Review: Skullcandy Supreme Sound Navigator headphones

by Bill Palmer

Skullcandy doesn’t do anything without a degree of flair, and that’s true even with a more streamlined product like the $99 Navigator on-ear headphones. The oblong “D” shape of the cups gives off the vibe of the headphones a pilot would wear, but don’t mistake these for something you’d wear to your day job. The white plastic outer shell of the headphone cups (also available in black or royal blue) reflects the light so brightly it has almost a marble glass look to it. And at the top of each headphone post is a small signature silver skull, amid silver chrome highlighting throughout the product. As if to drive the point home, the insides of the headphone pads have large skulls on them that can only be seen by you, when you take them off.

So even though the Navigator headphones are far from outlandish, you’re still going to make a statement by wearing them. But how do they sound? My gut told me they’d be bass-heavy before I even tried them on, and that turned out to be the case. These headphones focus on the lower range, heavily, and do a nice job of it. That’s good news for those who tend to listen to rock or other bass-dependent genres. When I tried listening to more treble-dependent acoustic genres, I found that the Navigator doesn’t offer quite the same level of fidelity in the upper ranges. It’ll get the job done, but these headphones are skewed toward those who not only like their bass thick, but are more interested in the fidelity of their bass than that of their treble.

Still, it makes for a pretty strong overall audio product for its price. And the design stands out just enough to say “I’m different” without saying “I’m trying too hard.”

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 • Price: $99 • skullcandy.com

About Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is Editor in Chief of Beatweek Magazine. His editorial contributions include interviews with musicians and iPhone industry coverage.