Latest news with #Method360ANC
Man of Many
6 days ago
- Man of Many
Man of Many's Staff Favourites—31 May 2025
By Dean Blake - News Published: 31 May 2025 |Last Updated: 30 May 2025 Share Copy Link Readtime: 5 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Here at Man of Many, we're often given the opportunity to try out products ahead of time for review, but sometimes our favourite things are just the things we already own, or have purchased ourselves. So, each week, we strive to show off a few of our own, personal favourite products or experiences in the hopes that we can help people make better buying decisions. Also, sometimes it's just fun to write about things you like. Here's our Staff Favourites for this week – enjoy! Skullcandy's Method 360 ANC | Image: Skullcandy Skullcandy's Method 360 ANC Dean Blake – Entertainment and Technology Journalist I've been testing a few earphones recently, and I've got something cool to share. Audio brand Skullcandy have delivered a really, really good pair of earphones—the Skullcandy Method 360 ANC—which have some of the best audio quality in an in-ear format I've yet used. That partially comes from the fact these earphones are made in collaboration with Bose, one of the best audio makers in the biz. Now, the Method 360 ANC look very (and sound) similar to Bose' Quiet Comfort earbuds, but they're about $100 cheaper, which is always a nice thing, and they have some fantastic active noise cancelling for when you're moving about the noisy city. Plus, when you sync them up with the Skull-iQ app on your phone you can customise how the earbuds act when you tap them, play with the ANC, and set more specific EQ levels if you're after a particular sound. That's all great, but they also come in a frankly massive charging case that delivers an additional 20+ hours of battery life, charges with USB-C, and can be clipped onto your bag or something if you want to be able to access them at a moments notice. They're great, and if you're in the market for some new earbuds, these ones are only AUD$189.99. Favourite Article of the Week: Best Glamping Spots Near Melbourne for a Relaxing Weekend Getaway Forget Calendly – Enter Google Calendar Appointments Scott Purcell – Co-founder You know that graveyard of unused productivity apps sitting on your phone or in the bookmarks toolbar of your browser? The ones that guzzle up subscription fees before you're none the wiser? Well, one of those for me was the 'Calendly' app. Brilliant product, absolutely, but it probably gathered more dust than bookings on my calendar. It just wasn't something I really used, yet it was costing me lots of money. Enter the Google Calendar Appointment Schedule, which essentially achieves the exact same thing at the amazing price of $0. I love that you can carve out time for the gym each day or mark an entire Friday as 'Do Not Disturb'. Your colleagues or clients only see the slots you want them to book, and the meeting is locked in with no extra email back and forth or a request to send you a calendar invite. To get it set up, go to Google Calendar > hit Create > then Appointment Schedule > add any details you need and voila, your booking calendar is now complete. The link provides live updates and automatically hides times that clash with your other events. You can also add in a handy buffer between meetings if you need and don't wish for back-to-backs. The paid Google Workspace plans come with some added benefits, like being able to charge for your time. Give it a go and let me know what you think! Favourite Article of the Week: Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge Smartphone Defines Innovation for Innovation's Sake Omakase John Guanzon – Head of Creative & Production I'm the kind of guy who'll study dining menus like an HSC Advanced English text before booking a place to eat, but sitting down for an Omakase where you surrender all control and expectations to the chef and the restaurant team was such a surprising breath of fresh air. The 18-seat kappo-style restaurant is the brain-child of Darren Templeman (formerly Restaurant Atelier), but he runs it with head chef Bonnie Yu and sommelier Aurelien Jeffredo. There's no printed menu, only a 10-course omakase shaped by the day's produce and the team's instincts. Just vibes, really. Inside, it's just one long, narrow counter with 18 seats lined up with a full view of the kitchen. While it always feels busy, there's this weird sense of calm. The three-person team moves like they've done this a hundred times. Smooth, in sync, no fuss. The highlight, though, is the food. I couldn't tell you exactly what we ate (there was no menu to snap a photo of), but I remember the flavour sensations having a party in my mouth. A few dishes are still burned into memory, though: the warm hen's egg filled with onion purée and topped with trout roe, and a buttery lobster tail grilled over charcoal. Yum! Favourite Article of the Week: Razer's Vertical Gaming Mouse Feels Like It Was Made Specifically for Me
Engadget
26-05-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Skullcandy Method 360 ANC review: A cheaper version of Bose's best earbuds, with a few key sacrifices
Skullcandy isn't a name that usually comes to mind when you think of premium headphones. The Utah-based company has primarily made its name in the budget space, selling more on low prices and loud, sports-heavy marketing than the promise of excellent sound quality. With the new Method 360 ANC, the audio maker is trying to change that by latching onto another brand entirely. Skullcandy proudly boasts that its latest wireless earbuds feature 'sound by Bose,' which is to say that Bose has supplied the acoustic tuning, ear tips and overall shape of the device. In fact, the new buds look quite similar to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds from afar. But that upscale pair retails for $299 and the Method 360 ANC only costs $130 (or as low as $100 at third-party stores of this writing). So has Skullcandy managed to capture the best of Bose at a more affordable price? Kind of. With its Bose-inspired design and rich feature set, the $130 Method 360 ANC is a fine value, though it's still a level below actual QuietComfort earbuds. $100 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $100 at Best Buy The Method 360 ANC is indeed roughly as comfortable as the QuietComfort Ultra. Each earpiece is slightly heavier and more plastic-y — and Bose's pair was already on the bulky side — but the soft ear gels and stability fins help them fit snug without creating too much pressure. I had no issues with them coming loose over several weeks of testing. The earbuds have an IPX4 water-resistance rating — not the best, but enough to survive most people's workouts. The larger frame creates more space for the side touch panels, and all the controls do work reliably, which isn't a given in the $100 range. These earbuds also come with most of the features you'd want from a modern pair. There are active noise cancellation (ANC) and ambient sound modes. Battery life is fine at eight to 11-ish hours, depending on ANC usage. They can dependably connect to two devices simultaneously, and they work with Google's Fast Pair tech on Android devices. They support wear detection, too, and there are three different sets of ear gels and fins in the box. Any settings tweaks I've made in Skullcandy's Skull-iQ app have taken effect quickly, and in general the software is easy to navigate. The only major omissions here are the lack of wireless charging and a short one-year warranty. The Method 360 ANC is almost identical to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in terms of design. For this review, we mainly compared the new Skullcandy buds against the QC Ultras and Anker's Soundcore Space A40, the top pick in our budget earbuds buying guide. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) Once you start listening to the Method 360 ANC, though, you start to see why it's priced under $150. The default sound signature is extremely V-shaped: The bass is massive, the treble is bright and everything in between is recessed. Bass lovers should appreciate this with hip-hop, dance music and many pop songs. A track like Kendrick Lamar's 'DNA' becomes particularly easy to rock to: The low-end is deep and impactful, while a giant spike around the upper midrange keeps the vocals clear throughout. In general, the Method 360 ANC is a step up from the Anker Soundcore Space A40, the longtime top pick in our guide to the best earbuds under $100. That pair is far more muffled in the treble, whereas the Skullcandy pair's crisper, more extended highs tend to make songs feel less closed-off. That said, it's very easy to see how this kind of signature could get fatiguing over time. It's consistently intense, and the recessed mids cause it to lose details in moderately intricate compositions. An indie rock track like Hop Along's 'The Knock' is a bit of a mess, as the bassline and crunchy rhythm guitar overwhelm the lead guitar riffs and rob the raspy vocals of air. With America's 'Ventura Highway,' the folksy acoustic guitar comes through clearly, but the overemphasized treble makes 'ess' sounds a touch too sharp. The QuietComfort Ultra doesn't exactly sound neutral, but it always comes off as more balanced by comparison. Skullcandy has also omitted support for higher-quality Bluetooth codecs, so it only supports the basic SBC and AAC. All of this is still better-than-average for bassheads shopping in this price range — just don't expect it to compete very far beyond that. Thankfully, you can rein in some of the default profile's excesses with a custom EQ in Skullcandy's app. The charging case is on the larger side, to put it mildly, and uses a sliding mechanism to open and close. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) Skullcandy's ANC is perfectly respectable for $130, and it's great you can customize the intensity of the noise-canceling effect via the app. But it's not on the level of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds or even the step-down QuietComfort Earbuds. It cuts out a fair chunk of the bassy rumble of an NYC subway train, but higher-pitched screeches and stop announcements are very much audible with music playing at moderate volumes. The 'Stay Aware' (ambient sound) mode, meanwhile, is passable but nothing more; it's one of those deals where you need to keep the volume somewhat low to ensure you can hear yourself clearly. Call quality isn't great, either: The mic does well to limit background noise, but it struggles with wind and makes your voice sound noticeably thin and processed. My testing partner said it made me sound like I was in an elevator. My biggest complaint, however, is with the ginormous tube of a case. It's comically large next to pairs like the QuietComfort Ultra or Space A40, so much so that I have to question just how spacious Skullcandy thinks most people's pockets are. There is a built-in clip that lets you hook the case to a bag or belt loop, but as a resident of New York City, I will never be comfortable sauntering around with anything of value dangling on my person. Actually snapping the earbuds back into the case is cumbersome as well: You have to slide the case open, then flip the earpieces upside down and insert them on opposite sides. I can understand wanting to make something unique, but this is an instance where boring would've been better. The Method 360 ANC's case has a built-in clip for attaching to bags or belt loops. (Jeff Dunn for Engadget) The Method 360 ANC has its problems, but most of them aren't too surprising for a relatively affordable pair of wireless earbuds (oversized case aside). Don't be fooled into thinking the Bose branding means you're getting a Bose-level product — the real-deal QuietComfort Earbuds are better if you're willing to pay more. But this is still a tier above most budget pairs we've tested. It has nearly all the features we're looking for (unlike, say, the Beats Solo Buds), it's comfortable and the sound signature will hit right if you're hungry for bass. At its normal $130, it's well worth considering for bassheads who can go one rung above the bargain bin. For $100 or less, it's a great value. Just make room for that case.
News.com.au
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Crazy new $190 new headphones land in Aus
An American headphones company famous for its bold designs has just dropped its biggest release in more than 20 years. Its Method 360 ANC (retailing for $189.99), is powered with Bose audio and an attractive price point for those looking for a premium upgrade to their wireless headphones. Its main selling points are a battery life that spans an impressive 40+ hours and its famous audiophile partner Bose providing a high quality bang for your buck. But beyond that, it boasts hybrid active noise cancelling and a cool slider charging case with a built-in O-ring clip so you can hang it off whatever you like. We took the headphones for a spin. The first thing that greets you when you pop the buds in your ears and connect using the fast pairing method is a booming American voice that tells you you're 'connected'. It's pretty damn loud and it's not clear if you can turn it down. I recommend connecting before sticking them in your ears. It's possibly the only downside on an impressive set of headphones. I had a misconception that Skullcandy was for skater kids who wanted booming bass for their noisy punk and hardcore music — which I don't mind, but for $190, you probably want something a bit more versatile. I started with a bit of gloomy dream pop, blasting out The Cure's 1989 album Disintegration and it was clear that the quality of sound is really elevated over your more common wireless buds. I could pinpoint intricate details in the music to get fully immersed in the sound. I fired up some classic hip-hop next and the bass was phat as you might expect. Marketed as an 'ultra-comfortable fit', the buds do fit very snugly in your lugs. So much so, you can forget they are there. You don't have to shove them down your earhole like other headphones, they just sort of rest on the cusp of your ears and blast the music in. The earbuds come with multiple sets of fit fins and gels that leverage licensed technology from Bose for a secure, ultra-comfortable fit and superior noise isolation. You can choose from five colours including Black, Bone, Primer, Plasma, and Leopard. Besides the sound, the 'Clip It and Rip It' design means you can effortlessly carry the headphones around wherever your day takes you. There's also some fancy features like 4-mic digital noise cancelling and AI-enhanced Clear Voice Smart mics — features you might expect to pay a lot more for. And, it has a suite shortcuts that are activated through tapping the earbuds. All-in-all, these are some pretty damn good headphones for the price. They're both stylish and sound great. 4/5 stars
WIRED
19-04-2025
- WIRED
Beats Cables, Skullcandy ANC Headphones, and a Severance Keyboard—Your Gear News of the Week
Plus: Apple will employ user data to improve Apple Intelligence, Comcast has a 5-year price lock, and a new laser skin-care tool arrives in the US. Photograph: Lyma, Atomic, Julian Chokkattu; Getty Images If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. Most people don't associate Skullcandy—known for its plasticky skull-and-crossbones aesthetic—with premium audio. Skullcandy admitted as much at a launch event this week in New York City. Since its inception in 2003, it has aimed at (and impressively captured) the wallets of cash-strapped suburban punks across America with low prices, punchy colors, heavy bass, and skulls. That's why its new $100 noise-canceling headphones are both exciting and ironic—they're made in collaboration with Bose, a company known best as the business-class choice for the parents of Skullcandy kids. The Method 360 ANC offer similar noise canceling to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra in a similar design, but with a larger charging case (good for 32 hours of battery life with ANC on) and slightly larger earbuds. It's a 'we'll dumb this down for Junior' approach that I'd love to see employed more in affordable products. Photograph: Julian Chokkattu In my limited time with the headphones so far, I've been impressed with the noise canceling and audio quality, even with stiff competition from Google, JLab, and others in the sub-$100 space. They have multipoint pairing and a nine-hour battery life with ANC on, which is excellent for a full day of work. The one downside? Putting the buds back in the charging case is a bit of a pain at first—for whatever reason, they snap magnetically into the case upside down. That's not much of a deal-breaker to me, and I look forward to more testing before our upcoming review. Alongside the Method 360 ANC, available now for $100, the company unveiled several other new audio products at its NYC event set to arrive throughout the year, from the Crusher 540 Active workout headphones to the revived Aviator 900 ANC and open-earbud Push 720 Open. Oh, and Tony Hawk was there—he's the brand ambassador for the new Method 360. — Parker Hall A Keyboard That Won't Let You Force Quit Photograph: Atomic Keyboard If you've ever longed to join the Macrodata Refinement team at Lumon Industries, you'll be excited to hear that Atomic Keyboard has unveiled a real-life limited edition Severance keyboard. Called the MDR Dasher, this mechanical keyboard is modeled after the Data General Dasher 200 terminal from the late '70s, the same unit that inspired the show's production design team. There's no Escape, Control, or Option keys—because, well, there is no escape. It's a cold grid of 73 chunky keys with a 70 percent keyboard layout. The bulky, aluminum case is dressed in shades of industrial blue, with an off-white frame that looks like it's been sitting in a forgotten department since the '80s. Instead of a mouse pad, there's a tactile trackball beside a cross-shaped directional pad. There's no practical need for a keyboard like this in 2025, but it's a cheeky collector's item for fans of the Apple TV+ series. The MDR Dasher will be compatible with macOS, Windows, and Linux via USB-C. Atomic Keyboard isn't clear on the price yet (it says $399, but the price is crossed off, and it notes that final pricing is to be determined), and there's no release date, but you can sign up for email alerts on its site. —Boutayna Chokrane Apple Will Train Its AI on User Data Photograph: Julian Chokkattu This week, Apple says it will begin analyzing user data to improve its artificial intelligence models, a move widely seen as a means for the company to catch up to rivals like OpenAI and Google. Instead of relying on synthetic training models, Apple will use anonymized customer data to check the work of its synthetic data and improve it. The data is aggregated, so Apple isn't collecting emails or texts but instead tracking 'trends in real user data' to compare with results from synthetic data. It only applies to users who have opted in to Device Analytics and will roll out in iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, and macOS 15.5. This will upgrade the quality of artificial-intelligence text-generation features like Writing Tools and summarizations, though it's unclear how quickly we'll see improvements. Apple's new-and-improved Siri was supposed to be here by now—a part of the broader Apple Intelligence rollout—but instead we're left with a marginally souped-up Siri that can tap into OpenAI's ChatGPT. That's about it. A few weeks ago, the company delayed the version of Siri it promised last year, one that can understand your personal context. It's now expected to arrive in 2026. A Laser-Powered Skin-Care Tool Arrives in the US The Lyma Laser Pro has officially launched in the US this week for a cool $5,995. First released in Europe last year, the at-home, FDA-cleared skin-care tool has racked up a wait list of over 16,000 Americans, which the company says translates to more than $100 million in sales. What does it do? The Laser Pro uses near-infrared cold laser technology to boost collagen production to address wrinkles, cellulite, redness, scarring, hyperpigmentation, and post-surgical recovery. Triple the size and power of the original Lyma Laser, the Pro delivers a continuous 808-nanometer laser beam at 1,450 milliwatts—deep enough to penetrate 10 centimeters into the dermis. Lyma claims visible results in 30 days if you stick to three minutes a day. What's more fascinating is that, unlike LED light therapy, this laser works over sun protection factor (SPF) or makeup without (supposedly) losing efficacy. I'm currently testing it—stay tuned for the full review. —Boutayna Chokrane Comcast Has a Price-Lock Guarantee A few weeks ago, Verizon announced a three-year price lock for customers, citing rising prices in a challenging economic climate. Now, Comcast is following suit. This week, the company announced a five-year price guarantee if you subscribe to a new Xfinity Internet package, which includes a Wi-Fi router/modem and unlimited data, starting at $55 per month and going up to $105 depending on the plan. That also includes a free Xfinity Mobile line for one year. Comcast claims there's no annual contract, so you're free to cancel it at any time with no penalty. Like all of these price lock initiatives, there are caveats. It applies only to new residential customers, and you're limited to 400 Mbps internet. You have to enroll in paperless billing and autopay or you'll pay extra, and there could be equipment-installation and other fees. If you downgrade the service, regular rates will apply. The promotion ends June 23. Beats Now Makes USB-C Cables Beats is getting into the cable business. Announced this week, the Apple-owned brand is launching Beats Cables, including USB-A to USB-C, USB-C to USB-C, and USB-C to Lightning varieties. The reinforced cables come in a 20-cm size in Bolt Black (AKA black) as well as 1.5 meters in signature Beats colors like Surge Stone, Nitro Navy, and Rapid Red (available this summer). The stylish cables provide data transfer at USB 2.0 rates and fast charging at up to 60 watts for the USB-C version, or 15 watts for the USB-A to USB-C cable. They're available now at Beats' site and Apple's site and stores, starting at $19 for a single or $35 for a two-pack. — Ryan Waniata
