[Arvan]

[size=medium]I have been reading about Superlux headphones all over the web for quite some time now. Unfortunately i haven't bought any. Quite a stupid thing since Thomann.de delivers all over europe and have almost every of their models in stock.

Well i finally decided to get me some of this taiwanese budget “killers”

Why did i choose the HD330 over the well known 668B or the 681? Well they are know to be bright, a signature that i usually enjoy, but i thought since my HRT head streamer is bright. It might be to much. And the 330 isn't as known around the web so i might help somebody out there in the process.

What do you get in the box?

Well, in the box there is another box. A sturdy plastic box which contains the headphones themselves. No padding are stuffed in the transport case rather than some bubble wrap around the cans. And of course the headphones.

First impressions and build?

First impressions are way over my expectations. The transport case and the headphones both offer some high quality feel. Even though the beyerdynamic DT series is a step up in quality. This is not by any means bad. In fact i think they feel sturdier than the audio-technica M50 for reference. The headband is like the beyer DT series made out of black aluminum, light and sturdy. Great quality feeling. For the DIY folks it won´t be hard to replace the headband padding with some leather or whatever comes to your liking.
The cups are plastic, maby a bit shinier the the beyers but very solid indeed. No complaints here![/size]
 
 
[size=medium]Cable.

Well the cable is coiled, a big plus for me since i very much enjoy coiled cables and they work well for my use. A small downer is that the coil itself is rather stiff so the cord is just a little bit short, but it extends with ease and does not tangle. Not the same quality as my shure SRH-840 but sturdy and thick enough. 3,5/6,3 jack is a screw on type and feels solid and not like something that will give up on you.

The downsides then?

Well for this price there have to be something that isn't top notch and there is. The padding and pads are covered with the same material as the cheapest cans are. Some sort of plastic/leather look-alike, which doesn't feel very good. Not a big deal really since the padding and comfort is very good overall. When the pads give up on you it shouldn't be hard to find some replacements since the beyer originals will probably fit just right out of the box. Also the cups are round which opens up for other replacements as well.

The sound.

Now to the important aspect of headphones, the sound!

I have burnt them in for maybe 15 hours now so they are relatively fresh so this is an early impression.

Let´s start of down low..The bass.

There is plenty of bass! a tad too much for my liking since i am a fan of true and detailed headphones. That being said. The quality of the bass is actually very good. It´s deep and tight at the same time. Good recorded rock/metal will give you enough speed and punch. The details in drums for example is good. Not excellent but good. You can hear the double bass impact and detail as the club hits the skin in Soulfly:s - World scum for example. This kind of bass detail is important to me since i listen allot to metal and rock. And i enjoy recordings from the late 80s and early 90s since i think bands like slayer, sepultura metallica made some fantastic sounding recordings during that time.

The bass is heavy, deep but under control. For me, it´s a tad too much as i said earlier.

Over to the mids then.

A bit recessed i'm afraid but not that it bothers me very much, just that when comparing to maybe some AKG k242 HD you can see that you miss out of some of that good stuff. It´s not much and by far not the most recessed headphone out there. I will just let you know that even though they are good, they are not perfect in this regard. No biggie for some but hey, at least now you know. The attack and articulation is good though. Guitars sound meaty and voices have a smooth enough sound to make even jazz sound good on these, yet powerful enough to make the world class metal growlers heard.  If the mids were a bit more crisp i would call it a day. Still i am surprised how good they sound as a complete package.

The high side of life.

Well i find the midrange lacking by just a little bit but the highs do impress me!

Smooth and with very good detail. They sound like they are just at the right place and a good match for the overall sound presentation of the HD 330. Present but not in your face, no signs of distortion or ringing. cymbals sounds clean and tight. Even the heavy hitting cymbal attacks from Tomas Haake in meshugga doesn't sound out of place. The highs doesn't sound stressed when listening to some Diana krall, just following her sweet voice just right. Calm is what i would call it..It´s there and does the job just right for me. Some of you who exclusively listen to jazz or similar genres of music might want just a little bit more pop even in the highs. For easy listening and to enjoy the music, this is just fine as it is.

The wrap up.

A great headphone for 29 euro..In fact the best budget can i have tried so far, maybe just one of the most enjoyable headphones i have tried so far. Atleast cans that you can buy for a reasonable amount of money. And for this low price you even get a very sturdy and good feel, a great cable and connectors. If you want to modify them i see no better starting point then these. Everything is easy to disassemble.

I will not however state that they are the best headphone ever made, and beyerdynamic DT 880 edition 250 ohm might play with a little bit finesse and a more smooth response. But the HD330 is a very enjoyable headphone that sounds great to my ears. Somewhat comparable to the Shure SRH-840 but with allot more bass.

Overall i think this is the best i have yet had the honour to try out so far. A great buy! I am very surprised over the build quality and also the sound.

And last but not least, This is my view and my ears. You will experience these cans different. I'm  just sharing my thoughts.

Thanks for reading if you are with me to the end! I will reward you with some photos [/size]
 
 

 

 

[RespectheSQ]

Thanks for the review!! I've been debating between these and the Takstar 671's.  There are so few reviews for these headphones it was nice to get someones take on them!

 

[sofastreamer]

any comments on soundstage and isolation?

 

[Arvan]

Soundstage..Well they give you more room then the senn hd25. Not as good as k701, but who really is for this kind of money? Above average i would say.
 
Isolation is not very good since it is an open-back design.. I would how ever state that they seal better then the K701 for example.

 

[sofastreamer]

damn. wish they once do a better dt770 clone.

 

[Arvan]

I think they play in the same league as the dt 990 ( newer version ) The superlux has a more pronounced upper range then the 990 which is a rather smooth experience overall. 
 
If you are looking for a "clone" if you say so to the dt770, check out the superlux HD 660 ( closed back just as the DT 770 )

 

[unbalanced]

I hate to be negative but......   I recently purchase a pair of Superlux HD-330 with the expectation that I would be saying great things about them but rather than being impressed they have made me realise just how good my AKG K550s are.
 
The first thing I noticed about the 330s is the significant peak in the upper bass which dominates the sound and makes everything else sound recessed. It's not even good bass; it does not integrate with the rest of the music and is slow and stuffy with no apparent extension, they certainly don't sound like open-backed headphones. To sum it up; the sound reminds me of an inexpensive pair of speakers coupled with a particularly cheap sub-woofer that is turned up too loud.
 
These headphones are perfectly adequate at the price, though there is much better to be had, but they don't sound better than their price would suggest. Oh, and they really aren't very comfortable either. 
 
Incidentally, I have tried them with a dedicated home-built headphone amp, IHIFI 812V2, Colorfly C3 and a Samsung YP-Q3. The sound is slightly less annoying on the C3 and the Q3 because they lack the power and the low-end of the IHIFI but because the HD-330s are 150 ohms they are not ideally suited to portable players that run on low-voltage supplies since they can't swing enough volts to develop very much power.
 
On the up side; they look good and are quite well made.

 

[kidcharlemagne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unbalanced /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
The first thing I noticed about the 330s is the significant peak in the upper bass which dominates the sound and makes everything else sound recessed. It's not even good bass; it does not integrate with the rest of the music and is slow and stuffy with no apparent extension, they certainly don't sound like open-backed headphones. To sum it up; the sound reminds me of an inexpensive pair of speakers coupled with a particularly cheap sub-woofer that is turned up too loud.
 

Agree with you here, IMO it sounds way too warm and congested with the stock pads. Definitely improves with a switch to velour pads though. I find Hifiman velours, although stiff and somewhat uncomfortable, drop the midbass warmth significantly while still keeping a decent amount bass punch. I've also tried Beyerdynamic velours (EDT770V) and I think they attenuate the bass too much on these cans, makes them sound treble happy and thin; maybe covering up the holes on the back of the pads will help

 

[unbalanced]

Interesting that the pads make so much difference to the sound; I may tinker with them to see if things improve. I suspect that without the peak in the bass the sound would be perfectly acceptable - maybe not great but at least listenable.

 

[unbalanced]

I have removed the foam discs which are fitted in the backs of the earphones and the sound has improved considerably.
The bass is far less dominant being offset by more at the top-end, a little too bright I think and by no means flat but much more involving to listen to.
I think that by experimenting with the amount and position of the foam it should be possible to tailor the sound towards something more acceptable.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

  I have removed the foam discs which are fitted in the backs of the earphones and the sound has improved considerably.
The bass is far less dominant being offset by more at the top-end, a little too bright I think and by no means flat but much more involving to listen to.
I think that by experimenting with the amount and position of the foam it should be possible to tailor the sound towards something more acceptable.

 
Can you tell me please how do I take the HD330 apart?

 

[unbalanced]

You need to pull the ear pads off, they are only held on by overlapping the plastic earphone body. Once removed, you will see that the transducer is only clipped in place. There are no screws or glue to deal with. 

 

[Hal Rockwell]

So just put a screwdriver in the grooves and pool it up?

 

[unbalanced]

Yes, from what I remember, that is all you need to do.

 

[Artsi]

Here is frequency response curve for original HD-330 with pleathers.

And here are the same headphones with velour pads: