swaffleman
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Posts
- 446
- Likes
- 47
Hello all,
I've seen little to nothing about the Skullcandy Stims. I saw these while getting groceries (sometimes I glance through the electronics for the heck of it). They were on sale for 20 dollars, so I picked them up.
I have to say, I'm very surprised. I was expecting crap, and crap is not what I got.
Build: All plastic, completely minimal design. Single sided cord, which is great and seems to be standard today. The headband is somewhat thin, although much beefier than say, the JVC flats. The ear cups seem to have a half matte, half gloss finish. Honestly, they seem sturdy enough, but they are super lightweight and as I said, completely plastic. I can't really vouch for their longevity or toughness, but they don't seem like they will snap into pieces at the slightest provocation either. 6 or a 7 out of 10.
Comfort: They are reasonably comfortable. The cups sit at an angle, and they don't really move or adjust to the angle of your ear. For me, they relieve some pressure from the back of the ear with the angle, but put a slight amount of pressure on the top of the ear. The ear pads are much like the grind headphones, although for me, more comfortable. I tried a pair of the grinds, there was something inside the ear cup that was raised and made slight contact with my ears, and it was enough to cause discomfort. That's not happening with these. They clamp a little, but I've had them one for one hour now without much of an issue. The clamping force does more or less make me constantly aware of them, though. The headband does not have any cushioning, but that's not bothering me at the moment. I'd give a 6-7 our of ten.
Sound: I am initially very impressed with these. First thing's first, they tend to emphasize the bass range. However, it's not overwhelming. I was actually pretty impressed with the decent amount of "texture" I got in the middle and upper ranges. For instance, on some layered rock or country tracks that use acoustic guitar, I could very clearly hear the strumming of the guitar strings. Sometimes, those details get muddled out. With classical (listening to the London Symphony Orchestra's version of Shostakovich symphony no. 5 as I write this), the violins have a very textured, sharp sheen that makes them sound very outlined and detailed, although somewhat piercing at higher volumes. Inner voices are distinguishable and audible.
The bass tends to be somewhat boomy, but with moderate impact and some detail. I've heard worse offenders, but these don't have the best bass quality. Believe it or not, the sound reminds me A LOT of the Sennheiser PX 100's. There is good texture and warmth, all ranges are present and audible (with a modest emphasis on bass), and the overall sound is smooth. The way they may differ is that they obviously have less of a sound stage, being closed.
They are pretty easy to power. For most contemporary forms of music, I don't need to put the volume past 60-70 percent on my cell phone. For classical, I sometimes need to put the volume up nearly all the way, as some classical recordings are recorded at lower volumes (so that the loudest dynamics can be truly distinguished from the softest). Some classical recordings are loud enough for me to turn the volume down a bit.
I'd give the sound a solid 7
Isolation: These isolate a little bit, but not very much. I can hear my surroundings and some of the ambient noise with these. So if you want something with great passive noise cancellation, these aren't your set.
If you can find them, try em out. They seem to be out of stock on amazon, but I found them new at a department store, so I bet you could find them. Overall, super good for their price.
I've seen little to nothing about the Skullcandy Stims. I saw these while getting groceries (sometimes I glance through the electronics for the heck of it). They were on sale for 20 dollars, so I picked them up.
I have to say, I'm very surprised. I was expecting crap, and crap is not what I got.
Build: All plastic, completely minimal design. Single sided cord, which is great and seems to be standard today. The headband is somewhat thin, although much beefier than say, the JVC flats. The ear cups seem to have a half matte, half gloss finish. Honestly, they seem sturdy enough, but they are super lightweight and as I said, completely plastic. I can't really vouch for their longevity or toughness, but they don't seem like they will snap into pieces at the slightest provocation either. 6 or a 7 out of 10.
Comfort: They are reasonably comfortable. The cups sit at an angle, and they don't really move or adjust to the angle of your ear. For me, they relieve some pressure from the back of the ear with the angle, but put a slight amount of pressure on the top of the ear. The ear pads are much like the grind headphones, although for me, more comfortable. I tried a pair of the grinds, there was something inside the ear cup that was raised and made slight contact with my ears, and it was enough to cause discomfort. That's not happening with these. They clamp a little, but I've had them one for one hour now without much of an issue. The clamping force does more or less make me constantly aware of them, though. The headband does not have any cushioning, but that's not bothering me at the moment. I'd give a 6-7 our of ten.
Sound: I am initially very impressed with these. First thing's first, they tend to emphasize the bass range. However, it's not overwhelming. I was actually pretty impressed with the decent amount of "texture" I got in the middle and upper ranges. For instance, on some layered rock or country tracks that use acoustic guitar, I could very clearly hear the strumming of the guitar strings. Sometimes, those details get muddled out. With classical (listening to the London Symphony Orchestra's version of Shostakovich symphony no. 5 as I write this), the violins have a very textured, sharp sheen that makes them sound very outlined and detailed, although somewhat piercing at higher volumes. Inner voices are distinguishable and audible.
The bass tends to be somewhat boomy, but with moderate impact and some detail. I've heard worse offenders, but these don't have the best bass quality. Believe it or not, the sound reminds me A LOT of the Sennheiser PX 100's. There is good texture and warmth, all ranges are present and audible (with a modest emphasis on bass), and the overall sound is smooth. The way they may differ is that they obviously have less of a sound stage, being closed.
They are pretty easy to power. For most contemporary forms of music, I don't need to put the volume past 60-70 percent on my cell phone. For classical, I sometimes need to put the volume up nearly all the way, as some classical recordings are recorded at lower volumes (so that the loudest dynamics can be truly distinguished from the softest). Some classical recordings are loud enough for me to turn the volume down a bit.
I'd give the sound a solid 7
Isolation: These isolate a little bit, but not very much. I can hear my surroundings and some of the ambient noise with these. So if you want something with great passive noise cancellation, these aren't your set.
If you can find them, try em out. They seem to be out of stock on amazon, but I found them new at a department store, so I bet you could find them. Overall, super good for their price.
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