Superlux HD-681 EVO: A Year Later

[Verne]

It has been almost a year since I got my Superlux HD-681 EVO headphones so I decided to write a review of these much praised budget headphones. This review is mostly written in comparison to my old headset, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma. You should not expect a scientific review with graphs and such as I am not an audiophile or a professional audio equipment reviewer.

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

I'd like to start with a little background to as what my listening habits are. I am mainly a guy who uses speakers for all audio (the upside of living alone). I mostly use headphones when using voice communication software. As such, I didn't feel the need to spend a lot on headphones, but more about reasoning later.

 

I listen to music almost constantly when at home. My main diet includes heavy rock and metal. Recently I have supplemented my diet with instrumental music, trance and some drum'n'bass stuff. I also have a small library of video game soundtracks and chiptune songs. My main source of music is Spotify, which I have been using since 2009. For non-streaming stuff I use iTunes. You can view my Spotify profile here.

 

On hardware side I used to have a Xonar DG sound card, but I have since stopped using it and moved onto an on-board solution (Realteck ALC887) when I upgraded my PC last fall. On both cases I used the front panel audio in headphone mode. I also listen to music on my iPhone 5. I have also tested the headphones briefly on my 13" MacBook Pro (late 2009 model).

 

 

2. REASONING

 

Now, why did I end up with these? Many of you probably have heard about Superlux brand by now. They make cheap headphones that supposedly sound as good as much more expensive headphones from more well known brands. I also heard and read some of those reviews and they got me intrigued. As mentioned earlier, as a speaker guy I didn't fancy spending a lot on headphones, but I still wanted good sound quality. At this price point there wasn't much to lose if they failed to deliver so I took the plunge.

 

Superlux HD-681 EVOs are actually the second version (as the name suggests) of HD-681 headphones. I was originally going to buy those first version headphones but during the shopping I noticed there was a new version coming in just a few weeks, so I waited a bit longer for them. Then, on July 2013, they finally arrived.

 

I ordered my pair from Thomann.de for 28 euros. At that time it was the closest and cheapest option available in Finland.

 

3. THE PACKAGE

 

Superlux HD-681 EVOs are available in black and white. I opted for the black version. The package in which they came was not anything special, just a basic cardboard and plastic box. Can't really expect much at this price range. Overall, the packaging seemed adequate enough.

 

Going inside the package you find the headphones (of course) and quite a nice selection of accessories. The acessories included two cables, a one meter and a three meter ones, all ends terminating in 3.5mm plugs. You also get a nice clip to firmly attach the cable to the headphones. A nice surprise I didn't expect was the included velour pads, which I immediately replaced the default pleather ones with. All the extra accessories not in use fit inside the included bag.

 

The headphones themselves are cheap, shiny plastic. Not that surprising since they are cheap after all. They do not feel like they would break easily, though. Overall looks is decent. They won't blow your mind but they don't "look" that cheap either. These over the ear headphones use a semi-open design and the pads can be easily switched, a huge plus. The cable is also detachable which is great. The plastic design makes the headphones light and the velour pads add extra comfort.

 

All in all, pretty impressive feature and accessory set for a pair of budget cans.

 

 

4. THE SOUND

 

The big selling point of the HD-681 EVOs is the superb sound quality. On my old headset (Tactic 3D Sigma) I had to heavily abuse the equalizer to make them sound good. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that HD-681 EVOs sounded great without any equalizer fiddling. These headphones can easily do their job without any software trickery.

 

Listening to some of my favorite tracks on Spotify, I quickly noticed how much more balanced the sound was. There was much more clarity in the mids and high end and the bass was not so overpowering or hollow when compared to the old headset. The first HD-681s were criticized for having  slighty harsh highs which were supposedly fixed on the EVOs. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to use the originals so I cannot do a direct comparison. I did not notice any harshness in the highs myself, something I did notice on my old Tactic3D Sigma, especially in really high female vocals.

 

The semi-open design of the headphones means they should have a quite wide soundstage for a good surround effect. Surround experience was something that many people praised the EVOs for, and as a gamer was a big reason why I chose them. I dug up the classic

video on YouTube to test the surround effect and boy was I amazed. It was quite eerie how life-like the surround effect was. It really did sound as if someone was moving around me! I was very impressed by the soundstage these cans managed to create. Some time ago I downloaded Razer's virtual surround software and during the setup the sounds came out exactly where they were supposed to.

 

Compared to my old Tactic3D Sigma, which were supposed be THE surround headset, the much cheaper Superlux headphones just demolished the Sigmas in every way possible. The sound quality was much better and the surround experience was unreal. Needless to say, I'm never going back to "gaming headsets".

 

5. CONCLUSIONS

 

After a year of use I barely notice any tear or wear on the headphones, other than the shiny plastic getting less shinier by all the dirt and finger grease. The headphones have been extremely comfortable, even during long gaming sessions lasting almost 24 hours. They are light enough so you can easily forget you are wearing them. The velour pads give enough breathing room for your ears to not sweat. There is just enough clamping force for them to stay on head but gentle enough to not cause any fatigue or pain.

 

I am still impressed by the sound quality of these headphones and I occasionally put them on just because I want "experience" them. They have been excellent in all areas of use. They might not be the most bass-heavy headphones, but they have very balanced sound from low to high without being "analytical". I have not found a single song that didn't sound great with them. They are also only rated at 32 ohms so they are easy enough to drive on pretty much any device. Using them on iPhone 5 and MacBook Pro has been as pleasant as on my desktop.

 

For a cheap pair of headphones, the Superlux HD-681 EVOs are simply put mind blowing. You get a lot of useful accessories with them and the sound quality is definitely worth all the praise they get. Anyone looking for affordable headphones should look no further. At around $39 (@Amazon.com) / 27€ (@Thomann.de) currently, these cans would still be worth it even at double the price!

 

Album of photos: http://imgur.com/a/lSucS

[Epitome]

Are they over ear or on ear

[Verne]

Are they over ear or on ear

Over

[manfungdarrell]

so what's the difference with the original HD681? and how does the EVO par with 668B? from what I've researched..I'm considering Superlux HD681EVO, 668B and Steelseries Siberia v2 ..I prefer sound quality first before looks, they'are all priced closely the same anyway(from where I come from). I'm quiet sensitive to highs..it's what hurts my ears in some dubstep/electronic/house music.

[Verne]

so what's the difference with the original HD681? and how does the EVO par with 668B? from what I've researched..I'm considering Superlux HD681EVO, 668B and Steelseries Siberia v2 ..I prefer sound quality first before looks, they'are all priced closely the same anyway(from where I come from). I'm quiet sensitive to highs..it's what hurts my ears in some dubstep/electronic/house music.

The original 681 was said to have obnoxiously sharp highs which was fixed in the Evos. 668b is pretty similar but offers a bit more bass.

[Slow N Stupid]

 

It has been almost a year since I got my Superlux HD-681 EVO headphones so I decided to write a review of these much praised budget headphones. This review is mostly written in comparison to my old headset, the Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Sigma. You should not expect a scientific review with graphs and such as I am not an audiophile or a professional audio equipment reviewer.

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

I'd like to start with a little background to as what my listening habits are. I am mainly a guy who uses speakers for all audio (the upside of living alone). I mostly use headphones when using voice communication software. As such, I didn't feel the need to spend a lot on headphones, but more about reasoning later.

 

I listen to music almost constantly when at home. My main diet includes heavy rock and metal. Recently I have supplemented my diet with instrumental music, trance and some drum'n'bass stuff. I also have a small library of video game soundtracks and chiptune songs. My main source of music is Spotify, which I have been using since 2009. For non-streaming stuff I use iTunes. You can view my Spotify profile here.

 

On hardware side I used to have a Xonar DG sound card, but I have since stopped using it and moved onto an on-board solution (Realteck ALC887) when I upgraded my PC last fall. On both cases I used the front panel audio in headphone mode. I also listen to music on my iPhone 5. I have also tested the headphones briefly on my 13" MacBook Pro (late 2009 model).

 

 

2. REASONING

 

Now, why did I end up with these? Many of you probably have heard about Superlux brand by now. They make cheap headphones that supposedly sound as good as much more expensive headphones from more well known brands. I also heard and read some of those reviews and they got me intrigued. As mentioned earlier, as a speaker guy I didn't fancy spending a lot on headphones, but I still wanted good sound quality. At this price point there wasn't much to lose if they failed to deliver so I took the plunge.

 

Superlux HD-681 EVOs are actually the second version (as the name suggests) of HD-681 headphones. I was originally going to buy those first version headphones but during the shopping I noticed there was a new version coming in just a few weeks, so I waited a bit longer for them. Then, on July 2013, they finally arrived.

 

I ordered my pair from Thomann.de for 28 euros. At that time it was the closest and cheapest option available in Finland.

 

3. THE PACKAGE

 

Superlux HD-681 EVOs are available in black and white. I opted for the black version. The package in which they came was not anything special, just a basic cardboard and plastic box. Can't really expect much at this price range. Overall, the packaging seemed adequate enough.

 

Going inside the package you find the headphones (of course) and quite a nice selection of accessories. The acessories included two cables, a one meter and a three meter ones, all ends terminating in 3.5mm plugs. You also get a nice clip to firmly attach the cable to the headphones. A nice surprise I didn't expect was the included velour pads, which I immediately replaced the default pleather ones with. All the extra accessories not in use fit inside the included bag.

 

The headphones themselves are cheap, shiny plastic. Not that surprising since they are cheap after all. They do not feel like they would break easily, though. Overall looks is decent. They won't blow your mind but they don't "look" that cheap either. These over the ear headphones use a semi-open design and the pads can be easily switched, a huge plus. The cable is also detachable which is great. The plastic design makes the headphones light and the velour pads add extra comfort.

 

All in all, pretty impressive feature and accessory set for a pair of budget cans.

 

 

4. THE SOUND

 

The big selling point of the HD-681 EVOs is the superb sound quality. On my old headset (Tactic 3D Sigma) I had to heavily abuse the equalizer to make them sound good. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that HD-681 EVOs sounded great without any equalizer fiddling. These headphones can easily do their job without any software trickery.

 

Listening to some of my favorite tracks on Spotify, I quickly noticed how much more balanced the sound was. There was much more clarity in the mids and high end and the bass was not so overpowering or hollow when compared to the old headset. The first HD-681s were criticized for having  slighty harsh highs which were supposedly fixed on the EVOs. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to use the originals so I cannot do a direct comparison. I did not notice any harshness in the highs myself, something I did notice on my old Tactic3D Sigma, especially in really high female vocals.

 

The semi-open design of the headphones means they should have a quite wide soundstage for a good surround effect. Surround experience was something that many people praised the EVOs for, and as a gamer was a big reason why I chose them. I dug up the classic Virtual Barber Shop video on YouTube to test the surround effect and boy was I amazed. It was quite eerie how life-like the surround effect was. It really did sound as if someone was moving around me! I was very impressed by the soundstage these cans managed to create. Some time ago I downloaded Razer's virtual surround software and during the setup the sounds came out exactly where they were supposed to.

 

Compared to my old Tactic3D Sigma, which were supposed be THE surround headset, the much cheaper Superlux headphones just demolished the Sigmas in every way possible. The sound quality was much better and the surround experience was unreal. Needless to say, I'm never going back to "gaming headsets".

 

5. CONCLUSIONS

 

After a year of use I barely notice any tear or wear on the headphones, other than the shiny plastic getting less shinier by all the dirt and finger grease. The headphones have been extremely comfortable, even during long gaming sessions lasting almost 24 hours. They are light enough so you can easily forget you are wearing them. The velour pads give enough breathing room for your ears to not sweat. There is just enough clamping force for them to stay on head but gentle enough to not cause any fatigue or pain.

 

I am still impressed by the sound quality of these headphones and I occasionally put them on just because I want "experience" them. They have been excellent in all areas of use. They might not be the most bass-heavy headphones, but they have very balanced sound from low to high without being "analytical". I have not found a single song that didn't sound great with them. They are also only rated at 32 ohms so they are easy enough to drive on pretty much any device. Using them on iPhone 5 and MacBook Pro has been as pleasant as on my desktop.

 

For a cheap pair of headphones, the Superlux HD-681 EVOs are simply put mind blowing. You get a lot of useful accessories with them and the sound quality is definitely worth all the praise they get. Anyone looking for affordable headphones should look no further. At around $39 (@Amazon.com) / 27€ (@Thomann.de) currently, these cans would still be worth it even at double the price!

 

Album of photos: http://imgur.com/a/lSucS

 

Ellow fellow dweller of tech's god forsaken land (finland).... just a quick question... what mic did you use with those?

PS. sry to dig out an old thread... but for future reference sake.. I ask him here so that if someone wonders the same will see the answer without posting/sending a message

[Verne]

Ellow fellow dweller of tech's god forsaken land (finland).... just a quick question... what mic did you use with those?

PS. sry to dig out an old thread... but for future reference sake.. I ask him here so that if someone wonders the same will see the answer without posting/sending a message

Zalman ZM-MIC1 clip-on mic originally. Currently using Samson Meteor desktop mic.

[Keyboy]

Zalman ZM-MIC1 clip-on mic originally. Currently using Samson Meteor desktop mic.

I'm currently in debate with myself of whether to get 668B or 661 EVO, i boiled it down to the headbands. I was wondering if the headband of the EVO is comfortable and is there anyway to make it tighter/looser if it doesn't fit?

Also how was the Zalman ZM-MIC1?

 

Thanks for the help

[Verne]

I'm currently in debate with myself of whether to get 668B or 661 EVO, i boiled it down to the headbands. I was wondering if the headband of the EVO is comfortable and is there anyway to make it tighter/looser if it doesn't fit?

Also how was the Zalman ZM-MIC1?

 

Thanks for the help

I've seen some people use rubber bands or something similar with 668b style wings to tighten them. As for the 681 EVO style, they're "auto-adjusting". At least for me they still fit perfectly without any loosening after almost two years of use.

 

As for the Zalman mic, it was good enough. The sound was clear but its a bit sensitive so it can pick up some background noise if you live in a noisy environment and have to crank up the volume and boost to max.

[Keyboy]

I've seen some people use rubber bands or something similar with 668b style wings to tighten them. As for the 681 EVO style, they're "auto-adjusting". At least for me they still fit perfectly without any loosening after almost two years of use.

 

As for the Zalman mic, it was good enough. The sound was clear but its a bit sensitive so it can pick up some background noise if you live in a noisy environment and have to crank up the volume and boost to max.

Thanks for the quick response. I will go with 668b just to have the option of adjusting them. As for the mic i might make a post about it, but just in case you know a mic that's about 15$ and has noise cancelling (mechanical keyboard will piss people off ) i'm asking you.

[Verne]

Thanks for the quick response. I will go with 668b just to have the option of adjusting them. As for the mic i might make a post about it, but just in case you know a mic that's about 15$ and has noise cancelling (mechanical keyboard will piss people off ) i'm asking you.

The Zalman mic is one of the best for around $15. A proper noise cancelling mic might be hard to find with that budget anyway. The trick with any microphone is to find a way to bring as close to your mouth as possible so you can lower the sensitivity so it wont pick up any unwanted noise.