Superlux HD681 Headphone Review - Worth $50 in 2023?
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- čas přidán 6. 08. 2024
- Is it only the price or are there other reasons the Superlux HD681 is still popular in 2023? No nonsense, I tested them to find out...
Features and Specifications:
Acoustic System: Semi Open-Back Dynamic / Over Ear
Impedance: 32ohm
Frequency Response: 10-30000Hz
Sensitivity: 96dB SPL/mW
THD: less than 0.25%
Maximum Input Power: 300mW
Ear Pads: Synthetic Leather
Cable: 2.8m (8.2ft) Fixed Straight / 3.5mm Jack with 1/4" adapter (gold plated)
Weight: 276g (9.7oz) including cable
⚙️ Used in this Video:
Superlux HD681 Headphones: amzn.to/3pdreZL
🎼 Music:
Softglove by Far Orange
Maharishi by Valente
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👉All gear used on askdrtk has been purchased by me unless I tell you otherwise in the video or description. Your support helps make more tutorials and gear reviews like this one possible. Thanks!
Todd
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🎞 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:54 Audio Test - 20-20000Hz Sine Sweep
01:29 Audio Test - Music
03:55 Audio Test - Reference Track Comparison with Audiolens
04:58 Audio Test - Male and Female Vocals
06:19 Audio Test - Spoken Word
06:53 Audio Test - Gaming
07:49 Soundstage and Imaging
08:14 Build Quality
09:44 Features and Specifications
10:08 Recommendations
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🔥 Do This First:
To get the most out of your recording or streaming space, I recommend sound treatment including acoustic absorption panels. This is the single biggest way to improve your audio before investing in other gear. You can make your own, or I highly recommend GIK Acoustics as they manufacture some of the best quality acoustic treatment available at an excellent value.
Check out GIK Acoustics here: www.gikacoustics.com/ref/131/ 👈👈👈
Get the best sound in your studio space and support askdrtk tutorials and reviews!
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These headphones come up a lot in comments so I thought it was about time to put up a review.
The materials used in these headphones feels cheap, but the sound was better than I expected. If you need open-back (semi open in this case) headphones for under $50usd, you could do a lot worse than these...especially for casual listening. They leak a fair amount of sound through so don't plan on tracking with a sensitive microphone...
I bought these 8 years ago. I still use the same pair daily and haven't bought another pair of headphones since.
same, 3 years, daily use. Very nice. Just had to bend the rods a bit to fit my tall ahh head better
5 for me, gone through a few sets of pads though. I also did a removable cable mod. Gone through one cable on that front
Same here! Great for gaming with another seat of pads very comfy!
Glad you are satisfied with them. May I ask what you use them for (studio work, or general listening)?
@@aldeveron9498 I have but with a correction curve.
Your reviews are always one of the greatest out there!!!
You really need to drop that Synth Instrumental you always using for your audio tests.
This one is sooooo amazing 🤩
Thanks for the review. I have been using the same one for about 10 years. The best headphones in their category.
Awesome review!
Literally the best budget headphones, period. I am using my second pair in around 7 years and they absolutely beat heapdhones 2, 3 times as expensive.
These have been popular for a long time for a reason. Thanks for sharing your long-term use on these, great to hear they have that kind of durability. Cheers!
really needed a good review to help me make my mind when it comes to buying these headphones. this was it. thanks!
This is an excelente review, very well done. Subscribed.
awesome review.
Great review. I own a pair of these and i can tell that IF you eq the highs down a little bit the sound is very accurate for mixing. Its a surprise for the money.
Awesome review & Great channel. You got a new sub love the shirt 👍🇦🇺
Awesome, thanks for your videos, hug from portugal
Much appreciated, I am glad you are enjoying me videos. Cheers!
Very good content!
Picked these up on a whim a few years ago not expecting too much and was blown away with the clarity and detail, especially for the price!
Thanks for sharing! I agree, they were not what I expected for the price…Cheers!
This review is so underrated anyways can I request for a comparison between this and samson sr850?
I just got a pair for around 20 dollars. great value imo
Yes I had a set for 4 years, replaced with thick velour pads right away. I like the semi-open back soundstage. It has died though after daily use. The cable frayed where it connects to the headphones. I opened them following other CZcams tutorials and can be easy fix if you have soldering iron and so on, but for the price, just as easy to get another set then to repair
man, your review VDO is way too good quality i cant believe your channel exist! thank you so much for these great detail reviewing!
Thanks, I am glad to hear you are enjoying my reviews, Cheers!
@@askdrtk also im loooking to buy new headphone for music recording, i want to sound like Clairo , Arctic monkeys , the strokes do you think Superlux HD681 will do the job for newbie like me?
You may want to look at closed-back headphones if you want to use them while recording, otherwise your microphone may pickup "mic bleed." Some good entry-level options include the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x and M30x. I have reviews for both posted in case you want to check them out. I hope this helps out and good luck with your music!
@@askdrtk thank you for ur suggetion!
@@askdrtk also do you think EQ correction for getting balance flat for mixing can work on this Headphone?
I jumped on this hype train many years ago, but I purchased the HD681 EVO since they include two cables (1m and 3m) and two pads (the standard leatherette and a velvet one). I like them even if I wish they were more comfortable.
Best headphone reviewer on youtube, thank you sir, i am not sure which to get this or the sr850 for my home recording, however this video gave me an idea of what to expect, maybe I'll just save for a bit more and get a k240 or a shp9500, have a great day.
i had ages ago the 681. uncomfortable as fuck. worth only if u buy with different pads.
i have the "velour" sr850 and they are comfortably great
I absolutely love them. I got 2 in what 8 years or so. I use them for gaming and streaming on twitch and for me these are the best "budget" headphones out there. Sure you can have more quality for more budget but on a daily dose of using i wouldn't use a high priced headphones or at least i didn't find some that rlly are worth it for me. Here in europe you get some rough leather imitation with the "normal" leather and i need to say the rough leather has a bit more comfort. Your test is absolutely genius. This was a test i eant for everything I'm searching. The only thing i would have loved to see would be a comparison with other budget products. Thank you for your work 🙏
Glad you’re enjoying your 681s and you liked my review. Thanks for the suggestion and I will doing comparison style headphone videos in the future. Cheers!
@@askdrtk keep on rocking. Love your work. 🙏
What a coincidence, I was listening to my 681 set last night. Really love their sounding like being in a room with a bass-heavy set of speakers. Listening to this video with them now, lol. Alternate with my Beyerdynamic Custom Ones, those I need to replace the earpads of those.
Cool, I love when that happens...checking out a review with headphone audio while wearing the headphones! The HD681 are a nice counterpoint to the more analytical sound of your Custom Ones...
A timely review! I have been trying to decide between these and the Phillips SHP9500. I will be using the headphones primarily for mixing/mastering and currently switch between the AKG 240 Studio and the Samson SR850. I've read good things about the Superlux HD681 but the cans I use now are both semi-open and I'm not sure the 681 would be a significant departure from those so I'm leaning towards the SHP9500, which are fully open.
Hey Todd, how's it going? First off, let me thank you for all these great reviews, they're some of the best I've seen in all of CZcams. Did you happen to try the Superlux HD 660 Pro? It'd be great to see a review on those! Keep up the amazing work, cheers!
I am well and hope you are too! Glad to hear you are enjoying my reviews, I enjoy making them and always hope they help out. I haven't tried the HD 660 pro, but I have heard good things about them...I will try to get a set for review. Enjoy your weekend!
@@askdrtk you too, Todd, take care!
$34 on Amazon today. Great value.
I like how you have added additional review elements to your headphone reviews. Very comprehensive and informative. Since you mention the K240s in this review, how do the K240s stack up in sub bass performance and sound-stage compared to this Superlux model and other open backed headphones you have previously reviewed. As far and neutral, open backed headphones, is the K240 your top choice? Thanks!
Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying this additions to the reviews! The HD681 have considerably more sub bass extension vs the K240 whereas the K240 has the edge on soundstage. Low end on the K240 does benefit from a good burn-in period, but still does not compare to the HD681. I recently reviewed the OneOdio Monitor 80 open-backs and was very impressed with low and high extension, midrange clarity, soundstage, and imaging. In this price range they are definitely worth considering. I use the Sennheiser HD600 as my go to mixing headphone as they perform very well on a broad range of genres and I have used them for so long that I know them very well. I will be doing a few "top 5" headphone comparisons soon (already started) and "open-back headphones under $150" will be one of them...might be interesting. Cheers!
@@askdrtkThe 'top 5' list is a spectacular idea and will be a great addition to already great analysis/review content!
A few months ago I got some Sennheiser HD 600 as a neutral and well-known reference for certain for studio work involving electric guitar sounds, and the shop had these Superlux for 25 €, so I ordered them just out of curiosity.
I was blown away. I actually prefer them over the HD 600 when listening to some songs where a bit more punch in the bass is welcome. It also was the first time I heard extended information in some reverb tails of a few songs I've listened to for years. I don't expect them to outlive the HD 600, but you can't go wrong at this price point either.
Hey Todd, another excellent review. Just a suggestion: Could you make a video suggesting a number of studio headphones suited to older folks? As I'm sure you know, our ability to perceive frequencies above about 1Khz tails off more and more as we get older, as a rule. I'm 70, and trying to figire out which (under $150) 'phones to get for accurate mixing and mastering!
I'm glad you enjoyed my review of the 681's and thanks for the great suggestion! I am planning to make a few headphone "comparison" videos and I can see real value in sharing some more specific "listener based" recommendations. Cheers!
Bought my first pair 10 years ago, they're still going strong after replacing the pads 6 years in with some velour ones.
They have quite a lot of clamping force which is nice for headbanging but less than ideal for long term use.
They don't excel in any particular aspect, but are generally competent in general since they are AKG K240 clones. Used to be a fifth of the price but are now around a third. Not as nice, but a third the price.
i ve bought a pair with branwavz hybrid ear pads , this ear pads are fantastic with superlux HD 330
Any chance of you ever taking a look at the Samson SR850 Headphones? Your detailed reviews on how accurate headphones are have been very helpful. Tempted to buy the ath-m20x for $50 but money's tight. I'm currently using the Neewer nw-2000 (discontinued) Now they only sale the nw-3000. No idea how accurate these are lol
Glad to hear you’re finding my reviews helpful. I will try to get a set of SR850s in for review. I haven’t tried the Neewer headphones but I have heard a lot of users say the 3000s provide clear mids. M20x perform very well in the under $50 category (amazon prime day is coming up next week so you may want to check - they usually do go on sale). They don’t look as “flashy” as some of the other affordable options, but they deliver where it counts. Cheers!
Hi man, my budget is not much. Which best performance/price headset do you recommend?
My use is mainly gaming, i use ps3, i plan to plug the headphones in tv.
Is the treble really bad in this? I never uses big headphones, bit in my experience, cheap earphones that come with phones in the box, often have high pitched sound, lack bass, and can hurt ears at high volume.
i currently own a gaming headest [razer barracuda x]. And I'm wondering whether or not i should get this, or save up for some more expensive wired headphones like the dt 770s.
They are a bit sharp. But I use them for monitoring vocals because they pick up problems something like the M50X smooths over. Hard to beat the price of Superlux though.
You know what else is a steal? Samson 850s and Rockville M50 Pro.
What I really like is My Superlux headphones are way more resistant than my Akg k240s phones.. Have Superlux working + 10 years... while mine Akgs start having problems in around 1 year...and I have Akgs before and after Chinese manufacturing and they have same defects.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve heard a lot of great things about these over the long term! Cheers!
@@askdrtk Yep.. they can be sturdy!
akg build quality is rubbish
I had a pair of k702s, I lived fixing them, until they died
@@citrinetowerbeats yes! same here! lots of fixes... I love the AKG sound.. but.. :(
В наушниках Superlux HD681 и B F можно изменить звук .Низкие частоты станут такие что очень четко слышно барабаны а высокие как будто звучит гитара рядом. Но если вам не нужен мощнейший бас и много шипящих высоких не изменяйте. Нужно снять амбушюры и удалить наклейки на решетках. Если не понравится звук приклеить обратно.
Better than audiotecnica 40 or 50 for end hip hop mixing? Mastering?
Bought these 4 years ago and they are still going strong. For 50$ you're better off buying samson sr850. Essentially the same headphones but with slightly better build quality and extra velour pads included. HD681 really need some better pads, especially in the summer as the stock are quite sweat accumulators.
Out of the box these are unusable for me. Treble is just insanely sharp. But even just applying a high shelf band filter from around 6k at -9db at least already solves this problem. You can of course do some more precise equing if needed.
Adding toilet paper just veils the sound which I don't like and it doesn't really tame treble on its own. What I found out on forums is that there's a sticker on the grill above the driver. It says it's an acoustic dampener and you shouldn't remove it. But I don't think the sticker itself is a dampener, but rather a white circular thing around it. The stickers are also asymmetrical which just doesn't make any sense. After removing it, the treble become even less bearable, but the sound becomes stronger and less veiled. It's like you unlocked the driver to its full potential. Some people also cut the plastic grill, I think that's taking it too far, but it is also an option.
The comfort of these headphones is also not great. Even after stretching them and leaving them on a pillow for a couple of nights, the headband is still uncomfortable, even tho the clamping is mostly gone.
But overall, I think for 30$ you can't find a better pair of semi open, over the ear studio headphones. And the best thing about them is that they can be quite fun to listen to even tho they are marketed for studio and reference use.
How are they size wise compared beyerdynamic DT-770? Cause i can wear those even tho they are round, but i've tried other round and theyve been too small.
Room inside the earcups is smaller than the Beyers, but more spacious vs Audio Technica m series.
Can you give me a eq corection seting for geting balance flat sound . Because i want to use them for mixing ❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻. This can help me alot ❤
looking for the answer too!
@@nuttanontchaturachanyaloet1324 just usit with realphones is an headphone corection and room sumulation . Is the best for me
I need to use this headphones for mixing. And i dont know witch plugin for corect them sonarworks o waves nx . Realphones . Can you help me for chosing one 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
While I do not generally use headphone correction software, in testing I found Nx works well with these headphones. I suggest using the HD681 preset with room ambiance set to 0 and speaker position set to 90 degrees. I also recommend turning off head tracking for regular use and then enabling it for reference purposes only. You can check out the price here waves.alzt.net/5gMya2 and keep in mind it usually goes on sale for 29.95. Correcting headphone EQ is not absolutely necessary as long as you take the time to learn the sound profile of your headphones, but correction can move the sound closer to neutral which many do find helpful. In the case of Nx I did find it also tames the brittle high frequencies pretty well on these headphones. I hope this helps out.
Toneboosters Morphit has a correction curve.
If travelling on a bus or anywhere loud they don`t block outside sounds.
Yes, closed-back headphones are generally preferred for areas where there is background noise or privacy is important. The HD681 are a semi open-back design that can have some advantages for soundstage, imaging, and comfort vs closed-back headphones, but they are more appropriate for a quiet listening space. Cheers!
@@askdrtk I'm not party to all the designs so i just looked for headphones with cups big enough to cover the ear Instead of sitting on the ear. They are ok for DJing with. It would be nice that someone would make headphones with big enough cups to cover the ear and also so tight on the head. A bit like if you ever had a hearing test. Those headphones are amazing.
Yes, headphones for hearing tests need to isolate external sound and so they are "over-ear and closed-back" designs. If you like the comfort of the HD681 you may like AKG K361 review here: czcams.com/video/mJRfrYdaX2w/video.html or the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (go with the 32 ohm model if you want to use them with a phone or laptop). Review here: czcams.com/video/F2WOs9hLOgM/video.html Hope this helps out!
@@askdrtk Ok I will look into those if i can stop myself buying records long enough to save up.
What is your favorite open back headphones so far from testing?
That is a tough question as I enjoy different characteristics of several. If I had to narrow it down to two at this point it would be the Sennheiser HD800s and the Audeze LCD-X. I appreciate the outstanding soundstage and imaging of the 800s while the overall character of the LCD-X being a bit warmer fits my sound preference vey well. This is of course very subjective due to the physics of our ears, but objective measurements to show both to perform well. I am always testing multiple sets concurrently as I like to spend a good amount of time with headphones before I release reviews…these will be posted in the not too distant future.
@@askdrtk what do you think are the best ones to buy with max price of $300 for wide soundstage and near perfect mixing
what do you think of the Superlux hd-681 EVO? I just found a pair for dirt cheap, I read that they're slightly better than the original but I'm not sure.
I haven’t tried them myself yet, but I have heard nothing but positive comments from previous users of the original 681 that moved on to the EVO.
@@askdrtk I appreciate the response! Awesome, I'm looking forward to using them once they arrive.
I subbed too, I love the level of detail you put into your review. Looking forward to seeing more, I'll probably dive deeper into a higher end pair of cans eventually!
i have listen to both of them with the same phone and songs. I took the evo( with removed inner polstering).
Great review. My pair reproduces right down to 7hz! I wish your sine wave sweep started at a lower frequency, say 5hz or 7hz, and I wish your music sample had upper-high instruments (e.g. cymbals).
The midrange it's flat, pretty recessed, but flat and natural
Samson SR-850/950 are a better but not by much..
Glad you mentioned that, I have been thinking about testing those...
@@askdrtkyes. im waiting hahaha
There is newer better version 681 EVO
Yes, and with both being about the same price I am surprised the EVO has not taken over. The original is still outselling the newer version. I am going to review the EVO as well to evaluate the differences.
Close version of superlux is 662 EVO. See dyi audio heaven for reference. My link was deleted. Another Internet favorite is koss kph30i. You can remove the from felt from speaker to improve dark sounding 681 EVO. You can compare them together with 662 EVO if you get cheaply. In Europe cost 30 bucks
Thanks for the recommendations!
The 681 EVO as an 'upgrade' to the 681 is debatable. The 681 EVO has a marginally better build quality, better treble and imaging, but the 681 has better mids, more accurate bass and a wider soundstage.
oh god please do it, i LOVE the evo, beats even 200$ ones i have for edm at least, i like your objective test reviews and if you can test the evo i'd be so happy, even better if you can compare them vs the original 681, thanks
Those headphones real price is 30 dollars anything above is overpricing..
Porta Pro, Samson SR850, Superlux HD 681 or AKG 240? Which one has better sounding?
Was about to buy Samson 850 but they have very bad treble accuracy so I head for the superlux 681 , ordered today
How are they? About to order one@@abdoun8214
These and the Phillips shp9500 are definitely the best budget wired headphones imo
It's difficult to find good affordable open-back headphones...both are great choices! Cheers!
Good headphones are always wired.