Review of the best headphones for the gym Skullcandy Dime True Wireless

Sometimes, you get surprised by cheap earbuds that sound better than expected. Skullcandy Dime True Wireless are one of those, but the battery is bad.

For under $30, you get a lot in terms of sound quality. While it retains the “fun” factor of other Skullcandy buds, it also boosts the treble clarity and detail without hurting dynamics.

Earbuds are also quite comfortable and fit decently, as long as you place them in your ears correctly.

Unfortunately, the rest isn’t as fantastic. The battery life barely lasts up to 3.5 hours on a single charge, and physical buttons are annoying to use.

Let’s go through the Skullcandy Dime True Wireless review and take a look at the pros and cons to find out if you should get a pair yourself.

Comfort & Fit

Star Rating 4.0 Great

If you have regularly large ears, these should fit you comfortably for long periods. The in-ear fit can get loose a bit when you smile too widely.

Skullcandy Dime are somewhat bulky but should fit most human ears. The flat inner surface has some sharp edges, so you have to insert them correctly to achieve the best comfort.

The key is not to shove them too deep into your ear canal. Simply place them in your ears and twist the ear tip upwards until you feel the pressure.

The seal isn’t too annoying, so you feel comfortable wearing them for hours.

If you plan to jog or exercise with these earbuds, you will find the fit satisfactory. They might not hold on during the most vigorous moves, but you can easily take them to the gym.

Noise Isolation

Star Rating 4.0 Great

Skullcandy Dime earbuds provide a good enough seal to block off ambient noise. Of course, you don’t hear anything once you start playing some music.

Included ear tips come in regular shape and completely seal off the ear canal. There are three pairs to choose from inside the packaging.

Earbuds ensure great passive noise isolation for gym-goers and commuters. Once you start playing music, the world around you completely goes away.

Of course, that isn’t ideal if you want to be aware of your surroundings. Sadly, there’s no Ambient Aware option on the Skullcandy Dime.

At such low price, you also can’t expect active noise cancelling, but Skullcandy Dime are at least reliable to use.

Bluetooth

Star Rating 4.0 Great

Skullcandy Dime provide a standard Bluetooth 5.0 range, with minimal to no lag for video watching and mobile gaming.

Since the earbuds come with Bluetooth version 5.0, you can expect a good range throughout your house.

Also, there are no spontaneous audio drops when using them outside. That’s great if you plan to use them for commuting or on daily walks.

Mono mode is also present Dime, and it’s great for saving up the battery life.

They pair with your phone as soon as you place them out of the charging case. To initiate the pairing process again, you have to hold the button for 4 seconds.

Multipoint?

There is no multipoint in its true form. But your earbuds will remember multiple connected devices.

What Bluetooth Codecs They Use?

Dime True Wireless only use SBC. At $25, you can’t expect anything more than that, which is fine since SBC can handle lots of things, from good audio quality to reduced latency.

Is There an Audio Lag?

When watching YouTube, the audio is perfectly in sync. Or at least the lag is unnoticeable to the human eye. They work the same on Android and iOS devices.

Earbuds hold up pretty well for watching videos, and even for mobile gaming. There’s a bit more of a delay, but it doesn’t ruin the experience for casual gameplay.

Battery

Star Rating 2.0 Acceptable

Their short battery life of 3.5 hours per charge is quite limiting if you plan to use them for extended listening sessions. There’s also no quick charging via a Micro-USB port.

Compared to other earbuds in this price range, the battery life of Skullcandy Dime is by far the least impressive thing about them. They’re only fine for shorter walks and gym sessions.

Earbuds pack around 3.5 hours of battery life, with an additional 8.5 hours inside the charging case. Of course, the total battery life varies depending on the volume.

While you can squeeze a day out of them, it’s advised to keep the case with you, even during an outdoor walk.

I haven’t experienced them dying on me, but I don’t want to be caught surprised.

And even when you end up without the juice and you place them in the case, there’s no quick charge feature to boost them up.

To make the matter worse, the case charges via Micro-USB, which is quite rare these days. Thankfully, you get a short charging cable in the box.

However, you have to take into account that these are $25 worth of wireless earbuds.

Durability

Star Rating 3.5 Almost Great

While the buds feel okay, the case seems fragile. The thin lid looks like it might break off quickly. At least you get some water resistance.

Earbuds are entirely made of reasonably durable plastic, with rubberized sides with the Skullcandy logo where the buttons hide. They might survive a couple of drops, but I wouldn’t count on that.

A light grey blue charging case feels the most fragile. To keep it super compact, Skullcandy shaved the lid to the minimum, basically exposing the earbuds. It’s smaller than a car key fob.

That means that the lid has 2 holes in it. It’s also made for cheap plastic and doesn’t look reassuring.

Interestingly, there’s a short string attached to the case so that you can put it on a backpack. While I would rather keep it somewhere safe, it’s a nice touch.

Thankfully, Dime in-ears come with an IPX4 water resistance rating. You can sweat with them without worrying about inflicting liquid damage.

Of course, you still have to stay away from heavy rain and deep water.

Features

Star Rating 3.0 Good

Skullcandy Dime budget buds support a wide variety of commands, but the buttons are unbearable to use. For the price, you don’t get a companion app.

As mentioned in the comfort section, if you place the earbuds just right, they should feel quite comfortable.

However, pushing them too deep might result in sharp edges of the housing the poke into your ear lobes.

That’s exactly what’s happening when you try to use physical buttons on the Skullcandy Dime.

You find them underneath the skull logo in the center of the stem. The problem is that they’re hard to press.

I tried holding the stem with two fingers and pressing the button with a third, but it didn’t help.

Therefore, I had to press hard to feel the button click, which was quite annoying and painful. I tried to use buttons a couple of times but ultimately decide to use a phone instead.

This is a shame since the Skullcandy Dime come with a full suite control scheme.

You can command everything from music playback, answering calls, activating voice assistants, and even volume control.

Skullcandy Dime controls:

Power Off – long press for 4 seconds on either side

Play/Pause – single press on either side

Volume up – double press the right earbud

Volume down – double press on the left earbud

Track forward – press and hold for 1 second on the right earbud

Previous track – press and hold for 1 second on the left earbud

Answer/end phone call – single press on either side

Voice assistant – three taps on either side

Sound

Star Rating 4.5 Almost Perfect

While it’s far from neutral, the sound is fun and punchy, with good resolution in the treble without sounding harsh or sibilant.

The sound quality is so good I had to check if I’m actually listening to Skullcandy Dime, true wireless earbuds for under $25. They punch above their weight class and don’t distort at high volume.

Since they’re associated with a brand that loves the bass, these earbuds are still V-shaped but tastefully. Everything will sound great, from hip hop to rock.

The bass and treble are equally boosted to bring out the fun factor. Fortunately, the low-end doesn’t feel bloated, and lead instruments like bass guitars sound pretty good.

The control of the bass isn’t as agile as on more expensive models. Still, you can find enjoyment even with faster genres like metal.

Despite the sound signature, the midrange doesn’t feel recessed. High mids and vocals are a bit boosted and ever so slightly thin, yet still lovely to listen to.

Especially female vocals, which come out very lush and clear. Also, electric guitars pack a necessary bite that even premium models like Momentum True Wireless 2 lack.

The treble is very well done. While it’s clearly boosted, it never verges to sibilance or harshness on busier tracks.

Cymbals pack a decent detail, and the sound is airy enough to prevent the feeling of congestion.

There’s a bit more width than depth in terms of the soundstage. However, they’re still fairly intimate-sounding in-ear headphones. The imaging is okay for casually listening.