Customer Reviews

Skullcandy SC-SBP3.5 Smokin Bud (Pink)

5 star:		(131)
4 star:		(107)
3 star:		(81)
2 star:		(60)
1 star:		(95)

 

 

I consider myself a bit of a headphone connoisseur and have used tons of different earbuds searching for the perfect pair. As a musician, I use Shure e3's with sleeves custom molded to my ear canal by an audiologist. I've also used several professional circumaural headphones in the studio.

These headphones do not reproduce sound as accurately as Shure's e2 and e3 models, but I still prefer these for everyday listening. They are bass heavy compared to a linear response. When these earbuds are properly inserted, the bass is massive, and isolation is EXCELLENT. They are much easier to pop in and get an great seal than the Shures (with foam, plastic, or custom silicon sleeves).

CONS: The wires are thin and so do not fall flat like heavy duty wires but are quality enough for the job. The case it comes with is useless.

PRO: Excellent sound (although technically not "accurate" or linear), extremely strong bass (the best I've ever heard in an earbud), excellent isolation, easy, comfortable secure fit. Excellent value.

Bottom line: I call these headphones "the best headphones under $100" even though I know they only cost a fraction of that. I lost my pair and am buying two more pairs now.

Other notes: I've used them while running and they will stay in for about 15 minutes...much longer than any other i've tried. it helps to have very clean ears. No other earbud stays in longer than a couple minutes. A trick I use is to bring the cable up your back behind you (its nice not to have wires flopping in front of you while you run) and then loop the wire over your ear from the back and insert the earbud upside down. The weight of the cord will be resting on the top of your ear and not pulling the earbud out.

There are not many things that I purchase where I feel compelled to review them, but this is one of those things.

First off, let me say that I purchased these to replace my normal wrap around the back of the head, headphones for the gym. I tried them out for about 15 mins the other day and was impressed. The sound is very nice, and I was suprised at the bass response. I listen mainly to rap, and never thought that it could replicate some of the lower notes. The in-line volume slider is a nice touch and lets them get really loud in your ear. The reason I say in your ear, is that because they are actually pretty quiet at the same volume level when they are out of your ear. It also blocks out sound well, so well it feels like you can hear yourself breathing when no music is on. It feels as though you are in a tunnel or that your ears are about to pop on an airplane.

Now here is the problem, and it is a major one for me. They will not stay in your ears if you are at the gym. I started out doing some cardio, only on an elliptical so you could imagine that I am not bouncing up and down as much as if I were running on a treadmill. They weren't giving me TOO much of a problem at first, coming out after a minute or so, but I assumed that it was because I wasn't putting them in far enough. WRONG! I eventually was putting them in as far as they could possibly go. Once you break a sweat, give it up! A tiny amount of wetness on the silicon type plugs cause them to slip out in a matter of seconds. Sounds great after you dry and put them back in, continue to work out though and the sound slowly fades away as they fall out. It was slightly, and very slightly at that, better during free weight lifting.

Here is my breakdown of the good and bad;

PROS
-look neat
-volume slider makes it easy to change volume without having to access mp3 player
-sound great for the money

CONS
-will not stay in your ear

So there you go, more good than bad. Too bad the bad thing terribly outweighs the good. What is the point of having a great looking and sounding headphone if it won't stay in your ear to hear the sound???

Overall I would not recommend this to anyone. There has to be better options that you'll be more satisfied with. If you plan on staying completely still while listening to your music go ahead and pick them up.

When I first got these earbuds, I was ecstatic - they were so much more comfortable than the other earbuds I owned (stock ipod buds and Sennheiser). After about two months, the sound from the left earbud gave out. My nephew, who also had a pair, experienced loss of sound in both buds after a couple of weeks. After he exchanged them for a new pair, his new pair also started giving him problems after a few weeks. The sound was choppy and only worked if the wires were twisted a certain way.

I tried to contact Skullcandy by email and through their website (which promises a response within 48 hours). It has been 2 weeks and I have yet to receive a response. A lifetime warranty is useless if the company doesn't bother to honor it.

I agree that the case is useless and poorly designed. It is also quite strange that some have symmetrical cords and some have assymetrical cords. There is no way to tell which one you have as the boxes are not marked so you can distinguish one from the other. I used to think that the volume control was a cool feature but after a while the control unit began to feel heavy. I would not buy this product again.

These are without a doubt the best ear-buds i've ever tried. I went to FYE and bought a pair for an amazing price of $9.99 and have been blow away by the sound quality. Also, I find the set to be quite comfortable and haven't had any problems with the fit that other reviews have comemented on. So far, they hold in place very nicely and haven't fallen out once, even during long runs. Perhaps my ear shape is more compatible with these than someone elses.

I've tried quite a few earphones in the past and have usually been dissapointed by the lack of bass and the "tin sound" that many of them put out.

Earphones I've tried:
Shure E2c
Sennheiser HD 555
Sony MDR-EX81LP Bud-Style Stereo Earphones
Bose Triport headphones
Grado Sr 80
and many more that aren't worth mentioning...

These can really hold their own when they are put up to some of the more expensive models that range from 50-150 dollars. The bass is rich and deep and has a very nice contrast with the highs as well. When I buy a set of earphones, I usually play the same three songs to critique the sound.

First I tried Enigma's Gravity of Love in order to test the over-all contrast of the different frequencies and was pleasantly surprised in the rich sound that was produced. Instead of sounding like a speaker stuck in a tin can, the sound was full and alive with a great echo effect.

Second, I played Tool's Lateralus in order to test the power of the bass and treble. Due to the heavy guitar in most metal, most earphones start to produce static and the sound falls apart with feedback. I was very pleased that Skull Candy was able to deliver a sound that will please the most intense metalheads and punk lovers alike.

Finally, I tested Joe Satriani's Flavor Crystal #7 to see if the buds could handle the massive sound of electronic bass effects and the shredding guitar sound. Again, these buds delivered amazing sound and left me very happy.

So far, I haven't found any con's to this product. It won't sound like a high end earphone set like Bose or Sennheiser HD 650, but is definaly worth the mere 10.00 price tag.

Having been an avid user of Skullcandy for the past year and a half, I was more than eager to try their other headphone/earbud products. This is my first purchase other than the Ink'd earbuds and I have to say save your money and go for the $16 Ink'd earbuds. For me , these earbuds don't cut it. While the Ink'd required you to only turn your volume up to a bare minimum for clear awesome sound, these require you turn your volume up a bit more, even with the volume on the wires turned up all the way. The cable is a bit too long and can easily become snagged on something and ripped out of your ears. The cable is also very thin and more than likely, when caught on something, to rip apart easily. The sound of the Ink'd buds sounds clear and incredible, while on these, the sound presented is pretty generic and nothing special.If you listen to either of these sets, you can totaly tell the difference. I also have the Hesh brand headphones and am going to purchase the Skullcrusher set. I recommend you stick with the cheaper Ink'd buds than these things.

So I got a pair of purple smokin buds about six months ago, they were great for their price, but a few days ago the sound in the left earbud went out. Aghast at the prospect of using old clunky headphones, or, WORSE, going without music entirely, I decided to grab a new pair. I rushed to the nearest public transportation to whisk me to Targetland, where I had the hard decision of choosing between rasta and white. I made a Target employee stand in for rasta, I represented white, and we ro-sham-boed. I won. Upon cutting open my plastic packaged prize at home I realized these new headphones, which I surmised could be distinguished from the purple ones only by color and wear and tear, were in fact different.

The largest change I could see, and the only one that matters functionally, has to do with the wires. The wires of the white smokin buds, rather than being encased in plastic, are encased in cord. This makes it a lot thicker-and hopefully durable-than the plastic coated wires of the purple earbuds. Take a look at the pictures to see what I'm talking about.

These headphones come with three different ear bud sizes, so they fit most ear canals comfortably, my tiny ones included. These are headphones that actually enter the ear to deliver sound, which blocks a few decibels of external noise, but adds a very audible noise whenever the cord is moved or shaken. The sound is louder in the white headphones than the purple, perhaps due to the new wire insulation. I usually bypass this problem by running the cord under my jacket when I'm walking. If inserted properly the earbuds will stay in even if you're walking, running, what have you. From headphone jack to earbud is around 4 feet, long enough for most situations.

I'm not an audiophile, I just want to be able to listen to my mp3 player, and I expect reasonable quality. If this is all you're looking for, these headphones will fit the bill. I don't know anything about highs and lows, bass and treble, but I can't detect anything off while listening to my wide range of music with these headphones, so they work for me. I also really like the volume control on these-it's super useful for fine tuning and when the songs in your library have different volumes.

I'm guessing the headphones I got are just a new version. Whatever the case, they look durable, and will hopefully last a bit longer than my previous pair. If you're looking for a pair of low end headphones that will serve you well, I think these will do you.

I recieved these for my birthday. I was using a pair of ipod buds on my sansa e250, but they were just painful after a few hours. Comfort on these is much better, but the sound was shockingly muffled at low volume (which I tend to use them at). It was if treble and midrange was filtered, like some kind of instant Dolby noise reduction. Awful. I immediatley went to the equalizer to try and "fix" the problem with no success.

Very disappointing and I would return them but I feel bad because my boys picked them out and I don't have the heart to tell them they're terrible.

Also, they look cool in the package, but when you get them in your hand the wires and build quality remind me of something you would get at the drugstore for 99 cents.

OK, I am no hardcore music freak, but I got these skullcandy smokin buds. I like the design and I really really like having a volume adjuster on the cord. That is why I bought these. Now they are good headphones. But I have the Sony MDREX51LP also and the Sony's have a much deeper bass to them. Also the Sony cord is sturdier and I think it will not get kinked as easily.

The packaging, design and style was what really drew me to these earbuds. Having a volume control on the cord was pretty nifty too. Unlike a lot of amazon customers, the fit was perfect for me. Mind you, I did have to shove them in pretty deep, but doing so was what made the perfect lock out of virtually all other sound. In my kind of work environment (factory setting), blocking out other sound is a must, especially since I listen to a lot of audio books which tend to be very quiet to begin with. My only complaint, and granted it is a huge one, is that the right earbud fell apart on me after only a week. Since I haven't heard much about this problem from other people, I'm guessing it was a fluke. I ended up exchanging them for a brand new pair and picking up two more to boot. I really hope these work out, because even with the potential problems I've heard, they really are the best earbuds I've ever owned.

Update 3-2008: I've had four pairs of these to date, since initially writing this review. I stand by a lot of what I wrote before. Only one of them broke during the first month. The rest lasted just fine. I would add that the removability of the ear-pieces were a constant source of annoyance over the last several months. They fall off way too easily to be practical, especially when you work in a factory setting like I do. I don't think I'd buy these again unless they improved the design, including the sound canceling effect.

These are a very good deal for the price. The sound is rich and full, the adjustable volume is a bonus, and all in all they outperform any other headphones in the same price range so much that they seem like they should cost more. The plastic doesn't quite have the flexibility of more expensive plastic, though, so I wonder if the cord might be vulnerable.