” For me, it’s not always about being an audiophile. It’s about being a functioning music aficionado who isn’t trying to block out the world, but to enhance his day to day life with some background music.”

A little while back, I admitted that I listen to music all the time – even while sleeping – and recommended you do the same.

It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a kid, that has become borderline therapeutic; as an adult. Music sets the tone and the mood, but it also keeps us from getting sucked down the rabbit-hole of life – and is also a proven trigger that leads to memory recall.

At home, listening to music is easy. I just tell Sonos, via Alexa, what I want to listen to (or to turn my lights on and off) and I am able to exploit my mood, recall a moment, or even just go through the motions while the music acts as white noise. But, out on the street, at work, or in the woods – music becomes a personal enhancement.

Not only do I NOT feel the need to share what I am listening to with anyone else – it’s kind of a jerk move to do so.

After all, we are almost in our fourth decade of personal music devices; a movement, arguably launched, by “The Walkman” – so there’s no need to make the music we listen to part of someone else’s day.

In fact, why would we? Why would we want anyone else to know about the adventure we’re on? Save that shit for a romantic moment – when you really want to “wow” someone. Don’t infect your neighbor next to you at the grocery store with your personal, freethinking movement. That’s not the time where you want to influence someone or have them draw opinions about you; they’ve already judged you for those two cans of SPAM in your cart or basket; why offer them more fuel for the fire?

Anywho.

With myriad devices – corded, uncorded, budded, and unbudded – available in the market today, what have I singled out as the right device for multifarious old me?

Well, truth be told, I was a huge subscriber and town crier for Skullcandy’s Method Sport Earbuds until my dog ate them. I’m not even kidding – I wore them all day, every day – for a solid year – and left them on the table for a couple of minutes and the dog ate them.

This left me with the option to buy that neckband style headset again – or to branch into a territory I have briefly lived within a couple of years prior – totally wireless earbuds.

Looking at my current, over-active, lifestyle, I chose the latter over the former because it fit into my career-life, dad-life, outdoor life, and every other type of life I live, daily, indoors and outdoors.

In the end, I stuck with Skullcandy and chose their “Sesh”, True Wireless Earbuds, and I have been nothing but stoked about their fit, form and function for the last two months.

PROS
– Easy to pair, and they stay paired.
– Easy to control for both music and phone calls from my iPhone.
– Continuously play music for 4-5 hours.
– 5-6 recharges via recharge case.
– Fit (and stay) in my ear, comfortably and mostly inconspicuously.
– Sound great for the price.

CONS
– Easier to control via phone than on-board controls (especially if you’re only
using one bud – which has to be the left bud).

Now, I don’t mind – AT ALL – having to use my phone to control the earbuds, but some folks might find them to not be “truly wireless” being that each bud has its own set of functions where, if you’re only wearing one bud – and want to use the on-board controls – you can’t.

Furthermore, the left earbud has been determined to be THE earbud to use – by Skullcandy – if you’re only going with one bud in. When that runs out of battery – you can’t just pop the right one in. The right bud needs the left bud to function, bud.

Full-disclosure, I thought the two couldn’t operate on their own was drawback at first, but when considering that:

1. I use my phone to control the buds.
2. I don’t have the buds playing for a full, continuous, 4-5 hour clip.
3. I rarely have both buds in.
4. There’s a lot of buds on the market, for double the price of the Sesh, that function the same way.

I quickly got over it. And found that these earbuds not only fit my ear and stayed in my ear without discomfort, but they also were putting out some great sound which I had no trouble hearing, even in a factory setting. They were even equalized well at higher decibels – with little to no noticeable distortion.

Also, the price is quite nice: $60 to be untethered and at peace at your own personal concert, for a few hours – is quite the bargain – especially seeing that most buds that make it on to any type of rating review usually are at $80 or higher (sure I only cherry-picked one link, but it’s thorough and reputable).

So Why Skullcandy, Bud?
Being a gear reviewer who has also worked in the outdoor gear industry – where trading products is a way of survival – I have had the opportunity to try out a lot – A LOT – of different headphones and earbuds. I have also spent way too many hours traveling the world on an airplane RELYING on headphones. So, I know what I want – and I want something affordable, reliable, and quality driven that I can replace, without crippling my income, if I lose them or my shitty dog (who I love quite a bit) eats them.

I have an awesome pair of Sennheiser Momentum Wireless Headphones sitting feet away from me now, as I type – and yeah, they sound epic – but that’s not my style – and they won’t cut it out in a global warming downpour on a hike. So, for me, it’s not always about being an audiophile. It’s about being a functioning music aficionado who isn’t trying to block out the world, but to enhance his day to day life with some background music.

And you know what? I think a lot of people are like me – who woke up one day and wanted to have gadgets and gizmos – but wanted to be conscious about where they spent their money – so they had to find a middle ground, and the middle ground turned out to be a goldmine of awesome products hiding in the shadows of commercialized hype.

That said – for me, right now, in my active day to day, inside and outside, four seasons out of the year, life – the “Sesh” by Skullcandy is where I want my personal concert coming from. In my qualified opinion, they offer the perfect balance in form and function – and, for the price – they can’t be beat.