The internal 40mm drivers deliver a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz with an impedance of 32 ohms. The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and support the SBC Bluetooth codec, but not AAC or AptX. Skullcandy estimates the Hesh ANC’s battery life to be around 22 hours, but results will depend on volume and ANC usage. A very short USB-C to USB-A charging cable is included, as is a drawstring travel pouch. The headphones have Tile built in, so you can locate them with the Tile app if they get lost nearby. What else is missing? An app with customizable EQ would be nice, but not necessarily expected at this price. The Hesh ANC headphones offer good noise cancellation for this price. They do a good job of suppressing low frequencies like you hear on an airplane. However, a recording of a loud, busy restaurant played through the near-field monitors gave the headphones some problems. At low volumes, they were able to suppress most of the noise, but at high volumes, the highs seem to not only escape the ANC circuitry, but may actually get louder – there’s a strange effect in the ear cups when this happens, as if you’re hearing the highs through the ambient microphones. The ANC produces a high-frequency hiss that is common in inexpensive noise-cancelling headphones. It’s most noticeable in a quiet room, where noise actually gets a bit louder with ANC enabled. You can also hear a bit of hiss, but that’s also normal and not a deal-breaker for this price. Beyond that, ANC also seems to have a noticeable impact on audio performance. When it’s off, there’s a bit more sub-bass depth, and when it’s on, things sound a bit brighter. Even though the change doesn’t sound bad, it’s another sign of a cheap ANC circuit. On the positive side, the ambient mode is well implemented and allows you to hear your surroundings at a natural volume without having to remove the headphones. As for the sound, the headphones deliver a powerful low-end response on tracks with strong sub-bass, such as “Silent Shout” by The Knife, which does not distort even at high volumes. The bass depth still sounds powerful even at moderate volumes.
