Skullcandy's earphones have typically veered toward the bass-heavy end of the spectrum, and the exercise-focused, in-ear Method is no exception. The moisture-resistant design will withstand your sweaty workouts, and the intense low-end will please bass lovers while offering enough balance with its sculpted high-mids and highs to keep things from sounding ludicrously weighted towards the lows. Purists seeking flat response can stop reading, but for $29.99, the Method is a fantastic value for any bass lover on a budget, earning it our Editors' Choice award.
Design
Offered in bright yellow, gray, or light blue, the Method's overall design is simple, with a focus on a secure in-ear fit over flare. The included eartips fit snugly in the ear canal, and they're moisture-resistant, so sweat won't cause them to fall out. In fact, the entire design is sweat-resistant, so you don't have to worry about the internal components getting ruined during your workout.
The inline remote has a single button, which means greater compatibility with both Android and iOS devices across the board. It offers basic control of playback and call answering and ending, but unfortunately, no volume controls; you'll have to adjust sound levels on your smartphone or tablet directly. The Method ships with only two pairs of eartips in different sizes, a shirt clip, and a small drawstring pouch.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Method provides gobs of deep bass response. It sounds as if it's just about to give way to distortion at top, unsafe listening levels, but this never really happens. At more reasonable listening levels, the subwoofer-like bass response is still quite intense. This is indeed a pair for bass lovers who like some serious boosting of lows and not for anyone seeking a very accurate sound signature.
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On tracks that lack serious sub-bass content, like Bill Callahan's "Drover," the Method overdoes the bass response a bit and gives Callahan's already rich baritone vocals more low-mid presence than they need, while coating the drumming on this track in an extra layer of bass that isn't normally part of the mix. But again, big bass fans will love this sound, and the Method at least does a laudable job of pairing these heavy lows with a crisp, sculpted high-mid response that helps the vocals and guitar strumming remain clear and in the forefront of the mix.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop's attack gets just enough of the high-mid presence to maintain its edge, but the attack sounds sharper on earphone pairs with a bit more balance, slicing through the mix more than it does here. The trade-off is a thumping, low-mids-focused sustain on those drum hits, and deep bass response that sounds bottomless and powerful. The vocals remain clear and in focus throughout this track; there's enough high-mid presence that they don't have to do battle with the lows for your attention.
Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get more boosting in the lows than purists would want. Still, the Method brings out the lower register instrumentation in a way that plenty of listeners will enjoy. Richer, truly low parts sound powerful rather than subtle, but they never overpower the vocals and higher register strings, brass, and vocal parts, which remain crisp, bright, and in firm control of the mix.
Purists seeking balance obviously know by now that the Method is not for them, but plenty of listeners who love a bigger bass sound and are on a budget will be quite pleased with the sound they get for $30. Typically, we recommend more affordable earphones at this point in the review, but when things are this inexpensive, there's not much point—this is about as good as it gets for bass lovers on a budget, whether you're seeking an exercise-focused pair or not. If you have more flexibility in your budget, obviously your selection range increases. Consider the JBL Synchros Reflect ( at Amazon) or the much more expensive, wireless Jabra Rox ( at Amazon) if an exercise-friendly design is your highest priority, or the over-all excellent Audio-Technica ATH-CKX7iS ($83.50 at Amazon) for top-performing earphones under $100. Still, the $30 Skullcandy Method is an excellent value and easily wins our Editors' Choice award for budget earphones. Bass lovers, it doesn't get much more affordable than this.
Bass lovers will find plenty to love about the exercise-friendly, budget-priced Skullcandy Method earphones.
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