Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active Review – Not Ear Candy

Welcome to the review of the Skullcandy Sesh ANC truly wireless noise-cancelling earbuds.

The earbud fins aren’t too wide or deep, fitting nicely in the ear. The size isn’t bad if you get past the unique design, which might appeal to some.

The case sports the same skater design as the earbuds. It’s a bit long but shallow, making it comfortable to carry in a pocket.

For those interested in Skullcandy, other models feature a more subdued logo, with a faded metallic design on a black background.

The little ring on the case is handy for clipping to a backpack. The case doesn’t open easily, even with force. It’s safe for hiking or walking but might open if checked in luggage (since luggage going into a flight gets handled roughly). The case weighs 44g without the earbuds.

Surprisingly, the earbuds are comfortable for budget-friendly ones. I could wear them for hours, with or without glasses. Despite the fins being a bit wide, these earbuds are small and don’t push against glasses frames, making them comfortable with glasses. They stay put during workouts and are IP67 rated for sweat and water resistance up to one meter. However, the case isn’t water-resistant, so avoid getting it wet.

If you need to replace the earbud tips, it’s challenging to find replacements on the Skullcandy website or third-party vendors like Amazon or eBay, so be careful not to lose them.

Controls

The earbuds are 100% touch-based, with the same commands on both, limiting control. You can’t go back to the previous track out of the box, but the app allows customizable controls, letting you set separate commands for each earbud (including going to the previous track).

However, the touch sensitivity can be frustrating. Single taps to play/pause or answer/hang up calls work well, but double taps for track changes often fail, and triple taps for noise-cancelling modes rarely work, making the overall controls a hassle.

To make things worse, the Skullcandy logo is the tiny touch control spot; the rest of the fin surface isn’t touch-sensitive, making it tricky to use. Compared to the more expensive Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, which has touch controls right in the middle of your ear hole position (it’s more natural to reach for and press), the Skullcandy’s controls are slightly off, leading to frequent misses.

However, the smart assistant capabilities with Android and Google Assistant work great, providing responsive feedback.

There’s no passive play/pause feature, but that’s expected for budget earbuds.

Noise Cancelling

Active noise cancelling (ANC) performance is average. On a plane, it reduces some engine noise but not enough for a great experience. You’ll need to crank up the volume for podcasts or news, which can be uncomfortable due to high volume. On a bus, sitting away from the engine allows for decent listening at around 40% volume.

Vocals and higher-pitched sounds aren’t cancelled much, requiring you to crank up documentary podcasts to 50-70% volume for clear listening, depending on ambient noise (like standing at a crowded bus station). However, they’re budget friendly earbuds and noise cancelling works as expected for this budget.

Transparency mode, which projects surrounding sounds into the earbuds, is a nice surprise feature at this price point. It works okay, but everything sounds like it’s in a tunnel. Still, it’s great to have this feature.

Battery

Battery life is where things get tricky. Skullcandy claims 7 hours per earbud charge with ANC or transparency mode on. I got 7.5 hours. Without these features, they claim 12 hours, but I got 10.7 hours.

Recharging the earbuds takes about an hour, which is accurate. However, the right earbud doesn’t always sit correctly in the case and needs a bit of wiggling to start charging. The LED must be pulsing to indicate charging. This is the first time I’ve ever had this issue with earbuds.

The case has a USB-C charging port located on the back.

Skullcandy claims with the case and earbuds fully charged, you’ll get four full charges for the earbuds. In total, they say with ANC, you’ll get 28 hours; I got 21.6. Without ANC, they claim 48 hours; I got 32.3.

Why are my numbers so low compared to Skullcandy’s? I notice that sometimes, when fully charged, the earbuds while sitting in the case will automatically connect to a device and start consuming battery. This happens with my phone, desktop, and laptop. It’s a known issue with many customer complaints online, including on their website and Reddit forums.

The case doesn’t support wireless charging, which is expected at this price point.

Microphone Quality

The microphone performs adequately in a quiet environment, although the sound quality is reminiscent of a laptop microphone. Nonetheless, my words are clear enough for the caller to understand me easily.

In a noisy environment, the microphone exceeds expectations. The app mentions “AI” technology for blocking external noise, although this might be more of a marketing term. Considering the price, it does a decent job. There are some minor murmur-like noises, but overall, it performs satisfactorily.

In windy conditions, the microphone effectively blocks wind noise but at the expense of voice quality. While my words are still discernible, there is a hint of static, likely due to the technology’s efforts to suppress wind noise, compromising voice clarity.

Audio Quality

Audio codecs supported are SBC and AAC. Initially, the equaliser profile is not flat if connected to the app since the default profile is custom made. You can adjust it back to a flat profile using the app’s equalizer, though that setting is dull and boring.

Adjusting the equalizer offers two options: the sound profile, which involves a sound test, and the actual equaliser. Surprisingly, the sound test does enhance the sound, making it richer and fuller, unlike most similar features in other earbuds and headphones. Adjusting the custom equalizer, whether using the sound profile or not, performs reasonably well.

These are bass-focused earbuds, common for Skullcandy products. While not providing the most intense bass, they perform better than expected at this price point. Increasing the bass and volume significantly doesn’t distort the sound or degrade music quality.

Regarding vocals, enhancing the mids results in negligible improvements. While not worsening the sound, the enhancement is barely noticeable but acceptable at this price point.

Enhancing the highs was the biggest surprise. Despite initial skepticism, these earbuds deliver unexpectedly great high frequencies, making songs sound richer, fuller, and more energetic. For genres like rap or EDM, increasing the highs enhances listening enjoyment.

Audio performance at this price point exceeds expectations.

Using the earbuds with glasses has no impact on audio quality. The earbuds don’t interfere with how your ears rest with glasses.

Software

During the software test, despite initial connection issues, the app eventually connected after 25 seconds (although it happens often throughout the week). The app features personal sound settings and equaliser adjustments.

ANC levels can be adjusted, but setting sensitivity to max is recommended for better noise canceling. Low latency audio for gaming seems gimmicky, and console pairing is suggested on their website.

Other features like photo taking are unnecessary. Removing the photo feature in favor of improving software stability would have been better.

Conclusion

The overall disappointment lies in connectivity, touch controls and battery issues. Despite good audio performance, the app’s instability makes these earbuds less appealing. Improvements in a second version would be welcome.