Skullcandy Indy ANC

It was only about a year and a half ago that the first Skullcandy Indy landed on our review desk. In the meantime the company has been cranking out headsets and earbuds for every budget without compromising on quality.

Here on the DRN team we love the innovative approach of the American Skullcandy, founded in the same year as DigitalReviews.net – 2003. So this is not their first rodeo.

Let me tell you about the latest Indy with ANC and Tile integration and what that means for you.

First up, this is the top-of-the-wozza – as they say here in Oz – True Wireless earbud. The Active Noise Cancelling tech allows you to shut out the world and be cocooned in your own little theatre. It is a very welcome addition because it also enhances the basses and gives a rounder sound. In Ambient Mode (where you can also be alert to the sounds around you) the music has a sharper edge to it.

Indy ANC Earbuds Box

The Indy is touted as having a massive 32 hours endurance with its own batteries and about 3 recharges from the case.
Bear in mind that having the ANC feature switched on will reduce the overall endurance to about 19 hours, which is quite significant. Charging up is very quickly done though with the rapid charge (10 minutes will give you 2 hours listening).

Testing

Fitting

I’ve always had trouble with in-ear headphones because of a rather narrow ear canal. Personally, I prefer the Galaxy Live Buds for ease of fitting as they rest in the sculpted area of your ear.
Having said that the Skullcandy Indy buds sit more securely and are a bit easier to handle because of the “handle” that houses the charge contacts, microphone and the rubber ring on top.

The box comes with various rubber “thingies” to accommodate our very individually created ears. And the obligatory USB-C charge cable.

Earbuds Audio TestPersonal Sound Audio Test

Having spent hours in a noisy cockpit environment without headsets in my early flying career hasn’t done my hearing any good.
A great feature is the integration of an Audio Test, very similar to the many I’ve done over the years. The program from audio do builds up a personal profile of the tones you have trouble hearing and somehow let the Indy buds compensate for those.

I’m not sure if the result is very noticeable as with most music I tend to listen to I seem to be able to hear the whole tonal range quite well without the Personal Sound feature switched on.
Interesting note: the best result for me was Personal Sound and ANC on.

 

Tile

Having the Tile integration is super handy as the one concern everybody has is the fear of losing or just misplacing one of these buds. Tile locates the whereabouts and can even have the buds beep so that you can easily find them in the recesses of your couch.

Using Tile is free but you can also sign up for the Premium version which might be good if you have a number of products that can be located by using Tile (such as keys or wallets).

 

Indy ANC EarbudsNoise Cancelling

ANC is a premium feature on most high end headsets and earphones. My Sennheiser aviation headsets sported Active Noise Cancelling about a decade ago and it makes a big difference not having to hear the propeller, engine and wind noise. Communication becomes a lot clearer.
On the Indy ANC generates deeper bass and with Ambient Mode on sharper sounds are quite evident.
For music I prefer ANC.

My testing regime for headsets always includes movie sound tracks, like those of Hans Zimmer and orchestral pieces. Favourites are also the magnificent cello pieces from Hauser and 2Cellos.

 

Skullcandy App

Every piece of audio equipment comes with its own app. This app will let you also do the audio test and the Tile setup.
If you like to listen to podcasts or audio books you can just listen with 1 bud and double the endurance.

 

PackagingConclusion

Both my wife and I love the deep, rich sound of the Indy ANC buds in our combined testing.
Earbuds can be a bit fiddly for some and if you still have an audio socket on your phone you might prefer going tethered. But once you’ve discovered the beautiful pure sound of these buds you don’t wanna go back!

A quick summary of the Skullcandy Indy ANC: very well-built, IPX4 Sweat and Water Resistance, Lag-Free Connections, and a wireless charging case, all very stylish in “True” Black.

Available for around 260 Aussie bucks in Black, Grey and Fiesty Pink at JB Hi-Fi and similar retailers as well as online at Skullcandy Australia. We’ve seen the price online at just a hair under 200 Aussie bucks!

 

Highly Recommended!

Many thanks again to Skullcandy for supplying the review unit.