LAST UPDATED: May 20th, 2022 | BY: Stacy Merci
The Skullcandy Indy True headphones are wireless, sports-oriented, sturdy, portable, and well-built, with extremely low latency on your mobile devices. They possess a reasonably comprehensive control scheme and do a fair job of sitting in your ears.
But their short continuous battery life and uneven treble, with a desegregated microphone, create huge trouble isolating speech from the ambient noise compared to the other headphones. This may not be very pleasant for some users, but you won’t get more at this fantastic price point.
For phone calls, the Skullcandy Indy Fuel offers a satisfactory performance. Your voice remains distortion-free and decently detailed with their integrated microphone. However, communicating in highly crowded or noisy places remains a struggle.
Not all is bad about the Indy Fuel, we have tested the ‘True Black’ color variant, and one more is the ‘Chill Grey’. Here’s the break-up:
PROS:
- Consistent audio delivery
- IP55 water, sweat, and dust resistant
- 3 EQ Modes (movie, music, podcast)
- Built-In Tile Technology
- Complete media control on every bud (can be used solo)
- Wireless charging case
CONS:
- Microphone noise handling could be better
- Unsuited for tiny ears
- Understated treble response
Design & Features
Like the other stick-style earbuds, the Skullcandy Indy Fuel is no different. The storage case of the Indy Fuel is somewhat like that of the AirPods Pro but thicker & bulkier.
The case carries a Skullcandy logo on its front, which some of the users find babyish though I like it.
On the bottom, you have the USB-C charging case, and the small lighting case designates the place of the wireless charging coil.
A chain of LED lights (four) below the lid informs the current battery level, and the case’s charging status. To glance at the battery level, flip open the lid.
So, the overall case feels good but not utterly robust like the AirPods Pro; the price is also less than half, and what we get is accordingly appreciable.
The charging of these earphones is slightly peculiar. They come with a USB-C port, but I tried and couldn’t get them charged to the USB-C cable.
After some absolute desperation, I thought of trying a low-powered bridge with a USB-A to USB-C cable, and it worked nicely.
I used the same charging brick for my earbuds, phones, earbuds, laptops, and all over USB-C, and thankfully, I never got blocked in an issue.
I can say the other bricks stay overpowered, and Indy Fuel has no capabilities to strangle that.
All said and done with Indy Fuel, you get 30 hours of battery life, and this is something that won’t let you land up in trouble.
Comfort – Impressive Comfortable Fit
The Indy Fuel is designed similar to AirPods Pro and has interchangeable silicone tips with ear wings (you can choose from 3 size tips and two ear wings). They offer a secure fit without coming out excessively, thereby being one of the comfiest earbuds I have ever used.
The installation of a medium tip with large wings comes as default. If you do not like wings, you can use them without wings too, and I appreciate both the designs in the world. This feature is something I wish the other manufacturers should also incorporate in their earbuds, but luckily Skullcandy does this.
Though I am not so happy with the earbuds’ touch controls, the Indy Fuel also lacks ANC – active noise cancellation feature. But I prefer noise isolation most of the time to noise cancelling, and it works well most of the time.
Taking calls, governing volume, and audio playback was simple but switching ambient mode on and changing equalizer settings required practice. But the annoying aspect is that the ambient mode doesn’t help while you are making or taking calls.
One appreciable thing about Indy Fuel is that I can rotate them a bit, and the stem slightly moves forward to break the seal, and I can hear everything around me with adequate clarity like the passive transparency mode.
The built-in tile tracking also exists but setting them up is a real hassle. Though the Tile App makes some sense again, the problem is if you aren’t close enough to the earbuds, you cannot hear properly, even harder if they are sitting in their case.
The least you receive is the buds’ physical address, and I guess something is better than nothing.
Sound Quality
The Indy Fuel earbuds are not the best sounding wireless earbuds, but you won’t get anything better at this price point.
The Indy Fuel has a sharp treble but isn’t ear-piercing. There is no custom EQ in the app, and I am afraid you might get stuck till you use an audio app with a custom EQ. Unlike the Push earbuds, the Indy Fuel furnishes Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. You get an authentic latency-free connection.
I tried the buds during calls, and the performance was good though not outstanding.
All those budget-minded bass heads would like the sound delivery with a low range. Overall you experience a refined sound at just a price of $59.99.
Battery Performance
Not as efficient as their opponents like SoundCore and Sony, the Indy Fuel earbuds offer 6 hours of wireless playback in-between visits to their charging case.
Luckily, Skullcandy has designed a versatile carrying case that flaunts being harmonious with wireless chargers that makes up for this shortcoming.
The battery case is much like Apple’s AirPods Pro, as I wrote above. It can hold 30 hours, and I enjoyed plenishing the earbud’s battery with my phone while using a dual wireless charger, and the USB-C connector is also suitable.
Controls And App
The earbuds feature resistive touch controls, which some users may find distasteful. The touchpad forms the outer panel of each earbud (each side has similar controls).
You can use either bud solo, especially for those who prefer the one-bud lifestyle. Controls could sound complicated, and you may take some time to get accustomed to them:
- Single tap: Volume up (right); Volume down (left)
- Double-tap: Play/Pause or answer/end calls (either bud)
- Triple tap: Digital assistant (either bud)
- Double-tap + tap and hold: EQ Mode (either bud)
- Tap + tap and hold: Toggle ambient mode (either bud)
You get three EQ – modes: Movie Mode, Podcast Mode, and Music Mode. Designed for a specific use, the movie and music modes are justly similar. Skullcandy also provides iOS and Android apps for the Indy Fuel, which can be used in the Ambient toggle Mode. You get to know which mode the buds are presently in by the top interface.
The Bottom Line:
Overall, we give 7 out of 10 to the Skullcandy Indy Fuel Wireless Earbuds. They stay portable with a lightweight design, offer a mediocre sound performance, have in-built tile functionality, a good battery life, and look stylish. All this and more in this price segment is undoubtedly a good deal.