Skullcandy Sesh Review – Budget Buds with Bass

These are cheap true wireless earbuds with monster volume but flawed performance.

Skullcandy Sesh can’t compare to the best true wireless buds on the market. But their cheap price puts them against other low-priced models, and compared to them, the Sesh offer a lot of volume, decent comfort, and reasonable features.

There’s nothing “best-in-class” about these true wireless earbuds. The battery lasts only 3 hours per charge, and it uses the outdated Micro-USB. Most high-end TWS earbuds last double that.

The absolute champions in battery life are the Beats PowerBeats Pro (click here to find their battery life).

Also, the controls aren’t the best. Passive noise isolation is about average, but the volume goes to extreme highs with a good amount of bass. Like it’s usual for Skullcandy.

And to make everything better, you can get them under $50 (usually around $60). It’s a super low price for true wireless headphones.

Pros & Cons

Skullcandy Sesh related:

• Best bass earbuds
• Best wireless earbuds under $50

What’s in the Box?

• Skullcandy Sesh true wireless headphones
• Plastic charging and carrying case (works as power storage)
• Micro-USB charging cable
• 3 pairs of regular silicone eartips (Skullcandy calls them eargels)
• User manual

Comfort & Fit

3.0 Good

How comfortable are Skullcandy Sesh?

Due to their lightweight design, you barely feel them in the ears. They stick in well and mostly don’t budge once you insert them. But the unusually shaped casing doesn’t offer the perfect fit. You need to readjust them during listening to keep the isolation and bass.

The earbuds look ergonomic, but our experience was different. They’re comfortable once put in the ear canal, but before you get to that point, you need to adjust it a couple of times.

It seems the shape of the casing doesn’t fit all ears equally well. It feels a bit insecure, and when you move your face, you’re likely to lose the airtight fit. You need to readjust it to get the right bass and noise isolation.

Smiling usually moves your ears a bit and, as a consequence, ruins the fit. You can’t smile wearing these.

Nonetheless, the earphones are comfortable, and you can easily wear them for hours (only 3 hours since the battery lasts that long). They don’t irritate the ears and generally feel lightweight.

If the fit didn’t require constant readjustment, they’d get 4 out of 5.

You get 3 pairs of silicone eartips (S, M, L).

Noise Isolation

3.0 Good

How effective is noise isolation in Skullcandy Sesh?

Passive noise isolation is average for in-ear headphones. But that means they block most of the ambient noise and more than most on-ear and over-ear headphones.

Now, the isolation depends on the size of the eartips you use. With the basic silicone tips in the package, you can choose from 3 sizes.

But you can get better sound isolation with memory-foam eartips (you have to buy them separately).

Bluetooth

2.0 Acceptable

How strong is Bluetooth connection?

Skullcandy Sesh have average Bluetooth connection. Immediately after first connecting them, we got random interruptions of the signal. It gets better after a hard reset but still creates occasional distortion.

If you’re getting disconnects when first pairing with your music device, do a hard reset. It helped us.

Now, the Sesh still get infrequent distortion, but it’s not a deal-breaker anymore. In our testing, it happens 2-3 times per hour of listening. Not good, but you can tolerate it.

We got more problems…

For no real reason, the earbuds wouldn’t turn off when put into the charging case. Most of the time they do, but sometimes it just doesn’t work.

Also, when taking them out, it happens that one earbud doesn’t turn on.

Thankfully, you can do it by long pressing the main button.

They use the latest Bluetooth 5.0, which has the usual range of around 33ft (10m). It stops working after the second wall.

When you put 1 wall in between your smartphone and the wireless earbuds, they usually work.

Here’s how to pair wireless Skullcandy earbuds.

Is there a delay when watching video?

Most Bluetooth headphones have a minimal sound delay in videos if you look carefully. Skullcandy Sesh are no different, but you can still comfortably watch YouTube without getting annoyed.

The Sesh only support basic Bluetooth codec, SBC, which makes sense since they’re so cheap.

Battery

2.5 Average

What’s the battery life?

Sesh Bluetooth earbuds last only about 3 hours per charge. Plus, come with around 7 hours more in the charging case. This is on the lower end for the category, but that’s acceptable for the price.

In our testing we got 2h 50min per charge at half volume. But you can listen to them at 30% volume which will get you longer playtime.

The charging case feels pretty solid and has an LED indicator of how much battery is left in it. It’s always good to know how much power you have left.

They don’t come with quick charging, but to get to 100% form zero should take less than 2 hours.

The charging cable is the old Micro-USB, which saves costs but isn’t as fast nor the latest standard (USB-C is newer).

Durability

3.5 Almost Great

How durable are they, are they waterproof?

Sesh earbuds aren’t the best waterproof Bluetooth headphones, but with IP55 (IPX5) protection, they’re resistant to water splashes, dust, and fully sweatproof. They’re made out of plastic that doesn’t feel premium but isn’t cheap either.

Build quality isn’t as bad as you’d expect from budget true wireless earbuds.

They feel and look pretty good, hiding their price well. Nobody will know how little you paid.

But make sure you don’t drop them too often. The plastic gets scraped easily (that’s what we did).

With the IP55 water protection, you can use them for sports, working out, and any other activity. But you can’t submerge them in water.

For more suitable fitness options, see the best workout headphones.

Also, the buttons give solid pressure feedback when you press them, almost too much, and it can get a bit painful.

You get a 2-year warranty from Skullcandy in case they die on you unexpectedly.

Features

3.0 Good

How are the features?

Skullcandy Sesh come with basic features like built-in controls, a microphone, a charging case with a battery indicator, voice assistant support, and automatic on/off function when taken out of the case.

If there’s one thing we’d improve, it’s the controls.

You have to press in quite firmly to use the function. It puts strain on your ears, which can be painful. And it’s definitely annoying.

Furthermore, the microphone works fine for phone calls. You won’t get any complaints from the other side in a typical environment (that’s not too loud).

On the other hand, we did have some problems with earphones turning off when put into the charging case. Mostly, it works, but not always.

Since these are cheap true wireless earbuds, you can’t expect premium features like EQ app or noise cancelling. So, what you get is pretty good for the category.

Check out best noise cancelling earbuds.

Sound

3.5 Almost Great

How do the Skullcandy Sesh sound like?

Lots of unhealthy volume. With other headphones half power is usually enjoyable, but Sesh blasts your ears with almost uncomfortable intensity. Plus, you get a good amount of bass with the right fit.

Do you know what Skullcandy is known for?

Pretty much all of their headphones can get super loud and bassy.

While the Sesh aren’t as bass-heavy as the Crusher, they offer amplified bass that really comes out once you get an airtight fit.

It’s punchy and deep but gets muddy often. There’s more power than details.

Keep in mind that without the proper fit, you won’t get the lows you want.

But with the best bass headphones the fit isn’t that important.

These are loud and intense. And you have to be really careful not to blast music too loudly for too long. You can damage your hearing.

Together with strong bass, the treble is surprisingly clear. Though at higher volumes distorts like it’s normal for cheaper headphones.

Since these aren’t Hi-Fi headphones but geared towards a casual audience, they sound good enough for most people to enjoy—especially if you’re into bassy music.

The soundstage isn’t spectacular, but rather small since these are in-ear headphones. And it’s nothing to worry about if you’re not an audiophile.

All in all, it’s the typical sound quality we’ve come to expect from Skullcandy. You get lots of bass and volume with decent clarity.

For the price you’re paying, you’ll be happy.

Why Buy Skullcandy Sesh?

Sure, the battery life is only 3 hours, which might not be enough for a lot of people. But since you’re paying a low price you can’t expect much more.

These are dirt-cheap true wireless earbuds that come with enjoyable, bassy sound, good long-term comfort, and build quality.

But not all is perfect, like the unreliable Bluetooth connection, slightly annoying controls, and an irregular fit.

In the end, for the price you pay, you can’t get perfect true wireless earphones, but the Skullcandy Sesh are enjoyable in the right ways while randomly reminding you, you bought a cheap pair of headphones.

Specifications

More true wireless earphone reviews:

• Beats PowerBeats Pro – pricey TWS sports earbuds with monster bass & battery
• Sony WF-1000XM3 – best noise cancelling true wireless buds
• Aukey T10 –  affordable and great for sports

Matija Ferjan

Matija Ferjan is a seasoned audio enthusiast reviewing headphones since 2015. He has personally tested hundreds of headphones and earbuds. He’s an active member of the Headphone Audio community and a true nitpicker, always looking for the “best-value-for-money” headphones.