Skullcandy Indy ANC review: Solid all-rounder TWS
A TEST REPORT from Nils Ahrensmeier 
on March 15, 2021, 8:30 pm | Write a comment
With the Skullcandy Indy ANC, the up-and-coming brand Skullcandy is bringing its first TWS with ANC onto the market, which should also compete with the big manufacturers in terms of price.
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Design and processing of the Skullcandy Indy ANC
The Skullcandy Indy ANC are simply processed. I like the matte black design and the design is already established. Only the “skull” trademark stands out. The case is quite large compared to the competition, but this is also due to the design and the battery. The headphones are relatively light at 76 grams. Although Skullcandy chose plastic for the materials, the headphones and the case still feel very high quality.
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- The Skullcandy Indy ANC are of high quality. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- The headphones are built in the "AirPods" design (picture: TechnikNews)
Comfort and sound of the Skullcandy Indy ANC
The Skullcandy Indy ANC are comfortable and stable in the ear. The headphones have a rubber seal, which keeps the headphones securely in the ear and doesn't wobble too much even when jogging. The sound is very bass-heavy. Maybe too bass-heavy for some customers, but there is an equalizer for other soundsprofile. But if you listen to classical music or music with a lot of highs in general, you should rather use other TWS. However, Skullcandy focuses on this target group in marketing anyway. The bass itself sounds good. It is very powerful, especially in songs with a dominant bass.
The Skullcandy Indy ANC sit well in the ear. (Image: TechnikNews)
What surprised me is the Active Noise Cancelling, or ANC for short. This is quite a bit better compared to other TWS like the Galaxy Buds Live. It filters out dominant ambient noise such as engine noise or normal conversations well. Compared to the Galaxy Buds Pro but they are still a little bit worse. But the price-performance ratio is right here. Just like the microphone. When I was on the phone, all of my partners could understand me well, the voice just seemed a bit "thin". Only in noisy environments can it Progive problems.
Skullcandy has its own app for their TWS, which is a huge plus. This is very important in order to be able to keep up with the competition from Samsung, Apple or Oppo. The app works well and simply. As soon as the headphones are connected, settings for the equalizer, noise canceling or ambient sound can be made. That worked flawlessly and stands out from the crowd at TWS. There is no graphic equalizer; presets can be selected for this. Whether you want to watch music, podcasts or films, a suitable preset highlights certain areas for each type.
The Skullcandy Indy ANC have their own app. (Screenshot: TechnikNews)
I had to get used to the touch controls first. Tap left for quieter, right for louder. Double-tap the headphones to play or pause audio, or three times to answer, end, or activate the voice assistant. Single tap once and hold to toggle ANC on and off and double tap and hold to activate EQ mode. Hold the left TWS without tapping to skip to the previous track or hold the right TWS to skip to the next track. These are the gestures that you have to remember. As soon as you have that, however, it is relatively easy and you quickly learn to appreciate the large number of options. Other manufacturers often cannot offer this range of gestures. The operation worked relatively reliably.
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The connection did not work well with the first test device that was sent to me. There were always disconnections, loud noises or only headphones were playing. This was apparently due to the hardware, everything went well with the second test device. The headphones are connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth 5.0, and the setup ran without complications.
Battery
The Skullcandy Indy ANC battery is okay. verseproThere was about 9 hours of battery life, in practice it was about six hours before the headphones had to be put back in the case. The headphones can be recharged about two and a half times with this, after which the case itself has to be recharged. This can be done in around an hour with USB-C or in around two hours with wireless charging.
Conclusion
The Skullcandy Indy ANC are successful all-rounders TWS. They offer a wide range of functions for a fair price. The sound is good, the noise canceling surprised me positively and the own app is convincing. The battery life still needs to be worked on, maybe this can be improved with a software update. The design is not my favorite design, but thanks to the rubber strap, the in-ears sit firmly in the ear and are therefore also very suitable for sports. This is also supported by IPX4 water resistance.
Thank you for providing the Skullcandy Indy ANC.
