Customer Reviews

Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket Earbud, 11mm - MacSilver

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Okay I consider myself a very knowledgeable and informed consumer. I have tried many a pair of earbuds in my day. I have owned Shure E2c, Sony EX-51 and 71's, and the V-Moda Vibes. I just bought the V-Moda's and love them. I almost bought the Skullcandy 11mm FMJ but online but insisted on the vibes. Well I was in a Mar$hall'$ yesterday and found the FMJ 11mm for 29 bones. I was shocked because I was ready to spend about 70 to get them online. So I picked up a pair expecting to return them 2 hours later. Let me tell you they give the vibes a run for their money. The bass is very clean and powerful more so than the vibes. The vibes still have better reproduction of mids and highs, but not by much. I was totally surprised how good the Skullcandy product was especially because all the audiophiles out there instist their products are garbage. They would be as shocked as I was if they only listened to FMJ 11mm. If I compared them to the Shure e2c, the FMJ's are far superior. I would say stay away from the Shure's. They are way overpriced and sound tinny and thin. The Sonys were ok (decent sound and pretty good bass), but cheaply made hence the 51's then the 71's. Regular headphones will always be better, but Kudos to Skullcandy for the excellent product. A+

What is in the box:
1 pair of 11mm Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket Earbuds
1 extension cord - about 3ft long
3 sets of rubber ear pieces - 1 small, 1 medium, 1 large
2 sets of foam ear pieces - all same size
1 drawstring carrying bag

I own both the 9mm and the 11mm FMJ earbuds and the 11mm is quite an improvement. These are louder and the bass has more boom to them. You will not be disappointed with the bass on these things. The quality of material also seems to be better when compared to the 9mm. The cord is sturdier and chrome plated rather than just a rubber cord. The cord is about 3 feet long which should be long enough for most people. The extension cord adds about another 3 feet which extends long than my entire body.

I have never used foam ear pieces before, so it took me some time to figure out a way to fit them in my ear properly. Before I was just shoving them into my ear like normal earbuds and it felt a bit uncomfortable. The real key is to squish the ear pieces to make them thinner, then put them into your ear and let them expand back after a few seconds. This allows a much better fit and an easier time inserting them into your ears.

I have only one minor con. The 9mm featured a in-line volume control slider that is missing in the 11mm version. This is only a minor gripe as I don't consider volume control to be a major feature.

You'll never have to worry if they break, because all Skullcandy products comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Overall, the 11mm FMJs exceeds the 9mm in almost every possible way. From sound quality, to accessories, to craftsmanship quality, it is all an improvement. Unless you find the 9mm for cheap, I highly recommend to go straight for the 11mm Full Metal Jackets.

Please allow me to start off by saying that I can be very cheap (more on that later). Thank you.

My first experience with the Skullcandy brand was when my 20 year-old son was listening to his iPod in the back seat of my car, and I thought he was ignoring us when Dad and I would ask him a question or otherwise try to engage him in our conversation. We kept having to wave our hands in his face to get his attention, and I was beginning to get worried that he had the volume up too high. He apologized and stated that he didn't mean to ignore us. Then he asked me to try on his Skullcandy and asked me what I thought of the sound quality. Needless to say, I was supremely impressed!

My son said that he spent maybe ten dollars on his set when the music store where he bought it was doing their Christmas clearance. So I was getting ready to head on over to that store when I decided to first check out the Skullcandy web site to do some research on the product, and maybe read some reviews. Well, it was like walking into a cosmetics store for me to see the variety of styles and colors that they had displayed. The prices stunned me a bit at first; I had no idea that they were generally THAT expensive. And of course, these hot pink ones I fell in love with were not in stock. So I stewed over it a few days, tried on my son's earbuds again, and decided that I had to have it at $47.99 (the cheapest price at the time) at some random electronics web site I had never heard of.

PROS: The fabulous color, of course! The sturdy metal casing. The three different sized pairs of interchangable gels to customize a proper fit. The unbelievably clean sound and noise-canceling it provides. Which brings me to my only...

CON(S): Please remind your children to remain aware of their surroundings when using this product. You can block out the world and just revel in the full (I mean, PHENOMENAL AUDITORIUM QUALITY) music experience. But that means that they won't be able to hear anything; from a car driving too closely, to a group of rowdy people hovering nearby. There is, however, an amazing feature which I call an "Almost Mute" switch on the color-coordinated piece where the two individual cords meet from the actual ear buds. Once moved, you can still hear the music, but will allow the listener about 90% of being able to hear his surroundings again. Switch it back to "Almost Deaf" to ignore your annoying buddy.

If you have children who are responsible and in a safe and friendly, well-lit environment, this CON need not apply. Best to be fully aware of their surroundings anyway. Hey, this is a Mom talking.

One last PRO: Great for running. These babies won't fall out of your ears. In fact (and this was my deciding factor for writing this review), my husband gave up on his own iPod earbuds and the assortment of black and gray ones which belong our children---ten sets total in our house---and asked me to borrow my Skullcandy when he ran his PFA with his Navy unit last week. Yes, this hot pink, girly, totally effeminate one. Why? He didn't need to worry about anything falling off his ears while he was being timed on his run. This doesn't shift around at all with movement. This doesn't cause pain inside your ear. It's impossible to push too far in, and never pops out.

All in all, this product is a great innovation. I've given up on the cheap brands and all of the after-market earbuds. And when I get a complimentary set with a new audio or video gadget, I just offer it to one of my children, or just throw it away. Skullcandy is a more-than-satisfying investment which will not ever let you down.

I ordered the FMJ headphones specifically for the in-line mic. The description says, "New for 2009 is the addition of a sleek, in-line microphone to the entire Full Metal Jacket line". I don't understand why the ones I received didn't have the in-line mic considering we are a few days from 2010.

The sound quality is excellent and the bass really pops with these headphones. They also are excellent at blocking outside noises. I would imagine a third party vendor might make a mistake when listing these, but these were sold and shipped by Amazon.com, LLC. They need to do a better job of checking specs before listing in the future.

I bought these to use while running and working out at the gym. I returned these because no matter which size/type of fitting I used with them they fell out of my ear while running. However, they stayed put while in the gym. Additionally, the contact noise created by the cord rubbing against your clothes was ridiculous. The sound quality was good but not great as some of the reviews have suggested (highly subjective though).

I bought these headphones for my girlfriend. She likes to run on her treadmill and also outside around the neighborhood. The headphones she was using before were her junk ipod ones. The problems she had with the ipod ones were: they couldn't stay in her ear whilst running, they had poor sound quality which in my opinion makes running with music stink, and the cord seemed to get tangled up all the time.

This product solved all of those problems and also surpassed out expectations on sound quality. I put them in and was amazed. I'm very happy with my purchase. Yeah, they were pretty expensive, but I figure buy it once keep it for life. These things definitely seem like they are going to hold up for a long, long time too.

p.s. it comes with a cool carrying case and neat stickers! haha.

I've had these pair of headphones for about 3 months now, and I have to say I love(d) them. However, this week is when I first had my doubts.

I'd first noticed that the skinnier tubing for the separate headphones had cracked. I thought this was no big deal, so I just let it pass. However, a couple days after, I'd noticed that the plastic tubing and metal coiling had come out of the Y-splitter on for the left earphone. This is when I started to become worried, as now the cables were exposed. Then, one day after that, I started losing sound in the left earbud. I have now contacted SkullCandy, and am waiting a reply as to whether they will actually replace my headphones.

Also, note that SkullCandy specifically states on their website NOT to wrap your headphones around your iPod. I NEVER did this. In fact, whenever they were not plugged into my ears, they were stored in the pouch that came with them. I treat my items with care, and if they can't sustain the everyday task of being pulled out of a pouch, then they don't need to be widely distributed and have customers charged $70 (original price).

SOUND: The SkullCandy FMJ earbuds have a good sound quality, though the high ends are lost a little bit. That could be that I have to jam them so far up into my ears to get them to stay in. The bass is good. The mic works fine, no complaints from callers.

FIT: I have a small ear canal so it is difficult to find ear buds that fit. These do, but after a bit of coercion. The silicon sleeve fits over a metal stub. But the stub is pretty wide, so even the smallest sleeves still make it a tight squeeze. I find after they've been in my ears a few minutes, the silicon warms up and is more maneuverable.

CONSTRUCTION: These are a heavy metal (And cold in the winter!) These seem the sturdiest ear buds I have ever had. I bet they could be run over by a car and still work. The 'speaker' stub is large and covered with a fine metal mesh screen. The button is very tricky though. Not as easy to use as the iphone headset button. Tough to press, and tougher to press twice in quick enough succession to get a song to skip. The cord is about 6 inches too short for me. I am tall, so having my iPod in my bag can tug on the cord a bit, especially if the cord is taking a circuitous route.

APPEARANCE: They are very bright and shiny. Not inconspicious at all. The cord is very shiny, almost like jewelry, so careful if you do not want to draw attention to yourself. I should have gone for the black.

Overall, a good purchase, with above average sound.

UPDATED: Cord shorted out after about 1.5 years at the plug.

UPDATED2: I replaced these with a different (more expensive) brand recently and was disappointed. So, just a week or so ago, I bought these same ones again (in black), and am thrilled with the great sound quality. There is even a newer model of this same headphone out there with a less stiff cord. Check it out.

These headphones come in completely different packaging as the ones that are in actual stores. From looking on a current FMJ box in a retail store I have come to the conclusion that Amazon uses the description, including the contents, from the package of the current FMJ's available in the store but they send old stock of them that they actually have. The FMJ's that were sent to me, directly from Amazons warehouse, are in the old style packaging and DO NOT contain the foam ear pieces. If you are buying these headphones for the foam ear pieces then I suggest going to a retail store and paying for them because then atleast you can be assured that you get what you ordered. I am really disappointed with this purchase, but being so close to christmas and this being a gift there is nothing I can really do but contact amazon and see if they will send the foam ear pieces or partially refund my money. If amazon actually makes this right I will change my review and rate the product.

-FYI, the FMJ's that I received were metallic purple, 11mm speakers, 1.4 meter cable, inline volume control, 3 sizes of silicone inserts, and a zipper hardcase.

**UPDATE**
Upon contacting Amazon customer service I was told that since the item was sold by Worldwide Distribution Industries, a third party seller which is FULFILLED BY AMAZON including CUSTOMER SERVICE, that Amazon couldn't do anything about it and I should contact Skullcandy to get "missing parts". I am guessing he didn't understand that I received a set of headphones that didn't have the Comply foam inserts because they sold me an old pair that never had them in the box to begin with not that they were magically missing. I have contacted Worldwide Distribution Industries through their one email they provide hoping for some type of contact. It is times like this I really wish amazon would step up and make things right.

**UPDATE 2**
Amazon agreed to refund me the cost of 2 pair of comply foam ear tips for the FMJ's I ordered and give me one day shipping for the tips. Thank you Amazon for making this a better christmas. Worldwide Distribution Industries never responded so I will never be ordering from them again. It is a shame I had to jump through so many hoops to get these tips in the first place but I am very glad that Amazon stepped up so I am still super happy with them.

Initially I was very happy with my purchase - an above average sounding earbuds for a decent price, with adjustable volume control. Over time I ran across two main problems:

1) Durability
The wire insulation feels like it's made out of some cheap synthetic material, that you could probably just rub off if you twist it between your fingers hard enough. The first signs of fraying appeared about 9 months in. I tried to salvage the situation as best I could by using crazy glue to harden the material, which actually worked for a few months.

Then 3 months after that (12 months total ownership), I noticed the volume in my left earbud was about 25% reduced compared to my right. At this point, the wires were fraying all over the place--near the input jack and everywhere near the earbuds.

3 more months (15 months in), the left earbud finally went dead, due to the wiring completely frayed right next to it. I burnt off the insulation and reconnected the wires, when I found that the wiring was disconnected near the volume control as well, which I couldn't access. At this point I gave up trying to salvage the earbuds.

2) Customer Service
Like another reviewer noted, Skull Candy never got back to me. I e-mailed them three times, each time right after each issue occurred above. So much for getting a [...] rebate on the next purchase.

Like another reviewer said, if the earbuds lasted longer, I would be happy with my purchase and probably rate it a 4-5. But it didn't, and I feel like I wasted my money.

So yeah, I'm probably gonna go with the Sennheiser CX300 for my replacement. My girlfriend has one, and the wiring feels a lot sturdier and the sound quality just as good. (It seems that Shure has some durability issues too, judging from some reviews...)

A final note: I tend to take care of my stuff pretty well. I own a 4 year old Dell notebook, and a lot of used and way too old electric guitar equipment (amps, pedals, etc.), and they've all in fine condition.