I'm rough on headphones. And I won't pay a lot for them. Up until I got my iPod, I usually stuck to the cheaper end of headphones. I've never been enough of an audiophile to justify spending a huge amount of money on them.
Like many iPod owners, I wasn't happy with the earphones that came with the iPod, and I upgraded to a set of
Sony MDR-EX71SL earbuds. I loved those headphones; they had great bass response.
However, they didn't last forever, and I replaced them with a set of Koss cheapies which were...okay. They, too, gave up the ghost. So there I was at Target, remembering that I needed new earbuds but didn't want to pay a lot for them. I wanted in-ear earbuds with the rubber inserts to block out external sound. I chose the Skull Candy Ink'd earbuds for $15. They came in several colors, and I chose basic black, thus violating the Apple-introduced tradition of white earbuds.
The Skull Candy Ink'd earbuds did not come with the same extras that the Sonys did. There was no carrying case. However, they were not asymmetrical, and were a good length (the Sonys were too short without the extension cord and too long with it.) But it's also worth pointing out that the Ink'd earbuds cost a third of what the Sonys did.
I had wanted in-ear earbuds with noise cancellation. The Skull Candy Ink'd earbuds score well here. The idea is that they actually fit in the ear canal. The rubber seal blocks out external sound. No, it's not the battery-powered noise cancellation on more expensive earphones, but they work very well.
The Skull Candy Ink'd earbuds offered the same size options (small, medium, and large inserts included with them) and were equally as comfortable as their more expensive cousins. The medium size fit my ears best. Once you have them in, it's easy to forget you're wearing them and you can concentrate on the music. The rubber seal blocks noise as well as the more expensive models. They also stay on the earbuds well; I often carry my headphones in a pants pocket and have had the rubber seals get pried off throughout the day. That's not a problem here.
The sound quality can best be described as 'outstanding for fifteen dollars.' They don't have the bass that the Sony's did, but for the price, it's very good. They have plenty of power for such small earphones; I've had to turn my iPod down, which I didn't have to do with the cheap Koss earbuds. They do seem to be a little heavier on the treble. My iPod had been left on the 'Rock' setting on the equalizer and at first I thought the sound was tinny. Adjusting it to 'Bass Booster' provided a much better experience. Whether that's a flaw is hard to say when it was fixed in less than a minute.
As I mentioned, they don't have a carrying case, and another review mentioned that they don't have an in-line volume control. Both of these complaints are true, but these headphones can be yours for less than $20. It's not reasonable to expect high-end features in a low-cost product. The sound is comparable to more expensive earbuds, the noise cancelling works just as well, and they're comfortable. For $15, that's enough.
Oddly, Skull Candy neglected to indicate which earbud is right and which is left. That's about the only real complaint I have about them. The stereo sound is fine; you'll just be guessing which is the left and right.
The Skull Candy Ink'd earbuds are a great value for the money. If they sound bad, adjust your EQ settings. They offer as good an experience as earbuds costing three times their price. What more could you really ask for?
