https://www.skullcandy.com/shop/earbuds/bluetooth-earbuds/sesh-evo
About a month ago I decided to try out some new earbuds. I have been an AirPod user since the original ones came out and since then have never needed to look for new earbuds. I always have been a headphone addict (much to my wife’s chagrin) though. “You’re buying another pair of headphones? What’s wrong with the ones you have?” She has to say to me about once or twice a year. I can’t explain it. It’s been ever since I was a young child. I’ve been following Skullcandy for years and even bought a pair of their over-ear headphones, the Hesh 3, on Amazon refurbished a couple of years ago. All last year they had been dropping limited-edition colorways every month and I was drooling over them, but at around $100 a pop, couldn’t bring myself to drop the cash on them when I have a set of earbuds which work FLAWLESSLY across all my Apple devices. In December, the Sesh Evo True Wireless Earbuds went on sale for $29.99 and that same ten year-old who begged his parents to get him some ten dollar SONY earbuds every time they were at the store couldn’t resist. I had to get them. I picked them up to find out just how likely it was that my beloved AirPods could be replaced. Turns out, they can’t. By forcing myself to use them (so I could write this review) however, I was surprised by how much I grew to like them. Dare I say, love them?
Overall Thoughts:
The Good:
- Battery Life
- Price (especially on sale)
- Tile Compatibility
The Bad:
- Not nearly as convenient as AirPods
- Charging case is bulky and odd-shaped
Neutral:
-The overall feel in the ears (Can actually be positive for those who have larger ear-holes (medical-term?)
In my review, I’m not going to go into sound quality at all. To my ears, there’s no discernible difference between Apple’s AirPods and the Skullcandy SESH EVO True Wireless Earbuds. Apple fans will say AirPods are the best in class, audiophiles will say AirPods are trash for what they cost. I have really damaged hearing and the majority of my headphone use is for podcasts and YouTube Videos and in those realms, for the most part, these two options are on an equal playing field. My entire reason for wanting these, was as a comparison between the two in terms of convenience and usability, so, those are the two things I had in mind while making each comparison.
As I said before, I really wanted to see how likely it is that these could become my AirPods replacements and daily-driver earbuds. Turn out, they weren’t, at first. The first week, I couldn’t believe how inconvenient they were. They felt VERY tight in my ear, even on the smallest cushions (the earbuds come with your standard S, M, L) felt like they were stretching my ears and I could not get comfortable in them. Now, I say the overall feel is neutral because I think this is a very common issue when switching from headphones to another pair, especially with earbuds. Now, for my wife, they were actually an improvement. She has struggled her whole life with earbuds because she has rather large earholes and earbuds almost always seem to be too loose and fall out of her ear. When I had her try these, she was genuinely surprised and even began to thrash her head about to see if they would stay in, and they did. So, this could actually be a positive compared to other earbuds, especially the base model AirPods, which never worked for her.
Despite my own issues with the feel in my ears, I stayed true to my dedication to use these as absolutely often as I could. After a week, though, I really started to enjoy them and even found myself looking for them over my AirPods. Here’s why.
I have two extra jobs on top of my regular job. I deliver pizzas four nights a week and the other nights I drive for UberEats. AirPods are a big investment. I realize it sounds silly for someone who buys mostly Apple products to say that, as all Apple products are big investments, but it’s a lot easier to lose or damage these tiny little fragile earbuds. It just is. The other night while doing dishes, somehow my AirPods fell into the trash can at work. I spent hours looking for them and only by sheer luck did I have the idea to dig through the trash can before I tossed it in the dumpster at the end of the night and sure enough, found them. I was ultimately relieved, but also extremely annoyed at myself. I’m not saying I would be glad to throw away my Skullcandy earbuds, but at the sale price of $29.99, it wouldn’t hurt NEARLY as much. I’ve also noticed I don’t like how sweaty my AirPods they get when I go to the gym or for a walk around my neighborhood in the mornings. Having a decent pair of headphones that I can comfortably put some miles on without worrying about damaging or losing them has been a very welcomed side-effect I wasn’t even anticipating. I also have had great experience with the battery-life. In fact, I keep one bud in all night while I’m driving so I can listen to podcasts and answer easily if my wife calls wondering when I think I’m heading home. After a few days, I didn’t even notice the difference of the feel in my ear, I was accustomed to it. I couldn’t accomplish this with my AirPods, if I leave them playing a podcast, I’m not getting more than an hour and a half of use out of them. (Granted they’re old and do charge fast, but the Skullcandy earbuds charge fast too, and the case does as well.) The other thing I really like is that the tile Tile compatibility is built right in to the earbuds. Yes, AirPods can ring when you find them, but, I don’t need them to ring when I find them. How does that help? I do wish the beeping on the Skullcandy Sesh was louder, but even having the feature at all is a really nice touch. Remember when I said I dropped my AirPods into the trash, would’ve been nice to be able to tap a button to sound a beacon so I could’ve found them much quicker.
Not everything about these headphones is convenient, though, and if you’re an AirPod user the lack of ability to switch devices might be enough to make sure these (or any other headphones, for that matter) will not take the place of your AirPods. To swap from one device to another, you have to make sure you disconnect from the device they are currently paired with before you leave the other device, otherwise, they stay connected to that one. Sure, this has gotten easier since now you can long-press the Bluetooth Symbol from Control Center, tap on SESH EVO to disconnect from the current device and follow the same process to connect to the new device, but it’s still not as flawless as the way switching between devices using the AirPods is. I know that for some people this would be an absolute dealbreaker, but if you only ever use your headphones with your phone, and I know a lot of people who do, then this probably won’t be such an issue. The case, on the other hand, the case might also be a problem. It’s long, and it’s bulky and it doesn’t seem to be built well. Mine already has a crack in it and I’m sure it’s because I tried to carry it around in my pocket and it fits TIGHT. AirPods are sleek and the case is much sturdier. No question about that. This probably isn’t an issue if you use them primarily at home, or if you’re going to the gym or on a hike and don’t plan to take them out, but for me, it poses enough of annoyance to bring it up.
Overall, the earbuds are nice. I’ll be very brutally honest, they aren’t going to replace my AirPods, I’m not surprised, I’ve tried using other various earbuds and the result is always the same, AirPods will always best them out almost due entirely to a flawless Apple Ecosystem integration. If you only use earbuds with one device, though, or if you’re looking for a good back-up set for one specific device, or even need a temporary replacement until you can get a new pair of AirPods, these are quite nice. ESPECIALLY for the price, it’s hard to get over and honestly I kept trying to figure out how to rate these because even though they don’t replace my AirPods, the price puts them in a completely different category and when you’re competing with the JBL, Aukey and Raycon, these actually are probably the best I’ve used.
Final Rating:
3/5 As an AirPod Replacement, doable, but not without concessions
BUT
4/5 If you need an affordable backup or temporary replacement and you factor in the price, especially when they go on sale (like they are right now.)
About a month ago I decided to try out some new earbuds. I have been an AirPod user since the original ones came out and since then have never needed to look for new earbuds. I always have been a headphone addict (much to my wife’s chagrin) though. “You’re buying another pair of headphones? What’s wrong with the ones you have?” She has to say to me about once or twice a year. I can’t explain it. It’s been ever since I was a young child. I’ve been following Skullcandy for years and even bought a pair of their over-ear headphones, the Hesh 3, on Amazon refurbished a couple of years ago. All last year they had been dropping limited-edition colorways every month and I was drooling over them, but at around $100 a pop, couldn’t bring myself to drop the cash on them when I have a set of earbuds which work FLAWLESSLY across all my Apple devices. In December, the Sesh Evo True Wireless Earbuds went on sale for $29.99 and that same ten year-old who begged his parents to get him some ten dollar SONY earbuds every time they were at the store couldn’t resist. I had to get them. I picked them up to find out just how likely it was that my beloved AirPods could be replaced. Turns out, they can’t. By forcing myself to use them (so I could write this review) however, I was surprised by how much I grew to like them. Dare I say, love them?
Overall Thoughts:
The Good:
- Battery Life
- Price (especially on sale)
- Tile Compatibility
The Bad:
- Not nearly as convenient as AirPods
- Charging case is bulky and odd-shaped
Neutral:
-The overall feel in the ears (Can actually be positive for those who have larger ear-holes (medical-term?)
In my review, I’m not going to go into sound quality at all. To my ears, there’s no discernible difference between Apple’s AirPods and the Skullcandy SESH EVO True Wireless Earbuds. Apple fans will say AirPods are the best in class, audiophiles will say AirPods are trash for what they cost. I have really damaged hearing and the majority of my headphone use is for podcasts and YouTube Videos and in those realms, for the most part, these two options are on an equal playing field. My entire reason for wanting these, was as a comparison between the two in terms of convenience and usability, so, those are the two things I had in mind while making each comparison.
As I said before, I really wanted to see how likely it is that these could become my AirPods replacements and daily-driver earbuds. Turn out, they weren’t, at first. The first week, I couldn’t believe how inconvenient they were. They felt VERY tight in my ear, even on the smallest cushions (the earbuds come with your standard S, M, L) felt like they were stretching my ears and I could not get comfortable in them. Now, I say the overall feel is neutral because I think this is a very common issue when switching from headphones to another pair, especially with earbuds. Now, for my wife, they were actually an improvement. She has struggled her whole life with earbuds because she has rather large earholes and earbuds almost always seem to be too loose and fall out of her ear. When I had her try these, she was genuinely surprised and even began to thrash her head about to see if they would stay in, and they did. So, this could actually be a positive compared to other earbuds, especially the base model AirPods, which never worked for her.
Despite my own issues with the feel in my ears, I stayed true to my dedication to use these as absolutely often as I could. After a week, though, I really started to enjoy them and even found myself looking for them over my AirPods. Here’s why.
I have two extra jobs on top of my regular job. I deliver pizzas four nights a week and the other nights I drive for UberEats. AirPods are a big investment. I realize it sounds silly for someone who buys mostly Apple products to say that, as all Apple products are big investments, but it’s a lot easier to lose or damage these tiny little fragile earbuds. It just is. The other night while doing dishes, somehow my AirPods fell into the trash can at work. I spent hours looking for them and only by sheer luck did I have the idea to dig through the trash can before I tossed it in the dumpster at the end of the night and sure enough, found them. I was ultimately relieved, but also extremely annoyed at myself. I’m not saying I would be glad to throw away my Skullcandy earbuds, but at the sale price of $29.99, it wouldn’t hurt NEARLY as much. I’ve also noticed I don’t like how sweaty my AirPods they get when I go to the gym or for a walk around my neighborhood in the mornings. Having a decent pair of headphones that I can comfortably put some miles on without worrying about damaging or losing them has been a very welcomed side-effect I wasn’t even anticipating. I also have had great experience with the battery-life. In fact, I keep one bud in all night while I’m driving so I can listen to podcasts and answer easily if my wife calls wondering when I think I’m heading home. After a few days, I didn’t even notice the difference of the feel in my ear, I was accustomed to it. I couldn’t accomplish this with my AirPods, if I leave them playing a podcast, I’m not getting more than an hour and a half of use out of them. (Granted they’re old and do charge fast, but the Skullcandy earbuds charge fast too, and the case does as well.) The other thing I really like is that the tile Tile compatibility is built right in to the earbuds. Yes, AirPods can ring when you find them, but, I don’t need them to ring when I find them. How does that help? I do wish the beeping on the Skullcandy Sesh was louder, but even having the feature at all is a really nice touch. Remember when I said I dropped my AirPods into the trash, would’ve been nice to be able to tap a button to sound a beacon so I could’ve found them much quicker.
Not everything about these headphones is convenient, though, and if you’re an AirPod user the lack of ability to switch devices might be enough to make sure these (or any other headphones, for that matter) will not take the place of your AirPods. To swap from one device to another, you have to make sure you disconnect from the device they are currently paired with before you leave the other device, otherwise, they stay connected to that one. Sure, this has gotten easier since now you can long-press the Bluetooth Symbol from Control Center, tap on SESH EVO to disconnect from the current device and follow the same process to connect to the new device, but it’s still not as flawless as the way switching between devices using the AirPods is. I know that for some people this would be an absolute dealbreaker, but if you only ever use your headphones with your phone, and I know a lot of people who do, then this probably won’t be such an issue. The case, on the other hand, the case might also be a problem. It’s long, and it’s bulky and it doesn’t seem to be built well. Mine already has a crack in it and I’m sure it’s because I tried to carry it around in my pocket and it fits TIGHT. AirPods are sleek and the case is much sturdier. No question about that. This probably isn’t an issue if you use them primarily at home, or if you’re going to the gym or on a hike and don’t plan to take them out, but for me, it poses enough of annoyance to bring it up.
Overall, the earbuds are nice. I’ll be very brutally honest, they aren’t going to replace my AirPods, I’m not surprised, I’ve tried using other various earbuds and the result is always the same, AirPods will always best them out almost due entirely to a flawless Apple Ecosystem integration. If you only use earbuds with one device, though, or if you’re looking for a good back-up set for one specific device, or even need a temporary replacement until you can get a new pair of AirPods, these are quite nice. ESPECIALLY for the price, it’s hard to get over and honestly I kept trying to figure out how to rate these because even though they don’t replace my AirPods, the price puts them in a completely different category and when you’re competing with the JBL, Aukey and Raycon, these actually are probably the best I’ve used.
Final Rating:
3/5 As an AirPod Replacement, doable, but not without concessions
BUT
4/5 If you need an affordable backup or temporary replacement and you factor in the price, especially when they go on sale (like they are right now.)
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