Review: Superlux HD 681 EVO Professional Monitor Headphones

With the amazing abundance of headphones in the market today, it is hard to pick out the right headphones with a budget in mind. One reasonably priced headphone that I heard about is the Superlux HD 681 EVO Pro Monitor Headphones. This pair has a lot of great reviews from different folks and I luckily got a chance to use it a bit to find out what the fuss is all about.

For us folks that do not know the brand, Superlux is a Taiwan based company. They’ve been around the audio peripherals industry since 1987. So despite the not so familiar brand for some of us, these guys have actually withstood the test of time.

I do not work professionally around sound stages so my impressions will revolve around what I think professionals might need from a professional monitor headphone. I will also include practical information for music lovers instead of nitpicking each and every specification of the Superlux HD 681 EVO. Here are my impressions of the headphones.

Build and design

Headphones should be well built and durable if you will be using it professionally. Professionals probably use monitor headphones for long work hours so it really has to be able to withstand wear and tear that comes with the territory. With that, the Superlux HD 681 EVO feels really durable despite all the plastic parts. I tried flexing the headband really wide over and over again for a couple of minutes and it didn't feel like it was gonna snap.

The Superlux HD 681 EVO is large just like other monitor headphones, but it does not feel heavy while wearing it. The semi-open earpiece is large enough to fit my ears without any trouble. The cushion is soft and warm, the warmth primarily comes from the fact that the earpiece envelopes my ear without any breathing room for ventilation. 

The audio cable is detachable on the left earpiece. The HD 681 EVO comes with two cables at different lengths; a 1 and 3 meter cable with gold plated plugs. This is a nice touch because it allows us to use the convenient length depending on how we are using the headphone. Speaking of flexibility, we can also hook these cans up on amplifiers with the gold plated metal 6.35mm plug adapter that comes with it.

The headband also has some brail nibs on the left and right side, which is nice to determine the left and right earpiece without looking for the L and R markings. This is very useful for the visually impaired or in poor light scenarios.

The headphones come in two variants: black and white. I was able to use the white variant and I would personally prefer the black version. If you noticed in the pictures, there's a little bit of chrome in the earpiece that gives it a little bling. It also comes with a pouch that can be used to keep the HD 681 EVO while in transit or not in use.

Sound quality

After burning in these cans (yes, burn in is needed), one word came to my mind on the sound quality as I was using these headphones – pure. Accuracy is an important feature for monitor headphones and this one does it well. These headphones are able to reproduce a nice balance of bass, midrange, and treble which contribute to an accurate representation of sound. The trebles were crisp and not irritatingly high pitched. Bass is present but does not overpower the treble. The mixture of a balanced bass and treble makes the midrange sound great.

The sound stage is a fairly new concept to me and learning what a sound stage has made me appreciate these headphones more. It is one thing for us listeners to be able to perceive sound coming from left and right, but it’s another thing to be able to perceive the distance or depth where the sound is coming from. That sense of depth allows us to have an idea on how big the recording area is and allows us to imagine and feel like we’re in the recording area.

This pair of Superlux headphones allows us to perceive the sound stage quite nicely. This feature is neat when listening to classical music played by a full orchestra, because we can perceive where the different instruments are and which ones are nearer.

Noise cancelation is not very effective with the HD 681 EVO; we’ll have to crank up the volume to drown out the noise. Hehe. Having a semi-open earpiece might have something to do with it. But be wary about maxing out the volume because sound does leak out at a certain level. It’s not loud though but it does leak out – this might be critical for pros who listen through the headphones while recording in a sound stage.

Specifications

The Superlux website is in Chinese so instead of giving a link, here is the unedited Google translated specs:

• HD681 EVO: Dynamic, semi-open 
• Drive unit: Ø50 mm, neodymium iron 
• Sensitivity: 98 dB SPL (1mW) at 1 KHz 
• Frequency response: 10 - 30,000 Hz 
• Maximum input power: 300 mW 
• Nominal impedance: 32 Ω @ 1 KHz 
• Ear: Artificial Leather 
• Ear Pressure: HD681 EVO: about 3.5 Newtons 
• Cable: Detachable 1 m and 3 m straight, unilateral outlet; 3.5 Li 
• Access headphone connector body 
• Connector: 3.5mm stereo gold-plated connectors 

Comparison

I own the Sony MDR XB400. Admittedly, these two are different types of headphones so comparing them will more or less differentiate a monitor headphone and an extra bass headphone. Monitor headphones are designed with sound accuracy in mind; in this regard the Sony MDR XB400 is no match for the Superlux HD 681 EVO. But the solid bass delivered by the Sony MDR XB400 cannot be matched by the Superlux HD 681 EVO. Trebles are more consistent on the HD 681 EVO as well, unlike the MDR XB400 where the bass drowns out the treble. So for sound quality, it will depend on preference; bass thumper or pure accuracy.

The noise cancelation of the Sony MDR XB400 is much better. Having a closed or sealed design might be a contributing factor. Also, the ear pads are much softer on the Sony MDR XB400, which help seal in the music and keep out the noise a little better than the Superlux HD 681 EVO.

The build quality on the Superlux HD 681 EVO is so much better in terms of durability. The Sony MDR XB400 really feels fragile compared to these pro-grade monitor headphones. On aesthetics, the simplicity and size of the Sony MDR XB400 is more appealing to me. The bulky Superlux HD 681 EVO has more edges and lines which make it feel like something from the set of Star Wars.

It is fair to note that many people are comparing the HD 681 EVO to other more expensive monitor headphones from popular brands. Some even say that that the HD 681 EVO is better. I really wish that I can compare this with other monitor headphones so I can find out myself.

Conclusion

To be honest, I like listening to bass heavy or bass enhanced music, that’s why I have the Sony MDR XB400. However, after using the Superlux HD 681 EVO, I quickly learned to appreciate the amazing sound accuracy that it can reproduce. The only real drawback for me is the ginormous size of the headphones.

These headphones are actually more expensive in North America which is selling at USD69 in Amazon. Philippines being closer to Taiwan probably made the price lower at PHP1,990. That price really makes this more attractive than it already is and it's available at Egghead (there's a branch at Robinson's Galleria). And based on my experience, I think the Superlux HD 681 EVO professional monitor headphone is worth it.