Skullcandy has always been known for affordable headphones at good quality for their price. They have recently announced a series of headphones targeted toward the gamer market that we previously covered here. I got a chance to test out the premium offering of the three versions of the series, the PLYR Multi-Platform Wireless Gaming Headset.

I was looking forward to the Bluetooth-capable headset considering Skullcandy must have been pretty confident in their product to jump into the Gamer Gear side of audio equipment considering the competition. While the PLYR has some amazing aspects to it, there are a few glaring flaws.

What’s In The Box

The box is classic Skullcandy neon-style with bright reds and blues complemented by black. Models displaying the gear are posing dramatically in images on the inside of the box. The headset rests on a white plastic mold waiting for you to use.

Aesthetics and Build Quality

To be honest the headset itself is not the prettiest thing I’ve ever had to look at. The design is called Black DigiHype, and as the only current available style for the premium $130 version of the PLYR headset, I have to wonder how it got past the design team. It feels weird to me that the cheaper version of the PLYR, the SLYR Pro and SLYR, both come in three different styles; all of which look better than the PLYR’s base model.

The pixel design on the sides is minimal and plain, and the pattern on the PLYR isn’t enjoyable or gratifying to look at. The headphone section themselves are a nice understated sleek with the subtle grey and black design accompanied by clear plastic on the outside as a button to use for skips, pauses, mutes, etc. The headband is transparent grey plastic with the wire exposed for that random, put together from spare parts style, that looks okay-ish in person but not great compared to the pictures in promotional material. Beneath it is an adjustable strap that serves to make the headset more comfortable to wear and certainly makes it look unique. The detachable mic connects to the left earphone, where the on button, volume wheel, charging connection, and detachable wire connection for non-Bluetooth devices sit.

The headset gets full marks for comfort as it is one of the nicer headsets I have worn especially in regards to gaming as any I use tend to squish your head and ear. The PLYR is tight enough to stay on but not so tight as to hurt, and the headband does an excellent job of making wearing the headset for long periods of time as comfortable as possible.

The construction of the headset makes it both durable and intuitive to use, the buttons on the left ear for control of audio and the mic are especially useful or easy to use with their large size. In short, the PLYR does an excellent job at being a comfortable easy-to-use headset if not a pretty one.

Specs and Audio Quality

The audio quality is where the PLYR both fails and succeeds massively.

Let's start with the pros first, the mic comes with a built-in AI to help make your voice clear and easy to hear, and it does an incredible job at that. The PLYR is also accompanied by multiple advanced audio controls within a free app that lets you create customized EQ settings in addition to the presets such as FPS, RPG, and Music. In addition to that, there is the Enhanced Sound Perception which is a test that lets you tune your headphones specifically to your level of hearing based on how much hearing you have lost.

If you don’t know as we age, we naturally stop being able to hear higher sounds, and this ESP tests how much you’ve lost so far and boats specific sounds up to let you hear things you normally wouldn’t.

Now let's get to the cons, the PLYR comes with Skullcandy’s Supreme Sound as default. Supreme Sound is an audio tuning process that maximizes the depth and detail of sound but it can’t be turned off. What this means is that there is no way to hear audio that has not already gone through a filter, which means you can’t use PLYR for any type of audio editing or mixing of any sort. The biggest problem with the PLYR in my opinion is that you could say they are designed for gaming alone. The enhanced incredibly clear detailed sound is amazing for when you are playing a game, the sound effects are incredible, and if you play an FPS where hearing specific sounds can give you tons of information on where the enemy is. The problem is that outside of a game all that enhanced, detailed, and boosted sound EQ that you can’t turn off means that audio or any video hurts to hear.

Anytime someone is talking the spikes on s’s, t’s, and other hard constants peak the audio and make it incredibly annoying to watch TV, YouTube, or any kind of media. It becomes impossible not to notice every time an s or t is spoken. What annoys me is that all of these problems could have been solved by having an option for no EQ whatsoever.

In the end, the PLYR is incredible at its purpose, experiencing amazingly deep, clear, and detailed audio while gaming, as well as having clear and precise communication through its mike; however, that’s all it will be good at, I would never use it day to day when I just want to watch YouTube videos.

What It Could Have Done Better

Overall, there are two main things that the PLYR could have done better. As just stated, there could have been a no EQ option so people don't have to deal with constantly peaking s’s and t’s or be able to mix audio. Aside from that, the only complaint is in regards to the lack of different styles for the most expensive option in the series, this I expect will be easily solved as different styles may be released later on.

Verdict

The verdict for the PLYR headset is mixed. If you’re a dedicated gamer and you play a shooter every day for hours on end and need clear audio and a great mic, then the PLYR is a great choice! On the other hand, if you watch videos half the time and play games the other half, I don’t think the price tag of $130 dollars is worth it, the bad audio quality when people speak in videos just isn’t worth it. Overall, the review is split, if you’re looking for a dedicated gaming headset I highly recommend the PLYR, otherwise, if you’re looking for a multipurpose headset I recommend you look elsewhere, as at best it is a 6/10 for regular use.

Skullcandy’s PLYR, SLYR, and SLYR Pro headsets are available now for $59.99, $99.99, and $129.99 respectively.