Skullcandy Dime 3 Review: One Step Forward, Two Giant Leaps Back

Reading Time: 9 minutes.

I’ve never had a better example of a company taking one step forward and two steps back than the Skullcandy Dime 3 headphones. The first Skullcandy Dime headphones were inexpensive headphones that performed far better than their under-$30 price tag would suggest. The Skullcandy Dime 3 headphones, however, at a price of $30, feel like a mistake. They changed the design, changed the case, improved the sound quality, and added both multipoint Bluetooth and some pass-through audio.

I’m sure you can guess at least one of the drawbacks of these headphones if you’ve read my Bang and Olufsen Beoplay EX review. I have never used a set of headphones with decent multipoint. Never. Every single one would be better off just making it easy to switch to a new device. The original Skullcandy Dime headphones did this, and I connected them to everything as a result. By not using multipoint, it’s actually easier to swap between devices. I suppose though, at $30, you could buy a second pair for another set of devices, if you really wanted to solve the issue with swapping out devices. Though then you’d have two pairs of Skullcandy Dime 3 headphones, and I’m not sure why you’d want that. They went through a complete redesign, from the headphones themselves to the case, and most of those changes were also for the worse. In fact, the case doesn’t even work as it’s supposed to out of the box now.

The new Skullcandy Dime 3 headphones combine the things I hate most about the AirPods Pro with the thing I hate most about the Beoplay EX: they don’t turn off and charge in the case, and the multipoint—like all multipoint—is terrible and not optional.

Headphone gods, what did I do to deserve this?

New Workplace, New Headphones

I started a new job some time ago. When I started, I didn’t want to go back to the issues I had with my last job… I don’t mean the workplace. What I’m referring to is the difficulty of keeping a solid connection with my Beoplay EX Headphones. I wanted them to always be connected to my iPhone, and switch between my work MacBook and personal MacBook. Instead, it would sometimes not connect to anything, drop my iPhone, refuse to connect to any devices, and there’s no way to manage those connections at all. I figured I’d use headphones that are more simple. I had two options. First I went with my Shokz OpenRun. They seemed like the perfect choice. The open ear facilitated natural communication, without that dense echo in your head. However they never worked with video apps. They’d frequently mute and unmute the audio on my side with little logic to their state. I then tried just putting in one Dime headphone, but the sound still wasn’t great. I wanted something a little better for talking, without being a large expense. After all, I had been unemployed for some time, I wanted to save my money. The Dime 3 headphones seemed like a good choice.

Sound Quality 3/10

Let’s get this out of the way first: if you’re used to decent headphones, something like an AirPods Pro or better, you’re going to be disappointed by the sound in these. There is some bass volume, but not much in the way of detail. There’s some missing sub-bass too, which is surprising given the emphasis on the mid-bass. As for mids and highs, they get mushed together and compressed. Going straight from my Beoplay EX headphones to these is like going from headphones to asking your neighbor to turn their music up and listening through the walls. There’s no depth, it’s muddled, and the soundstage is gone. The listening through the walls comparison? It’s not a joke. It really sounds like listening through a solid surface. But, when you listen to them for a while, you get used to it, and you recognize that, while the sound quality is below middling, it’s also not too bad for $30 headphones. Still, it does a disservice to anything you listen to. I feel like I’ve personally offended Daft Punk by listening through Random Access Memories with theses.

As disappointing as the sound quality is, these are a significant leap in quality over the original Dime headphones. Skullcandy significantly improved the detail in mids and highs between the Dime and Dime 3 headphones. The difference isn’t as jarring as the difference between the Dime 3 headphones and quality headphones, but it’s significant enough to potentially push buyers away from the older models.

It’s okay. It’s passable sound quality for this price range. But I’d recommend spending more if you can to get something better.

Mic Quality (3/10 too)

I got these headphones primarily for work calls. Unfortunately, they sound like you’d expect $30 Bluetooth headphones to sound. They’re muffled, bassy, even. It actually sounds like how your voice sounds when your ears are plugged, that deep, echoing sound. Except, thanks to “Stay Aware” mode, you won’t hear that sound yourself, you’ll sound normal to your ears. Everyone else won’t be so lucky.

What a fun reversal!

I wrote a sloppy note in my iPad while reviewing the microphone: “kind of suck.” I think that’s a solid summary. Actually, it’s a good summation of the entire Dime 3 experience. Review over!

I have had communications with friends and coworkers using the first generation Dime headphones, and received fewer complaints than these. People didn’t really notice anything wrong with my headphones. Yet one call, and less than a minute in, the person on the other side asked me if something was wrong with my microphone. I can’t imagine they got worse, but it somehow seems as though they have.

Bluetooth Connection 3/10

Before I ever even synced these headphones with any of my devices, they gave me a bad impression. I needed to turn them on, then off, then back on to get them to sync. At first, I thought that was because of the Bluetooth connection. However, this is due to another problem: these don’t always know when they’re in the case and may have already exited syncing mode. The good news is the Bluetooth range. It’s surprisingly great! These will stay connected to your phone long after you wanted them to stop and walked to another room, even through the case, your bag, and your walls! When I wear my Bang and Olufsen Beoplay EX, sync them with my computer in one room, and go into another room to do yoga or sit-ups, it drops out. These? Stay connected. $400 headphones can’t keep up with these $30 headphones when it comes to Bluetooth. Though, that’s partially because B&O ruined the Beoplay EX and refuses to fix them.

That’s likely the most positive this review will get about the Dime 3’s Bluetooth connection. I suppose I could say it’s more reliable than the Bang and Olufsen Beoplay EX headphones, but that describes most headphones.

Multipoint is the bane of headphones. It often fails to switch audio appropriately and fails to sync with new—or formerly connected—devices. However, I haven’t experienced issues with the Dime 3 headphones as bad as I have with my (far more expensive) Beoplay EX. The worst issue I’ve found is Slack holding on to the audio after a call and not letting me switch to my iPhone’s audio without restarting Slack. Nothing like the B&O issues, like sound cutting out or crackling because I received a notification on my phone or there’s an autoplay video on a website.

Somehow, these $30 headphones are better with their connection than the $400 Bang and Olufsen Beoplay EX. But that doesn’t mean they’re good. Companies need to let us turn multipoint off, it’s just too broken. The sooner they all learn that, the better.

Battery Life and Charging 3/10

My first fully charged to dead battery took about 20 hours. That’s to be expected. It’s about two days of use. I’d consider this low battery life. Most are getting over 20 hours with the case now. I noticed about two full charges from the case, and one to around 75%. If fully draining and recharging, you might get a little less battery life, but it’s hard to measure accurately. Since these sometimes stay connected in the case, I can’t be sure they were draining when they should have been charging. I’ve seen as little as 14 hours and as much as just under 20 hours of battery life. Was that because of the music I listened to or because they drained while in the case? Without an app, it’s not easy to say. Expect to charge these at least every other day, potentially every day, if you use them enough. Skullcandy made the case larger and didn’t even improve battery life. That’s disappointing.

There is a fast charging feature, which can get you from empty headphones to 50% quick enough to get back into listening. I found the fast charging acceptable, as long as I made certain my headphones were charging before I stopped paying attention to them. I was even able to charge one while in a meeting and then swap them out when the other got low, keeping them charged enough to last through a far-too-long meeting with already low batteries. Generally, they charged faster than I expected, and could quickly get me back into calls or my music. While I didn’t measure this directly, I did find it useful.

Design and Comfort 2/10

The Dime 2 headphones barely changed over the Dime 1. The Dime 3 headphones could have learned something from that. The case latches better, which is a plus, but the tag on it for looping on a belt loop with a separate carabiner is useless. It’s thin plastic and doesn’t feel secure. The thickness of the case has also increased, making it bulkier in a bag or pocket. They don’t even reliably charge in the case! The earbuds themselves are slightly more comfortable, but not enough to make up for everything else wrong with this design. It’s a serious step back. I couldn’t even complete my battery tests because they don’t reliably charge or turn off in the case! This case is so many steps back. At least it’s USB-C?

When I first saw the design of the button on these, I thought they’d be an improvement to the small touch area on the original Dime headphones. It’s not. The button is actuated higher on the headphone, and the entire outside operates more like a lever. You still have to push it in almost the same spot, but now you have to push it harder. Imagine a see-saw. The best place for a button would be on the end. This is where the lowest amount of force could actuate the button. Instead, they placed it near the hinge, the worst place for a button. As a result, you have to mash these into your ear to do anything (sometimes pushing them 12 times for volume controls).

The Dime headphones were brilliantly designed for their price and style. These feel lazy in comparison, like they were redesigned not to improve anything, but only to announce a new design. Perhaps they thought a few people would be fooled. I certainly was. Somehow, the only thing that improved with the new design is the comfort. Everything else got much worse.

Controls 2/10

These controls are awful. There are controls for volume up (two presses), volume down (three presses), changing the audio profile (four presses), going to and from “Stay Aware” mode, syncing, resetting, and far more. Know what there aren’t controls for? Skipping a track.

Most headphone manufacturers will split up the duties on controls, or allow them to be customized with an app. But these don’t have an app, and are made to work independently of each other. As a result, you have an insane list of controls and combinations of pressing and holding to memorize, and you will have to take your phone out to switch tracks. You should likely do it for volume too, because, let’s face it, you’re not going to want to mash your ear three times just to lower the volume a small amount. You’ll have to mash these into your ear nine times to lower it by three notches on your phone!

And yes, you do have to mash these to get a press to register. With the button’s actuation point right by the fulcrum of the hinged button, it’s so much more difficult to operate. Why bother with the external redesign if it’s going to make button presses more difficult? With the controls requiring so many presses, and often holding the button in, you’re going to want to just pull your phone out for most controls.

“Stay Aware” Mode 5/10

I am surprised to say that this isn’t terrible. It’s perfectly fine for hearing your own voice on a call or staying aware of your surroundings. However, you’ll quickly find that silence isn’t so silent with these. If there’s no sound, you’ll hear a high pitched noise, like constant pink noise. These give you a fantastic imitation of tinnitus. Everyone loves tinnitus, right?

Don’t expect this mode to stay on either. If you switch audio to a different device, it’ll go back to being off. You’ll be pressing that button twice (and holding it the second time) every time you want to open your ears up a little. Stay aware can’t stay on, and that’s a shame, it’s the one thing in this that actually felt like it was punching above its $30 price tag. If nothing changed between the Dime 2 and Dime 3 but this, it would have been an incredible feature. Instead, it’s a small step forwards among many larger steps backwards.

Odds and Ends

These do have find my headphones support through the Tile network. You can add them to your account and find them in the Tile app like you would any other tracker. It’s certainly convenient if you lost your stuff frequently. I’ve only used it to test it, but it seems reliable. It can even detect each headphone individually, in case you put only one in for a call then forgot where you left the case.

There is one more thing I’d like to remind readers about. These headphones don’t come with an app or any way to update the firmware. The closest to using an app with these will be finding them with the Tile app. Otherwise, you won’t see them in even Skullcandy’s apps. Don’t like them? Tough. They will never get better. There’s no way to update them.

On the plus side, they’ll never get worse like my Beoplay EX headphones did, so at least they’ll be consistent?

Overall 1.5/10

If the first generation Dime headphones punched above their weight class, these punched down… and still lost. I wish I bought better headphones. Maybe splurged on some Beats, or just saved my money for those Master and Dynamic MW09 headphones I’ve been eyeing up (and saving up) for months. But these didn’t feel like they were worth $30. They just got so much worse than the first generation Dime headphones in so many ways that the slightly improved comfort and sound quality just weren’t worth the upgrade.

At least they solved my multipoint problem? If you never want to connect them to any of your devices, it’s a solved problem, right? These will be my work headphones, and nothing else. Sorry, coworkers, I swear I sound better in-person!