Customer Reviews

Skullcandy INK'D Earbuds (Dark Grey)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Ok here I go. So I used the creative ep-830 sound isolating earphones for a while, they came with my zen x-fi.....but eventually my girlfriend liked them so much I kinda "lost ownership" of them ;) So I needed a replacement. i had gotten used to the intimacy of sound in ear earphones provide. I would say these have the same quality of the creative's but with slightly enhanced bass. Now, many people complain of poor sound quality. The fact is, skullcandy is one of the more recognizable and available brands out there, so most people buying these are coming from stock earbuds because they want a spare or a replacement for ipod buds. They are not ready or used to in-ear phones. I prefer in-ear phones cos they stay securely in, have top-notch bass reproduction, are much more comfortable and less ostentatious than big headphones while offering similar sound quality. But in-ear phones are not for everyone or all uses....they transmit cable hits very loudly. This is true of all in-ear phones. So you cannot expect the ink'd to be any better. Actually the better the sound isolation the better you hear your heartbeat or swallowing and the lightest touch on the cord. When I bought the ink'd I knew about all these problems and I am glad to say it isn't any worse at that than the creative ep 830's. But these sound much worse right off the bat. They need to be broken in, however once you do the sound reproduction is stellar with very much enhanced bass just how I like it! For me it took an hour, for others it might take longer. How to do this is to play music constantly with them for a while and change volume, EQ etc etc as often as possible. This will stress all the levels of the driver and allow more accurate sound reproduction.

To sum up:
These buds are amazingly good for their extremely low price. I bought them for $10 whereas the creative's cost at least $40 when not bundled with the zen x-fi and I dare say they sound just as good to me. All those who complain are either those not ready for in-ear phones and the peculiarities of using them.....for these people I would recommend the yuin pk3 earphones cos those are less intrusive and need no breaking in. However if you know anything about in-ear phones or have ever used some and are therefore prepared for breaking-in and cable static, the ink'd are very much worth this ultra-low price due to their very good sound quality (especially when paired with a high quality media player like a cowon, sony or creative product) and choice of colours......they are preferably to the smoking buds cos the smoking buds aren't as good sounding though they have nicer colours.

BTW I also had a pair of those $6 Coby's available here on amazon. They are also very good, were they also available in black i would be getting those but they are only available in white. i got some earlier but had an accident with them, when looking for replacements I wanted some black ones and these INK'D are the cheapest and highest quality black in-ear phones to be had for $10

In yet another quest for more audio "stuff" I began hunting for a decent pair of Buds for my Sansa Clip which I use at the gym, and will be reviewed later. Note I have, ohhh about 10 pairs of various brands and designs, up to and including reference studio headphones I run through my Citypulse DAC converter. So needless to say I have a broad listening range of products to compare my new Skullcandy INK'D Earbuds too. As usual I search all the review sites looking for the best sound verses best price, (since these are tight times), my goal was to find a decent sounding not too bass'ie comfortable pair of buds. Well I found them, I was blown away by the depth of sound, the rather clean bass, and excellent tonal quality of such, dare I say cheap set of buds.

I have learned to be cautious of anyone who states, "I am and audiophile", as one such reviewer did here, don't let them sway you, of course the Skullcandy Bud's don't compare to a set of full ear headphones, that is not the purpose for which they were designed. And considering I am exclusively playing MP3'S, hear me, there is really no logical need to spend hundreds of dollars on earbuds, sorry Sure! Save that money for the really necessary things like, bigger speakers, or 60 inch plasma TV'S!!

Tongue in cheek, I am an audiophile, or an idiot who has spent enough money on audio equipment he could have used the money to add a second floor to his house, oh well we have our obsessions, you WILL NOT find better sound for less than a $100, no the Skullcandy buds will not shake your fillings out, rattle your glasses off your head, or bring tears to your eyes, with deep bass, crystal highs, or perfect mid's, but they will offer you excellent sound, playing compressed MP3 digital music on any MP3 player including my $50.00 Sansa Clip. To all the people who say these buds are tinny, have no bass, first check your equalizer, second how your ripping your MP3'S, the more you compress, the crappier the sound regardless of the equipment, remember bigger files more info, better sound...

So go get ya a pair, I really do not think you will be disappointed, the sound is clear, the mid's are smooth, and the bass is more than acceptable for a pair of earbuds in the 10-25 dollar range!!!. Or start your own drawer of unused headphones like me!!

JVC Marshmallow vs Skullcandy Ink'd Budget headphone comparison.

I use the headphones with Ipods. A Touch, a Nano, and a Shuffle. My standard headphones for the last couple of years were Sony EX51LP which are no longer made. The Marshmallow and the Ink'd headphones are somewhat similar in specifications ie sub 10HZ low end and greater than 20KHZ top end and a ~100db/mw sensitivity. They are less expensive than the Sony's, typically being offered between 10$ on sale and 25$ list. All of these are in the ear canal type buds as compared to the hockey puck type between the ear lobe type original Ipod type (And the Sony MDR828LP type also mentioned) To be helpful I will try to avoid repeating the OEM (manufacturers) information and what other reviewers have said. I listen mostly to Indie Rock, Alternative, and some Pop.

First the Ink'd (better specs and lower price than Smokin' by the way). Wow, what a surprise. Physically they are a bit longer (1/8") than the Sony, at 7/8", which makes them less comfortable in your ear as they stick out a little more, should you ever fall asleep with them on. The cord is medium thick, between the very thin Sony and the somewhat thick JVC, probably optimum for durability vs flexibility. 36" before the split and 15" after the split. The in the ear driver units are on the large side (bigger than Sony, same as JVC), and are not labeled Right or Left. With the Skull candy Logo at the split facing front, the right piece will be on the right side. If it is important to you, take a red Sharpie and mark the right one with a Red dot for Right (a drop of red nail polish works even better). The plug is straight (I prefer the angled type).

Now the sound, and this is a pleasant surprise. Although get ready for something strange first. The Ink'd must have a really tight seal combined with a airtight driver diaphragm. When you first insert them in your ears and push in slightly, they make a whole bunch of clicking sounds as the diaphragm flexes back and forth (same if you tap them later on). Other than noise coming from rubbing on the cord, none of my other headphones do this. When the music starts, be ready to turn the volume down (two or three click on the Ipods), they are significantly more efficient, I would estimate 105db/mw( not as high as the Sony 828LP, but significantly better than EX series or the JVC). The sound itself is pretty well balanced. The low bass is emphasized (heaviest of all the buds mentioned here), especially with the tight seal provided by one of the sizes of silicone ear pieces (by the way the Sony and the Skullcandy earpieces are interchangeable). The vocals hold their own, with a very very slight nasal quality.

Now the JVC Marshmallow. These utilize a memory type foam earpiece inserts rather than a soft silicone rubber. Unfortunately the memory foam forgets rather quickly. You roll the inserts between your fingers and then quickly attempt to insert the pieces in your ears before they expand to provide a tight seal. You get two sizes, but I was not quick enough on either one, and had to wiggle the earpieces in for about a minute afterwards to get a good seal. The cord is thick, heavy duty and somewhat hard to roll up. The pre split is 27" and the post split part is 15". The plug is the straight in type. Efficiency wise they are on par with Sony, and quite a bit less so than the Ink'd. The sound is very good, but less balanced. Plenty of bass, though very dependent on how well you insert the foam piece, but it is somewhat muddy, not tight. There is a lot of crisp high end, almost to the point where it overwhelms the midrange. Great low priced headphones, much better than their Gummy line.

In summary I still like the Sony EX series best (4.5 stars) , followed very closely by the Skullcandy Ink'd (4 stars) and finally the JVC Marshmallow (3 stars ).

By the way, yes any of them sound better than the original Ipod headphones, and for me they stay in the ear much better as well.

Pros:
1. Very cute (I adore the little skulls)
2. Pretty good isolation
3. Great sound
4. The silicon tips are nice and thick compare to some other isolation earbuds I've purchased (notably the Coby CVE92 and JBuds)

Cons:
1. Can't tell right from left (this isn't too bad, but it's isn't exactly a pro)
2. Not good for running or any activity that includes too much movement (it feels like wearing stethoscopes)
3. Broke after 3 months of fairly minimum usage (like 15 minutes a day of use)

So overall, I'm not very pleased with this purchase. I have bought much cheaper earphones and they've lasted years of use. Unfortunately, I couldn't return them so I'm left with a pair of broken headphones. Luckily the silicon tips are fairly versatile and they can *just* fit on my other isolation earbuds. It's convenient since the tips are thick and provide very nice isolation.

I loved these when I first got them, they work great for workouts. I am not a hardcore athlete so they were not abused or overused, but as of yesterday one of the buds is loud the other is very quiet. Of course Amazon's return/exchange policy ran out 3 days ago so I'm out the $$. I know it's not a lot, but I've had $5 ear buds last longer than this. Very disappointed with this product and Amazon...

These earbuds worked fine at first, but the audio started going out in one side after less than a month of use. They were the cheapest ones I saw...I guess you get what you pay for.

For price, sound is really not bad. I compared to earbuds costing 3X and not that much difference.

However, as another reader noted, the latex or the rubber of these earbuds carry more "squeaky" noise whenever there is any movement of your body against the cables. If you touch the cable, or adjust your neck, or look to the side, it sounds like someone is crumpling paper in your ear. There are other brands of the same general design (silencing cuff earbuds) where this is far less noticeable.

I bought these at Target for $15. Definitely worth it. It fits perfectly and the sounds are nice. When the cord rubs against something it makes an annoying sound though, like all noise-isolating headphones do, do I recommend you wrap the cord over your ear.

Previous Review: They have NO BASS AT ALL, treble notes hiss especially when listening to spoken word. Very very cheap sounding, very flat mid tones. They make everyone I listen to sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks. The only thing I like about these things is the basic design of the earphones, they stay in well, and the straight jack is nice (I hate the bent ones).

UPDATED Review: I wasn't putting the earphones far enough into my ears, and because of that they sounded pretty bad. The ear buds really have to be crammed in there for me (I have small ears) which is a trick since even the smallest rubber ear cuff things are a little too big. Once I managed to get the earbuds in far enough however, the sound really was great. Honestly, amazing for the ten bucks I got these for.

The only complaint I might have is just that earbuds in general are uncomfortable after being worn for several hours, but that is just the price to pay for all earbuds. These effectively isolate sounds outside too, like ear plugs might. Which is good if you want to cut down noise so you can hear your music better (they don't totally eliminate sound, just cut it down a little like foam earplugs, you can still hear someone if they talk loud or shout). The ear-plug effect is obviously bad if you want to listen to music and still be able to talk to the random person who comes into the room. For this reason I often find myself with only one earbud in, and the other hanging out, which distorts the sound but oh well.

PS: The earbuds look cool too and stay out of the way. You can wear the cord in front, or behind down your back depending on what you do with the cord.

If you wear dangly earrings, they will hit the cords and make annoying thump sounds, but that's a problem with ALL in-ear earbuds and not just these in particular. Also if you are running or moving, you will hear a lot of thumping-rasping-hissing sounds from your clothes and stuff hitting the cord. Just be aware of that.

Don't know what the negative reviewers are talking about. These fit my ear perfectly, the sound quality is amazing, and I am writing this review in the middle of a crowded auditorium with the headphones in and people talking all around me, and my volume level is as low as it can go and I can hear perfectly.