Of all cans above which one has the best sound quality.
Im thinking of getting cube c30 + fiio e6 and one of these cans..
All of them got positive reviews, but i need to know exact performance when comparing them all. I listen to pop rock, rock, some metals, and some RnB, mostly i just mix all song i like, maybe any song that makes me feel good. I love bass, but i love sound clarity too.. which one of these will deliver the best performance? I hope sifu can clarify this thing out. I know superlux is very cheap but i see a lot of review saying srh440 really perform well..
Thanx in advance.

omg..is this even a question..

Do you have access to the SRH-440? I'd suggest you try it out to check whether that's the signature you're looking for. The SRH-440 is a monitoring headphone so you might find it lacking in bass and not as musical as you like for your type of songs. If you an afford SRH-440 you can also try Beyer DT235.

wait.. whaaat? if u got money go for shure lah. aiyoh

if compare to SRH840, 440 is more balanced, wat i mean is 440 might have more bass compare to 840, if u got the money, go for shure

No comparison needed. SRH440 wins. case closed

If you are asking me to compare both without touching your sound preference, I would say both are in equal position. They have their own ups and downs. The superlux surely won't have the smoothness of the Shure but the superlux might win back on the technical side or even musicality side. To me superlux really is one super brand that is hard to match even against pricier range.
So if base on your sound preference, then the Superlux HD660 is better.
However you also have to consider about whether if you want a smoother sound or you are fine with it in exchange for a higher sound quality. On clarity both are equally good with taking a different way of producing it only.

not surprised with the vote result.

it is kind a obvious..if superlux can fight with shure..then why r we buying shure

wise words, true indeed

shure is wayyyyyy smoother and cleaner

Build quality, comfort, accessories wise it's true that the Superlux might not be as good. Sound quality wise?

There are always headphones with cheaper prices that are gonna sound better than the more expensive one, otherwise it would mean that the audio technology isn't improving isn't it?

There a reason why there's so much hype over their series of headphones despite being that cheap because the sound quality truly shines. I haven't heard of any of their products but there are strong, solid positive reviews out that that's enough to prove that the sound is good.

Allow me to quote some of the audiophiles maestros out there:





Now, what I'm trying to convey isn't about how perfect Superluxes are and how good they sound compared to those two/three fold the price, just trying to tell that don't mistake it for some Mix-Style headphones. In the case of Superlux it is just hard to accept the fact that despite being this cheap, the sound quality is unbeatable. They replicate designs, they look cheap and seems to be built cheaply and the price is cheap - but the sound isn't.

Disclaimer: I'm not working for Superlux nor I own or have any plan of owning one in the future, just telling my experience of reading reviews But when you see me recommending Brainwavz products do take them with a graint of salt because I'm already addicted to them

if u dont take it from justforfun, take it from me, i had superlux AND SRH440, and basically superlux are kinda pitchy treble, and kinda weak in bass, the good is clarity and the vocals, as for SRH440, well balanced in all region, nothing spectacular yet nothing to say bad about

I'm not surprise as well.

It's simple. Its the mind set of the people. Basically it has the same principles as the monster beats vs audiophile product in normal people viewpoint. Most of us are still being lock with the mind set that expensive stuffs are good. This include me as well. I use to be like that until I have already purchase some high end equipment to compare with those budget stuffs. And I notice that there are differences but they are not as big as what other have said. What you are looking for is budget performer products and not cheap stuffs therefore price is irrelevant for comparison. Second thing is similar in principles as the previous example as well. The shure have a better market than compare to a superlux which only serves a niche market and lacks of advertising as compared to shure. Third, how many of us recommending Shure SRH440 over here have actually heard a superlux and even the possibility of hearing them at the comfort of their home where most disturbance or distraction are removes.
I think this will answer all your question about if superlux can fight with shure then y people are buying shure.
I'm same like you and are in no relation with superlux in anway but just only wanted to share good music for budget users and even midrange users. I remain neutral in all my reviews and I don't overhype the new things or new technology or even certain technology on headphone/IEM that I have tried. I even complain and talk about the cons of high end heaphone/IEM as much as the lower end headphone system. I try to keep my bias level to minimum.

You are right, basically they wont have the comfort, looks or even the smoothness of the design compare to other company. But do mind, they are build like a tank and can withstand much better than many known brand. The plastic is not smooth but they are hard enough to withstand torture.
Superlux themselves also agrees that although they didn't put much effort or money in designing the headphone but they put no compromise in their speaker driver. So most of their money went to the driver instead thus the high quality sound. In the end we are listening to music not looking at the headphone, so why spent so much money on design.

Mike from headfonia is one of my favorite reviewers and we share the same thought on both superlux performance and also expensive audiophile product vs cheap audiophile product. (This include amp and headphone)

I'm much more daring than Mike because instead of comparing it to the AD700 which is about two to three time more expensive. I actually compare them to two headphone/IEM in 1k range or about 10X its price. The model that I'm comparing to is DT880 250 ohm and Shure SE535. I find that although the smoothness and the refinement still hands up for both the headphone but I find that they does not have the genre bandwidth nor the musicality that you can get from them. So for music listening on an everyday situation, the Superlux are still more preferable. Superlux are in no way going to replace them as I said in other post before, but they are enough to give them a scare after listening to them.

Against shure, shurely you won't get the clean sound or the smoothness of the shure but in the end you are listening to music and not analysing your music. But superlux against mid range headphone, I don't really think they will really loose in the technical side and the musicality. I think the musicality of superlux will be much better while technicality might have take a different tune so they have their own pro and cons for both headphones.

Oh I just notice that you are going to buy fiio e6. If their improvement over the E5 is not that big enough I will suggest getting JDSLabs Cmoy stock build instead by adding a bit of money especially if you are powering the Superlux HD660 if you choose to buy it. Fiio won't have the power to drive it properly and they also won't have the same sound quality that you can get from the cmoy.

Source: My own experience with Superlux HD668B and HD681 at the comfort of my home with various amp, cheap to expensive.

I have personally tried the Superlux HD668B AND Shure SRH440.

The SRH440 is light years ahead of the HD668B, both in sound quality and build quality.

The 440 is plasticky and cheap feeling. But it still feels like a chinese product made by a branded company. The 668B just feels like a cheap china product (those flimsy stuff that cost RM10 or so).

The 440 sounds boring and not engaging. Lacking warmth, thickness, extension and feel. It's not a bad headphone but U must like the sort of sound it produces. It does have bass (quite flat response), mids and highs (bit sibilant from what I can remember). Keep in mind that it is a monitoring earphone and therefore sounds like one.

The 668B just sounds like a wannabe product. It has super sharp piercing highs and LOTS of it. It is extremely sibilant and painful to listen to. The mids are pretty much nonexistent. I've never heard vocals so far away before. When I turned the volume up to hear the vocals, the sibilant, piercing highs comes and kill me. I can't even remember how the bass is like because the piercing highs are just too distracting. If you like that kind of sound, you'll love the 668B.

My recommendation is: If you live anywhere near Jaben, go try them out! Jaben has the 440 and although Jaben does not carry the 668B, they have a unit to try out. If you like how it sounds, wa-la! $$ saved.

Source for testing: HifiMan HM-601.

This post has been edited by polkiuj: Nov 29 2011, 10:23 PM

this is the reason i sold my superlux for a shure 440, cos i like monitoring headphones (that was back then haha)

yea, most people like monitoring earphones somewhere in the middle of their audiophile journey. =)

after you get out of the audiophile state and start listening to ur music (not ur eq) then your sound preference changes drastically. =D

like now, im on Beyer DT440, eQ7 and tomorrow my UM Miracle

TS,

personal experience, between those, my pick is Shure SRH440. My initial plan was between Shure SRH240 and Audio Technica *forget wat model* and i decided on SRH240 but, blame Jaben for poisoning me with SRH440 and ended up forking more money on 440.

The 440 sounds amazing but do note, you will feel lack of bass but the clarity and soundstage will cover it up n make it feel really good

Seems like you do hate treble. Me too. But using the light years ahead thing is way overstatement of the performance of the Shure SRH440. Actually most of your point I already have written down in my previous post. They do looks like RM10 stuffs but their plastic can withstand torture better than more expensive stuffs. Shure is not as bad in looks but they still feel plasticky.

I will not be direct comparing the 440 to 668B because I do not have them but I'm comparing the HD668B to all my range of headphone available. Just like what I did point out, they won't be as smooth sounding or as refine. But the hd668B balanced are so good that I think that is the most ideal balance for a sound. Of course their lack of smoothness of those higher end will show the effect you have stated. With the right combo, the sibilant or sharp treble may not be as noticeable. For me the mids are not that bad at all and very good for such price. And the soundstage though is available it is not big enough for me. (Many in this price range doesn't even have a proper soundstaging) The bass is more emphasize on the midbass punch and though they can produce the low bass they still don't have enough for it.

And both 440 and 668B are monitoring headphone hence the piercing highs you hear on HD668B (although not all are tune that way but some are being tune like that) HD668B are highly used in monitoring in their home country, taiwan and if I remember correctly they are sold more expensive in there than here. Sorry I'm just trying to remain neutral in here.

And one more thing HD668B does require amp to shine in which Hifiman HM601,602 are unable to provide. Besides that I also find that HD668B does scale up with higher end equipment very well which I doubt the 440 can scale up as well as 668B to higher end system. Then again those cons of superlux will still brought out but at a lesser degree.

It's best for TS to bring your source to match with both the headphone and see which has the best match/synergy with your system and which one suits your taste. If you really want to analyse song then the 440 is hands up but if you want to listen to song then I recommend superlux. Its like how Mike said though the the higher end have better refinement and smoothness, that does not neccessary translate to musicality for you to listen in everyday life. We are listening to music and not analyzing our equipment. If you can, ask someone with HD660 to meet you in Jaben to test it out can help you better in making your choice.

To end it in most simplest form, 440 for smoother and refine sound, superlux for musicality.

Yup we started off to listen to eq a lot. After a while only we start to listen to music as a whole instead of finding faults from the headphone or headphone system. Basically I'm in the the listening to music as a whole state right now. That is why I emphasize a lot on musicality of the system. Not enough detail, not enough smoothness or the balance is off, never mind. It is the music that is the most important to me.

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Added on November 29, 2011, 11:41 pmSoundstage part definitely 440 will win when compare to superlux (HD668B) Clarity I would say both should be in equal stance with just different way of presenting it.

I also forget to add that, mike did a review on HD660 is not tuned to have as much treble as HD668B so you should definitely give it a try.
Source: http://www.headfonia.com/the-new-superluxe...-and-the-hd660/

If you really did find HD660 to test with both the HD668B and 440, please retain yourself from looking at the price tag and the designs or poor quality plastic/Not smooth cheap looking but they are hard enough. If I remember correctly Superlux uses ABS plastic. The benefit can be found from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styrene
Just remember don't look at the price tag and focus on the music instead. I myself sometimes also find myself to look at the price tag when auditioning in Jaben to buy my headphone. Try to find the one that suits you the most and not price tag.

This post has been edited by Akuma no Hana: Nov 29 2011, 11:41 PM