The Skullcandy Indy ANC is part of a busy market. That is not surprising, since more and more people need a good set of earplugs or, of course, a nice pair of headphones. Due to the pandemic and the strict measures, many people work from home.
They also have to study at home and they play sports at home. These are all activities where you need good sound. In many cases, so that you can take a class, hear clearly what someone is saying in a meeting or just want to hear a tight sound when you are exercising.
Specs
The set of earplugs supports Bluetooth 5.0 and has a maximum range of ten meters. In many cases, this is fine because you use the earplugs in combination with a phone in your pocket or a computer on the table. If you do go to the kitchen for a moment, that is (of course depending on the size of your house) in many cases no problem.
You do not hear any interference or noise. The Indy ANC also has built-in Tile support. If you lose your earplugs at home, you will find them very quickly with the Tile app, priced at £99.99 via the SkullCandy website.
The Skullcandy Indy ANC’s internal battery lasts up to nine hours. If you use noise cancelling (the noise reduction function), the operating time will decrease to about five hours. You store the earplugs in a supplied case, which also serves as a charger. Charging is done via the included USB cable (without an adapter) or wirelessly. If the earpiece is empty, you can extend the usage time to 23 hours without or fourteen hours with noise cancelling. There is also fast charging: with ten minutes you can listen to your music for one and a half to two hours.
The Skullcandy Indy ANC has twelve-millimetre drivers. There is also an impedance of 32 Ohms. The sound pressure is between 98 and 103 dB and the frequency range is between 20Hz to 20KHz. The earplugs weigh 76 grams each, but fortunately, they don’t feel heavy. The manufacturer also brought several earplugs, as well as a smaller, plastic shell. So if you notice that they are a bit lose or fall out completely, then you have some options with which you can adjust the fit to your ear size.
There are four microphones onboard, which control the noise suppression. Moreover, you also use those mics for telephone calls or meetings. The person on the other end of the line understands you perfectly, but the quality doesn’t blow them away. However, we cannot call it bad, since background noise is also reasonably filtered. Furthermore, you control your music via the earplugs, you also call a voice assistant with it and they are water-resistant. They can withstand sweat and a light rain shower can also be linked to the SkullCandy app.
At first glance, the earplugs resemble the offer that is already available. What sets SkullCandy apart is the application to which you can connect the Indy ANC. This is not mandatory, but you will greatly increase the pleasure you get from the set. For example, the app gives you access to three sound modes, intended for music, podcasts and films. You can also use the option for podcasts for meetings, other meetings and online lessons. It ensures that you can follow conversations in a clear manner.
The default mode is music. That is fine because there is a good chance that you will use the earplugs for this. If you do not use the app, you cannot personalize the settings of the earplugs as well. And that last word is very important to the manufacturer. Because in that app you get access to Personal Sound. After a short sound test, which in fact checks your hearing, SkullCandy offers a personalized listening experience. One that is based on the listening ability of your ears.
That makes such a set of earplugs very interesting, especially when no equalizer is present (as in many cases). We will tell you more about the quality of the sound later in the review. Other functions are noise-cancelling (which you can switch on and off via the free app) and ambient mode. The ambient mode is in fact the opposite of noise-cancelling and lets a lot of sounds through. Handy for when you participate in traffic, for example, this way you are still alert to sounds from your environment.
Audio with and without personalization
The first time you listen to music via the Skullcandy Indy ANC, you will make a good impression. The bass sounds nice and full and the high tones shoot into your ears. But if you take a few minutes to perform the hearing test, which adjusts the sound to your hearing, you will hear a huge difference in audio quality. When you then go back to the old setting, without the personal sound, the different tones suddenly sound buried and bombastic at the same time. And that is not a nice combination.
That personal sound is really central to the audio experience and should really be the reason why you go for the Skullcandy Indy ANC (provided you are looking for earphones that deliver good sound), since they are somewhat disappointing in terms of other functionality. The personal tuned audio probably sounds different to everyone. With the undersigned, the model ensures that the bass disappears into the background, but is still present, while the tones in the middle and in the height enjoy much, much more space than before.
Audio is very personal and who knows, the normal setting is fine for you, but then you can also just go for a different set of earplugs. Skullcandy delivers something unique with personal audio that is really useful in the longer term. Because if you notice that some things do not sound quite good, you can adjust the earplugs again. And otherwise, you have to rely on the three available modes, for music, podcasts and movies. The only thing that really doesn’t sound nice is game audio, there is a bit of a delay in that.
Conclusion
The Skullcandy Indy ANC are basically fine earplugs. The personal tuned sound is central to the audio experience. If you do not pass the hearing test and choose to work with the standard sound, the earplugs can sometimes be disappointing by making music sound both buried and bombastic. The details, fine sounds, sharp edge and warm tones only really come into their own when you activate the personal audio experience. Combine that with the noise cancellation and you can hear everything very well.
There are also some drawbacks to the Indy ANC. For example, the earplugs are less suitable for gamers, because there is a little bit of delay on the line. I didn’t notice that delay when I was watching a video, so that should be fine. In addition, there are few extra functions that make it easier to use and we have heard better noise reduction in the meantime.
TNC Score
4.0/5.0
