Skullcandy Ecobuds Review: Great for Convenience

After a sub-par experience with the Nu Republic Spin Buds Pro, I was less excited to test earbuds that have a non-traditional design. Because they mostly don’t fit my needs. Sound quality is a little of a tradeoff since most of the focus will be on the unique design.

After a few months, Skullcandy approached us and sent their budget earbuds for review. Although I never used wireless earbuds from Skullcandy, I had a good experience with wired earphones from Skullcandy (Jib in-Ear Wired Earbuds) while I was back in college. Besides, Skullcandy is a pure audio-focused brand, so I was naturally excited to test the earbuds.

The first thing I immediately noticed was the design of the package. It is compact, like most budget earbuds package, but it’s different in looks and is made of recycled materials. The earbuds also come with a unique design with an open-top and charging cable attached to the case, as well as a unique glacier design made with recycled materials.

The product I received was the Skullcandy Ecobuds, different from the traditional earbuds I have tested to date. It costs Rupees 2,499 in India (although the websites sell it for 7,199/- you can get them for under 2500 rupees on Amazon and Flipkart) and competes against the OnePlus Nord Buds 3, the Realme Buds Air 6 and all the sub-3,000 earbuds.

After using them for two weeks, I found that the sound quality was decent but didn’t meet my expectations. The unique charging solution is very helpful, especially when you are traveling with these buds. But can you pick them over the best-sounding earbuds, such as Oppo Eno Air or the recently announced Oneplus Nord Buds 3? Let’s find out.

Unboxing: Eco-Friendly Packaging

If you purchase the Skullcandy Ecobuds, you will get a different experience right from the unboxing. It comes with an eco-friendly package. Inside, you will find another cardboard holding the earbuds and the case, as well as different ear tips that were placed on the four sides and a manual. The USB cable is directly attached to the case. Overall, it is a neat package and environmentally friendly.

Skullcandy Ecobuds Specifications

The Design: Holds Well and Charges Easy

In one area, the Skullcandy Ecobuds truly excels in its design. Initially, I was skeptical due to my previous experience with the Nu Republic Cyberstud SPIN Earbuds. Their non-practical design is not great to use in real life. But the Skullcandy design is both unique and genuinely useful.

The case has a unique open-case design. Unlike the traditional charging case with a battery, the Skullcandy Ecobuds case doesn’t hold any battery. It comes directly connected with a USB Type-C charging cable. You can plug it into your smartphone, charging adaptor, or even a power bank with Type-C output.

The best part about this design is that you don’t need to carry an extra charging cable. When your earbuds are out of charge, you can directly plug them into your smartphone that supports USB Type-C input that supports reverse charging to charge them. You can charge one earbud while using the other, which comes in handy, especially if you’re listening to a podcast and don’t have much charge left on your earbuds. You can keep one earbud charging while using the other to listen to a podcast.

The magnets hold the earbuds really tight, and they don’t fall off easily, even if you place these earbuds in your bag along with other accessories. I have traveled to many places, and I have kept these in my backpack, along with other accessories. However, if you wear tight jeans, the earbuds can sometimes come off if you place them in a tight pocket. This can be not very pleasant, and you have to create more space to insert these earbuds into your pocket.

The earbuds have a stem design with plastic, a huge head that also holds the battery, and a silicone tip. The earbuds feel slightly heavy due to the built-in battery. You won’t notice it if you are using wireless earbuds for the first time, but if you have used lightweight earbuds, you may find these earbuds big and a little heavy.

These earbuds held up well during my use. Even when I placed them into my bag along with other metal accessories, I didn’t notice any scratches on the case or the earbuds themselves. But the open-case design attracts dust.

Once you find the right fit, these earbuds can securely lock into your ear and won’t allow outside noise to some extent. They sit on your ear comfortably. However, you need to use the exact right fit size to make them comfortable. The medium size, which comes out of the box, doesn’t fit my ears, so I opted for the smaller ones.

However, if you have smaller ears, these earbuds might look big and also might not be comfortable while you are wearing them. I have worn them during activities like walking, jogging, and working out, and they didn’t fall off. In terms of comfort, I did feel a little pressure and discomfort over extended use because I had to fit them and push them to stay in my ears tightly. I found wearing them uncomfortable for extended periods.

Since the earbuds are also made from recycled materials, they only come in a single color variant, Glacier. The color looks different and unique, which I like. It can easily stand out from the competitors.

The Ecobuds also come with physical touch controls but have a slight delay between the touch and action.  There are LED indicators on both earbuds, which helps during pairing and charging. The pairing process is also quick and easy. If you take out the earbuds from the box, you will see the Bluetooth connection on your device right away since there is no physical connection button on the case. Also, it doesn’t support wireless charging since the case only charges via a direct USB-C connection.

Sound Quality: Decent Sound, but Not for Audiophiles

I had high expectations for sound quality, but they were decent. If you want the best sound quality at this price range, Skullcandy Ecobuds are not your option. You can opt for the OnePlus Nord Buds if you want heavy bass or the Realme Buds Air 6 for overall sound quality. I also have the OnePlus Nord Buds 3, which I reviewed recently, and I compared them directly with the Skullcandy Ecobuds, which are similarly priced. If I were to pick one in terms of sound quality, I would choose the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 or Realme Buds over the Skullcandy Ecobuds.

Another downside is that these earbuds only support the SBC codec, which is limited compared to the aptX and AAC codecs offered by competitors in this price range. The SBC code doesn’t support high-quality audio transmission, which suggests listening to high-resolution audio.

Speaking of the sound quality of these earbuds. When I wore these Ecobuds and listened to songs for the first time, I felt like these earbuds were tuned for heavy bass. However, the bass is not punchy and tubby. This is especially noticeable if you compare them directly with the OnePlus Nord Buds 3, which also comes in this price range.

However, if you’re not an audiophile and are just an occasional listener who enjoys soft, bass-heavy music, these might sound decent to you. But suppose you are an audiophile who notices minute details, and these earbuds don’t deliver the same enjoyable experience as other options.

The same goes for the vocals and treble (Mids and Highs). They are decent for audio-like podcasts and genres such as hip-hop or EDM but not a great option if you are looking for a balanced sound. For podcasts and general audio, it works great and is decent. However, the vocals also fall short when combined with the bass and treble. The vocals are not sharp, similar to the bass; they don’t sound crisp. At times, the treble falls even shorter than the decent threshold frequencies.

Overall, the sound signature of the Skullcandy Ecobuds is decent. If you are an audiophile and want sharp, punchy, and high-quality sound, these are definitely not for you. But if you are a casual listener who enjoys decent sound with long battery life, practicality, and occasionally bass-heavy music without sharp or punchy bass, these could be a good pick for you.

The easiest way to represent this is through a radar graph. Below, you can find the radar graph of the audio signature of Skull Candy Eacobuds, which provides a better understanding of their sound signature. Keep in mind that these tests were done in a general environment with the earbuds, and the values provided are based on my personal experience without using any specialized instruments to give you an idea of how the Skullcandy Ecobuds sound overall.

Regarding the volume levels, these earbuds were loud enough to listen to most tracks. However, if you want a high sound experience, you have to set the volume to 80% to get better audio. Even at peak volume, the sound leakage is very low unless you are very close to the earbuds. Also, the latency is less than 50 ms, which makes it suitable for gaming. I played BGMI using these earbuds, and I didn’t experience any noticeable latency.

Additionally, the microphone picks up the voice very well. I compared it to the OnePlus Nord Buds 3, and it is very similar in sound quality and microphone performance, without any latency. Overall, you can also use these earbuds for calls or online meetings that you might attend.

However, one significant feature that is completely missing in these earbuds is Active noise cancellation (ANC). This might not be a dealbreaker for some people, as ANC on budget earphones is really good at isolating you from general outside noise, such as fans, air conditioning sounds, or the sound of the TV playing in other rooms.

If you prefer noise cancellation, these earbuds are not an option for you. Also, the passive noise cancellation provided by the silicone ear tips doesn’t entirely block sound, especially if they don’t fit perfectly on your ear. It doesn’t completely block out external sounds, so having at least electronic noise cancellation would have been helpful, but these earbuds lack both features.

Additionally, the Skullcandy app does not officially recognize or support these earbuds. When I tried to connect the Ecobuds to the app, it displayed a warning about this device not being recognized. This was truly surprising. Even when I tried to force-connect it, the screen kept loading for a while. However, you get a preset EQ mode for music, bass boost, and podcasts, improving sound for those specific cases.

Good Battery Life With Easy Charging

Battery life is decent. Although Skullcandy claims eight hours of battery life on a single charge, I got around 6 to 7 hours of battery life for my usage. However, charging these earbuds is very convenient. They come with an attached USB Type-C cable, which you can connect directly to your smartphone (if it supports USB Type-C) to charge your earbuds. This way, you don’t need to carry an extra cable to charge your earbuds or worry about battery life before going on the trip.

Usually, when I use my AirPods Pro or any other earbuds during travel, I charge them 100% before starting the trip. However, with these earbuds, I don’t need to worry about the battery life since I can charge them directly using the Type-C port on my smartphone on the go. That said, there are cases when I carry my iPhone 14+ as my primary device, which doesn’t have a Type-C port. In such situations, I need to carry an extra adapter with a USB Type-C output or bring a power bank to charge these earbuds, which is a slight inconvenience.

Despite this, the convenience of being able to charge these earbuds directly from a smartphone or power bank without needing to carry an extra cable is very useful, especially while traveling. Also, the charging process is quick: with just 10 minutes of charge, you can enjoy about 40 minutes of music playback. Additionally, you can charge a single earbud and use the other to listen, which is extra convenient, especially when listening to podcasts, so you don’t miss out because of the low battery on both earbuds.

Skullcandy Ecobuds Review Verdict

If you prefer convenience over high-quality audio performance, then Skullcandy Ecobuds might be the right choice for you. Suppose you are a casual audio listener who uses earbuds to listen to bass-heavy and hip-hop music; use this for taking calls and wants an easy way to charge these earbuds. In that case, Skullcandy Ecobuds can be a good option.

However, if you are an audiophile who wants to enjoy high-quality audio with balanced audio, then these buds are not the right option for you. Instead, you can consider options like the OnePlus Nord Buds 3 for heavy bass, the Oppo Enco Air series or the Realme Buds Air 6 for the overall best audio quality in this price range.

Buy Skullcandy Ecobuds