The noise-cancelling earbuds market is not only crowded, but also crowded. If a brand wants to stand out in the new version, it will face the daunting task of bringing something new to the table that can be compared to products from major brands like Sony, Apple, and of course Bose.
Skullcandy’s new earbuds (Method 360 ANC earbuds) are trying to do this by working with one of the major brands Bose. The earbuds come with Bose-driven sound, and the impressive introduction price is $99.99 (Skullcandy will raise the price to $129.99 on unspecified future dates). On the other hand, the cheapest Bose earbuds are Quietcomfort earbuds, which retail for $179. Despite their much more expensive, they often go on sale for $149 and hit a record price of $129, which makes us particularly curious to bring them to Skullcandy earbuds.
Below you will find our breakdown of the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds compared to the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC.
Skullcandy vs. Bose: Sound Quality
In a press release for Method 360 Earbuds, Skullcandy called it “the most advanced audio experience to date.” While listening to everything from indie rock, video game soundtracks and podcasts, I can see why. The balance of the Skullcandy earbuds is easily matched with other impressive budget earbuds I’ve tested. Am I listening Final Fantasy VII Soundtrack or live stupid punk show, these earbuds cost more than $100.
How does Bose-driven sound compare to real deals?
Image source: Bethany Allard / Mixed
But when listening to them side by side with the Bose earbuds, the Skullcandy earbuds feel muffled (although I won’t describe them as muddy by myself).
I can still pick different parts of the song instrument when listening to the “Brutal Good Boy” for breakfast in Japanese, but I have to work hard to listen to the piano of the guitar and vocals instead of the Bose Earbuds. While listening to Marías’s “The Boo (still Woozy Remix)”, the level of the song appears with Skullcandy’s earbuds, but with boses. Ultimately, Skullcandys provides a good listening experience, but there is no denying that Bose earbuds provide a better listening experience. In the same volume, quiet earplugs sound warmer, fuller, and generally more powerful. (I said this is someone who doesn’t necessarily like to meet a very high volume.)
Bose offers five overall EQ presets and provides a custom setting.
Image source: Screenshot: Bose
Compared to Skullcandy’s three presets and custom equalizers.
Image source: Screenshot: Skullcandy
For both, I found their standard mixture to be on the bass-heavy side. However, compared to the three presets of Skullcandy with custom equalizers, Bose offers five EQ presets and a custom equalizer.
winner: Bose letimcomfort
Skullcandy vs. Bose: Noise cancellation
Compared to the three mics from Quietcomforts, Skullcandy uses four mics to help stop sound.
That is, Bose’s earplugs are actually quiet and comforting in their name. Not to mention, the brand has been a leader in noise reduction space for quite some time. Whether I work from home on the other side of a wall, on a cafe, a library, or on the other side of a walk, I usually find Bose earbuds better at muteing and blocking sounds completely. Especially when I only use noise cancellation to help it without music.
However, the Skullcandy earbuds do offer adjustable ANC through the Companion App, which is currently unavailable on any pair of Bose earbuds. This is not the feature I expected in terms of their price points, but I was pleasantly surprised to come across one feature. In the highest environment, cancellation of noise is only a slight hiss. Although my experience is essentially nothing at all, I’m still surprised that Skullcandy’s noise cancellation is completely comparable, given the price difference.
The Skullcandy Companion app allows you to adjust the ANC on the sliding scale.
Image source: Screenshot: Skullcandy
Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning: The ANC of Skullcandy earbuds is impressive at the price point. While working in the library, I can only I could speak without earplugs when I heard the noise of conversation throughout the room. On Bose Buds, the conversation completely disappeared, giving them a little advantage.
These two earbuds allow you to turn ANC on and off and activate transparency mode. In the last environment, Bose stood out more easily and expanded the world around me only Enough not to emphasize the sound or room tone. Skullcandy earbuds, on the other hand, show a stronger background hiss in this mode. It doesn’t work in any way, but it’s definitely more pleasing than the Bose earbuds.
winner: Bose letimcomfort, hair
Skullcandy vs. Bose: Comfort and Design
For how they fit into the ears, these earplugs are designed very similarly, which makes them wear very similarly. In my ears, I found the Bose earbuds a little more comfortable, but both pairs have three sizes of stability bands and three sizes of ear tips. Ultimately, the fit can be very personal, especially with earplugs.
The earplugs have similar shapes and are all equipped with similar types of ear tips and stabilization straps.
Image source: Bethany Allard / Mixed
As for the earbuds themselves, Skullcandy’s earbuds are actually similar to the Bose letimcomfort Ultra earbuds, with slightly elongated stems and external touch controls for perfect sensitivity. As someone who prefers tactile in-ear controls, I was surprised at how different these earplugs differ from different types of presses. I think that since the earbuds have a slight groove where the touch control is, it’s easy to identify the touch location, don’t brush on the surface and accidentally activate the control.
On the other hand, the regular QC earbuds have a flatter, rounder touch control surface, and in my tests of these earbuds last fall I found on the side of the allergic allergic. Although I haven’t experienced many issues this time, it’s worth noting that I initially tested them for one time of year and I wore more hats and hats.
The Skullcandy earbuds act like the Bose Quietcomfort earbuds (left picture is left), but look more like Unipecomfort Ultra Earbuds (right picture).
Image source: Bethany Allard / Mixed
Skullcandy’s earbuds may have won the win in this section, if not an obvious feature – their case. Unlike most other cases of open and closed earplugs that only enclosed open and closed, this case has a sliding mechanism with an O-ring and a slot for one earplug on both sides of the internal case. Skullcandy does a great job of creating something outside the box, but it sacrifices some functionality in the process.
This case is super bulky.
Image source: Bethany Allard / Mixed
As you can see, the case is large compared to the earbuds, which means it is one of the most unfriendly earbuds for travel-friendly earbuds if you don’t use an O-ring. In their design, Skullcandy seems to think that’s how most people do meeting Using the box, place the earplugs on the other side of the case. In other words, when looking at it on the right side, the right earplug is on the left side and the left earplug is on the right side. This configuration makes a lot of sense if the situation is clamped on the belt, the front faces outwards to the belt. In almost every other use case, none.
On the other hand, the Bose Case is relatively compact, with each earbud having a clear position.
Bose earbuds don’t have clip rings, but feel looser.
Image source: Bethany Allard / Mixed
Both earplugs are water-resistant and therefore should withstand sweating during exercise.
Our winners: tie
Skullcandy vs. Bose: Battery Life
Apart from the good battery life of both earbuds, there is nothing to say here. Skullcandy estimates that with ANC enabled, you will take about 9 hours per charge, and battery life is 23 hours. Bose is estimated to be 8.5 hours and case is 31.5 hours.
Numbers, Bose is the winner here, but during the two work weeks of testing, I only had to charge Skullcandy’s earbuds at once. The Bose app has a feature that allows you to easily see the breakdown of the remaining battery life, but that’s not something I checked regularly during testing.
The Bose app makes it easy to tell how much play time you have left.
Image source: Screenshot: Bose
For everyday use, I find these earplugs perform very similarly in the battery life department.
Our winners: tie
Skullcandy vs. Bose: Companion app and extra features
When testing these earbuds side by side, I immediately noticed that the Bose-powered elements don’t hide themselves. Skullcandy uses Bose Quietcomfort’s powerful sound, voice assistant and tile application interface.
Skullcandy app.
Image source: Screenshot: Skullcandy
Compared with Bose app.
Image source: Screenshot: Bose
While the Bose app has more features, including battery prediction, smart call and voice assistant sections, there is also a lot of overlap. Both have equalizer settings, touch control customization, low latency mode, and even the remote selfie section.
Digitally speaking, Bose just has more features that you can really familiarize your earbud experience to suit you best. In terms of functionality, the Skullcandy has a slight edge of the adjustable ANC, but the Bose’s overall ANC is better, as well as larger customization, its battery prediction screen, and more different EQ pre-sets help it stand out before cheaper earbuds.
Our winners: Bose letimcomfort
Our Winner: Sales Bose Earbuds
The fact that a pair of Skullcandy earbuds can fully grasp the Bose earbuds proves what the brand does to the Method 360 ANC. Overall, I won’t call them exactly the same, but I’d say they’re similar enough that you won’t be frustrated with grabbing them for $100. If they always stay consistent at their introductory price, they will easily be the winner of this game.
However, they will jump to $129.99. Combined with the fact that Bose’s earbuds are often marked for $149, so it’s hard not to recommend just adding an extra $20 for just $20 to get slightly better earbuds and with more features.
Get Skullcandy and Bose earplugs
Still can’t decide? Check out our full review of Bose Quietcomfort earbuds and Skullcandy Method 360 ANC earbuds. If you are on a bigger budget, we recommend checking out our reviews on Bose Quietcomfort Ultra earbuds.
