JLab Go Air Pop vs. Skullcandy Dime: Which ultra-budget buds are best?

It’s hard to believe that it’s even possible to buy a cheap set of truly wireless headphones for less than two movie tickets, but thanks to Skullcandy and JLab, we’re there. What’s even better is that their extremely affordable products (the $25 Skullcandy Dime and the $20 JLab Go Air Pop) are anything but appealing. Both offer good sound, good build quality, and even modest protection from water. But is one of these products better than the other? And should we assume that if the answer is yes then the more expensive set of buds is best?

There’s only one way to find out, so we confront them head-on.

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Price

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This is a no-brainer. Skullcandy charged $25 for the Dime, which seemed incredibly cheap when they launched earlier in 2021, but then JLab introduced the Go Air Pop for just $20. Now, in the grand scheme of things, a $5 difference won’t be a deal-breaker for most people, but when you consider that $5 represents a 20% savings, it’s impossible denied that JLab had reached a significant low. price for its Go Air Pop.

Winner: JLab Go Air Pop

Design

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While the price difference doesn’t seem too significant, the design difference is immediately apparent. Skullcandy chose an AirPods-like shape for the Dime, with a small stem protruding from the main earbud. This is where the microphone as well as the Dime’s physical controls are located. The Go Air Pop uses a bodyless, slightly more compact form factor, with touch controls.

On one hand, push-button controls are often superior in terms of precision and response, which gives the Dime an edge in usability, but the Go Air Pops can be pushed deeper into your ears because they don’t have stem (this serves as a kind of stopper). We’ll talk about how that affects sound quality and noise isolation later.

Then there are the charging cases. Dime’s case is a study in minimalist minimalism. The top cover even has cutouts for the body of the headset to keep its shape as small as possible. The lid not only closes magnetically but also closes quickly, ensuring it won’t accidentally open, even if you hang it from the backpack zipper using the included lanyard loop. It uses a MicroUSB connection (Skullcandy includes a suitable cable) which some may find unsuitable in our increasingly USB-C world.

The Go Air Pop’s case uses a more conventional shape. It’s a bit larger than the Dime’s case, but you won’t notice the difference at all. The lid closes securely with magnets but does not have the quick-close style of Dime’s lock. Where it excels is its built-in, matching USB-A cable. At just 2 inches, it’s incredibly short but fits in the bottom of the case, and that means you’ll never accidentally find yourself in a situation where there’s no way to charge your headphones. On the other hand, if that cable is damaged, you won’t be able to charge them.

The Dime comes in four color options for the buds (the case is always black), while the Go Air Pop comes in five colors, with a matching charging case.

Both products come with three sizes of silicone ear tips to help you get the right fit.

With the exception of the Go Air Pop’s integrated cable, most design differences will come down to personal preference, so JLab takes this into consideration.

Winner: JLab Go Air Pop

Sound quality

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Neither of these budget headphones can win the competition for sound quality, but both provide surprisingly good sound. However, there are two big differences.

The Dime’s sound signature is very nicely balanced but with a slight focus on the higher frequencies. There was a lot of clarity and overall it was a bright and energetic performance. I found that while the bass response was good, it wasn’t as full or deep as I’ve experienced with other Skullcandy earbuds like the Indy ANC. That may partly have to do with how they fit.

I mentioned above that their stems create a hard stop when inserting the buds, which for me meant that even with the largest ear tips inserted, I wasn’t able to seal the ear canal as well as I did. desire. And since a good seal is key to sound isolation and bass response, that could explain the sound I heard.

Go Air Pops don’t have this problem — you can insert them as deep into your ears as your pain threshold allows. This gives them excellent noise isolation – much better than the Dimes – and better bass too. They also offer a slightly wider and deeper soundstage for a better overall feeling of immersion in the music, which can be appreciated in moody music like Hans Zimmer’s Time.

However, none of the built-in EQ modes (equalization, bass boost, and JLab Signature) possess the clarity of the Dime, which brings out the best in vocal-forward performances like duets. nostalgic song by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett I really like you.

Again, personal preference will be key—if you primarily listen to hip-hop, rap, or EDM, you may prefer the Go Air Pop’s deeper bass, while other genres will benefit. Benefit from Dimes’ exceptional sound clarity and energy.

Winner: Tie

Battery life

Another no-brainer: Skullcandy Dime gets 3.5 hours per charge, plus another 8.5 hours in their case, for a total of 12 hours. That’s enough for basic use, but it’s inferior to most true wireless earbuds and can’t even begin to compete with JLab’s claimed eight hours per charge and total is 32 hours when you include their carrying case. It’s not even close.

Winner: JLab Go Air Pop

Call quality

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At this price point, it’s probably unreasonable to expect miracles in terms of call quality. Even much more expensive true wireless earbuds have struggled in this area. However, we have a clear winner. The Skullcandy Dime, despite having a microphone that sits a little closer to your mouth, isn’t the earbud you’ll want to use for any calls longer than a “Did you say you wanted me to pick up milk on the way home?” home?” Your voice will be highly compressed, sometimes almost muffled.

The JLab Go Air Pop may not offer amazing clarity, but they are perfectly usable. They handle background noise well (most of the time) but most importantly your voice will be relatively clear and intelligible, which I can’t say about the Dimes.

Winner: JLab Go Air Pop

Control

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Both headphones offer a nearly identical set of controls: Play/pause, volume up/down, track forward/back, call answer/end, and assistant access voice. The Go Air Pop also adds an EQ Mode selection. Neither model allows you to customize how you access these functions, so you’ll need to decide whether you like the choices made by the designer.

With Dimes, play/pause is done with a single tap, while changing the volume is done with a double tap. Go Air Pop takes the opposite approach: Tap once to increase volume, double tap to play/pause.

However, I think the biggest difference lies in the control style. Dimes uses physical buttons that are precise but a bit difficult to press until you get the hang of them, and Go Air Pop uses touch controls that are easy to use but also easy to accidentally activate.

I’m giving Skullcandy a slight edge here, mainly because I think physical buttons are still better than touch controls.

Winner: Skullcandy Dime

Reliability

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It’s hard to know how long any set of truly wireless earbuds will last without beating them until they die, but there are plenty of clues we can use to guess.

Both the Dimes and Go Air Pop are IPX4 rated for water resistance, so, ahem, a wash. Both appear to be well made from durable plastic, but the Dimes feels a bit sturdier to me. That’s certainly the case with their charging case.

However, Dimes uses a rubber membrane to cover their physical controls, and like silicone ear tips, this membrane will wear off over time.

Then there’s battery life. As batteries age, their effective capacity drops – sometimes by as much as 50% within the first two years. If Dimes has this problem, you’ll only be left with 1.5 hours of playtime on a single charge, while the Go Air Pop will still give you four hours.

And it’s worth noting that Skullcandy offers an industry-standard 12-month warranty on the Dimes, while JLab doubles that to 24 months – all the more impressive when you consider the price. I think this pushes Go Air Pop into the winner’s circle although I admit that the cable built into their charging case could end up being their Achilles’ heel.

Winner: JLab Go Air Pop

Conclusion

A quick look at the winners above will give you a pretty good idea of ​​where we stand. The JLab Go Air Pop ranked first in five out of seven categories. Overall, I think they are a better choice and they also cost less.

However, since we’re talking about earbuds and sound quality should probably be given a little more weight than other concerns, your preference for low-end bass (vs. clarity and superior energy) are most likely to lean in favor. by Dimes. If that’s the case, just make sure you’re happy with their other qualities, some of which are definitely not as good as JLabs.

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