Skullcandy is one of the few headphone companies that has, smartly with their marketing, gained recognition in the mainstream. They used to kind of be the butt of jokes in the audio community, but the company has actually put a lot of effort into sound quality over the last several years and has come a long way there.
The 2nd gen Dime 2 is Skullcandy’s currently cheapest pair of ultra budget wireless earbuds, and the also 2nd gen Jib True 2 is their currently cheapest pair of non stemmed monitor style wireless earbuds. They have both become very popular products since their early 2022 release, and a lot of people are asking how the measure up to each other, and whether one is decidedly better than the other. I have fully reviewed both of them and will answer those questions here in this comparison article.
Skullcandy Dime 2 vs Jib True 2 Side by Side at a Glance
How Are the Skullcandy Dime 2 and Jib True 2 Similar?
Driver design – both use a single 6mm dynamic driver, which is currently a popular and common schematic for budget wireless earbuds.
Weatherproofing – both have IPX4 certified water resistance (up to ambient moisture and moderate splashing)
Onboard controls – both have pressable buttons to execute controls rather than being touch based, and the buttons on both of them are not good for that matter – they both require a lot of force to depress, to the point where it actually hurts the ear or shifts the earbud out of place.
Bluetooth firmware – both have Bluetooth v5.2
Warranty – All Skullcandy earbuds have a limited 1 year warranty, which is the fairly common and standard minimum for budget headphones.
What Are the Main Differences Between the Skullcandy Dime 2 and Jib True 2?
Housing style – the Dime 2 is stemmed and has a shallower fit, while the Jib True 2 is non-stemmed and has a deeper fit.
Battery life – the Jib True 2 has vastly superior purported earbud and total plus case battery capacity (9h/34h) than the Dime 2 does (3.5h/12h).
Noise attenuation – neither has active noise cancellation, but the Jib True 2 with its deeper and more traditional fit has fairly decent natural isolation while the Dime 2 has relatively poor natural isolation.
Case – the Jib True 2 charging/carrying case is somewhat bigger than the the Dime 2 case, but the Dime 2 case has that silly design with the two open holes that ostensibly intends to keep the unit as thin as possible.
Does the Skullcandy Dime 2 or Jib True 2 Have Better Fit and Comfort?
Both the Dime 2 and Jib True 2 fit securely and create seal that doesn’t break. The Jib True 2 has a more comfortable fit in my opinion – the tips sit a little deeper and more firmly, which is my personal preference.
While I was able to get a proper seal with the Dime 2 that doesn’t break, the fit still feels a little shallow and out, and the wide and bulky stems don’t sit well in the intertragal notch.
A note before the next section: this page describes how I evaluate the sound quality of headphones and earbuds.Does the Jib True 2 or the Dime 2 Sound Better?
The Dime 2 Sounds noticeably better, no question. I rarely make comparison decisions like this so emphatically but it’s just true in this case. The Jib True 2 has noticeably less clarity and detail, and honestly sounds kind of muffled and under water compared to the Dime 2. The tuning of the Jib True 2 also has a noticeable lack of balance in comparison to the Dime 2 – the Jib True 2 has bloated bass and recessed mids and highs in comparison to the Dime 2.
Does the Jib True 2 sound bad though? No, they sound passable for their price point, and they might actually appeal to people who want something that’s soft and easy to listen to. It’s just that, echoing what I said in my original review, the Dime 2 truly is impressively good for its bare minimum price.
Which Should You Choose Between the Skullcandy Dime 2 and Jib True 2?
This is a strange and interesting comparison because, on paper, the Jib True 2 looks and seems better in pretty much every way. It has vastly superior battery life, a better case without silly holes, better fit and feel, better isolation, and better albeit still kind of bad button controls.
But then I put the Dime 2 on and it just sounds a lot better than than Jib True 2 does, and flat out impressive for its price-point. What is going on inside that Dime 2 housing? and why is it apparently wasted on earbuds that have such bad battery capacity and usability? I really don’t know, but, fidelity pretty much always wins for me unless there are other egregiously bad issues, so I’d say the Dime 2 is the better choice.
The Jib True 2 sounds passably decent though, and if you’re looking for non stemmed wireless earbuds that have buttons, and you don’t mind a softer sound style with less detail, then the Jib True 2 might work great for you.
Get the Jib True 2 wireless earbuds on Amazon (affiliate link)
Get the Dime 2 wireless earbuds on Amazon (affiliate link)
Relevant Articles
• Full Jib True 2 review
• Full Dime 2 review
• Is Skullcandy a good audio brand?
• Our current picks for the overall best budget true wireless earbuds
