Skullcandy
Intras sport Skullcandy XTFree: simple and light
Aprox. 59€ - see price -
Besides nomadic helmets more colorful than each other, Skullcandy also offers listening solutions for sports souls. The XTFree bring together the best of the brand in this area, with wireless communication and a launch price below 100 euros. Intras which could have been interesting, if they had been more complete and mastered on certain points.
Our review
Ergonomics
The Skullcandy XTFree come in a simple and discreet format, all protected by thick plastic and rubber. This design offers lightness and resistance. Each intra is threaded like a classic intra and has a large enough base to accommodate the on-board electronics. The manufacturer therefore does not do like its counterparts, who often choose a passage over the ear. Bluetooth pairing is easy and most of the steps are marked by voice and light indications, except for Bluetooth disconnection.
The control is fairly easy to access during exercise and gives access to essential functions: volume, pause / play, navigation between tracks and call management. Unfortunately, it does not launch the smartphone voice assistant. The accessories consist of a cable tie, a storage pouch and two pairs of silicone end caps with their open version, which greatly reduces the insulation if you want to be aware of your environment. An extra pair of tips, such as memory foam, and a smaller pair of stabilizers wouldn't have been too much.
Indeed, although the XTFree offer overall good comfort for most body types - the intras are easily inserted and stay very well in place, in addition to being light - on small ears (with small ducts and conches), the stabilizer sometimes struggles to fit properly without forcing a minimum. Therefore, the intra can slightly compress this area, which is felt on sessions that last more than 1 hour / 1 hour 30 minutes. Still in practice, we had no problem on the side of sweating: intras are very well protected and did not show any signs of weakness during our two weeks of testing.
Autonomy is announced at 6 o'clock for this pair, which in fact respects its promise without fail. Even if it seems little, it remains a good result against the competition which does not really do better (6 hours for X2 and Powerbeats Wireless, 3 hours for Sport Pace Wireless). The manufacturer does not specify whether the XTFree have a quick recharge function, but in all cases, a short twenty minutes of recharging once the battery is flat allows you to enjoy a good hour of use.
There is nothing in particular to report concerning the on-board microphone in the control: the voice is picked up properly indoors and outdoors, even during the race or in fairly noisy environments.
Audio
Good big V signature, that's what the XTFree offers. If you like deep, but not overly invasive bass and sharp treble, you're going to be served.
Contrary to what the measure might suggest, the bass extremes are a little quieter. The bass is generally very present and punchy, but tends to hang around a bit. Therefore, this register is not very defined, but it remains a precise minimum to identify the sources. On the other side, the high mid / treble zone between 5 and 8 kHz is very much in the spotlight, which brings a lot of clarity and brilliance to the sound rendering, but also accelerates hearing fatigue. It can work if you like nasty heavy metal or electro, but it can be problematic if you are used to listening to your music at high volume. Voices and guitars are propelled towards the front of the stage, as is the metallic aspect of cymbals, for example.
Despite this marked sound color, the scene remains quite precise and understandable. The stereo is not extremely wide, but remains readable. Sound insulation is correct for a sporting activity. The XTFree do not completely cut off from the rest of the world and it is possible to hear a minimum of what is going on around you. If you prefer to hear your surroundings clearly, you can opt for the special tips developed by Skullcandy: they are effective, but completely cut the bass and low mids.
This pair of intras offers good power (163 mV to reach 94 dB) with relatively contained distortion. However, it remains too high in the midrange, which partly explains the problems of hearing fatigue that we have observed.
Finally, the Bluetooth communication latency is around 210 ms. It is a bit light to offer comfortable listening when watching a film or series, especially since the phenomenon seems to increase slowly over long periods. To be completely comfortable and limit any possible discrepancies between sound and image, apply a delay on the image or an advance on the sound if your player allows it.
Conclusion
The Skullcandy XTFree prove to be correct in this particular exercise that is sports listening. However, they are placed directly in front of the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless, which, in addition to being more complete, are generally more effective in the essential areas of comfort and quality of sound rendering.
Reviews
I’d give a 4.8 if I could!
4.8 for me! My husband and I are gym rats. I use headphones 5/6 days a week. I decided to switch over to wireless as the cord is always in my way while working out. I am very picky about headphones and we've tried MANY brands over the years. Our favorite brand has always Skullcandy over all else. While searching for Bluetooth earbuds to buy I went off reviews. I tried 8 different styles in 8 different brands before these. I hated every single pair I tried ..... bad sound, they fell out, hurt, too big for my ears, didn't pair with my phone, etc. The reviews for these were not the highest, so I steered elsewhere. After 8 other pairs falling short for me I decided to just order these and give it a shot. I was 0 for 8 so far. I SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE WITH SKULLCANDY IN THE FIRST PLACE! I knew I liked them and they were great headphones. These are perfect for me!
Pros:
Great distance
Great sound
Very comfy and don't fall out at all
Not heavy or bulky
They stay behind my neck
Cons:
The charge isn't long enough for my lifestyle (they only last about 4 hours and I have to recharge them half way through the week.
Other than that they are perfect! Highly, highly recommend! Especially if you have tiny ears, are very active, or have sensitive ears to the buds in them.
Ear bud surrounding gets very dirty and can't be cleaned
Sound quality is ok. I like the fact that out connects fairly well have never had an issue. Like that the rocker buttons are right at the side of your face (it is on the left side just a note cause I know most of us are use to the right side :), the cord is just the right length the only downfall is there is nothing to keep them on your neck so you can lose these as soon as you let them hang on your neck
Save your money
These reminds me of some of the earliest Bluetooth headphones I bought. The connection is spotty and weak, I can't get too close to any other electronics devices, and a very annoying interference noise intrudes into your music frequently. I ended up buying these instead of a competitive product that I'd read such good reviews on, but I wish I hadn't.
During my most recent use of the earbuds, I was working in my garage, on a vehicle. About every 30 to 60 seconds, there would be a digital "break" in the connection. If I picked up an air tool I was ok, but when I was using a digital multimeter, the connection between my phone in my back pocket and my earbuds would cut out, popping in and out.
I guess I was hopeful that the technology had progressed beyond these crappy connection issues.
The earbuds themselves are acceptably comfortable in the ear. The little doohickey to retain the bud in the ear is a little annoying, but does a great job holding them in place.
Overall, I don't think these will last in my use, as they are super annoying with the connection or audio glitching. I'll go back to wired earbuds while I can and hope that the technology gets a little better and less glitchy.
I bought these earbuds 6-months ago and was initially delighted with them
I bought these earbuds 6-months ago and was initially delighted with them. They easily paired up with my iPhone 6 Plus, and the sound quality was good especially given that I listen to audiobooks while jogging. There was the occasional drop off, but they were rare, and the approximately 5-hour charge was satisfactory. I found them to be comfortable, and they stayed in my ear during my jogs even as I built up a sweat. If anything, the cord was a bit of a problem since it's not very "slick" and tended to stick to my clothes or skin but that worked itself out once I shortened the length with the cord minder. That all said, it flat out just stopped working after six months. I used the buds approximately twice a week during my jogs, were never abused, and took great care to make sure they were cleaned after each usage. I'm very disappointed as I really started to depend on these buds but now I'll need to get another and it certainly WON'T be from Skullcandy.
5/2017: An update. After my XTfree buds failed in December 2016, I sent them back to Skullcandy and ultimately received a replacement for free (this was easy, following Skullcandy's website instructions, and shipping was free as well). So here I am, five months later, and the replacement is stone dead as well. It simply stopped working even after a full charge. As before, these buds were used approximately twice a week and were never abused. Skullcandy, not only do you have a lousy product, but you lost me as a customer. As far as I'm concerned, you have a zero rating.
Bluetooth connection is horrible
Honestly I thought this was a good product by reading the reviews but my Bluetooth connection is terrible and phone is always right beside me when I'm wearing these. No, it's not my Note 5, I've connected to plenty other Bluetooth devices without any trouble. My music will cut no matter how far or close my phone is and this is straight up annoying. It's happened since I've bought it and I'm just giving up, probably going to have to contact skullcandy and we'll see what happens from there.