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Personally, I think the Sony XB900N’s are currently the best Mid Range ANC headphones out there right now. They offer a very complete package without any major compromises. But technically the XB900N’s are a part of Sony’s Extra Bass Headphones line up meant for bass heads who really like bass, hence the XB in their name. So if you’re a bass head you’re probably wondering if you should get these or the Skullcandy Crusher 360’s. So lets see which ones right for you.
Now first off, the Skullcandy Crusher 360’s retail for $300 where as the Sony XB900N’s retail for $250. And when it comes to build quality and included accessories… those $50 really do make a big difference here. But if you want to pick either of these headphones they’ll be linked down below, and if you want to learn more about either of these headphones please watch their full reviews.
So like I mentioned earlier, that $50 price difference really does show between these two headphones when it comes to build quality and accessories. For starters, the XB900N’s come included with a carrying pouch where as the Crusher 360’s come included with a hardshell carrying case. Now this carrying case is pretty large but if you plan on constantly commuting with your headphones then an included carrying case is always appreciated. But also the Crusher 360’s use more premium materials than the Sony’s. The ear cups and headband on the Crusher 360’s have a soft touch feel to them, they have metal yokes, and the leatherette on these headphones doesn’t feel half bad. Over all these headphones are built like a tank. Now the Sony’s also very decent build quality but they’re just mostly plastic so if you hold either of these headphones in your hands you’re going to automatically think the Crusher 360’s are more premium.
But when it comes to fit, the XB900N’s are more comfortable to wear than the Crusher 360’s for a few different reasons. For starter’s the Crusher 360’s finer materials make them significantly heavier than the XB900N’s weighing in at 320 grams… where as the Sony’s weigh in at 250 grams. But the Sony’s are also more comfortable to wear than the Crusher 360’s because of their slightly reduced clamping force, slightly larger ear pads, and their ear cups also have more range of motion than the crusher 360’s which can only pivot and swivel so much. Now both of these headphones are big head approved, but personally I do find the XB900N’s significantly more comfortable than the Crusher 360’s.
But when it comes to tech specs the Crusher 360’s do a really good job of keeping up with the XB900N’s. For starters the crusher 360’s have an advertised battery life of 29 hours where as the Sony’s are good for 30 hours. So both of these headphones have great battery lives. But the crusher 360’s do out preform the Sony’s when it comes to fast charging cause they’ll get you 3 hours of playback time from a 10 minute charge where as the Sonys will only get you one hour of playback time from that same 10 minute charge. The only draw back is that the Crusher 360’s are still using a micro USB port instead of a USB C port like the Sony’s.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both of these headphones perform pretty much the same. They can both only be connected to one device at a time which means you can’t hot swap, and they both have APTX support. Now yeah the XB900N’s also have LDAC which is better than APTX but keep in mind the XB900N’s are going to revert to SBC on an android device if you decide to use a costume EQ on these headphones. AKA crank up the bass. Where as the Crusher 360’s use APTX no matter how high you crank up the bass.
So how much bass exactly do these headphones have is probably the question youre currently asking. Ok so with out a doubt the crusher 360’s have significantly more bass than the XB900N’s its not even close. But the Crusher 360’s basically have a vibration motor built in along side with your standard 40 millimeter divers. The Crusher 360’s drivers by themselves have a frequency response between 5 and 20,000 hertz and then the rest of bass is handled by the separate “crusher driver” which is what skullcandy likes to call it. Where as the XB900n’s have a frequency response between 2 and 20,000 hertz so all of the sound including the bass is handled by the XB900N’s drivers themselves.
Now I will admit, the Crusher 360’s are a lot of fun to use especially when you’re listening to rap, EDM, if you’re using them to watch movies or using them to game with. But these headphones don’t get all that loud, and when it comes to audio fidelity their instrument separation and sound stage isn’t all that great. Plainly said, the extra bass feature on the Crusher 360’s does get old after awhile and if you want to use them as a normal pair of headphones down the road then they don’t sound or perform all that great especially for $300 headphones. Where as the Sony’s audio fidelity wise they easily out preform the Crusher 360’s and they also get significantly louder. But also through Sony’s app you can make them sound how ever you want. So if you want you can have a Bass heavy EQ ready for when you just want to listen to music, and then you can have more relaxed EQ for when you want to listen to a podcast or watch a movie with your headphones. This added flexibility found on the XB900N’s prevent them from being very one note like the Crusher 360’s and I feel gives you more bang for your buck.
But a feature that I really like on the Crusher 360’s that I wish was available on the XB900N’s is being able to adjust your bass directly from the headphones. With the Crusher 360’s if you swipe up of down on the left ear cup you can adjust your bass where as with the XB900N’s if you want to adjust your bass or even just turn the feature on or off you gotta open up the app. So personally I do wish we could use the costume button on the Sony’s to toggle between preset EQ settings.
But like I mentioned earlier, the XB900N’s also give you more bang for your buck than the Crusher 360’s cause they have over more features that are actually useful. For starters the XB900N’s have active noise cancellation thats actually worth using. Now even though the Crusher 360’s more premium materials do a better job of passively blocking out noise than the XB900N’s plastic body, once ANC is turned on the XB900N’s do a much better job of isolating you from the out side world.
The Sony XB900N’s also have an ambient mode where you can select how much noise these headphones pump in so you can still be aware of your surroundings if you’re walking around the city or you can still hear when someone calls your name when you’re watching movies at home. And this is something that the Crusher 360’s simply just don’t have and it is pretty hard to ignore since they still are a pair of $300 bluetooth headphones.
So over all, even if you are a bass head who really really likes bass I still think you’re better off just picking up the Sony XB900N’s because they truly give you more bang for your buck all while still giving you more than enough bass to keep you happy. But I’m not saying stay completely away from the Skullcandy Crusher 360 cause at the end of the day they are a lot of fun to use and give you a completely different listening experience than any other pair of headphones on the market right now. I just wouldn’t get them if I plan to use them as my daily drivers. I feel the Skullcandy Crusher 360’s are like an exotic sports car lets say a Mclaren Senna, you wouldn’t want to use them all the time and they wouldn’t be your only pair of headphones, but when you use them they’re a hell of a lot of fun. So what I’m saying is the Skullcandy Crusher 360’s are still great, but I would only consider getting them now if I already have a pair of great sounding headphones.