Skullcandy Hesh 2 Wireless Headphones Review

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 look pretty good. They are relatively compact for an over-ear model. They have an all-black color scheme with a matte finish. There are silver accents around the ear cups, and the Skullcandy logo adds a little more flair to the design. They are not the most eye-catching headphones, but they look sleek and their design will work for some.

The SkullCandy Hesh 2 are somewhat comfortable headphones. They have well-padded ear cups and do not feel too heavy or tight once on your head. Unfortunately, the headband is not padded, and the ear cups have an odd size that is in between an on-ear model and an over-model but does not rest on, or encompass your ears properly. This causes discomfort over long listening sessions, especially, for listeners with larger ears.

The Hesh 2 have a distinct button layout that's functional and efficient but takes a little time to get used to. They provide track skipping, volume, and call/music controls. Unfortunately, multiple functions are often relegated to the same button, which can get a little confusing at first. The buttons also don't deliver a good tactile feedback, which is slightly disappointing.

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 are decently breathable headphones. They still make your ears fairly warm during exercise and even long uninterrupted listening sessions. However, the odd shape of the earcups does let a bit of air through unintentionally which keeps the outer ear relatively cool. They won't be the best headphones for sports but they perform a bit better than most closed-back over-ears.

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 Wireless headphones have a somewhat compact design but are not very portable. They do not fold to reduce the volume of space they take in a bag or purse. The earcups also don't swivel or lay flat. On the upside, the earpads are not too big, and the headband is relatively slim, which gives them a slightly smaller footprint than some other over-ear models.

These headphones come with a soft, cloth pouch which will protect them from scratches but not from hard falls or water damage.

The headphones have an all-plastic build that feels dense but not very durable. They should be able to withstand a couple of drops without getting damaged. However, the frame of the headband is made of a cheap-looking plastic that feels susceptible to breaking under moderate physical stress.

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 are moderately stable headphones. They deliver a decently stable fit for casual listening sessions. They also have a wireless design that prevents them from getting yanked off your head because the audio cable got hooked on something. However, they are not designed for sports and will slip off your ears while running or jumping.

• Skullcandy Hesh 2 Headphones
• Carrying pouch
• Audio cable
• USB cable
• Manual

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 have a good frequency response consistency. In the bass range, the maximum amount of deviation across our five human subjects at 20Hz is about 5dB. This is noticeable but subtle. In the treble range, the maximum deviation below 10KHz is also about 5dB, indicating that the treble delivery is relatively sensitive to positioning.

The bass is good. The LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 18Hz, which is great. Accordingly, low-bass is within 1dB of our target response, indicating a well-balanced, yet deep and thumpy bass. However, mid-bass and high-bass are overemphasized by more than 4dB, adding excess punch and boominess to the bass, which can make mixes sound a bit muddy and cluttered.

The mid-range performance of the Skullcandy Hesh 2 is good. Low-mid is even and relatively flat and within 0.62dB of our target response. However, mid-mid and high-mid are overemphasized by more than 3dB, which brings vocals and lead instruments to the front of the mix, by adding to their intensity and projection. The overall sound profile of their mid-range is slightly boxy/honky.

The treble is mediocre. The response is quite uneven and consistently underemphasized. Low-treble is under our target by more than 2dB, and mid-treble is lacking by more than 6dB. This results in a treble that lacks detail and brightness, especially on vocals, lead instruments and cymbals.

The imaging is very good. Their weighted group delay is at 0.43, which is good. The GD graph also shows that the entire group delay response never crosses the audibility threshold. This indicates a tight bass and a transparent treble reproductions. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test bench were very well-matched, ensuring an accurate placement and localization of objects (instruments, voices, footsteps), in the stereo image.

The soundstage is poor. The PRTF response graph shows that there is very little pinna interaction/activation below 8KHz. This also shows in the poor accuracy and size values. The peak around 9KHz, is actually where the 10KHz notch is supposed to be. So instead of a dip there is a peak, which is quite poor. This suggests that their soundstage will be perceived to be small and located inside the head.

The isolation performance is sub-par. The Skullcandy Hesh 2 don't have ANC (active noise cancellation) and isolate passively. In the bass range, important for blocking the rumble of airplane and bus engines, they don't isolate at all. In the mid-range, important for cutting out speech, they achieved about 6dB of isolation, which is poor. In the treble range, occupied by sharp S and T sounds, they reduce outside noise by 24dB, which is above-average.

The leakage performance of the Hesh2 is mediocre. The significant portion of the leakage is spread between 300Hz and 4KHz, which is a relatively broad range. That is, the leakage will sound fuller than that of in-ears and earbuds, but not as full-bodied as open-back headphones'. On the plus side, the overall level of leakage is not very loud, peaking at around 60dB SPL at 1 foot away, which is just above the noise floor level of most offices.

The integrated microphone has a mediocre performance. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with it will sound relatively thin and noticeably muffled. However, it will still be relatively easy to understand. In noisy situations, the Skullcandy Hesh 2 will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in even moderately loud environments, like a busy street.

The microphone has a mediocre recording quality. The LFE (low-frequency extension) of 269Hz, means that speech recorded/transmitted with this mic will sound relatively thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 3KHz, indicates a speech that is muffled and lacking in detail. However, it will still be decently understandable, since speech intelligibility is mostly dependent on the 500Hz-4KHz range.

The noise handling performance of the integrated mic is sub-par. In our SpNR test, they achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 10dB, indicating they are best suited for quiet environments. In moderate and loud situations, they will struggle to separate speech from background sounds.

Update: 04/29/2019: We've updated the Passive Playback comparison to show that the Hesh 2 can be used passively with an audio cable

These headphones do not have a compatible app more customization options.

These headphones connect via Bluetooth but do not have multi-device pairing or NFC support.

The Hesh 2 have 144ms of latency which is not ideal for watching a lot of video content. It's a bit better than average for most Bluetooth headphones with no low latency codecs but won't be suitable for gaming and watching movies. If you need to watch a lot of videos, use them wired.

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 come with a regular 1/8TRS audio cable with an in-line microphone. The microphone is compatible with both the Xbox One and PS4 controllers as well as laptops but may need a mic and audio adapter for desktops.

The Skullcandy Hesh 2 do not have a base/dock. If you want a versatile headset with a base that you can also use wired, check out the SteelSeries Arctis 7.