Design & Construction

The Skullcandy Venue is Skullcandy's first venture into the ever-popular noise-cancelling headphone market. With so many audio companies stepping up their game these days, can the Venues maintain a solid foothold or blend in as a common headphone next to its competitors. Let's dive straight in! Just like Hesh 3, Skullcandy is targeting consumers of today's modern world. The Venue headphone has a very neutral look, matte black or white all around with gloss earcup handles and a metallic headband extension. The left earcup has the (From Back-Front): Power button, Power Gauge and ANC button. Tapping the Power button reveals the remaining battery life seen on the gauge and holding it down powers it on or off. Pressing the ANC button will put the headphones in an ambient sound mode which lowers the music volume and pumps in your surrounding noise so that you can talk to someone quick or hear an announcement. Controlling the rest of the playback functions are on the right earcup itself. Single press the Volume + increase volume and single press Volume - to decrease volume. Holding down the Volume + for next track and hold down the Volume - to skip to the previous track. Pairing via Bluetooth is simple and quick although no NFC is available. It is also worth noting that the headphones only requires 10 minutes of charging for 5 hours of playback. Impressive! Both sides of the headband bear the Skullcandy logo. The headphones have thick cushions which is meant for providing a comfortable experience. The headband is very plush and will not cause discomfort to those who wear spectacles. On the headband, there is also cushioned headrest which provides a decent amount of comfort. The exterior of the headphones gives off this matte understated colour scheme but it resists fingerprints smudges very well. On the top, the headband holding the structure is made of metal and the earcups pivot left and right and folds flat for easy storage. The earcups are a little cramped, hence it does not encase your ears but rather sits on them and causes absolutely wearing fatigue after few hours of usage. Overall, the Venue is very plasticky and creaks a lot when handling them. It simply doesn't have the feel of a premium quality headphone.

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Sound Quality

The 40mm headphone drivers sound decent. They produce a sound signature pretty similar to the Hesh 3 but sounds slightly better. Highs sound very bright and the treble is something ear-piercing when emphasised using an equaliser. The mids do a pretty good job of staying clear and precise. The lows, on the other hand, are quite disappointing. The bass is severely lacking and when emphasised using an equaliser, it bottoms out and bleeds into the mid-range. In the end, it sounds boomy. With the lack of a wide soundstage and proper instrument separation, the sound quality of the Venue isn't worth a single cent of its price tag. On the bright side, the noise-cancelling is comparable to other headphones at this price point. I could not really hear my surroundings when there was no music on. However, voices and high frequencies do leak in but it is considerably muffled. Call quality was okay but the caller manages to hear me on the other end but feedbacked that I sound muffled.

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Connectivity & Portability

The headphone operates both passively and wirelessly. The mic and controls on the earcups are still work in wired mode. The battery life peaks at 24 hours. The headphones feature Tile integration which allows users to find their headphone should they lost them or their phone. This feature requires the Tile App, available for download via the App & Play Store. The headphones folds flat into a more compact profile and come with a micro USB cable for charging, a 3.5mm cable for wired use and a premium hardshell carrying case to protect the headphone from drops and scratches.

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PROS​

• Long Battery Life

• Easy Controls For Music Play & Calls

• Ambient Sound

• Quick Charging

• Decent Noise-Cancellation

• Folds Flat into a Smaller Profile

• Carrying Case

• Two Colour Choice

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CONS​

• Plastic Build

• Uncomfortable Fit

• Lacking Sound Quality

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The Bottom Line

The Skullcandy Venue is a decent noise-cancelling headphone housing a 24-hour battery life, decent noise-cancelling, monitor mode and easy to use controls. However, Skullcandy didn't get the important deciding factors like sound and fit right which makes them just another alternative on the saturated noise-cancelling headphone market.