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Author Topic: Superlux HD-685  (Read 4819 times)

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Solderdude

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Superlux HD-685
« on: June 25, 2014, 04:26:45 PM »

The HD685 is Superlux'es newest model and said to be a ‘high definition‘ headphone.
It is already marketed in China and will be available in Europe and US around July 2014 and will be selling for around $ 83.- = € 60.- = £ 50



Frequency response of the stock HD-685:



It has 40mm drivers where the HD681′s have 50mm drivers. It comes with 2 cords where one of them has a mic/remote for i-thingies.

Mids and treble sounds good, no piercing highs, nice ‘open’ sound in that the voices are forward and not dull or overly warm.
The highs are soft but unfortunately also lack ‘extension’. This is quite audible in cymbals and guitar strumming for instance.
If you like to hear these finer nuances, this headphone is not for you.
If you like big bass and listen to compressed files a lot this headphone could be usable.
Downside… very boomy and ‘hollow’ bass/mids that is, IF you prefer a ‘balanced’ sound (I do).
The bigger toms, for instance, are exaggerated and sound a bit ‘hollow’ which is the most obvious 'expression' of this elevated bass response.
Uncontrolled and ‘fat-ish’ bass but not bleeding into the mids.
Personally I do like it better than stock HD681-EVO but am seriously missing velours pads and the treble extension.

The treble peak isn’t obvious in the sound and sort-off ‘masks’ the lack of treble extension.
With some EQ in the 16kHz band it does improve somewhat, but sounds a bit ‘rough’ in that area when you do where it should sound smooth.

The hollow and non-controlled bass can be improved with some easy fixes. adding some ‘acoustipack lite®’ and an amount of wool inside the cups (which are very easy to open) and using velours Shure SRH-940 pads makes it sound much better in the bass area. The lack of treble extension remains.



Bass is lowered but still very ‘big’ but much more controlled.

The pads start to feel 'sweaty' quite soon and are of the thicker type pleather kind, very similar to EVO pleather pads.

Cable is about equally microphonic as HD681EVO, won’t bother everyone but it does bother me.
Microphony isn’t worse than many other headphones though.
Didn’t test the remote control as I do not own any i-thingies.

Fairly good isolation from sounds from the outside and people around you won’t be bothered as this headphone is fully closed.

The hinges are plastic (but look like metal), the cups have a rubbery coating on them.
The headband is very comfortable and soft.
Clamping force is slightly above comfortable but think it can be ‘bent’ a bit looser.
The HD685 has a cheapish feeling to it when holding it in your hands.
Folds up for easy transport.
The cups cannot swivel to the sides but only swivel up and down.
The headband does allow some small ’tilt’ so the cups aren’t too rigid in one direction.
Fortunately the cups have a slight ‘angle’ or offset from 180 degrees and thus fall very naturally over the head

Plays well directly from portable devices and will still have ‘body’ on these devices.

My personal opinion is the modified HD681 and modified HD681-EVO are still the better (preferred by me) models.
In stock form I prefer the HD685 over the HD681-EVO though.
To show the differences between these three Superlux models, below the plots of the stock versions.
HD681(green trace), HD681-EVO (red trace) and HD685 (blue trace)
< br />

As I do not like these headphones in stock conditions below all three of them in modified conditions. HD681(red version), HD681-EVO and HD685
HD681(green trace), HD681-EVO (red trace) and HD685 (blue trace)



The HD681 is the one with the largest extension on both sides of the frequency range. The HD681-EVO with about 16kHz in the upper range still sounds quite ‘airy’. The drop-off from the HD685 above 12kHz is quite audible. The 3dB ‘hump’ of the HD685 is audible but not deal breaking, the lack of treble extension is.
« Last Edit: June 25, 2014, 04:36:34 PM by Solderdude »
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tomscy2000

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2014, 05:10:36 PM »

Mostly agree, especially regarding the loose bass and treble shelf, though I thought it was definitely not a hi-fi oriented model, but rather Superlux's attempt at making a nice looking mass market model. So in that sense, I think it sounds fine to the casual ear. I like its mids, which are pleasant, and the bigger bass appeals to more people. I didn't take issue with the treble as much mostly because I wasn't looking at it from a critical listening perspective; as long as the overall sound was pleasant, I was inclined to say it was nice. Personally, in terms of design, I find the HD685 to be a step up over their other models. The plastic is pretty good quality and I like the rubbery soft texture coating. I guess I was just not being critical enough.
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Solderdude

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2014, 05:22:29 PM »

The design and overall sound (indeed the mids and how 'well separated they are) are good points.

With the bass improved it's great for casual listening to casual music. I prefer to hear fingers sliding over guitar strings and the nice shimmer in cymbals etc. Those things are completely lacking in the HD685 ... alas... and that kills it for me I am afraid.
Seeing how many IEM's roll-off even sooner it is highly likely many won't be bothered and will prefer it over say the stock HD681-EVO.
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tomscy2000

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2014, 06:38:25 AM »

Yeah, the HD685 wouldn't be my pick for modding.

There are IEMs that don't roll-off so badly, but they tend to be pricier. Even so, it's not as easy to appreciate treble extension with them as it is with some like, say, STAX, as the treble "extension" tends to be the result of break-up resonance nodes of the driver.
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Solderdude

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2014, 06:41:56 PM »

For those that may have some interest in modding these... here is some info on it:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/nged7xad8mu3da6/Superlux_HD685.pdf
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altrunox

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2014, 04:51:14 PM »

I've seen that some guys said that they're really close to the ATH-M50x, could you agree?
And here (http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1128.msg29991/topicseen.html#msg29991) you recommended the Takstar Pro 80, could you do a quick comparison between the HD685 and the Pro 80, considering that they're almost the same price.

Thanks  :money:
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Solderdude

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2014, 07:06:57 PM »

I have owned the M50 (the old version) and the M40X but not the M50X.

Both have too much bass (IMO) but others may well feel the amount of bass is just right and love it.
It certainly isn't a 'HiFi phone' amount of bass for sure.

Personally I would probably choose the M50X over the HD685.

A Pro 80 is probably going to land on my doorstep by the end of November (along with some loaners I had sent out and a Hi2050).
Would also like to see if it can be modified/improved.
I only heard one very briefly and found it a very promising headphone.

I am a sucker for low price high value headphones.
The (modified) HD681 and (modified) HD681-EVO are preferred over the HD-685 by me.
When I have the Pro80 here I can tell more about a direct comparison.
Impossible for me to do so from memory.

The Pro-80 measures a lot like the (rather expensive) Philips A5Pro (assuming GE's and my rig do not measure that far apart)

Pro-80 acc. to Golden Ears


A5Pro acc to me:


Both have a bass north of neutral, decent mids and non exaggerated treble that doesn't have the best extension nor is it refined but also not coarse sounding (Pro 80 from memory of a short listen long ago).
M50 and HD685 also share these traits but do not sound the same.
The AT's are the most 'velvet' sounding ones.
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altrunox

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2014, 11:04:38 PM »

This is interesting.
I already have the EVO (BTW, ordered the chinese earpads for a fast and easy "modding") and now I`m looking for some closed headphone (under US$100 with shipping), mainly because of isolation,  while I don`t have a better job to buy some great upgrades to them (something near US$300).
The graphs from the Pro 80 looks interesting, but it sort of looks more similar to the modded Evo than the HD685. (I`m a noob and I don`t know how to read graphs really well).
Considering that the Evo would lost a lot of it`s bass with the chinese earpads the HD685 would be a nice option when I`m willing  to sacrifice some balance for some extra bass.

The HD685 seens to be smoother than the Evo, am I right?
Now my main problem with it  is the earpads, I would love if they had extra velvet earpads like the Evo, I`m worried that I can find then unconfortable like my AKG K518 (can`t use it for more than one hour)
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Solderdude

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Re: Superlux HD-685
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2014, 04:58:49 AM »

IMO the EVO sounds better than the HD685
I think the lack of treble extension of the HD685 makes me decide that.

In my memory the Pro-80 was slightly more 'neutral' but as mentioned I heard it briefly and with no real reference around.
Hoping one will arrive early next month.

I have trouble with the K518 as well (ear pads hurt the ears after a while)
HD25 pads do fit and are more comfortable but affect the sound more than I want.
I have pads from a cheap LIDL headphone on it which is more comfortable but suspect they will flake/fall apart sooner rather than later
« Last Edit: October 08, 2014, 06:38:38 AM by Solderdude »
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