Skullcandy Indy ANC earphones review – quality audio and a tracker to find them

85%

• VERDICT

The Skullcandy Indy ANC manage to fit in one product great audio quality, secure and comfortable design, personally optmised sound, impressive active noise cancellation and even a Tile tracker to find them if they are misplaced – and you get all that at a reasonable price.

Skullcandy has expanded its popular line-up of Indy True Wireless earphones to include active noise cancellation and the first one off the mark is the Indy ANC earphones.

Tech Guide has been wrapping its ears around the Indy ANC which has adjustable active noise cancellation, a comfortable design and a customisable personal sound.

The Skullcandy Indy ANC  have a bud and stalk design with the earbud fitting comfortably in your ear thanks to the silicone tip and wing.

Once twisted into place, the earphones aren’t going anywhere even if you’re running, walking or in the gym.

But the big change this time is the active noise cancellation which uses the microphones onboard to pick up the ambient noise and cancel it out.

The quality of the noise cancellation is quite impressive and you are well and truly in your own world with your music or podcast or audiobook.

This a great feature to use on public transport to block out all those external sounds.

But there are times when you need to be able to hear what’s happening around you like when you’re out exercising, running or walking and need to hear the traffic and other sounds to stay safe.

This is where Ambient mode comes into play and it’s activated by pressing and holding the main sensor on the back of the Indy ANC earbud and you can hear your surroundings.

The Indy ANC earphones can also be tuned into your unique way of listening.

We all hear audio differently so instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, Skullcandy has included Audiodo Personal Sound which plays a tone into each ear through the Skullcandy app and optimises the level for your specific hearing.

You can definitely hear the difference – and it’s a slight improvement in the experience.

The Skullcandy Indy ANC earphones sound excellent with its signature audio profile with great clarity and a bass level on the stronger side which many listeners will enjoy.

It’s also easy to play and pause your content and even adjust the volume right there on the earphones.

It’s a double tap on the left earbud to pause and restart while a single tap on the left reduced the volume and a single tap on the right increases the volume.

This took a little getting used to because a single tap on other earphones is usually the play/pause function.

The Skullcandy Indy ANC earphones come with a charging case that’s slightly larger than an AirPods charging case.

With ANC off you can get about nine hours of listening and five hours if you want to enjoy the noise cancellation.

The case provides an additional 14 hours for ANC listeners for a total of 19 hours while non-ANC listeners get another 23 hours of charge for a total of 32 hours.

There are indicator lights on the front of the case so you can see at a glance the charge level left in the case.

The charge case is also wireless compatible so it can be charged just by resting on a Qi charging mat or you can plug in a USB-C charging cable if you prefer.

One feature that you don’t find on many wireless earphones is Tile integration.

The Skullcandy Indy ANC earphones have a Tile tracker onboard so you can find them if you’ve misplaced them and even ring them from the Tile app.

The Skullcandy Indy ANC earphones are available now and priced at $259.95.

VERDICT

The Skullcandy Indy ANC manage to fit in one product great audio quality, secure and comfortable design, personally optmised sound, impressive active noise cancellation and even a Tile tracker to find them if they are misplaced – and you get all that at a reasonable price.