Skullcandy Push Active

Survival of the Fittest

Skullcandy aims to bring another contender into the sports headphone game with the Push Active and presents them in a solid plastic charging case. The obligatory skull is imprinted on the top of the box, and a distinctive colour decorates the inside, depending on which colour variant you choose (black/orange, blue/green, grey/blue). At first glance, the earpiece design looks quite large compared to typical Bluetooth buds. Despite their seven grams, these earpieces feel light because the rubberised earpieces wrap softly around the ear. This helps to manage both weight and support well.

The larger design also has advantages: There is room for powerful batteries in these earphones, which, according to the manufacturer, last for about ten hours. The case battery can be used for three more hours. There are built-in six-millimetre drivers for sound transmission, and an IP55 certification protects from sweat and any showers that might surprise you while out jogging.

Connectivity and smart features on the Skullcandy Push Active

The Push Active buds have up-to-date Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, so both earpieces connect seamlessly with current mobile devices. On the codec side, however, things look bleak: The manufacturer relies purely on SBC for this model.

The use of a single earpiece is possible without any problems, and you can even share your audio stream with other Skullcandy headphones. The buttons, which are easy to click even when wearing gloves, make it possible to haptically control standard commands such as track selection, volume and answering phone calls. This works well, even at faster speeds on the running track. With Spotify Tap, a direct link to the popular streaming service is available at the touch of a button and the user’s own playlist starts playing. Music fans can activate all smart features, such as the voice control option, in the Skullcandy app; this is divided into many clearly arranged widgets. The hands-free voice control is a nice add-on, but features such as an EQ, a wake-mode that amplifies ambient sounds or a search mode via “Tile” connection are even more valuable. Updates are also conveniently transferred to the system in the earphones via the app, and for us, this worked without any problems.

This is how the Skullcandy Push Active sports headphones sound

If you were expecting the extremely bass-driven and aggressive sound that is the focus of many Skullcandy models, then you will be surprised. In terms of frequency response, these in-ears present themselves with a rather moderate and balanced basic setting (in a positive sense). These headphones offer a pleasantly balanced sound image that doesn’t show any too powerful excesses in the bass range and draws solidly in the top-end range. The stereo image is also confident and conveys the spaces in songs well, whether with acoustic or electronic tracks. The mids could do with a bit more character and subtlety; overall, they lack a bit of warmth. It’s nice that you can still customise the sound in the Skullcandy app. There are three quick pre-sets for podcast, music and film, and there is also a simple, linear 5-band EQ that does not change the sound much, but it does make it a shade better.