Skullcandy INK’D 2.0

| 11 mm Driver | Neodymium Magnet |

? We decided to review the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 which are among the most sold and rated earphones on Amazon.com. To be honest, we were always resilient to buy and review the Skullcandy’s most of all conditioned by a below expectancy result with many hyped headphones and the lack of technical specifications shared by Skullcandy. We were finally convinced to give them a chance after thoroughly researching the technical specifications and finding out that they hold a fairly large 11mm dynamic driver and a strong neodymium magnet.

The Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 are part of the budget line of their earphones and are positioned above the Skullcandy Jib line.

Skullcandy is a brand that manufactures solely earphones, headphones and speakers so audio should not be a unknown matter to them. The Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 are part of the budget line of their earphones and are positioned above the Skullcandy Jib line.

As the brand name suggests everything is branded with skulls from the housings to even the eartips (eartip branding is something that can be also seen on some earphones like the Puma Bulldogs, Puma El Diego and Puma Mach 9) Housings are made of plastic and feel very light and kind of cheap, the cable is rubbery, flat and tangle-free, there is an inline microphone and 1 button control that is made of plastic too and is easy to press without making a lot of effort; opposite to what happens with the premium line of UiiSii earphones (see the UiiSii Hi-705 for example)

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Skullcandy INK'D 2.0 - Review

Tests & Scores

Weight

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Accessories & Packaging

The Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 are packed inside a blisted with 2 extra eartips, did we ever mention how much we hate blisters?

^5_/10

Bass & Sub Bass

We were sort of turned off by the construction and quality of plastics used for the housings and to be true we were not expecting much from the Skullcandy but to our very surprise the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 have a very nice, fun and punchy bass that is still balanced and not excessive, sub-bass has enough depth too. The 11mm dynamic driver and the neodymium magnet are efficiently doing their job. With an eq the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 become much punchier and gain a lot more of depth. So, if you prefer to use it for bassier and party-styled music you can safely apply an EQ and fine tune the bass of them.

… to our very surprise the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 have a very nice, fun and punchy bass that is still balanced and not excessive…

We put the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 under our extreme bass test applying a custom basshead equalization and amplifying them with a Fiio E12 portable amplifier set to high gain and turning on bass boost. The INK’D 2.0 were able to handle 40% of Fiio’s maximum power and in exchange they gratefully answer back with an exuberant enhancement of punch and depth and some marginal basshead rumble and impact on the category of the KZ ATE and below the KZ ZST, KZ ED12, Xiaomi Mi Quantie Pro Hybrid, Sony MDR-XB50AP, Sony MDR-7550/800ST or Pioneer SE-CX8.

^7.75_/10

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Mids & Vocals

Mids of the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 suffer from medium recession mostly on lower mids and lower vocals, overall they are warm, higher mids are not as recessed and at the same time they are not harsh. With an EQ the INK’D 2.0 improve very noticeably with much better lower mids and a lot less of recession. On the other hand, higher mids get harsh.

^7.25_/10

Highs & Treble

The highs of the Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 have some brightness and detail and are piercing only with very high peaks, overall they are not sibilant. If an EQ is applied they rapidly become very sibilant and a bit more piercing. However, they clear up a lot and are able to provide much more detail than before equalizing.

^7.5_/10

Sound Leak

The sound that leaks out of the Skullcandy is about average with medium levels of sound leaking. They are not exceptional but neither terrible. We would not recommend to use them on libraries.

^7_/10

Sound Isolation

Sound isolation is slightly worse than average requiring volumes a little bit stronger to be more efficient.

^6.75_/10

Comfort

The super light housings (and cheap feeling plastics, in our opinion) makes them comfortable to use even for extended time, they fit securely to withstand any normal use and are easy to put in and out.

^8_/10

Response to Equalization

The Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 respond very well to custom equalization, bass is able to become much deeper and punchier, mids open up noticeably and remove the laid back lower vocals, highs brighten up significantly and much more detail is obtained.

^8.25_/10

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Scores

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Skullcandy INK’D 2.0 Frequency Response

Skullcandy INK’D 2.0

Photos

Skullcandy INK'D 2.0

7.3

SCORE

7.3/10