller ear sections, and they feel a bit claustrophobic.  For someone with larger ears, they'd almost certainly be supraaural.  That doesn't mean they're uncomfortable, though.  They're quite lightweight and comfortable, and there's not a lot of clamping force.  Still not quite in the class of the upper-level Denons, but decent enough to where I could see myself wearing these for a few hours.  I might mention also that they're fully extended on my noggin, so if someone has a big head, they could get uncomfortable (reference:  my D5000s are three notches extended).

Comfort and aesthetics only get you so far.  How do they sound?  Well...they're not bad.  With no EQ, running straight out of my uDAC-2, they sound a bit wonky.  Good bass impact, but the highs can sound a bit shrill, and they sound a bit thin/hollow.  There's decent instrument separation and detail, though.  They have a forward sound to them.  I don't give up that easily, though, and tried them with my E9 amp, as well as activating the Bass Booster EQ, to add a bit of warmth.  This is more like it.  The bass impact is great, and has the nice addition of some warmth; they don't sound as hollow/thin anymore.  Still good detail and separation.  Pretty forward, but in a fun, enjoyable way.  I might characterize them as groovy.  IIRC, they remind me a fair amount of the D1001s, although perhaps a bit brighter.  Are they worth $150, when my mistress DT 150s are only $50 more?  No, I don't think so.  But is Skullcandy headed in the right direction?  Yes.  I could see someone paying in the $100 range for these.  Of course, YMMV, but with my setup, and Bass Booster on, I think they're certainly worth a listen.  Good start, Skullcandy.  But please, change your name.  It just has a bad taste in my mouth.  (I like the Toyota/Lexus idea.)

I will add pictures shortly.

The cables look a bit weak, but the rest. Wow. Is that real leather?

As far as I know, it is.  It's difficult to tell with some of these headphones, but it feels real enough to me. 

I think that real leather usually have a distinct smell to it. But it could depend on whether it's full, top or corrected (or worse, laminated). I got sofa-scammed. I know leathers.

It smells a bit like leather.

 

Additionally, going back to them unequalized (but still running from the E9), they sound pretty good.  I think the Bass Booster was too much of a good thing.  Kind of like the music had a layer of warm vanilla pudding over it.  But with a flat EQ, I will officially call these good.  Not the last word in neutrality or accuracy, but they're a fun listen with good treble extension and bass impact, and they don't sound deficient in the midrange.  Perhaps a bit bright, but not unpleasantly so.

They have the right age category by the balls, which is why they definitely havent folded. But after reading Judes post. It seems asif they paid him a nice amount to write up something good. Once you stain a market with a pretty stupid brand name and average headphones! Its definitely hard to recover from, but GL to them.. I will never own a pair! As i will never own anything from Monster Cables.

I will never buy something from Skullcandy mainly because of their support team. You know the commercials about a phone company's customer service, the guy who answers the phone is named Peggy? That is comparable to Skullcandy's support, I bought a pair around two years ago and with the product still in warranty they didn't care to help me. They basically shot themselves in the foot, if it were not for the service being bad I would have never learned about this place.

 

Also the only good looking headphone they have are the Aviators, everything else with that logo I think looks terrible.

Interesting. I'm glad that Skullcandy is aware of Head-Fi and trying to create a better product.

If anyone at Skullcandy is reading this thread, I'll offer a few suggestions. Try your hand at an open headphone with excellent tonal balance and resolution. Leave out the styling gimmicks and price it under similar open headphones. It won't be your biggest seller, but you'll earn a good measure of respect here and you should earn enough to turn a profit. However, it'll reflect very well on your brand and that will pay off in the long term.

A good headphone is a good headphone. Make one and I will buy it and I will recommend it. I own headphones from lots of companies and can recommend good pairs from most manufacturers. I'd be pleased to recommend a pair from Skullcandy.

Same goes for Monster and (gasp) even Bose. Make something good and I will support you. So will many others.

 

This, this, this, this, this. Agree 100%

Further impressions:  these are not too comfortable over the long term.  The earcups are a bit shallow, which causes my ears to press against the drivers.  My ears tend to stick out a bit, though, so YMMV.  They're driven okay with an iPod; I'm currently at about 77% volume, and they're at a satisfactory level.  I could see these being used as commuter cans, but if I were really interested in doing so, I might go with the black ones, since the brown-and-gold model is a bit gaudy, IMO.  It's nice that they included the carrying case.  I will continue to maintain that they could realistically sell these in the $100 range, for the quality of sound they produce.