Skullcandy's Method 360 ANC Earbuds Are the Best Cheap Noise-Canceling Buds
The buds themselves, also on the larger side, store in the top of the slide-down case via magnets. You get two black, Bose-like earbuds with aesthetic elephant trunks and the typical Skullcandy skull on the tip. Silicone ear fins and a red-accented ear tip round out the look, which makes the buds look like a miniature punk rock version of the Bluetooth earbuds that we all wore 20 years ago. Aesthetically, they get a C: These aren't the prettiest you'll ever wear, but they're far from the ugliest.
Pop them in your ears and you'll find a surprisingly comfortable fit with a great seal that really keeps the outside world at bay. Even the passive noise isolation is on par with the best from Sony and Bose, which is impressive for a pair that costs roughly a third as much. Going Silent
Photograph: Parker Hall
Turning on the active noise canceling, I was wowed by just how much of the outside world these in-ears could remove, regardless of their affordable price. HVAC, lawn mowers, and even my 1-year-old's occasional joyous proclamations were no match for the excellent processing on board these buds. They don't quite reach the staggering levels of cancellation, at least to my ears, offered by the full-blown Bose models they're clearly copping their style and sound from, but they're truly not far off. Similarly priced favorites from Nothing, Google, Samsung, and others have what I'd call mediocre sound reduction by comparison.
Sound quality is also excellent, with a surprising amount of sub-bass content (hard to do on earbuds with noise canceling) and a very wide stereo image. I was really noticing some of the panning choices on recordings like Sam Evian's 'Rollin' In.' The kick drum and bass really soaks through the bottom of the headphones without taking over the mid and high range, which can sometimes happen on cheaper earbuds. There is a real life to this listening experience in the midrange, with vocals, pianos, guitars, and other center-heavy instruments each occupying their own musical space. Even jazz sounds good on these, which I didn't expect. The brushes on cymbals in Ahmad Jamal's 'Live at the Pershing' recordings sound smooth and clean, with the mumbles of the live audience and the clinking of glasses peeking through in the background just so. Customizable Qualities
Photograph: Parker Hall
Like most buds these days, the Method 360 ANC come with an excellent app that allows you to change things like what the touch controls on the outside of each earbud do, the equalization settings, and to adjust noise canceling and transparency modes. I liked that I could easily swap the default long press (which is set to open Spotify) to make it adjust the noise-canceling settings. I also like that you can change what both the left and right earbuds' buttons do to respond to presses, allowing a lot of personalization.
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