Skull & Co. Product Review (Audiobox BT Audio Transmitter 5.2, Savage Raven Phantom Stand, Savage Raven Thumb Grips, Controller Case) 🎮 @skullnco

Something that has long irked me as an Xbox gamer is that Bluetooth earbuds can’t natively be used for gaming on the Xbox, I use headsets – of which there are many – but sometimes the ease, comfort, and practicality (for example, just popping one earbud in when gaming late at night with the TV on mute so you can hear the action but also hear your young child should they call from the next room) of earbuds has always been something I’ve yearned for over the years.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that there were adapters on the market that solved this very issue, with Skull & Co’s Audiobox being one of them.

They kindly sent across the Audiobox for coverage, along with a handful of other products which I’ll also mention below. All of which can be purchased at the Skull & Co. website.

Skull & Co Phantom Stand

There are several Phantom Stands available, each designed for the specific controller in mind, in my case – I received the Xbox controller version, which comes as a clear, two-piece set that slots together and acts as an almost invisible stand for your Xbox controller. It looks great in use and is a tasty little accessory for less overblown gaming setups, where a more minimalist approach is appreciated.

There’s no RGB lighting or fancy design here, just a sleek, understated, and simply designed stand that unobtrusively holds your controller. I’ve found it looks best when used with the Xbox in our bedroom, where the gaming setup is a bit more stripped-back, as the Phantom Stand suits that more subtle setup.

That said, it’s not the most robust of designs, and there is a little give in the plastic, which – whilst fine for adults – probably wouldn’t stand up to being accidentally stamped on by excitable kids!

The Phantom Stand can also be chain-linked with the Phantom Rack, which acts as a tower to add multiple Phantom Stands together, so that you can hang all controllers together in one place, as well as other accessories such as the ring fit, and headset.

Savage Raven Thumb Grips for Xbox X/S & Xbox One

A very neat little pack of three pairs of grips, with easy to apply instructions on the rear. The pack states that the three designs are ‘Skin Grip’, ‘FPS Master’, and ‘CQC Elite’, the dimensions and differences are listed on the back, with the radius, height, and style of grip being the key differentiators.

These covers are black in colour and work well with the black and white colour schemes of the Xbox console family, and it was only when applying them it dawned on me just how used, worn, and sad the original thumb grips on my controllers were!

A neat way to freshen up your controllers and give your thumbs something to hang on to, with each design genuinely feeling different and purposeful.

Skull & Co Controller Case

There are six colour / pattern variations available for the universal Skull & Co. controller case, as it holds not only Xbox X/S & One controllers, but also PS4 and Switch Pro as well as a host of third party controllers.

The variation I had was a sleek black, and has a material cover over a very sturdy, resilient shell that is subtly adorned with Skull & Co. branding, the YKK zip feels robust, and the corner of the case also features a link that can be clipped onto a bag, as well as including an adjustable wrist strap.

Opening it up shows that there are a couple of thin Velcro strips inside should you need to tape your controller down – handy if you are going on a bumpy journey, although I’ve never personally played Xbox on a horse at full gallop [why not? - ed] – and above the concave segment which holds the controller, the top half of the case has two halves of elastic, sturdy mesh to hold any small accessories or cables in place, the fact that the mesh is in two halves is a nice touch as it really means that your accessories won’t be spilling out in transit, a very sleek and cool controller case.

Audiobox BT Audio Transmitter 5.2

This was the product that kicked off my initial interest in Skull & Co. and is definitely something worth mentioning, as it solves the issue of the Bluetooth earbud lovers out there not being able to use them on Xbox.

It’s a nifty little unit that fits rather snugly into the bottom of your Xbox Controller as well as the Elite and Elite 2. As with all the Skull & Co. products the branding is subtle, and sleek, black design is the byword. Upon use, it instantly connected to my earbuds – it can hold up to two connections in its memory – and I had no issues at all in getting everything set up and into the game. 

Whilst I do believe that the Audiobox is a game changer in allowing earbud use, there are some caveats here. Firstly, there is an expected power drain, even when the unit is turned off, as it’s still plugged in and therefore recognised by your Xbox as being connected, I found it drained my controllers quicker than usual, so it’s best to remove the Audiobox if it’s not currently in use, and when doing this, you’ll definitely notice the snugness of design, as it takes a little effort to remove it as the connection is quite tight – I can assure you there is absolutely no risk of the Audiobox dropping out of your controller!

The other issue is that the volume can’t be turned up super loud, and unless there’s a way of boosting via the Xbox beyond the standard audio settings that I’m not aware of, those gamers that like a true cacophony in their ears may be a little underwhelmed, I prefer clarity over volume and so it wasn’t an issue for me but thought it worth mentioning.

There’s also an included microphone in the unit, but whilst it was ok for casual chatting - as you’d expect - the clarity and practicality – due to how you hold the controller when you game – means that for extended sessions, you’ll probably want to use something other than the inbuilt microphone.

Those caveats aside, the Audiobox has very much become my go-to way to listen whilst gaming, and it’s definitely improved my day to day audio experience with my Xbox, as popping in earbuds is very much preferable to be when I’m casually gaming as opposed to using a wired headset.

For more information – and to see all of their products, please check out

💀 the Skull & Co. website. 🔗