So this is the Skullcandy Terrain and this is the Skullcandy Terrain Mini… and skullcandy did an amazing job of packing these speakers with features and very long battery lives, so these things can keep up with you if you take them on the go with you… but sound quality wise… the both the terrain and terrain mini sound good enough to get the job done. Nonetheless, if you’re thinking about picking up either the Terrain or Terrain Mini, lets see what these speakers are all about.
Regarding pricing, the terrain has a retail price of $60 and the terrain mini has a retail price of $40… and if you’re just looking for something that sounds good enough… but more importantly has a long battery life… then these speakers will deliver. Nonetheless if you want to pick these speakers up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first when it comes to the design of these speakers… both of these speakers are fairly small and they’re both super light weight. Now the terrain mini has the same base as the Terrain… but its is shorter. But ion general both of these speakers are good options if you want to take them on the go with you because they both have a fabric wrapped body making them very durable… and they’re both water proof. But both of these speakers also have built in carrying straps so you can either carry them or your can attach them to things.
Now when it comes to tech specs, the Terrain has an advertised battery life of 14 hours… but if you were to use this speaker at max volume, its going to be good for about 8 hours of playback time. And the reason why this speaker’s battery lasts for so long is cause its a 12 watt speaker… so its just not going to get as loud or have as much bass as like with more premium speakers out there.
And then there’s the Terrain mini which is a 5 watt speaker and it has an advertised battery life of 14 hours as well… and at max volume its going to last you around 8 hours of playback time as well. Just keep in mind that even at max volume… the terrain mini is mostly for personal listening.
And in over to charge these speakers, they both charge via a usb c port, as they should… but this is also the only port that you’ll find on both of these speakers. Unfotuantly you can’t use a wired connection with either of these two speakers. Which I do have to say is expected for speakers of this size and price in 2023.
So with both of these speakers, you can only use them wirelessly… and when it comes to the wireless connectivity of these two speakers… they can only be connected to one device at a time… unlike with more premium speakers which can be connected to 2 devices at the time… but at least latency isn’t an issue so you can watch videos with these speakers.
But with all of that out of the lets talk about sound. With the Terrain we’ve got dual frontward firing woofers and dual passive radiators that shoot out the side. Where as with the Terrain mini… you’ve got a single frontward wiring woofer… but you still have dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. The terrain is playing at 75% volume, and the terrain mini is playing at max volume just so that it can keep up.
Sound test
So first lets address max volume performance. With the terrain… at max volume its should be to be good for a small group of people… 2 to 4 people. But since this is a 12 watt speaker… its not the loudest thing out there. But then there’s the terrain mini which is 5 watt speaker… and at max volume… I say that its really only worth using by yourself. Now when it comes to the overall sound quality of these two speakers… they have a very harsh v shaped sound signature. As in they put an emphasis on the bass and the highs. So with both of these speakers, you’re going to hear the bass and the vocals… but you’re not going to get the best details in the mids. But also, I did notice that with both of these speakers, there can be some distortion in the highs. Overall both of these speakers sound good enough to get the job done… but dont expect the best sound quality out of these speakers or the best max volume performance. But yes, the terrain does get noticeably louder than the terrain mini cause with the terrain mini even when its playing at max volume… its best used as a speaker for yourself.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now both the terrain and terrain mini are using skullcandy’s multi link… and you can pair either of these two speakers to a Terrain XL, Terrain, or Terrain Mini… you can pair up to 99 speakers together and you can get them to play in sync. And you do this by pressing the play and plus button on both of these speakers for 1 second.
But also, you can get left and right stereo sound going with any two terrain speakers by triple pressing on the power button. And this is a big deal, cause with most other speaker paring protocols out there, if you want to get left and right stereo sound going you need to have two of the exact same speakers. So its nice that skullcandy gives you options.
And in general, skullcandy’s multi link is pretty good. Its easy to use, you don’t have to open any apps, your speakers are fast to pair up and skipping isn’t an issue. Just keep in mind that multi link only works with terrain speakers. If you have a terrain or terrain mini, you can’t pair them up with a kilo or an ounce.
So with all of that being said, both the Skullcandy Terrain and terrain mini are speakers that you can easily take on the go with you cause they’re both very durable, they both have long lasting battery lives, and you can sync them up with a terrain XL, Terrain or Terrain mini. But when it comes to sound… these speakers dont sound amazing… but they sound good enough to get the job done and they can go for long stretches of time. But if you’re trying to choose between the Terrain and Terrain Mini… the terrain is suitable for a small group of friends and it can fill a bedroom with sound… where as the terrain mini is better suited for individual use.