After reading a few of the diatribes here on amazon, I felt compelled to write something a little more technical and concise about not only this product, but, for other Skullcandy earbuds as well. First, let me start with my own diatribe about sound quality, and where these earbuds fall in the spectrum of whats available out there.
First off, i am an audiophile of sorts except for one small thing...I HATE spending money for inferior products, based on "brand recognition"!! For example, I still own a pair of 100$ ****(insert 4 letter high end makers name here;-) earbuds that I find inferior to this product- In fact, I wore them for about a week, and put them back in their storage case as a "backup" to my other 3 sets of Skullcandy earbuds/headphone I own currently. Why? For a number of reasons, which I will get into now.
People don't understand what all the tech jargon on the side of the packaging or on manufacterer's websites mean, so I'll try and make it as easy to understand as possible, with the specs you NEED to pay attention to. For example, these 11MM Skullcandies have a 16-21 KHz range, with 104 Db's of sensitivity at 16 Ohms and a 500 Mw output. The aforementioned "high end" buds have 21-20k hz range, with 100 Dbs of sensitivity at 32 Ohms and 350 Mw output. To put all those numbers into perspective, here's what you need to know about all that "goobledeegook":
For the range, you want as broad a spacing between low and highs as possible- 16-21k Hz is VERY good. Db's of sensitivity is how efficient the driver in the earbuds are at producing good sound quality- anything above 100 db's is very good! For ohms, without oversimplifying things, the lower the number of the ohms, the "easier" the sound is produced. Again, lower the number, the better. However, you should also realize that its better to match the ohms to the player you are using. And, lastly, the 500 Mw output for Skullcandies is pretty ridiculous, considering the reproduction of music with my Samsung MP3 is pretty darn crisp with the music cranked right up. Also, there is one other spec you should be aware of, and thats THD (Total Harmonic Distortion), which compares the output signal of the amplifier or music player with the input signal and measures the level differences in harmonic frequencies between the two. You want a THD that is consistently low, meaning the reproduction of music is balanced with its imaging. The numbers that I have written here for this product are VERY good, comparing pretty well and around what you see with very high end manufacterers like Scosche and Sennheiser, who are in a somewhat different league sound quality wise in some respects. All that being said, Skullcandies have excellent sound quality for the price, but do have their caveats.
I have had issues with the build quality of all of the earbuds I've had from Skullcandy, but, I have to say that half the time it was because of my use of them in somewhat extreme sporting situations, and the other times were just either build quality or just poor storage. However, when I HAVE had issues (e.g. one earbud refusing to function while the other side works fine), their customer service was VERY responsive and actually pretty funny in how they deal with the warranty claim.
They ask whether or not you damaged them from "hard use" or whether they just stopped working. If you DID damage them doing something stupid or outlandish, they ask to hear the story. They then offer you a replacement cost based on how they failed. The turnaround time on replacement has never been more than 2 weeks from start to finish, and I've only had 3 sets malfunction in the 5 or so years I've been using them. And, for the record, 2 sets were 9mm FMJ's and the other a set of Titans. The cool thing is that they have actually upgraded the 2 sets of FMJ's from 9mm to 11mm (bigger driver, better sound) for my troubles.
Bottom line?? For the money, you CANNOT beat the sound quality, comfort and function of the 11mm FMJ's, and should something go wrong, you can be assured your set of "buds" will be replaced in an expeditious manner. Skullcandy S2FMBZ-BZ Full Metal Jacket w/ Mic Earbuds, (Black)
Bought these head phones, gently used, worked great for awhile.
But...
the wire out of the 1/8" jack started cutting out intermitently and eventually failed.
No problem since there is a lifetime warranty, right? Wrong.
Got an RMA, sent them in for repair November 23, 09. (USPS, delivery confirmed)
They have not responded to my emails and no word back. Today is May 29th 2010
Thank skullcandy.
Other people have had problems too....
[...]
Before I ordered the FMJ-Chrome, I worried that it wouldn't come with the comply foam tips and in-line microphone because other reviewers reported so. The one I ordered on 03-08-2010 came with everything I was looking for.
I am just an average listener. This headset works good for me so far. After few hours of using this headset, here is my review (also see my uploaded photos):
-Ordered on 03-08-2010 and received on 03-12-2010
-Using it with my iPhone 3G
-Isolated sound good using the comply foam tips
-Music sounds better than the iPhone 3G headset
-Deep bass
-Phone call sounds good
-Mic works and sounds good (tried only one call indoor)
-Mic on the "left" side wire (which is what I like)
-Comes with 2 pairs of comply foam tips (I thought only 1 pair)
-Button works for stop/play music, and answer/end phone call
-Light weight. I don't really feel anything while having the comply foam tips in my ears.
-Wire is not short for me, about 43 in. (I measured)
-Beautiful chrome finished and silver wires
-Limited lifetime warranty, great if I need it
-No volume or forward/backward control, but the iPhone 3G would not support anyway (I heard).
-The wires are not as soft as I would like.
Specifications from the package:
-Model # S2FMBZ-CZ (Full Metal Jacket-Chrome)
-Noise Isolating Bass-Rich Ear Buds with In-Line Microphone
-For iPhone and Blackberry Curve & Storm
-Solid Anodized Metal Housings
-Lightweight, Secure it with Three Silicone Gel Sizes and Comply Foam Tips
-Limited Lifetime Warranty
-Driver diameter 11mm
-Frequency Response 16-20K Hz
-Impedance 16 ohms
-Max Input Power 5mW
-Cable length 1.3M
-Cable type Aluminum Braided
-Plug type 3.5mm gold plated
-Weight 13g - Skull Candy - Iphone Headset - Full Metal Jacket - Headphones'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
