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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
    8. PC / PS4 Compatibility
  10. Comments

Superlux HD 681 vs Superlux HD 681 EVO

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Superlux HD 681
Superlux HD 681 EVO

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Dec 09, 2024 07:16 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Jun 23, 2023 07:58 PM

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

Variants

  • HD 681
  • HD 681 EVO (Black)
  • HD 681 EVO (White)

Our Verdict

Superlux HD 681

Superlux HD 681 EVO

While the Superlux HD 681 and the Superlux HD 681 EVO are similarly performing headphones, the HD 681 are better for neutral sound. They have a more balanced sound and a more natural passive soundstage. However, the HD 681 EVO have slightly better build quality and are a bit more stable on your head.

0

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

Mixed Usage 

5.7
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Superlux HD 681 Design Picture 2
Superlux HD 681 EVO Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Semi-Open
Semi-Open

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Comfort Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.5 lbs
0.61 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
1.2 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Controls Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
N/A

Feedback  

No Controls
N/A

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
N/A

Channel Mixing 
 

No
N/A

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
N/A

Talk-Through 
 

No
N/A

Additional Controls  

No
N/A

Breathability 
 

6.8
6.7

Breathability After Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Breathability After Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

4.8 °C
5.2 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.4
5.5

Portability Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Portability Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Portability Picture

 

8.0" (20.3 cm)
7.5"

 

7.2" (18.3 cm)
7.2"

 

3.5" (8.9 cm)
3.5"

Volume  

201.00 in³ (3,293.79 cm³)
189 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
N/A

Show text

Case 
 

5.5
5.5

Case Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Case Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Case Picture

Type  

No case
Pouch

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

5.5
6.0

Build Quality Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Build Quality Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

6.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Stability Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Angled Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Side Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Front Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Rear Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Top Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Superlux HD 681 In The Box Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

1,500 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

-4.2 dB
1.64 dB

Treble Amount 
 

1.6 dB
0.42 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.8
7.3

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 
 

0.44 dB
0.54 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

7.4
8.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.5 dB
2.2 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

27.29 Hz
10 Hz

Low Bass 
 

-7.23 dB
2.94 dB

Mid Bass 
 

-2.34 dB
2.55 dB

High Bass 
 

-1.53 dB
0.35 dB

Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.1
8.4

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

1.01 dB
2.19 dB

Low Mid 
 

-1.12 dB
-1.76 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.96 dB
-2.3 dB

High Mid 
 

0.38 dB
-1.33 dB

Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

6.9
7.8

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

3.39 dB
3.66 dB

Low Treble 
 

-0.24 dB
-1.71 dB

Mid Treble 
 

4.05 dB
0.5 dB

High Treble 
 

-1.81 dB
-0.45 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.7
7.1

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.1 dB
1.91 dB

Dips 
 

2.39 dB
1.5 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

8.1
8.9

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.26
0.27

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

12.02
3.58

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.76
0.35

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.71
1.5

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

7.8
6.7

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

1.58 dB
4.2 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

6.36 dB
4.53 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

11.68 dB
8.46 dB

Openness 
 

9.2
7.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

6.7
7.5

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Superlux HD 681 Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.6
7.6

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.145
0.166

WHD @ 100 
 

0.313
0.198

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive

Connection 
 

Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

No Microphone

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

2.6
3.2

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Overall Attenuation 
 

-5.95 dB
-8.72 dB

Isolation Audio 
 

Bass 
 

0.18 dB
-0.18 dB

Mid 
 

-0.14 dB
-1.93 dB

Treble 
 

-19.85 dB
-23.91 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 
 

4.3
3.5

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

52.9 dB
56.05 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
N/A

In-Line 
 

No
N/A

Boom 
 

No
N/A

Detachable Boom 
 

No
N/A

Mic  

No
No

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

Superlux HD 681 Microphone Frequency Response
Superlux HD 681 EVO Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

Superlux HD 681 SpNR
Superlux HD 681 EVO SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
N/A

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
N/A

Audio While Charging 
 

No
N/A

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
N/A

Charging Port  

None
N/A

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

Superlux HD 681 App Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO App Picture

App Name  

No App
N/A

iOS  

No
N/A

Android  

No
N/A

macOS  

No
N/A

Windows  

No
N/A

Equalizer 
 

No
N/A

ANC Control 
 

No
N/A

Mic Control  

No
N/A

Room Effects 
 

No
N/A

Playback Control 
 

No
N/A

Button Mapping  

No
N/A

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.1
9.0

Cable Picture  

Superlux HD 681 Cable Picture
Superlux HD 681 EVO Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable 
 

No

Length 
 

8.00 ft (2.44 m)
8.4 ft

Connector 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.2 ms

Latency - USB 
 

N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
N/A

NFC Pairing 
 

N/A

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

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

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A

Recorded Latency Codec  

No Bluetooth Audio

AAC Support 
 

No

aptX(LL) Latency 
 

N/A

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

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Show text

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

Show text

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

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

USB Input 
 

No
N/A

Line In 
 

No
N/A

Line Out 
 

No
N/A

Optical Input 
 

No
N/A

RCA Input 
 

No
N/A

Dock Charging 
 

No
N/A

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Superlux HD 681

Superlux HD 681 EVO

Comments

  1. Comparison

Superlux HD 681 vs Superlux HD 681 EVO: Main Discussion

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