HeadphoneOverreview

Superlux HD681

The cult $30 studio headphone everyone recommends with an asterisk — big bass and a big stage for the money, a treble lift every rig confirms, and plastic that doesn't always last.

36 sourcesUpdated
$37Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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Superlux HD681

The short version

What to know.

A cheap semi-open headphone whose treble lift is the one thing every measurement agrees on: against an HD 600 on the same rig, four datasets put the 5–10 kHz region roughly 5 to 10 dB higher, and most reviewers — TNT-Audio, InnerFidelity, DIY-Audio-Heaven, RTINGS, Sonarworks — hear it as sharp, sibilant or fatiguing; EQ, a velour pad or a tissue behind the pad is the standard fix. Beneath that, the mids are widely called clear and the stage open and wide for the price. Opinion splits on the bass — full, even heavy, to most listeners, thin or lean to a minority — and the rigs split the same way, with pair-to-pair variation of around ±5 dB in the sub-bass. Comfort divides on stiff, shallow pleather pads and a clamp some find light and others find tight, and build divides along a familiar line: reviewers who borrowed one found it surprisingly durable, while owners report cables, plugs and plastic yokes failing within a year or two. As value it is almost universally praised — with a few critics who say a cheap headphone this coloured isn't a bargain at any price.

About this product

The original red-accented HD681: semi-open, over-ear, 50 mm driver, 32 Ω, a fixed 2.5 m cable and pleather pads. Not the HD681B (grey, 'balanced') or HD681F (white, 'flat'), which share the chassis but are tuned differently, nor the later HD681 EVO or HD681 AIR. The HD681 itself has been quietly revised over its long run — the red trim went darker — and measurers find older units a little brighter.

Taiwan's Superlux has sold the HD681 for well over a decade as a 'professional monitoring headphone', and it wears its inspiration openly: the self-adjusting twin-rail headband and round semi-open cups are AKG's K240, rebuilt in light plastic around a 50 mm, 32 Ω driver that a phone or laptop drives easily. It typically sells for $20–40.

That price made it a forum legend — an InnerFidelity review in 2011, years as a Thomann best-seller, and a 2.5-million-view DankPods video that sent a new wave of buyers its way. The legend comes with a standing caveat: nearly everyone who measures or reviews it says the treble needs taming, and owners argue about the bass, the comfort and how long the plastic holds up.

A good fit for

  • A first open-style headphone on a very small budget, for listeners willing to apply a treble EQ or a pad swap
  • Home listening and gaming from a phone, laptop or onboard audio — it needs no amp and has a wide stage
  • Tinkerers: decades of documented mods (velour pads, foam, tissue, inline filters) and published EQ presets
  • Bass-leaning listeners who still want an open sound — most pairs have full, well-extended bass

Think twice if

  • You're sensitive to treble or sibilance and won't use EQ
  • You need it to survive daily handling for years — the fixed cable and plastic yoke are the common failure points
  • You need isolation for a commute, shared office or recording near a microphone
  • You run hot or have large ears — the stiff, shallow pleather pads are the usual comfort complaint
  • You want a neutral reference out of the box

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

5 / 12topics divide opinion
midsdynamicsisolationtreblesoundstageimagingdetailbasstonalitycomfortbuildvalue
3 Strong agreement4 Mostly agree5 Divided opinions

Common ground6

  • The treble is elevated — every rig measures roughly 5–10 dB more than an HD 600 between 5 and 10 kHz, and most listeners hear it as sharp or sibilant.
  • EQ, velour pads or a tissue in front of the driver tame it, and owners and reviewers say it improves a lot once they do.
  • Clear, present mids that the bass doesn't swamp.

Points of contention5

  • Bass: full and deep to most, thin to a minority — and pairs measure up to about ±5 dB apart below 100 Hz.
  • Tonality: balanced and close to flat vs bright or V-shaped, depending on whether the listener is weighing the mids or the treble.
  • Comfort: light and comfortable vs stiff, sweaty pads and a tight clamp.

A closer listen.

12 topics · 5 divided
Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Treble

CriticalMostly agree
Reviewer sentiment25 supporting sources
CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Too much, by broad agreement. Measurement rigs and nearly every reviewer describe an elevated, sometimes grainy top end that turns hi-hats, cymbals and sibilants sharp and can fatigue over long sessions, especially at volume. A small minority of owners don't find it harsh, and later units are reported a little tamer than early ones; most fixes are EQ, velour pads or tissue in front of the driver.

“The sibilants, especially of female voices, and some harmonics of the drum cymbals sometimes exceed in terms of presence and, in the long term, can generate listening fatigue.”

TNT-Audio (Lucio Cadeddu)

“The treble is .. well… elevated and can sound harsh and filled with ‘fake detail’.”

DIY-Audio-Heaven (Solderdude)

“I don't feel the treble is too bright or forward or harsh.”

spinnin (Head-Fi review)

Measured

Against an HD 600 on the same rig, 5–7 kHz sits +5.5 to +7.6 dB and 7–10 kHz +7.3 to +10 dB on oratory1990's GRAS, RTINGS' B&K 5128 and InnerFidelity's rig; DIY-Audio-Heaven reads about +10 dB with a narrow 4 kHz dip and a distortion peak there. Sonarworks finds the top end above 10 kHz varying by more than ±5 dB from pair to pair. oratory1990's velour-pad measurement adds a further 2–3 dB of treble.

Link to this topic

The hardware

Specifications.

Checked

Design

Type
Semi-open-back over-ear
Drivers
1 × 50 mm dynamic (neodymium)

Electrical

Impedance
32 Ω
Sensitivity
98 dB/mW≈ 112.9 dB/V
Frequency response
10 Hz – 30 kHz

Connection

Cable
Fixed, single-entry, 2.5 m
Plugs supplied
3.5 mm, 6.35 mm

Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from en.superlux.com.tw, thomannmusic.com.

Follow the evidence

Sources 36

1–6 of 36 sources

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of

What to keep in mind 5

  1. This is a read of where reviews, owners and measurements land as of October 2026. The HD681 has been on sale for well over a decade, so some of the reviews behind it are old — though recent owners and measurements tell the same story.

  2. Superlux has quietly revised it over the years, and pairs differ: measurers find older units brighter and report the bass varying by several decibels from pair to pair, so yours may not sound exactly like any one review.

Where to buy Product & retailer links

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