Remember Skullcandy? They’re Back, in a Big Way.

Everyone either had Skullcandy headphones or had a friend with Skullcandy headphones. They were everywhere, and while they didn’t exactly go away, they seem to have lost a bit of their market dominance ever since Apple, Google, JLabs, Bose, Sony, and Beats all solidified their strangleholds on the crowded headphones market.

Now Skullcandy has brought back one of its oldest product nameplates, the Aviators, as a premium-priced pair of over-the-ear headphones with active noise cancellation. Announced on June 3, they’re already on sale.

sharp looks and long battery life

Along with a spiffy-looking cross-body carrying case for storage the Aviator 900 ANCs, the headphones themselves are made of “a bold materials mix—vintage inspired hardware, suede, polished finishes—and iconic design elements like a knurled thumbwheel, joystick, and retro-inspired multi-function LCD display,” as Skullcandy puts it. Until I can get my hands on a pair, I’ll take Skullcandy’s word for it.

Did you click the link and wonder why THX, George Lucas’ (of Star Wars fame) audio company, is posting a Skullcandy press release? It’s because Skullcandy has partnered with THX to incorporate THX’s Spatial Audio technology into the new Aviators, using software tricks to make it seem like sound is coming from all sides around you.

The Aviators can offer up to 60 hours of playtime between charges with ANC off or up to 50 hours with ANC on. I’m hedging because there are variables in any battery-powered audio device that determine how much playtime you’ll get from a single charge, with volume being one such variable.

If you run down the battery, it looks like you can get back to listening fairly quickly. A 10-minute charge will give you four hours of playtime on a rapid charge.

They also have Google Fast Pair and Google Finder support built in. The latter refers not to the person-locating functionality for natural disasters (I assume), but rather to Google Find My Device, which will help locate your Skullcandys if they go missing, similarly to Apple’s Find My service.

The Aviator 900 ANC aren’t widely available at many retailers yet, although you can get a pair from Skullcandy itself. And I’d expect that before long, they’ll spread out to more store shelves, physical and digital.