Skullcandy Riff 2

The Skullcandy Riff 2 nails connectivity and battery life, with multipoint Bluetooth 5.2 that's best-in-class and a 34-hour runtime. But real-world comfort and build quality are major letdowns, and the companion app is a frequent source of frustration. At a deep discount it's a great beater pair, but at full price you're better off with a budget over-ear that includes ANC.

The sound profile on the Riff 2 is what we'd call 'safe and energetic.' With those 40mm dynamic drivers, you get a V-shaped tuning that pushes bass and treble forward, which makes EDM and pop tracks feel lively. Our database puts the sound quality in the 74th percentile, which is solid for the price bracket. It's not going to reveal hidden details in a FLAC file, but it's fun. The Skullcandy app lets you tweak the EQ, though we've seen a recurring gripe from owners that the settings are buried and the app itself sometimes refuses to recognize the headphones. When it works, you can dial things in. When it doesn't, you're stuck with the default tuning, which can get a bit muddy in the mids.

Connectivity is where this thing absolutely flexes. It's in the 99th percentile, and that's not just a number. Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint means you can be watching a movie on your tablet and seamlessly take a call from your phone. The low-latency game mode is a real perk at this price, keeping audio and video in sync without any noticeable lag. Battery life is another strong point, landing well above average at 84th percentile. 34 hours is plenty for a week of commutes, and the quick charge feature, 10 minutes for 4 hours of playback, is a genuine lifesaver when you're heading out the door.

The Soundcore Life Q20 is the elephant in the room. It's an over-ear headphone with active noise cancellation, and while its sound isn't perfect, the ANC alone makes it a better choice for commuters. The Riff 2 has better connectivity on paper, but the Q20's comfort and noise isolation are on a different level. Then there's the TOZO HT3, another budget over-ear with ANC that also supports multipoint. It's a direct shot at the Riff 2's biggest strength, and it does it with a more comfortable fit and an app that actually works.

If you're dead set on the on-ear form factor, the Truefree HF-10 is worth a look. It's an open-ear design, so the sound leakage is even more of a thing, but it's often even cheaper and focuses on situational awareness. The HAYLOU S30 and TALIX H30 are also in the mix, but they're more generic competitors that don't really beat the Riff 2 on connectivity or battery. The Riff 2's real fight is against over-ears that have gotten cheap enough to invade its turf.

Pricing on the Riff 2 is all over the map, ranging from $16 to $80 across different vendors. At the lower end of that spectrum, this is a steal. You're getting multipoint Bluetooth, a solid battery, and a fun sound signature for less than the cost of a decent pizza dinner. At $80, the value proposition crumbles fast. You start bumping into competitors that offer active noise cancellation and significantly better build quality.

For the price-to-performance ratio to make sense, you really need to hunt for a deal. If you can snag these for under $40, the connectivity and battery perks outweigh the comfort and build quality gripes. Pay much more than that, and you're better off looking at something like the Soundcore Life Q20, which often dips into that price range and throws in ANC.

Skullcandy has been in the budget audio game for ages, and the Riff 2 is their latest swing at the on-ear formula. It's a lightweight, foldable pair of Bluetooth headphones that tries to cover a lot of bases without asking for a lot of cash. We're talking multipoint pairing, a 34-hour battery, and even a wired backup option for when you forget to charge. On paper, it's a solid checklist for anyone who needs a daily beater pair of cans for commutes, casual gaming, or just drowning out your roommate's terrible taste in podcasts.

But here's the thing about budget on-ears: the compromises are always lurking. The Riff 2 lands in a weird spot where its connectivity is genuinely best-in-class, but its overall user sentiment score is scraping the bottom of the barrel in our database. That's a red flag that tells us the real-world experience doesn't always match the spec sheet. We've seen this before with Skullcandy, where the features list is long but the execution can be hit or miss.

So who is this actually for? It's for the person who needs a cheap, flexible headset that can hop between their phone and laptop without a fuss. It's for the casual gamer who wants low-latency audio without a bulky gaming headset. It's not for audiophiles, and it's definitely not for anyone who spends hours on calls. Let's dig into where it shines and where it stumbles.

Anyone who takes frequent calls should skip these without a second thought. The mic quality is a weak spot, scoring a 41 out of 100 in our call tests, which means you'll sound muffled and distant to the person on the other end. If you work in an office or take calls on the go, grab a pair of over-ears with a decent boom mic or at least better noise rejection.

Also, if you have a larger head or sensitive ears, the on-ear clamp force will likely become a problem. The build quality is in the bottom third of our database, so don't expect them to survive a lot of abuse. For a similar price, the Soundcore Life Q20 gives you over-ear comfort and active noise cancellation, making it a much better daily driver for most people.

If you need a cheap pair of headphones that can flawlessly juggle two devices and last all week on a charge, the Riff 2 is a solid pick, provided you find it on sale. The multipoint connectivity is the real deal, and the quick charge has saved our bacon more than once. For casual music listening and mobile gaming, it's a fun, no-fuss option that won't break the bank.

But if you plan on wearing these for more than an hour at a time, or if you take a lot of calls, look elsewhere. The on-ear pressure and mediocre mic make it a poor choice for office life or long gaming sessions. And if you're not a fan of troubleshooting finicky apps, the recurring complaints about the Skullcandy app not recognizing the headphones should give you serious pause. This is a headphone with a very specific set of strengths, and you need to make sure those align with your daily routine.