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Since the Walkman revolutionised portable music in 1979, wired earbuds ruled the roost—thanks to their ability to affordably provide great sound quality in an ultra-portable form factor.
They weren’t without their flaws, however. Mainly, those titular “wires” that shackled your device to the buds in your ears. The wires could easily become a tangled mess and would rarely last more than a few months of everyday tugging and bending before one or both of the buds stopped working. In an ideal world, those wires wouldn’t exist. One could simply put the untethered buds straight into their ears and start listening to their music.
Enter true wireless earbuds: incredible feats of modern Bluetooth and battery technology that manage to completely ditch their predecessors’ unruly and unreliable cabling, without compromising form factor or sound quality in any meaningful way. How did we ever listen to music on the go without them?
Historically, putting all of that tech into such a small device while preserving sound quality and durability hasn’t come cheap. Peruse your local tech store’s offerings today and you’ll still be hard-pressed to find a pair from a major brand for less than $150.
That changes with the Skullcandy Dime: the new offering from Skullcandy that offers all of the features one would want from a set of truly wireless earbuds at the incredibly competitive price of just $69.95.
The Skullcandy Dime.
All the Features. None of the Compromise.
Skullcandy Dime earbuds come in a small but robust plastic charging case about the size of a tin of mints, making them the perfect device to slip into your pocket or handbag so you can listen to music or a podcast on your run or bus ride.
Using the Dime earbuds is incredibly easy. Complete a one-time pairing and they’ll automatically turn on and connect to your device in the time it takes you to remove them from their case and put them in your ears.
The Dime earbuds feature IPX4 water resistance and a physical button on each bud that allow for precise and tactile control of music and calls. The buds allow you to start and stop music, control volume, skip back and forth between tracks, accept and reject incoming calls, and activate your virtual assistant, all without touching your device. The features come in handy during workouts, bike rides, or situations where your hands are otherwise occupied.
The sound quality for the Dime earbuds is also excellent, offering clear and well-balanced audio with easily distinguishable bass, clear mids and crisp (but never harsh) highs. Whether immersing yourself in the intense and textured soundscapes of a producer like Floating Points or appreciating the nuanced and captivating vocal performances of an artist like Aldous Harding, Skullcandy deliver a listening experience that’s comfortably on par with earbuds twice their RRP.
Battery life is one area where Dime doesn’t quite match their more expensive competition, but they perform well enough in this area that it’s a non-issue for all but the most hardcore of listeners. The earbuds offer 3.5 hours of continuous listening time for each bud, and a further 8.5 hours available from the charging case, meaning you can easily use the buds for the full duration of your commute to work, Tik Tok binge, or run, without the worry of them dying on you. You can also use each bud independently which opens up possibilities, like using one bud while charging the other if you simply must finish that podcast episode.
Are the Skullcandy Dime Worth It?
In short, yes. What’s most impressive about the Dime is how a name brand like Skullcandy has managed to pack all of these features into a product that so comprehensively undercuts the prices of its competition. The Dime earbuds easily punches above the weight that their low price would suggest, and make a compelling argument for the best value true wireless earbuds on the market in 2021.
Interested in the Skullcandy Dime earbuds? For a limited time you can receive a free pair when you subscribe to Rolling Stone Australia Magazine. Offer is only available while stocks last, so get in quick if you’d like to secure a pair.
