SkullCandy Icon 2 and Titan Continue the Trend

Posted on August 2nd, 2012. Written by Rico.

Both the Icon 2 and Titan look good, and they’re both reasonably priced at ₱2,000 each. Yet like other SkullCandy products, they’re more about aesthetics and than audio quality.

The SkullCandy Icon 2 is a pair of on-ear headphones. Each earpiece is attached to an adjustable headband through a wishbone assembly, and both slide downwards to accommodate even the biggest head (such as mine). There are a plethora of color combinations, ranging from all black to the red-green number I tried out.

What’s notable is that compared to earlier SkullCandy headphone designs, the Icon 2 is quite understated. The brand logo is present on the outer casing of each earpiece, but the design is minimalist overall. The wishbone connection makes the headphones feel a bit flimsy, but allows for a little twisting that makes the accessory fit snugly on anyone’s ears.

The SkullCandy Titan on the other hand is a pair of in-ear headphones. Just stick them into your ears, and the rubber stoppers not only keep the earphones in, but seal off outside noise as well. Compared to the Icon 2, the Titan is even more minimalist, with most variants featuring black cables and colored plastic casing.

The stoppers are the reason why the Titan sounds better than the Icon 2. They allow you to hear whatever you’re playing much better. Since the Icon 2′s earpieces just rest over your ear, loud noises will “leak” in—an issue present on all over-ear headphones.

Still, both SkullCandy products suffer from some audio distortion. Even the highest-quality audio will sound a bit muddy and blurred for the listener. This becomes even more prevalent at higher volumes.

Of course, the smaller size of the Titan means there are limitations to what kind of drivers (the actual hardware that produces the sound) SkullCandy can cram into the earphones. Yet good audio should be possible with the larger size of the Icon 2. My personal headphones, the Sennheiser PX-100 II, does the job pretty well. The treble remained clear no matter how high I set the volume to (right up to the point where loud music was already painful to the ears), with the bass retaining its full oomph.

And that’s my point: SkullCandy has the design part of the equation solved, which is why they’re a status symbol of sorts for those who like walking around with headphones or earphones on. The just look good. On the other hand, you’ll never find audiophiles (people for whom audio quality is paramount) recommending the SkullCandy Icon 2 and Titan. For the same price—or even slightly less—you’ll find headphones and earphones that provide a much better sound.