Skullcandy Hesh Hesh 540 ANC

The Skullcandy Hesh 540 ANC packs a staggering 65-hour battery and surprisingly effective ANC into a foldable, travel-friendly frame. THX Spatial Audio adds cinematic width, and the adjustable Stay-Aware mode is more useful than basic transparency. Comfort is average and the bass-heavy stock tuning won't please purists, but at $100 to $120 on sale, the feature set is tough to beat. If battery anxiety is your nemesis, these are your headphones.

The ANC here is a genuine highlight. With a four-mic active noise cancellation system scoring in the 87th percentile, it handles the low-end drone of planes and trains surprisingly well. It won't dethrone the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, but it's not trying to at half the price. The transparency mode, which Skullcandy calls Stay-Aware, is more interesting because you can dial in the exact amount of ambient sound you want. Most headphones at this price give you an on/off toggle. Having a slider in the app is a nice touch for when you need to hear a gate announcement but still want some isolation.

Latency is another strong suit. The Bluetooth 5.3 connection scored in the 99th percentile for connectivity, which is basically as good as it gets right now. There's a low-latency mode for gaming or watching videos, and while the overall gaming score is a modest 70.4 out of 100, the wireless performance itself is rock solid. The mic array with noise canceling for calls lands in the 84th percentile, so your voice comes through clearly even with background chatter. Sound-wise, the 5-band customizable EQ in the Skullcandy app lets you tame the bass if the stock tuning feels too boomy. Out of the box, expect a V-shaped curve that emphasizes thump and sparkle. It's energetic, not analytical.

The Sony ULT WEAR is the most direct competitor in terms of feature set and target audience. Sony's bass-focused ULT button is a party trick, but the Skullcandy counters with THX Spatial Audio and nearly double the battery life. Sony's ANC is slightly better and the build feels more premium, but you'll pay for it. The JBL Live 770NC sits in a similar price band and offers a more balanced sound out of the box, though its ANC can't quite keep up with the Hesh 540. JBL's comfort is a step up if you have larger ears, which might matter more than the spec sheet suggests.

If you're willing to stretch your budget, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 is the elephant in the room. It's frequently on sale near the Hesh 540's upper price range and delivers vastly superior sound quality and build. But its ANC is only marginally better, and the battery life, while excellent at 60 hours, still falls short of Skullcandy's 65. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is the ANC king and the most comfortable option here, but it costs nearly three times as much. For pure value, the TOZO HT3 is the budget pick that makes you question spending more, though its app experience and mic quality lag behind.

Pricing on the Hesh 540 ANC bounces between $100 and $160 depending on sales, which puts it in a weirdly competitive bracket. At the low end, you're undercutting the JBL Live 770NC and Sony ULT WEAR by a decent margin while offering comparable ANC and vastly better battery life. At the high end, you start brushing against the Sennheiser Momentum 4 on sale, which is a different class of headphone entirely. The value sweet spot is around $110 to $120. At that price, the combination of top-tier battery, strong ANC, and THX Spatial Audio is hard to argue with.

The budget score of 69.8 out of 100 reflects that this isn't the absolute cheapest option with ANC. The TOZO HT3 undercuts it significantly and offers surprisingly competent noise canceling. But the Skullcandy pulls ahead on features like the adjustable transparency mode, multipoint, and that ridiculous battery life. You're paying a small premium over the budget tier for a more polished experience and a companion app that actually does something useful. If you can snag it on sale, it's an easy recommendation for travelers.

Skullcandy's Hesh 540 ANC lands in that sweet spot where you want solid noise canceling and marathon battery life without selling a kidney. We're talking 65 hours of playback with ANC on, which puts it in the top tier of our database. For context, that's basically two full work weeks of commuting before you even think about a charger. And if you do run dry, a 10-minute quick charge gets you 4 hours back. It's built for travelers and everyday listeners who'd rather not babysit a battery indicator.

The sound leans into Skullcandy's signature fun tuning, but with a twist. You get THX Spatial Audio built in, which is usually reserved for their gaming headsets. It creates a wider, more cinematic soundstage than you'd expect at this price. The 40mm dynamic drivers push 119.4dB sensitivity, so they get plenty loud without distortion. But don't mistake these for studio monitors. Our scoring puts them at a 77th percentile for sound, which is strong for casual listening but not flat or reference-grade. The weakest area by far is studio performance, landing at 58.3 out of 100. These are for enjoying music, not making it.

Comfort is a bit of a mixed bag. At 243 grams they're reasonably light, and the foldable design makes them easy to toss in a bag. But our comfort score sits right at the 50th percentile, dead average. The clamping force and ear cup depth will work fine for most people during a movie or a few albums, but if you wear headphones all day, you might notice some fatigue. The memory foam is decent, just not class-leading. For the $100 to $160 street price, you're getting a feature set that punches above its weight, especially with multipoint Bluetooth 5.3 and a transparency mode that actually lets you adjust how much of the outside world bleeds in.

If sound accuracy matters to you, these aren't it. The studio score of 58.3 out of 100 is the weakest area by a wide margin, so anyone mixing, mastering, or even just craving a neutral sound signature should look elsewhere. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 or even a wired pair of Sony MDR-7506 would serve you better. The bass-heavy stock tuning can be reined in with the 5-band EQ, but the drivers themselves aren't designed for critical listening.

Comfort seekers should also think twice. The 50th percentile comfort score means these are aggressively average in the fit department. If you have a larger head or wear headphones for 8-hour workdays, the clamping pressure will likely become noticeable. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is the gold standard for long-wearing comfort, though at a much higher price. For a closer budget, the JBL Live 770NC offers a roomier fit with similar features.

If you're a frequent traveler who values battery life above almost everything else, the Hesh 540 ANC is a no-brainer. 65 hours with ANC on means you can forget your charging cable on a week-long trip and still be fine. The adjustable transparency mode is genuinely useful in airports and train stations, and the foldable design tucks away easily. The sound is fun and spacious enough to make movies and playlists enjoyable, even if it won't satisfy someone chasing a flat response curve.

For home listeners who want a single pair of headphones for music, calls, and occasional gaming, these are a solid all-rounder with a caveat. The comfort is just okay, so marathon gaming sessions might get fatiguing. The low-latency mode helps with sync, but the gaming score of 70.4 suggests these aren't replacing a dedicated headset. If sound quality is your top priority, save up for the Sennheiser Momentum 4. If battery life and ANC per dollar are what you care about, the Hesh 540 delivers in a big way.