The bass of the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 headset makes me literally shake with excitement, and I'm obsessed | Review

I'm a Nintendo fan, so it's a bit of a given that I'd appreciate a gimmick like that found on a contender for one of the best gaming headsets like the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 Wireless. The open-back cups have the unique inclusion of a "Crusher wheel" that, when dialled up to 11 (not literally) can make your head shake with excitement (actually literally) as you play your favorite Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, or Nintendo Switch games.

Thanks to two additional dual bass drivers in each cup, the headset vibrates in time to low sound frequencies, producing audio that sounds almost on par with what you hear on a movie screen. This gimmick adds a layer of immersion that has reinvigorated my childhood love for FPS games, though it's definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

The $269.99 / £249.99 Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 Wireless sounds great with or without its buzzing bass gimmick. But those who strive for the most bass-melting sound out there should definitely pick up this literal in-your-face headset.

Design

The all-black pair of cups utilizes an open-back form factor. That basically means there are two grills on the exterior of each cup, giving the sound of its full-range 40mm audio drivers more space to reverberate in an effort to create a more natural soundscape.

It has a typical over-ear design and, much like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova line, opts for a headstrap under the headband over any foam padding. While this is comfortable and keeps the 354.2g weight feeling light on the head, the shiny material used for the strap can pull back on your hair. This is the only comfort issue I had with the entire design, as both earcups contain ample amounts of foam padding and are coated in a super soft fabric that never set off any sensory alarm bells.

Features

The patented multi-sensory Crusher bass technology is what this headset is all about. I mean, it is in the name after all. However, the unique haptic bass isn't the only thing the Crusher PLYR 720 Wireless has to offer.

The headset includes a wired 3.5mm cable, USB-C to USB-A charging cable, USB-A wireless dongle, removable boom microphone, and a set of stickers right in the box. If you grab the Digi-Black Xbox version like I was provided with for this review, your dongle and stickers will carry that classic green color that we've all come to associate with Microsoft's pixel-pushers. A redeemable code for 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is also included in the box.

To carry on this Xbox theme, the RGBs will also glow green by default, but this can be customized. Unusually, there are four strips of lighting on the exterior, but the main glow resonates from the inside, making it look like something Amanda Ripley would have at her disposal in Alien Isolation.

I'm a huge fan of this unusual RGB placement, but I'm even more of a fan of the on-board controls. The Crusher PLYR 720 has the expected power button, mic mute button, custom button, and that Crusher dial, but there's also a tiny joystick. Yep, while it's not one of the best Xbox Series X controllers, there's a teeny tiny black analog stick on the left cup which you can move up, down, left, or right, or switch between whatever you customize it to via the Skullcandy Gaming Software. By default, pushing up and down will control the volume.

This same cup is where you can also find the 3.5mm port for the wired connection, the USB-C port for charging, and the port to attach the Uni-Directional microphone that's equipped with a small red status LED.

Performance

This Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 sounds outstanding with or without its buzzy bass gimmick. This was an audible feast for the ears on CS2 as I had THX Spatial Audio in my corner. While running around the Anubis map, I could hear every footstep, and even the clucks of the chickens on the map sounded like they were right next to me.

Having the Crusher wheel up to max is what truly made the experience. The full force of the buzzing when any shot collided made me more eager than ever to pile up my kill count. I'm not even a huge FPS fan these days, but this Skullcandy headset may have rekindled my love of the genre with how addictive getting the full deep, resonating vibration was with every kill.

This transposed well to the likes of Marvel Rivals, where every shot I fired as Invisible Woman actually felt physically pulsating. The sound reminded me of the experience of seeing the Fantastic Four First Steps movie on the big screen, which is something I've always wanted to capture when playing games. All this work was being achieved by the dual bass drivers, but the full-range 40mm audio drivers pulled their punches too, no matter if I was playing online games or solo experiences like Dispatch.

With THX Spatial Audio being a Windows-exclusive, some of the headset's quality was lost when moving over to other platforms like the PS5. Yet, the Crusher PLYR 720 could still muster up a great sound. Doom Eternal gave me a brutal metal-inspired soundtrack to play with. With the Crusher dial as high as it would go, I'm certain that the power of the bass shifted any and all earwax that was hiding in my ear canal, it was that intense. When it came to Death Stranding Direct's Cut, the roars of the wind sounded even more treacherous, with the haptics almost mimicking that poppy sound you get when strolling outside during a particularly windy Scottish day.

On the Nintendo Switch 2, I used the opportunity to see how the haptics faired over Bluetooth, and it was just as powerful. It had been a while since I had opened up Mario Kart World, but the effect made it much more exhilarating - even the opening jingle felt gut-punchingly good.

After all this testing, I did notice that the default bass with the dial turned off wasn't that remarkable. I'd say this was disappointing, but it's not really when you have a quick-access thumping bass dial at your disposal, which left me never having to fiddle around with app or software settings. Well, not unless I wanted to.

Software

It was a treat to see the trendy remnants of the Skullcandy brand as I knew it growing up through its cleverly designed free-to-download software.

Skull HQ mimics an old-school tech design with pixelated text and even the headset is represented as a 3D dot-matrix style render. I thought it'd be confusing to navigate at first, but Skullcandy implemented it with helpful tips that feel insightful and not condescending. It genuinely might be one of my favorite accompanying bits of bloat on my PC, a sentence I never thought I'd write. Using it even unlocks mini-games, including a Skullcandy version of Space Invaders. Did I need it? No. Did I appreciate it? Hell yeah.

It's in Skull HQ where you can also tinker with the EQ settings, adjust your mic sidetone, customize the joystock, RGB lighting, and custom button, and complete an Enhanced Sound Perception (ESP) test. Honestly, I much prefer the headset with the ESP setting off as, while it sounded tailored to my ears, the default out-of-the-box audio with the Crusher bass set almost to my max was perfect for my bass-loving ways.

Microphone

The mic quality isn't up to the standard you'd expect for an over $200 pair of cups, but I got plenty of compliments from friends when using it in-game.

I was constantly having peaking problems when trying to capture a recording of the mic quality, so I haven't included a voice sample here. No matter the level of the gain, the recordings always went into the red, and I don't think that's a fair capture of how this mic is in reality.

It's not the best microphone on a headset out there, as that award goes to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, but it's okay. There's a bit of an underlying white noise throughout, but it mixes well with game soundstages, particularly with Repo or Marvel Rivals. It's not a quality that I'd recommend for streaming, but it gets the job done.

My only big hindrance comes down to its boom arm design. I prefer a bendy microphone I can adjust at my will, this isn't that. The mic has a little bit of give, but it would spring back into shape no matter how I moved it. At least with its detachable design, so I was able to take it off and stick to my Shure M7Vi microphone and use its adjustable stand instead.

Should you buy the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720?

With a $269.99 / £249.99 MSRP, the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR leans more towards the premium side of the headset market, but it's worth every penny if you're all about that bass.

The Crusher bass technology never distorted the sound of any game I threw its way. Instead, it gave them that extra oomph that I always strive to find in every headset I test, no matter the platform. Having your head vibrate with any kick of a bass drum in a game's score makes battles more thrilling, and leaves you with an experience that feels reminiscent of going to gigs, where the huge amps are firing through your eardrums - something I adore as someone who used to play in bands back in the day.

You will need regular breaks if you're after this headset purely for its blessed bass. No matter how resilient you are, the constant buzzing of your brain will leave you feeling fuzzy and in need of a rest. But honestly, it's nice to have that reminder to take regular breaks, as we're all meant to be doing that when gaming anyway.

Very rarely do I have a headset that I immediately want to show off to family and friends. But with or without its bassy gimmick, the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 Wireless is my new "you need to try this" bit of technology.

How I tested the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 wireless gaming headset

I spent a little over two weeks with the Skullcandy Crusher PLYR 720 Wireless gaming headset, making it my one and only pair of cups during that time frame. While testing, I used it to play everything from Counter Strike 2, Marvel Rivals, and Dispatch on my gaming PC, and Marvel Rivals, Death Stranding Director's Cut and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth on the PS5. Additionally, I also tested the headset alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 with Animal Crossing New Horizons Switch 2 Edition, Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza to see how the immersive bass faired while gaming on the go.

To put its sound fully to the test, I also used the headset to catch up with Frieren Beyond Journey's End season two via Crunchyroll, and watch the latest episodes of High Potential on Disney+. I also used the pair to see how its immersive bass lent itself towards music, while playing a huge range of music genres, from Mystery Skulls, the Scottish band Slime City, to the orchestral score of the first season of the Frieren Beyond Journey's End anime series by composer Evan Call. For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

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