Customer Reviews

Skullcandy (Product Out Of Date, Newer Version Available) FMJ Earbuds - Black

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I have had a bad run on headphones, so decided to get something made of METAL this time (my dog chewed my other ones up).

I have owned a couple of pair of Smokin Buds (their inexpensive in-ear headphones) and thought they were quite good for the price. I took a gamble and bought these to use with my iPhone.

Positives -- nicely made, appear to be durable (so far). A decent case, 2 pairs of silicon rubber ear plugs, two pair of foam ear plugs. The foam ones will give you total isolation, which would be good for airplane flights, but otherwise are a hassle (you have to compress them, stick them in your ears, and wait for few seconds for the foam to expand). I found the silicon earpieces to be comfortable.

The cable is vinyl covered braided aluminum. They are a bit thicker, but this is actually good because they do not tangle nearly as much as other headphones.

Okay -- the sound. SkullCandy is known for their bass-oriented headphones, and these don't disappoint. In fact, they don't sound that great at all out of the box. There is a over-emphasis in mid-bass that really reduces vocal and instrument presence. Music seems a bit constricted, the impact of some types of music (rock, jazz) is greatly reduced.

I went through all the stock EQ settings on the iPhone, and found that "Spoken Word" worked best, because it bumps upper bass and midrange by a fair amount (approx 4 - 6 db). This does wonders in terms of opening the sound up. They are definitely still not neutral like my studio AKG's, but highly listenable. After adjusting EQ I can rate these in the middle of the pack of headphones I have owned or own now. I have a pair of shures that these easily best after adjusting EQ. On the other hand, my Koss portapros are much better. I do prefer these to the pack-in headphones that come with the iPhone -- better sound, better fit.

The built-in microphone works quite well. It is larger than the mike built into the iPhone unfortunately, but sound quality is very good. The button works fine, but doesn't have the fine control that the iPhone headphones have -- I just use it to pause/unpause and hang up the phone, and it is fine for that.

Should you buy them? Their nearest competitor is probably the V-moda headphones, and I suggest that you read all the comments people have left about V-moda. I was quickly dissuaded.

These look nice (much nicer than the dumb names that the company gives it's products) and perform reasonably well. I have no complaints. I am sure I could have spent twice as much as gotten something better -- but given my track record with headphones.......

My iphone earphones took a bit of a beating ( mostly from being in my handbag - i just throw whatever in there), bits were falling off, the earphones didn't work very well anymore yada yada. I am always wary of trying new things, but I saw these on notcot and thought they looked kinda cool. Read reviews and most were positive. I got these 2 days after i ordered them and i loooove them!

sound= awesome ( for calls and music)
fit in ears = perfect!(they block out a lot of outside sounds and don't fall out of my ears)
case= so good for me since they no longer get ruined from being thrown into my handbag
look = very cool. I like the skulls. I got the chrome and looks good with the iphone.
durability= great! Def more durable than the iphone earphone. Plus, the case really helps.

So all in all i think these are well good and pretty good price compared to others.

I bought two pairs of these about six weeks ago. I have been using them five times a week for about 8 hours a day. In cold freezers and in 108 degree Tucson heat.

The cord seems quite durable. It is braided with a plastic sleeve covering the wire.

The mic and control button are a hundred times better than the original iPhone headphones. It is even better than the Moda's which I tried for about a week.

The sound is very good for this price. Far better than the Moda's. Better than my Shure e3's.

They fit comfortably in my ears, but they, like the Moda's, are noise reducing, not cancelling, headphones.

Overall they feel very sturdy, with great sound. I highly recommend these for a iPhone user.

Just got my FMJ Skullcandy's (overnight FTW). I've been through about a dozen pairs of headphones, Shure e2c, e3c and a few others along with various other headphones, considering the price of this product the audio quality is very good, the lows don't overpower the mid and highs. If you're listening to mp3's that are over 192kbps they sound great. I'm very impressed with this set, a few of my co-workers are ordering some now too.

I originally bought the v-moda vibe duos for my iphone. They were broken on arrival. Needless to say I sent those back and began the search for something else.

I heard good things about skullcandy and decided to give these a try instead. They are great. Sound is great both on calls and playing music. Construction is great. They are metal and seem very durable. Good purchase and am very happy with them thus far.

At first, as others indicated, the FMJ's sounded a bit muddy. But after a burn in time of approximately 45 hours they sound great. Same thing for a cheaper pair of Skullcandy's I own. It took a while so give it time.

After going through several iphone headphone/headset combo's these are quite stunning for the price. But please..... have patience and the sound will eventually be brilliant

For general use, which in my opinion involves casually listening to music and being able to answer your iPhone easily, they work very well. Versus the stock white-cabled iPhone ear buds, they are much more comfortable, the mic/switch is more streamlined and doesn't catch on your collar, and the cables are higher quality and don't transmit "stethoscope" noises when you brush up against the cable.

As I said, the ear buds are very comfortable and stay in my ear well without too much pressure, however the one nitpick I have about the overall design is that the mic/switch could be even more streamlined. Any way in which that component could be lightened or made less intrusive should be key in the design for iPhone-compatible ear buds. It is much better than stock ear buds, but why not make it as smooth as possible to prevent catching on things? Also if you are buying these to run or work out, sometimes the weight of the mic/switch can get annoying as it bounces around.

Finally, if you're an audiophile to any degree, you'd have to describe the sound quality as "acceptable" at best. The response is very mid-heavy. As you increase the volume, it just gets "louder"--the sound doesn't envelop you or increase the presence of the music. It just feels like it gets loud. They do the job while I'm working and need some background noise, but if you want to actually _listen_ to music, grab a high-quality headset. I think ultimately it comes down to what you're buying them for.

These work great for a few months. I have been through 2 sets and both had the same problem after extensive use. The wire developed some type of problem where it goes into the plug in jack. It developed a short where I had to wiggle the wire at the jack to get it to work. This eventually leads to them not working at all.

These headphones are NOT compatible with the iPhone 4.

I used to love these headphones, I've had a pair for over a year now. Unfortunately, I've had to buy two pairs - one to use while the other one is away for warranty service. The build quality is not good, and now they are not compatible with the iPhone 4. You can listen to music, but the microphone does not work, so you cannot make a call with them. The button which is supposed to stop and start music and answer calls also does not work. I've written to Skullcandy about it, but they were unaware of the problem. While other makers who have the same problem are handling it, these guys are not. Additionally, they are claiming my latest returns never got there, so now I'm guessing I'm going to be eating those. They used to have good customer service, now something has happened and they've lost their way as a company. I'd avoid them.

I bought the v-moda duo's and although the sound was great, Iwas disappointed in the execution of their product. They were heavy (so the cord swung out because of the heavy metal inline button) and the button kept getting caught on my collar and they constantly tangled (badly) and had a stethoscope sound when the cord or the button rubbed up against your shirt as you walked.

These are SO much better. The bass response is awesome and they are louder then the V-Moda's. The sound at the highest level is pristine clear with no distortion, even with bass heavy music. The cord is the perfect length, just long enough to fit in you pant pocket. The button to pause/fast forward/take a call is much easier to find then the V-Moda's although the stock Apple headset is the best in that department. They look cool, and the anti-tangle coating (which is absent from the V-Moda) is very effective. They work perfectly with my iPhone 3G. All this and $30 less then the V-Moda's - I think it's a no brainer.

My only negative comments is that they didn't include a large silicone ear pieces like the V-Moda's and they should have included a cord extender since it's literally the exact size to go from head to pocket (in case you need the extra length when throwing in a bag etc).

These rock. I highly suggest them.