Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active Review: Well Built, But is That All?

Skullcandy launched the Sesh ANC Active TWS earphones in India, aiming at fitness enthusiasts who dabble in sports and other activities. The earbuds offer IP67-rated dust and water resistance and have a unique design to ensure a comfortable and secure fit. They feature adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) backed by a four-mic system. Without ANC, however, they are claimed to provide a total playback time of up to 48 hours with the case, on a single charge. Does this battery life, with this build and some more features, justify the Rs. 8,800 price point? Let's find out.

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active Design and Features: Perfect Gym Companion

• Weight - 56g
• Water and dust resistance - IP67 (earbuds only)
• Colours - Black/Orange

The Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earbuds come in a black-and-orange finish, highlighted by bold Skullcandy logos. While they're primarily made of plastic, the build doesn't feel flimsy or low quality. The earbuds may seem a bit bulky, but their lightweight and distinctive shape allows them to stay firmly in place, making them a good choice for workouts. Skullcandy includes three pairs of silicone eartips in the box to ensure a comfortable fit, with the medium size proving to be the best match for me.

Lightweight design of the earbuds stays secure through every move

The Sesh ANC Active headset relies on touch-sensitive controls on each earpiece. Although the touch panels are comfortable to use and are fairly responsive, they can be accidentally triggered if you are not particularly careful while adjusting the fit. The earbuds come with an IP67 rating, ensuring they are fully dustproof and resistant to water immersion at depths of up to 1 meter. It is safe to say that they are well protected against workout sweat as well. However, since the case lacks any water resistance, make sure to dry the earbuds carefully before placing them back in the case.

The charging case of the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active is made of plastic and features an orange Skullcandy logo on the lid, along with a small nylon loop on the side for attaching a hook. Though slightly bigger than cases of most competing earphones, it still fits into most pockets (not including women's jeans) without much trouble. Inside the case, magnets are designed to guide the earbuds into position, but it's still surprisingly easy to misalign them, preventing proper charging or closure. The process can be frustrating at first, though with a bit of practice, placing them correctly quickly becomes second nature. The case comes with a USB Type-C port on the back, but it does not support wireless charging.

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earphones are IP67-rated, sweatproof, and dustproof

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active App and Specifications: Covers the Basics

• Driver - 12mm
• Companion App - Skullcandy app
• Gesture controls - Yes

The Sesh ANC Active earbuds pair with the user-friendly Skullcandy app, which is available on both Android and iOS, offering a comprehensive selection of features and customisation options. That said, the app takes a few seconds to detect the earbuds each time you open it, which can be mildly irritating. At the top of the app's home page, a graphic displays both earbuds alongside individual battery life indicators for each one.

Out of the box, a single tap on either earphone plays or pauses audio or answers calls, a double tap skips to the next track, and a triple tap switches between ANC, Stay-Aware (transparency), and Off modes. Holding down either touch panel rejects or ends a call or activates Spotify Tap. However, most controls can be reassigned through the app. Within the app, you can also toggle between ANC, Stay-Aware, and Off modes, and fine-tune both noise cancellation and transparency levels manually. It also provides three preset EQ presets, Bass Boost, Music, and Podcast, or the option to build a custom five-band EQ ranging from 60Hz to 12kHz.

You can get personalised sound with EQ presets in the app

Meanwhile, the Personal Sound Profile feature adapts the audio output to your hearing. The setup process takes a few minutes, but the personalised sound it delivers is worth it, and you can select from a handful of presets once it's complete. In addition, the app supports downloading and installing firmware updates to keep the earbuds up to date.

The Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earphones are equipped with 12mm drivers and support Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, with AAC and SBC audio codecs. They allow multipoint pairing with up to two devices, and are compatible with Google Fast Pair.

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active earphones are IP67-rated, sweatproof, and dustproof

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active Performance and Battery Life: Almost Impressive

• ANC - Yes
• Battery - Up to 12 hours without ANC (Buds) + Up to 36 hours (Case)
• Fast Charging - Yes (claimed 10 minutes for up to 2 hours)
• Bluetooth - v5.3 (AAC, SBC)

Without mincing words, let me get one thing out of the way. For something with “ANC” in the name, the noise cancellation performance of the Sesh ANC Active is disappointing. The best it does is drown out some of the low-end rumbles, such as the passing of an aeroplane overhead or the whirring of the refrigerator. With ANC enabled in a busy environment, you can easily hear most of the noise, only slightly muted. In a cafe or at your college or office corridors, you may actually find yourself rechecking if the ANC mode is truly enabled. I surely had to. The transparency mode, on the other hand, is useful for brief conversations, but the audio quality isn't particularly great since much of the high-end detail is lost.

During testing the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active, I used the default Music EQ preset, which emphasises bass at the expense of upper mids and treble, reducing detail and energy in the sound. On Angel by Massive Attack, the bass overpowers the mix and feels uncontrolled, while the lack of treble makes it overwhelming. Tom Waits' Hold On sounds dull and murky. The weak highs flatten the guitars and blunt the percussion. Vocals have some warmth, but the earbuds don't enhance them, leaving the track lifeless.

The earbuds offer easy touch controls for music and calls

Anderson .Paak's Come Down works better. Since it doesn't depend much on treble, vocals sound smooth and pleasant, though the deepest bass lacks impact. Orchestral pieces expose the flaws most clearly. In Jóhann Jóhannsson's Arrival OST, strings lose their shine, and boosted background frequencies make the sound muddy and unbalanced.

The Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active are clearly tuned with workouts in mind, where a bass-forward profile is often preferred. Switching EQ modes can help balance things slightly, but the hardware ultimately sets the ceiling for sound quality.

The microphone setup, however, performs reliably and is more than adequate for voice calls. Connectivity, however, is where adequacy falls short. During my month-long use of the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active, there have been a total of five instances where the earbuds' connectivity with the paired Bluetooth 5.3-supported smartphone has faltered considerably. It usually begins with a lag until one of the earphones glitches and stops responding altogether. Each of these times, the only thing that worked was putting the earphones back in the case before putting them back on. In all of these instances, there were no physical interferences between the paired handset and the headset. The battery was also far from being juiced out.

With volume at 50 percent, I was able to get over 11 hours without it

Statistically, this should be of very little concern. Practically, though, the odds are undesirable at the least and a very unfortunate distraction at the most. After the first time this issue crops up, every now and then, you wonder if it will happen again during the bridge of your current on-repeat track. Definitely not the end of the world, as you can reconnect the earphones and replay your favourite track, but the vibe suffers an inevitable death, of course. It is not what we are spending our hard-earned money on in this economy.

Finally, the battery life of the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active has genuinely impressed me. According to the company, you get approximately 12 hours of battery life with ANC disabled and two additional charges from the case, totalling 48 hours of playtime. During testing, the figures turned out to be quite similar. With volume at 50 percent, I was able to get around nine and a half hours with ANC and over 11 hours without it. The case also added almost 35 hours of playtime. With moderate use, I was able to get through a full week without recharging the case. The earphone supports fast charging, delivering up to 2 hours of use with just a 10-minute charge.

The Sesh ANC Active rugged case fits pockets easily

Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active: Verdict

At Rs. 8,800, the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active make sense if you're looking for a rugged, workout-friendly pair of TWS earphones. The IP67 protection, secure fit, and bold design clearly position them as gym companions rather than refined audio gear. Battery life is a strong point, with a week of moderate use possible before recharging the case.

However, if you're buying these primarily for ANC, you may walk away disappointed. Noise cancellation here is underwhelming, often leaving you questioning whether it's even on. The sound signature is bass-heavy and works fine for cardio sessions, but if you care about detail or clarity in vocals and treble, these won't deliver much satisfaction. Connectivity hiccups, while not frequent, also chip away at the experience.

For the asking price, there are options that strike a better balance. Sony WF-C710N (Review) brings a more reliable ANC performance and classic Sony tuning at Rs. 8,990. The OnePlus Buds 4 (Review) also offer stronger ANC and a more balanced sound profile at a lower price of Rs. 5,999.

If fitness durability and long battery life are your top priorities, the Sesh ANC Active will hold up well. But for anyone chasing stronger noise cancellation or more versatile audio quality, your money may be better spent elsewhere.