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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-17 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• EKSA Headset — biggest strength: An AI-powered ENC microphone that suppresses up to 99.8% of environmental noise with a noise reduction depth up to 44dB, plus up to 55 hours of music or 30 hours of talk time.
• EKSA Headset — biggest trade-off: It's a calling-first design; the noise control is Adaptive Noise Cancellation aimed at cleaning up your voice, not a full active noise canceling listening mode for music on a plane.
• Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise — biggest strength: True Active Noise Canceling with up to 60 hours of battery (ANC off), IPX4 sweat and water resistance, a flat-folding frame and a 3.5mm AUX cable for wired listening.
• Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise — biggest trade-off: It's an on-ear fit rather than over-ear, and its 1-year warranty is shorter than EKSA's 2-year coverage.
• Who each is for: Pick EKSA if your day is meetings, calls and Zoom; pick Skullcandy if your day is flights, commutes, workouts and music.
The EKSA H6-D is a Bluetooth 5.0 over-ear headset that treats the microphone as the main event. Inside is a Qualcomm chip driving ENC (environmental noise cancellation) that the brand says suppresses up to 99.8% of background noise with a noise reduction depth up to 44dB. In plain terms: the headset is trying to make your voice the only thing the person on the other end hears, even if you're in a busy room. For anyone who lives on Zoom, Teams or client calls, that's the feature that matters most.
Comfort is clearly engineered for long sessions. At just 144 grams with a leather-wrapped over-ear build and a headband that adjusts for tightness, the design goal is to avoid the pressure and ear fatigue that builds up over a full workday. The earcups also rotate on their joints to follow the shape of your head, which helps the seal stay even rather than pinching. A 120° rotatable boom mic swings up and down to mute quickly, and there's a red indicator light so people around you know you're busy — a small touch that makes a real difference in an open office or a shared home workspace.
Battery is the other headline: a 500mAh cell rated for up to 55 hours of music or 30 hours of non-stop calls, with a voice prompt when you drop below 10% and a full charge in about 1.5 hours. You also get two ways to connect — straight Bluetooth to a phone or computer, or the included USB dongle for PCs and laptops that don't play nicely with Bluetooth. Add a 2-year warranty and this is a headset you buy for the job, not for the vibe.
Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise: Who It's For
The Skullcandy Icon ANC is the opposite kind of product: a lifestyle headphone that happens to be travel-ready. The core feature is genuine Active Noise Canceling, which is designed to silence the world around you — the kind of noise reduction you want on a plane, a train or a noisy café. It pairs with the Skullcandy App, where you can switch between ANC and Stay-Aware mode, dial in how much of the outside world you let through, and customize the sound with Personal Sound by Mimi plus EQ tuning. That app layer is the biggest thing EKSA's headset doesn't try to match.
Battery life is rated up to 60 hours with ANC off, and Rapid Charge gives you about 4 hours of listening from a 10-minute top-up. The frame is built from metal and plastic in the Realtree APX finish, with a flat-folding, collapsible design that packs down small. It's rated IPX4 for sweat and water resistance, so light rain and hard workouts won't kill it. And there's a 3.5mm AUX cable in the box, so when the battery eventually runs out you can just plug in — a genuinely useful fallback that a lot of wireless headphones skip.
The trade-offs are worth naming. It's an on-ear fit with circular earcups, not the over-ear coverage EKSA offers, so long listening sessions can feel different depending on how the pads sit on your ears. The warranty is 1 year rather than 2. And the microphone here is a general-purpose call mic, not a boom mic with dedicated ENC — so for all-day business calls, EKSA's design is the more purpose-built option.
Who should buy it: travelers, commuters, gym-goers, students and casual listeners who want noise canceling, a foldable frame, weather resistance and a wired backup. Who should skip it: if your job is back-to-back calls and you need your voice to cut through a noisy room, the call-first design of the EKSA is the better fit.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for blocking out your environment → Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise. Active Noise Canceling with an adjustable Stay-Aware mode is aimed at silencing the world, not just your mic.
• Best for the longest battery → Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise. Up to 60 hours (ANC off) versus EKSA's 55 hours of music — though EKSA also quotes 30 hours of straight talk time.
• Best for long work-from-home days → EKSA Headset. 144 grams, over-ear leather cushions and an adjustable headband are tuned for hours of desk wear.
• Best for travel and the gym → Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise. Flat-folding design, IPX4 sweat and water resistance and an AUX cable make it the go-anywhere pick.
• Best for app-based sound tuning → Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise. Personal Sound by Mimi, EQ controls and adjustable hearing modes live in the Skullcandy App.
• Best for plug-and-play PC setups → EKSA Headset. The included USB dongle sidesteps Bluetooth headaches on desktops and older laptops.
• Best for warranty coverage → EKSA Headset. 2 years versus Skullcandy's 1-year limited warranty.
In my opinion, most people shopping this comparison should start by asking what they actually do all day. If your calendar is full of calls and your voice is the product, I'd buy the EKSA Headset — the ENC microphone, the boom arm, the light 144-gram over-ear build and the 2-year warranty are all pointed at that one job, and nothing on the Skullcandy side is designed to beat it there. If your priority is escaping noise on a plane, folding your headphones into a bag and not worrying about sweat or rain, I'd buy the Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise for its active noise canceling, 60-hour battery and IPX4 build. Neither is the wrong answer — they're just built for different days. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since that's the one variable that can tip a close call.
FAQ
They cancel different things. Skullcandy uses Active Noise Canceling to reduce what you hear around you. EKSA uses Adaptive Noise Cancellation plus ENC to clean up what others hear from your mic. For music on a flight, Skullcandy is the right pick; for a noisy office call, EKSA is.
EKSA is rated for up to 55 hours of music or 30 hours of calls from a 500mAh battery, charging fully in about 1.5 hours. Skullcandy is rated up to 60 hours with ANC off, and its Rapid Charge gives roughly 4 hours from a 10-minute charge. Actual numbers will vary with volume and ANC use.
The Skullcandy Icon ANC Noise is the travel-and-gym pick: IPX4 sweat and water resistance, a flat-folding frame and a 3.5mm AUX cable for wired listening. The EKSA is an over-ear office headset with no stated water resistance, so I'd keep it at the desk.
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