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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Profile: Target Compliance
    5. Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
    6. Treble Profile: Target Compliance
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation - Full Range
    2. Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
    3. Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
    4. ANC Wind Handling
    5. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II vs Superlux HD 681

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II
Superlux HD 681

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Jan 24, 2024 04:56 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Dec 09, 2024 07:16 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Picture
Superlux HD 681 Picture
  1. Recommended in 2 articles:
  2. Open-Back
  3. Under $50

Variants

  • Cloud II (Black)
  • Cloud II (Red)
  • HD 681

Our Verdict

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II

Superlux HD 681

Full comparison details regarding individual product score sets can be found in the section below

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.4
7.9

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.0
7.8

Treble Accuracy 
 

5.8
6.9

Imaging 
 

6.1
8.1

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.0
7.4

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.8
7.7

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.8
7.8

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Design Picture 2
Superlux HD 681 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Semi-Open

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Comfort Picture
Superlux HD 681 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.7 lbs
0.5 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1 lbs
0.9 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

5.8
0.0

Controls Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Controls Picture
Superlux HD 681 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

Okay
No Controls

Feedback  

Decent
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

Yes
No

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
No

Channel Mixing 
 

Yes
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

Surround Sound
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.2
6.8

Breathability After Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Breathability After Picture
Superlux HD 681 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.5 °C
4.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.4
5.4

Portability Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Portability Picture
Superlux HD 681 Portability Picture

 

8.4" (21.3 cm)
8.0" (20.3 cm)

 

5.9" (15.0 cm)
7.2" (18.3 cm)

 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
3.5" (8.9 cm)

Volume  

198.00 in³ (3,244.63 cm³)
201.00 in³ (3,293.79 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

6.0
5.5

Case Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Case Picture
Superlux HD 681 Case Picture

Type  

Pouch
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
5.5

Build Quality Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Build Quality Picture
Superlux HD 681 Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

6.5
6.0

Stability Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Stability Picture
Superlux HD 681 Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Angled Picture
Superlux HD 681 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Side Picture
Superlux HD 681 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Front Picture
Superlux HD 681 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Rear Picture
Superlux HD 681 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Top Picture
Superlux HD 681 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II In The Box Picture
Superlux HD 681 In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

1,500 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

1.01 dB
-4.2 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-0.97 dB
1.6 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

5.8
7.8

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

1.03 dB
0.44 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.0
7.4

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

2.87 dB
5.5 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

15.2 Hz
27.29 Hz

Low Bass 
 

0.92 dB
-7.23 dB

Mid Bass 
 

2.97 dB
-2.34 dB

High Bass 
 

4.05 dB
-1.53 dB

Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.4
9.1

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

0.8 dB
1.01 dB

Low Mid 
 

0.73 dB
-1.12 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.03 dB
-0.96 dB

High Mid 
 

-0.01 dB
0.38 dB

Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

5.8
6.9

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.97 dB
3.39 dB

Low Treble 
 

-2.68 dB
-0.24 dB

Mid Treble 
 

3.58 dB
4.05 dB

High Treble 
 

-3.15 dB
-1.81 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

6.8
7.7

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.83 dB
1.1 dB

Dips 
 

2.52 dB
2.39 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

6.1
8.1

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.24
0.26

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

64.68
12.02

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.32
0.76

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

2.55
1.71

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.0
7.8

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

1.94 dB
1.58 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

3.79 dB
6.36 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

7.02 dB
11.68 dB

Openness 
 

4.6
9.2

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.8
6.7

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

2.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Virtual Soundstage
Superlux HD 681 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

Dolby 7.1
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.7
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.090
0.145

WHD @ 100 
 

0.090
0.313

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

USB
Passive

Connection 
 

USB
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

Off
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Boom
No Microphone

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

5.3
2.6

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Overall Attenuation 
 

-15.97 dB
-5.95 dB

Isolation Audio 
 

Bass 
 

0.7 dB
0.18 dB

Mid 
 

-12.88 dB
-0.14 dB

Treble 
 

-36.9 dB
-19.85 dB

Show text

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

2.8

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details on graph tool

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-5.04 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-5.31 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-5.59 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show text

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

Superlux HD 681 ANC Wind Handling Graph

ANC Wind Noise 
 

N/A

Leakage 
 

7.5
4.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

36.53 dB
52.9 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

Yes
No

Detachable Boom 
 

Yes
No

Mic  

Yes
No

Recording Quality 
 

8.4
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
Superlux HD 681 Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A

LFE 
 

84.76 Hz
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

2.11 dB
N/A

HFE 
 

7,136.96 Hz
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

0.322
N/A

Gain 
 

24.35 dB
N/A

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

8.5
0.0

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
Superlux HD 681 SpNR

SpNR 
 

49.04 dB
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

Always On
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

8.5
N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

8.5
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II App Picture
Superlux HD 681 App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.2
9.1

Cable Picture  

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II Cable Picture
Superlux HD 681 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

USB Type A
No

Detachable 
 

No
No

Length 
 

10.10 ft (3.08 m)
8.00 ft (2.44 m)

Connector 
 

1/8" TRRS
1/8" TRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.2 ms
0.2 ms

Latency - USB 
 

9.7 ms
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

USB
Analog

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No
No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - SBC 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency Codec  

No Bluetooth Audio
No Bluetooth Audio

AAC Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

Audio + Microphone
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone
Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

3.4
0.0

Type 
 

Wired USB Dongle
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

Yes
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

USB
No Base/Dock

Show text

HyperX Cloud 2/Cloud II

Superlux HD 681

Comments

  1. Comparison

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