Superlux HD381 In-ear

DigitalHermit · December 28, 2015

Superlux HD 381 Semi-open in-ear earphones

A member review

Introduction

I have two pairs of in-ears right now and both of them have become distressed with rubber falling off from my TDK EB300s and extreme wear on my Panasonic ErgoFits... Since I've got a bit of cash from Christmas, might as well buy one, so here's what I ended up buying.

The Superlux HD 381 line is made up of 3 variants: the HD 381 (black) which is tuned with more bass, the HD 381F (white) which is tuned with less bass, and the HD 381B (gray) with even less bass than the 381F and more treble.

I was supposed to get the 381F but it was out of stock and Superlux products here do not replenish stocks that quickly... sometimes taking over 6-7 months... thus I ended up with the HD 381...

Unboxing

The earphones come with an extension cable, M and L silicone tips (S silicone tips come pre-attached), and a clip.

Specs

This pair has the ff. specs:

dynamic 13.5mm driver
20Hz-20kHz response
16 Ohms impedance
103dB SPL/mW sensitivity

and has this response curve (according to Superlux)

Review
Build Quality
Build quality feels cheap for a pair of almost 1000PhP earphones... there's nothing impressive with how this thing is built... a bit disappointing compared to their HD 330 headphones, but it's still within acceptable limits...

There may also be some excess adhesive on the wires from manufacturing like mine has...

Comfort
I switched out the preinstalled small tips for the medium tips... These things are more comfortable than the ErgoFit but the tips feel a bit harder than your standard silicone tips... These sit comfortably in my ears... Neither too tight nor too loose... but I don't recommend sleeping with these on...

Sound
My test setup is my desktop using the onboard Realtek HD Audio chip and no alterations on the default settings...

Starting the Project (Big Band Ver.)
Starting the Project (Wind Orchestra Ver.)
Magica Sonata for Piano
ROLLING MY LIFE
S.A.T.O.R.A.R.E. (Uroboros edit)
サクラ咲くユートピア
The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky -PHANTOM ENSEMBLE- (Tutti Sound Arr.)
Noble (Foreground Eclipse)
Escapes (Foreground Eclipse, ゆよゆっぺ ver.)
ミクロコスモス
夜螢光～Auld Lang Syne -bossa style-
星を廻せ月より速く (chipion Remix)

The above songs may not represent the entire spectrum, but they're the songs that I have right now...

First impressions should be the bass for this type of earphones, but not this time... What stood out to me was the overall sound of the pair... Although it's a bass-oriented pair of earphones, these manage to give the promised punchy bass without compromising on the mids and highs...

Sound stage is close to a pair of open-back headphones probably thanks to its semi-open design... for some reason, the isolation of this pair is fine for me whilst a few reviewers noted a lack of isolation...

Conclusion
For 990PhP, this may not be the best I've ever bought, but they are the best sounding in-ears that I have ever owned.
The build quality is relatively poor for the price... I'll find out once I daily this starting next semester...

for better mileage, getting a better pair of silicone tips is a must...

Addendum:
I swapped out a pair of aftermerket tips (softer, different shape) and it sounds way better now...

Addendum2:
Superlux Product Page: http://www.superlux.com.tw/productInfo.do?pdctid=11755a60-22ef-45f1-9e49-ccaa6598a5a2&pdkid=1e2b43f0-9736-4f45-871a-460f051ba61d&level=2&lv0=5

Head-fi review by earfonia: http://www.head-fi.org/t/493052/superlux-hd381-series-mini-review-comparisons