Skullcandy Grind Fuel review
Our Verdict
The feature-laden Skullcandy Fuel Grind lays the foundation for time to come make releases, but it also loses focus on the basics.
For
- Wide, customizable audio
- Companion app with crawly features
- Impressive vocalisation controls
- Long battery life
- Wireless charging
Against
- Weak connectivity
- Google Banana is buggy
- Uncomfortable
- Lacks motion detection and touch controls
Tom's Guide Verdict
The feature-laden Skullcandy Fuel Grind lays the foundation for future brand releases, but it likewise loses focus on the basics.
Pros
- +
Wide, customizable sound
- +
Companion app with awesome features
- +
Impressive voice controls
- +
Long battery life
- +
Wireless charging
Cons
- -
Weak connectivity
- -
Google Assistant is buggy
- -
Uncomfortable
- -
Lacks motion detection and touch on controls
Skullcandy Grind Fuel specs
Price:$99
Colors:Black/Orangish
Battery life (rated): 9 hours, 40 hours (with charging example)
Connectivity: Bluetooth v
Processor: Not stated
Size: 0.98 x 0.94 x 0.94 inches (per bud), ii.7 x 2.02 ten 1.14 (charging example)
Weight: 0.35 ounces (earbud), 1.85 ounces (charging case)
The Skullcandy Grind Fuel is the company's latest try at creating inexpensive, yet apparent, wireless earbuds with loftier-end features. Upgrades in sound and battery life are strong selling points. Notwithstanding, information technology'due south the all-new Skull-IQ platform that has critics talking, welcoming a host of special features that enhance functionality, from audio operation to useability.
- The best wireless earbuds overall
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While in that location is much to praise here, the Grind Fuel likewise has its fair share of flaws that need to exist addressed. By that I mean the unpolished execution of standard categories (east.one thousand., connectivity, controls, fit), which keep these buds from inclusion on our best cheap wireless headphones list.
Keep reading our full Skullcandy Grind Fuel review to see whether it'due south however worth the investment.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Price and availability
You tin can purchase the Skullcandy Grind Fuel in Black/Orangish for $99 at major online retailers, including Amazon and Costco, or straight from Skullcandy. Bundled with the purchase are a wireless charging example, USB-C charging cable, three pairs of different sized ear tips, user transmission, and warranty.
These buds take a lower MSRP than many of the market place'south popular offerings, including newer releases like the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 ($150) and OnePlus Buds Pro ($150). It is besides less expensive than category leaders such as the AirPods Pro ($249) and Sony WF-1000XM4 ($279). If you're interested in other characteristic-heavy wireless earbuds that are as priced, nosotros recommend checking out the sporty JLab Epic Air Sport ANC.
For all of the latest wireless earbuds sales, bookmark our best Blackness Friday headphones deals page.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Design and comfort
The Skullcandy Grind Fuel take on an flat oval shape that covers upwardly most of your ear, like to the make'south Sesh collection and other relatively affordable rivals like the Sennheiser CX Truthful Wireless. Information technology's not the about discrete pair of wireless earbuds out there, but definitely 1 of the more than durable, cheers to its difficult plastic casing and IP55 sweat and water resistance. Skullcandy'southward signature logo is besides plastered front and center.
The charging instance is ane thick block of plastic with the logo debossed on peak and a USB-C charging port placed in the back. Both buds are presented nicely when docked in their respective slots. Furthermore, the inside has a two-tone colour scheme that gives the example some pop when opened, along with the brilliant LEDs for battery level indication.
Comfort is fifty/l. While the buds rest pleasantly on the concha for almost 2 hours earlier any soreness occurs, the multifunctional buttons interfere with wearability, something I'll explain further in the review.
Fit can feel a flake loose in the beginning. Installing the proper set of ear tips and adjusting the buds properly will go on them stable. Don't expect the same secure fit as its conditioning counterpart, the ear-claw-designed Skullcandy Push Active, merely what you become is sufficient for moving freely in open up spaces without them slipping out. The athwart sound port also makes insertion a breeze.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Controls and digital assistant
Touch sensors would have made for the more viable input method because the buds' big existent manor. Skullcandy didn't think so, settling for MF buttons that accept single/multi-press and press-and-concur gestures. The one positive is that the buttons produce solid tactility to ensure users of commands beingness met with every press.
There is ane caveat. Pressing the button digs the bud further into the canal, which becomes fatiguing later on a while. This even makes manual pairing a nightmare. The process requires pressing the button once, releasing, then pressing again and property downwardly to enable the way. That was painful to perform, but not as painful equally my iOS/macOS devices failing to recognize the buds later several attempts.
Skullcandy equipped these buds with a full suite of media controls. These include playback, phone call management, volume, digital assistance, pairing, share/join sound, and Stay-Aware and Spotify Tap activation. The "Hey Skullcandy…" voice control platform is likewise introduced and enables yet functions as the buttons. To my surprise, it worked incredibly well, particularly for playback and listening modes. I wish it accepted more commands, but Skullcandy will probable add more over the coming months via firmware updates.
The Grind Fuel is compatible with Google Assistant, Siri, and Bixby, but only two out of the iii operate well. Google's AI bot turns out to exist the troublemaker. During testing, Google Assistant would either acknowledge voice commands and not act on them, or merely ignore requests. Bixby and Siri ran more smoothly and registered exact inquiries without a hitch.
On-ear detection for motorcar-intermission/play is not available on the Grind Fuel.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Sound quality
Sound is non Skullcandy'southward forte, merely their engineers have managed to improve sound quality with every new release (check out the $20 Skullcandy Dime). The Grind Fuel follows arrange and has several personalized settings that enhance the listening experience.
Skullcandy's companion app comes with three unlike EQ presents — Music, Movies, and Podcast — the first serving as the default. At that place's as well a custom setting to create your own audio contour by manually adjusting the bass, mids, and highs. Most of my time was spent listening to gimmicky music, which I felt the Music preset complemented about.
The grinding bass on 2Pac's "2 of Amerikaz Well-nigh Wanted" wasn't muddy (you lot don't hear that much when discussing Skullcandy headphones), plus it had plenty kick to stimulate rhythmic head nods. If there were 2 sonic elements that caught my attending near, they were the well-baked vocals and impactful claps, which showcased the Grind Fuel's great midrange.
Stepping into a different genre, hard stone classics like Air-conditioning/DC's "Dorsum in Black" sounded tamer on these buds compared to other bass-emphasized wireless earbuds. The iconic opening guitar riff and snares were reproduced well. On the other hand, the concussive force of these instruments lacked oomph.
To encounter if my taste for punchier bass could be met, I enabled the Personal Sound feature. It's basically a existent-time audio examination that creates a personalized sound contour for optimized audio levels. My profile did present slight improvements in clarity and treble.
Interestingly, the Music preset works just as well for other media content, and in some cases, information technology worked amend than the others. Listening to the Drink Champs podcast, Music produced sharp clarity, though Podcast made vocals on The Joe Budden Podcast more pronounced. Watching some of the activeness sequences in Black Widow was underwhelming; the soundtrack and sound effects lacked detailing on all presets.
Similar the Apple AirPods iii, the Grind Fuel also comes with a Share Audio feature that connects two Skullcandy Skull-IQ devices to the same sound source for tandem listening. I don't take any feedback to report, since I was only sent ane testing unit of measurement.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: App and special features
The Skullcandy app is the hub for all functionality and offers way more than than you lot would expect for sub-$100 wireless earbuds. Large features like Audio Share, EQ, "Hey Skullcandy…" voice controls, Personal Sound, and Spotify Tap have already been mentioned. Let's get to the rest.
Stay-Aware Manner is Skullcandy'southward version of transparency manner. It's OK for piping in external sounds and increasing your sensation of surroundings. There is a Take a Photograph setting that transforms the buds into a remote for your smartphone's camera; printing the MF Button to snap photos. Built-in Tile technology also comes office of the package to find misplaced buds through the Tile app.
Other notables include a volume slider, battery level indicators, firmware updates, toggle controls for several settings, and a visual user guide.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Battery life and charging instance
The Grind Fuel is rated at ix hours on a full charge. Exist mindful that high volume and special features subtract playtime by almost 2 to 3 hours. What matters most is that these buds surpass the boilerplate iv.v to five hours industry fourth dimension set past the AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro, and even the 6 hours offered past the new AirPods three. I was happy with the four days of moderate use (2 hours daily) provided earlier recharging.
The charging case is only as generous, with up to 40 hours of listening time. This equates to 4 and a one-half extra charges. More importantly, the case holds more juice than whatsoever AirPods case (24 hours for AirPods ii/Pro, 30 hours for AirPods iii). A quick charge nets yous ii hours of listening time in x minutes and wireless charging was installed to ability up the buds when placed on a Qi-enabled wireless charger.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Phone call quality and connectivity
As a calling headset, the Grind Fuel isn't anything to rave virtually. Several people complained about my voice sounding tinny and well-nigh ambient racket entering our conversations when answering their calls outside. Indoors was slightly better, with the missus stating that I sounded clearer — though granted, there was nevertheless some muffling. The Grind Fuel can too exist used in stereo or mono mode.
Connectivity was very inconsistent. Bluetooth five.2 produced decent wireless range (up to 35 anxiety), though teetering around the max range resulted in lots of stuttering. I already discussed the Grind Fuel's pairing issues, and its auto on/off part is just every bit bad. Reconnecting to recognized devices often required manually enabling pairing mode.
Skullcandy Grind Fuel review: Verdict
The Skullcandy Grind Fuel is a promising look at where the brand plans to accept its audio lineup adjacent. It's all well-nigh extended functionality and tying that into an ecosystem, which the Grind Fuel does well.
A lot of people will discover the Skull-IQ platform to exist surprisingly intuitive. The number of features bachelor is both neat and serviceable for the cost. Aye, the platform can do good from more than voice commands, but to wait Alexa or fifty-fifty Siri-level vocalization assist is foolish. The broad soundstage and long bombardment life deserve recognition besides.
However, information technology'southward obvious that the development team spent most of its time focusing on the hereafter and not refining the nowadays, because the Grind Fuel feels somewhat like an unfinished product. Comfort and fit weren't given much attention, the Google Assistant is horrible, and the unreliable connectivity can be frustrating to deal with.
If you're a huge Skullcandy fan and accept waited for them to launch cheap wireless earbuds with fun features, so the Grind Fuel is correct upward your alley. Just know at that place are other loftier-operation models like the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro and Nothing Ear (one) that offering more at a similar toll betoken, while also getting the basics downward pat.
- More: The all-time headphones with a mic for vocalization and video calls
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/skullcandy-grind-fuel
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