Skullcandy Grind review

It’s immediately obvious that the Skullcandy Grind sounds significantly better than its price would lead you to expect. The Grind can be found for less than £40, which puts it in the distinctly more budget-conscious end of headphone market and yet, head-to-head with other, more expensive cans, the on-ear cans surprisingly manage to hold their own.

The design is definitely stripped back compared to some of Skullcandy’s other, more elaborate and outlandish models – this is the company that makes a pair of headphones that vibrate on your head, after all – but that’s not to say they feel cheap or look tacky. There’s still a wide range of colour combinations including blue, white, black and, for the more bold, a combination of black patterned earcups and a yellow headband.

They’re very light when worn, which might be considered slightly at odds with the current trend for heavier cans – especially when certain rival headphone makers have been found to artificially increase the weight of their headphones for a more ‘premium’ feel.

The Grind, however, feels well constructed for the price. The flat earcups are softly padded and sit comfortably on your ears. The padded headband isn’t a uniform thickness, instead dipping in the centre so that the band sits more appropriately on top of your head. The earcups adjust along a sliding rail that doesn’t have set adjustment levels, meaning you’re free to find a custom fit. We had no problems wearing the Grind for long listening sessions.

The left earcup also includes a built-in microphone and a one-button remote. Skullcandy has built the entire microphone assembly into the earcup rather than having it on the cable, which means your voice is more capably picked up. We never had any problems with call clarity when using the headphones as a hands-free headset.

The included cable can be detached from the left earcup and terminates in an L-shaped 3.5mm jack that is suitably robust. We don’t foresee any problems with the rubberised cable becoming damaged. As the microphone and controls are built into the earcup rather than the cable, you can easily replace it if you need to.

In terms of sound quality, this is where the Grind really shines. We were hard pressed to hear a significant difference even when put head-to-head with a more expensive set of cans such as the Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear, which cost over £100 more. The Sennheisers sound crisper in the mids and trebles, admittedly, but considering the Grind’s price this is excusable. The Grind delivers bass lines with delightful energy yet maintains a pleasing separation from the mids and trebles. There’s plenty of detail across the sound range, too.

The Skullcandy Grind proves that you don’t need to spend a lot of money for good sound quality. They punch well above their weight and provided you like the design, which we do, we have no hesitations in recommending them as they sounded great with everything we put through them. With the Grind there’s no reason to compromise on sound quality even if you’re on a budget – we just wish there were volume controls as well. If these don’t quite suit your needs then check out our regularly-updated Best headphones. Buy Skullcandy Grind now from Amazon