Skullcandy G.I.

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When people first hear the word “Headphones”, companies such as Bose, Sennheiser and Sony pop into their minds. Today I’m going to be reviewing a set of headphones, and the company that makes them isn’t included in the list above.

The Skullcandy G.I’s are probably the most stylish headphones you’ll ever come across. They feature very comfortable padding, in-line volume controls and a really cool design. The headphones come from a great company that I hadn’t heard of and I’m sure you probably haven’t heard of unless you have ever been part of the skateboard or snowboard culture.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the G.I’s:

• Street Price: $69.99
• Driver Unit Size: 41mm
• Frequency Response: 100Hz - 18KHz
• Impedance: 50 Ohms
• Soft leather touch earpads
• 90 Degree swivel speakers
• In-line volume control

Things I like
One thing that I really enjoy about these headphones are how they’re designed. I think Skullcandy did an excellent job when they made these. From the moment I slipped them on to the moment I took them off I enjoyed having them on my head. The ear pieces fit perfectly over my ears so there isn’t any uncomfortableness as there is with some headphones that press your ear against the side of your head. Unfortunately though, this is the only good thing I can say about the G.I’s. While Skullcandy did an excellent job in making them look and feel nice they failed in pretty much every other aspect.

Things I don’t like
In my opinion, the G.I’s do not live up to the quality I would expect from a pair of $70 headphones. My first pet peeve is the sound quality. Coming from a company who specializes in headphones and mp3 players I would have thought that the sound coming from the G.I’s would have been top quality, but I was sadly mistaken. When I first put on the headphones I was expecting a rich experience full of deep bass, excellent mids and beautiful highs but Skullcandy seemed to have missed everything but the middle. The G.I’s have almost no bass to them. It was impossible for me to get any thump even with my player set to full bass.

The other thing I disliked about these headphones were how they felt when I was taking them off my head. Normally I like my headphones to have a certain sturdiness to them. I like knowing that I can toss them around without worrying that I might snap them in half, and the G.I’s just don’t have this feeling. Every time I moved them from my head I was worried that I was going to hurt my headphones. I’m sure this partly had to do with the DJ style (you can swivel the ear pieces), but it worried me. If Skullcandy had made these headphones a little studier I think they would have had a better product.

Pros:

• They look amazing
• Lots of accessories

Cons:

• Poor sound quality
• Little to no bass
• They have a flimsy feel to them

Final Thoughts
As you probably could tell I was not impressed with the Skullcandy G.I’s. I think Skullcandy should have spent less time coming up with a nice looking product and more time making that product sound good. If you’re really into how you look I would suggest you buy these headphones. If you care at all how your music sounds I would stay away and invest in a decent pair of headphones.