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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Superlux HD 681 EVO vs Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Superlux HD 681 EVO
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Updated Jun 23, 2023 07:58 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:40 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureSemi-Open
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicNo
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
Variants
- HD 681 EVO (Black)
- HD 681 EVO (White)
- WH-1000XM3 (Black)
- WH-1000XM3 (White)
Our Verdict
Superlux HD 681 EVO
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
The Superlux HD 681 EVO and the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are two headphones at very different price points with different uses. The Superlux are entry-level audiophile headphones that have a fairly neutral sound profile and a semi-open back design to create a wider and more spacious passive soundstage. However, the Sony are more versatile. They're comfortable, their sound profile is also fairly balanced, and they have an integrated microphone, and they have a superb active noise cancelling feature. They're also wireless and their 27-hour battery should be more than enough to get you through a work day or commute.
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Black
HD 681 EVO
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WH-1000XM3
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HD 681 EVO
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WH-1000XM3
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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.
Read more
Main Differences forMixed Usage
Mixed Usage
Threshold
Mixed Usage
5.7
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Semi-Open
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.61 lbs
0.6 lbs
Clamping Force
1.2 lbs
0.8 lbs
Controls
0.0
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
N/A
Good
Feedback
N/A
Decent
Call/Music Control
No
Yes
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
N/A
No
Channel Mixing
N/A
No
Noise Cancelling Control
N/A
On/Off
Talk-Through
N/A
On/Off
Additional Controls
N/A
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.7
6.5
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
5.2 °C
5.8 °C
Portability
5.5
6.0
Portability Picture
L
7.5"
5.6" (14.2 cm)
W
7.2"
6.0" (15.2 cm)
H
3.5"
3.2" (8.1 cm)
Volume
189 in³
108.00 in³ (1,769.80 cm³)
Transmitter Required
N/A
No
Case
5.5
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Pouch
Hard case
L
N/A
7.1" (18.0 cm)
W
N/A
8.1" (20.6 cm)
H
N/A
2.4" (6.1 cm)
Volume
N/A
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
Build Quality
6.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
1.64 dB
3.25 dB
Treble Amount
0.42 dB
-3.05 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
7.3
8.3
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.54 dB
0.34 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Raw FR L
Raw FR L
Raw FR R
Raw FR R
Bass Accuracy
8.5
7.2
Std. Err.
2.2 dB
4.28 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
2.94 dB
3.82 dB
Mid-Bass
2.55 dB
5.09 dB
High-Bass
0.35 dB
4.87 dB
Mid Accuracy
8.4
9.4
Std. Err.
2.19 dB
0.85 dB
Low-Mid
-1.76 dB
0.4 dB
Mid-Mid
-2.3 dB
-0.09 dB
High-Mid
-1.33 dB
-0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.8
7.9
Treble
Treble
Std. Err.
3.66 dB
3.25 dB
Low-Treble
-1.71 dB
-1.83 dB
Mid-Treble
0.5 dB
0.21 dB
High-Treble
-0.45 dB
-12.11 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.1
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.91 dB
1.84 dB
Dips
1.5 dB
0.8 dB
Imaging
8.9
7.8
Phase Response
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.27
0.23
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.58
8.24
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.35
1.86
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.5
1.77
Passive Soundstage
6.7
3.7
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
4.2 dB
2.68 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
4.53 dB
9.23 dB
PRTF Distance
8.46 dB
5.13 dB
Openness
7.0
0.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
7.5
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
6.4
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
Room Ambience
Presets
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.6
7.3
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.166
0.380
WHD @ 100
0.198
0.198
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Power
On
Connection
Unknown
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Off
ANC
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
3.2
9.8
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-8.72 dB
-29.9 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
Yes
Bass
-0.18 dB
-23.03 dB
Mid
-1.93 dB
-27.24 dB
Treble
-23.91 dB
-39.7 dB
Leakage
3.5
7.4
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
56.05 dB
37.09 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
N/A
Yes
In-Line
N/A
No
Boom
N/A
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
No
Mic
No
Yes
Recording Quality
0.0
6.3
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
226.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
3.65 dB
HFE
N/A
3,044.37 Hz
Weighted THD
N/A
27.163
Gain
N/A
29.6 dB
Noise Handling
0.0
6.5
SpNR
N/A
19.65 dB
Noise Gate
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Active Features
Battery
0.0
7.6
Battery Type
N/A
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
27 hrs
Additional Charges
N/A
0.0
Total Battery Life
N/A
27 hrs
Charge Time
N/A
2.2 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
N/A
No
Audio While Charging
N/A
No
Passive Playback
N/A
Yes
Charging Port
N/A
USB-C
App Support
0.0
8.5
App Picture
App Name
N/A
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
N/A
Yes
Android
N/A
Yes
macOS
N/A
No
Windows
N/A
No
Equalizer
N/A
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
N/A
On/Off
Mic Control
N/A
No
Room Effects
N/A
Yes
Playback Control
N/A
Yes
Button Mapping
N/A
Yes
Surround Sound
N/A
Surround Support
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.0
9.8
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Length
8.4 ft
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.4 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Wired Latency
0 ms
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
7.1
Bluetooth Version
N/A
4.2
Multi-Device Pairing
N/A
No
NFC Pairing
N/A
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
185.00 ft (56.39 m)
Latency - SBC
N/A
225 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
201 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
232 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A
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
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
N/A
No Base/Dock
USB Input
N/A
No
Line In
N/A
No
Line Out
N/A
No
Optical Input
N/A
No
RCA Input
N/A
No
Dock Charging
N/A
No
Power Supply
N/A
No Base/Dock
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PC / PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Check Price
Black
HD 681 EVO
Searching
Finding storeBlack
WH-1000XM3
Searching
Finding storeWhite
HD 681 EVO
Searching
Finding storeWhite
WH-1000XM3
Searching
Finding store
Superlux HD 681 EVO
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Comments
Superlux HD 681 EVO vs Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless: Main Discussion
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