Skullcandy Navigator

Feb 05, 2013 No Comments by

Tech Fogey did a piece for GQ last year about celeb-branded headphones and the proliferation thereof.  Sound is soooo subjective but we and a couple of audiophilia sufferers listened to a selection of head-clampers and decided we liked the cheapest and least cool pair – Goldring NS1000 – the best, even though they’re nothing to do with a famous person and just happened to be kicking around at the time.

One pair that showed up particularly well were the Skullcandy/Roc Nation Aviator (Roc Nation is Jay-Z’s retail empire) which have subsequently been joined in the listening booth by the new Navigator.  On-ear as opposed to over-ear, the Navigator come in three slick colourways and plugging a pair into a remastered slice of Gimme Shelter made this Fogey want to rummage through his vinyl to enjoy cherished tracks anew.

An additional bonus is a distinct lack of stylistic vulgarity – even a full-on Fogey could wear these in public and not look like an arse, which is more than can be said for most headphones.  It’s also gratifying to see Skullcandy moving away from garish kiddy-cans into the arena of adult understatement.

Around £85 in black, blue and white

Tragically the Navigator aren’t available at Amazon or John Lewis, so if you buy a pair from the Skullcandy site we don’t make a penny.  Boo hoo.

 

AUDIO, HEADPHONES