Looking for the best wireless earbuds is part of my DNA at SPY. I have been reviewing audio products for almost a decade, and I am constantly on the search for a great pair of earbuds.
If you’ve read my previous wireless earbud SPY reviews, such as the 1 More Evo or the Mobvoi ANC Earbuds, you’re familiar with my quest to find the best wireless earbuds available. The cream of the crop is when you find a good-sounding pair of earbuds that aren’t slapped with a premium price sticker. Could the Skullcandy Grind earbuds be those earbuds?
My daily drivers are my AirPod Pros, which admittedly isn’t the fairest comparison in terms of price and features. Still, I was surprised by what I learned about some of the features and sound quality when I compared AirPods Pros to this pair of Skullcandy Grind. In my possession at the time of this review were the Skullcandy Mod wireless earbuds, which are ten dollars cheaper than the Grind. You read comparisons to those earbuds as well below.
Is the Skullcandy Grind a diamond in the rough: affordable, great-sounding wireless earbuds? I spent a week with these earbuds as my daily drivers. Read on for my full Skullcandy Grind earbuds review.
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Pros:
- Great battery life
- Good sound quality
- Voice control
Cons:
- No wireless charging or ANC
- Bulky fit
Skullcandy Grind Earbuds Setup and Design
Although it is a bit bulkier than my AirPods Pro case and slightly bulkier than the Skullcandy Mod case, the matte black case with the skull emblem on the front looks awesome. I wish it had a little more weight to it as it feels a tiny bit too plastic, but when I shake the case around, I don’t hear the earbuds rattling as I do with the Mod earbuds.
Something bothersome is putting the earbuds back in the case. Unless they are perfectly placed, the case won’t shut all the way. Even though the earbuds magnetically snap to the charging stations, sometimes it wouldn’t close. Pretty annoying.
The earbuds feel bulky in my ears. The Skullcandy Mods are some of the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn, but I imagine for the extra bass you get from the Skullcandy Grind (more on sound quality in a minute), the body had to get bigger. It’s a compromise I was willing to make for the sound quality (that’s called foreshadowing, y’all).
Skullcandy Grind Earbud Features
Adding up the total battery life between the case and the earbuds, you get 40 hours on a single charge. I listened to two hours straight of various music and, after one hour, still had 91% life in the earbuds. By hour two, I had 81%. For reference, my AirPod Pros would be at 50% battery life after the same amount of listening. I essentially got the same amount of battery life in my testing from the Skullcandy Mods as well.
Skullcandy earbuds use the Skullcandy app to unlock all of the features. Within the app, you can use the handy presets (music, podcasts, movies, custom) to adjust the sound quality. I found the music and movie settings to create a listening profile that I enjoyed.
Grind Earbuds also come with voice controls. Instead of, “Hey Siri,” you say, “Hey Skullcandy,” (admittedly, it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same) to control your music, and I thought it worked well with pausing and playing songs quickly and skipping songs. There’s also a passthrough mode akin to AirPods “transparency mode,” so you can hear your environment more clearly while you have your headphones in. Unfortunately, I yearned for ANC and wireless charging capabilities, which are not present on these Grind earbuds.
Skullcandy Grind Earbuds’ Sound Quality
As I mentioned earlier, I was happy with the bass production from these headphones. During “Money Trees” by Kendrick Lamar, when I turned up the volume to match my AirPods, the bass got just a hair muddy, but a volume notch below, and I thought the bass sounded good and punchy.
When listening to “Mindshift” by Tauk, switching back and forth between the AirPods Pro, Grind and Mod, I found AirPods Pro to be a little more balanced and full, but honestly, the Grind Earbuds were not far behind. I felt the snare drum was pushed back in the mix with the Grind Earbuds, with the bass enveloping the mids a bit, but the guitar was plenty bright and rich.
The Verdict: Should You Buy Skullcandy Grind Earbuds?
While missing active noise-canceling is a *sad face emoji* it’s hard not to be impressed with the sound quality. Good bass, bright high-end and impressive 40-hour battery life, I would say that the Skullcandy Grind is $70 well spent. Especially if you’re looking for a budget pair of earbuds that sound good, which can be hit or miss. For $70, the sound quality and battery life are worth it alone.
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