Product: Superlux HD 681
Price Paid: Euros 16,95
Submitted
09/10/2009
at
12:50am
by
Christian Schuch
Email: scumpidou at web<dot>de
General Questions
:
8
The HD-681 by manufacturer Superlux from Taiwan is a studio-type headphone (actually it is a copy of the AKG K-240- plainly evident when you look at the design of it), semi open;
Some of the materials they used are quite cheap (so you??ll tend to sweat a bit wearing it- but I guess that has to be expected at a price of 25 Dollars), but the drivers really sound excellent, so I easily got over it. A protective bag is delivered with the unit, as well as an adapter to use with 3.5 inch as well as 6.5 connectors. The headphones are very comfortably adjustable (just like the genuine AKG??s)- so I could wear them for prolonged times without problems (besides the above mentioned sweat). You shouldn??t take these on tour, because for that there is simply to much plastic involved, but at home or in a small budget studio they??ll do fine.
Technical Specs
:
8
SPECIFICATIONS (according to manufacturer):
Type Dynamic, Semi-open
Driver 50mm, dome type, neodymium magnet
Sensitivity 98 dB (SPL/mW)
Frequency Range 10 to 30,000 Hz
Rated Impedance 32 Ohms
THD <0.25%
Max Input Power 300 mW
Cord Single Sided, Straight. 2.5 meters (8.2 feet)
Connector Gold plated stereo 1/8??? mini jack
Adaptor Screw on, gold plated, stereo 1/8??? mini jack to 1/4??? phone
Weight 220 g (8.3 ounces)
You can have a look at the manufacturers site yourself:
http://www.avlex.com/pdfs/new_2009/HD681.pdf
Sound Quality
:
9
The sound of this HP is very remarkable for the price, bass frequencies are very transparent, as are the mids. Treble is not that excellent, but still very good, and transparent enough to work with it in a project or small homestudio setting. What has to be said about monitors in general applies here, too: Recordings that have a good sound will sound phantastic on that Headphone, crappy recordings will sound accordingly bad- so no headphone for MP3 listening. But in a studio setting they work great, no matter if you use them in high or low volumes- especially if you consider the price. They will show you a lot of mistakes you make in mixing/mastering. Of course they don??t really sound like the genuine AKG K-240s or like any other more than 250 Dollar Studio headphones, but they get surprisingly close. Stereo imaging is very good, too.
Features
:
5
As I??ve already mentioned these headphones are a rather barefaced copy of the AKG H-240??s, they??ve only changed some colors designwise. They are very comfortably adjustable, but The material is rather cheap plastic, so sweat will be an issue. A carrying bag is provided, as well as an 3.5 /6.5 adapter. Not very much provided here- but that has to be expected for the price.
Overall Rating
:
9
I purchased these 2 Months ago from Ebay, because the good headphones I used before (Beyerdynamics DT 770) had gone bust, and I desperately needed a replacement quick. Of course the Superlux HP??s aren??t as good as my previous ones, but they are very good in their own right, nothing in that pricerange compares (as far as I know). I already used it a lot (maybe about 5 Hours a day), and so far they didn??t let me down. The only problem is that your ears get a little sweaty because of the use of cheap plastic- not too much though, because of the semi- open design. In combination with a good near field monitor set they worked very well for me in my small budget studio.
So I would really recommend that HP to other musicians, small budget or project studio owners- and yes, I would definitely buy them again, if they were stolen (especially because they are so incredibly affordable)- but if you tend to sweat too much, or if you are really up to using a professional studio headphone in a professional setting you??ll probably need another one.
