Would you buy a product for yourself if you knew it was a counterfeit? Almost sure no. It is impossible to step into the same river twice. A copy, even of a high-quality product, is always a copy, and it has no chance of catching up with the original. This is roughly what we thought before. But now we are ready to reconsider our point of view. Among the “garbage” of second-rate fake headphones, we “unearthed” an interesting brand that baffles people with its products.
Superlux is located in Taiwan, but all production is concentrated in Shanghai. Although audio equipment from Superlux can compete on equal terms with famous brands, the name of this company is not as well known as, for example, Audio-Technica or AKG. According to Superlux representatives themselves, their brand has a long history and, like most successful projects, began in a small room in a student dormitory about thirty years ago. Since then, major changes have taken place and the cramped room has been replaced by huge workshops and representative offices in different countries. Today this company produces a variety of equipment, including microphones, amplifiers and, of course, headphones.
Among lovers of high-quality sound, this company is known primarily for its curious strategy of “borrowing” headphone designs from more well-known brands. In the line of Superlux headphones produced, you can see models that are identical to the famous brands AKG and Beyerdynamic. It’s hard to say what the situation is with design copyrights, but, apparently, Superlux is not very concerned about this issue, and the “victims” prefer to remain silent. Either they don’t know the truth, or - and this option is more likely - they pretend that they don’t know about the blatant plagiarism, thereby not wanting to advertise the still little-known Taiwanese - the reader will exclaim and will be absolutely right. The market does not experience a shortage of “replicas”. Any popular brand of headphones has hundreds of Chinese clones, which in most cases are infinitely far from the original in quality. But, as you know, there are no rules without exceptions, and Superlux products are an example of this. To understand what kind of bird this is, let's look at the top model - Superlux HD669.
The Superlux HD669 costs $40 (not bad for a top-end model, right?). After detailed research, we came to the conclusion that these headphones should cost much more. Their direct sound competitors, say the Koss MV1 or Audio-Technica ATH M50, are four to five times more expensive. Of course, this is our subjective point of view, but we also very carefully collected statistics on reviews from the owners of this model. Among the users who were not afraid to purchase the Superlux HD669, there are even many who consider this pair of headphones to be comparable in sound quality to the famous Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 600 models costing about $600. We are more critical in our assessment and admit that the joyful delight of an unexpected gain in the price/quality ratio can significantly affect the objectivity of the judgment. And yet we must admit: the Superlux HD669 easily outperforms most closed-design models costing at least $100-130.
The developers do not make repeated loud statements about “super-professional sound”, but simply offer a look at two frequency responses - this model and the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro (cost about $200). They are very similar, and at high frequencies, judging by the graph, Superlux looks even more attractive.
⇡#Options
The set, in addition to the headphones themselves, includes two connecting cables, a plastic clamp for a more secure connection of the wire to the headphones, and a 6.3 mm audio adapter. The latter, by the way, looks like a screw-on plug, but this is an optical illusion - it simply fits onto a standard 3.5 mm.
The set also includes a pouch for storing headphones. Superlux HD669 fits in it with difficulty, taking up all the available space. The bag has many uncut threads, and the material itself is not suitable for such a purpose.
The bag is made of something like bolognese fabric - it is harsh and rustles loudly (has absolutely nothing in common with soft pounch, as stated by the manufacturer).
It’s a pity that there is no twisted cord, but, on the other hand, it can be purchased separately.
⇡#Design
The appearance of the headphones suggests a clone of the famous AKG brand. Well, a clone is not a clone, and the assembly was not carried out in the original workshop, so the quality of the elements differs in some ways from the “prototype”. The headphone wire is not ideal. The rubber insulation is quite weak: if you press the wire with something heavy, the mark on the cable will remain for a very long time.
It’s worth remembering here that the kit comes with two cables – a long one and a short one. In addition, you can generally connect any cable using the 3.5 mm male connector on one of the cups.
The situation is somewhat different with the headphones themselves. The level of assembly here is very good - there are no gaps, no cracks or roughness.
The headphones are made with a closed earcup design and a very interesting self-adjusting headband. Adjustment of the headphones to the size of the head occurs due to springy claws covered with leatherette, which from a distance can be mistaken for an element of the solid arch of the headband.
The headphones fit great. Some may disagree, but in our opinion, closed-back headphones should have a firm fit, otherwise sound insulation will suffer. This model has very good rigidity. Soft synthetic leather ear pads completely surround the ear, and strong pressure against the head guarantees maximum protection from outside noise.
The design is very successful, the headphones fit perfectly even on a very large head.
The plastic from which the cups and plastic fasteners are made look quite decent. On the cups, at a certain angle, the large STUDIO MONITOR inscription becomes visible. The headphones are not foldable, but this only adds to their durability. The only element whose long life is in doubt are the leather paws. It's hard to say how long they will last. Considering that the headphones can be used very often, then, in theory, over time they should rub against the hair. Perhaps they will last for many years, and perhaps only for the warranty period, that is, for 12 months (most likely, the 3.5 mm plug on the headphones themselves will be the first to “die” - the rubber will not withstand it, on which kinks will appear. On similar ones headphones, this happened in about a year - editor's note ).
The ear pads are made of leatherette, and at first glance, they don’t seem to be of the worst quality. They are soft and deep.
On your head, the headphones do not creak, do not click, there is no play (since there are no mechanics), you feel absolutely perfect in them - and I would like to find fault with some little thing, but there is nothing. The comfort of the headphones is at a very high level, not at all 40 dollars.
Headphones Axelvox 272HD
6 years ago September 5, 2016 at 2:31 pm 2732
We've already tested Axelvox audio devices, a guitar processor sound card, and acoustic monitors twice; We really liked both devices. Today we will explore one of the most popular devices of this brand - headphones.
These are the second headphones with a non-standard design recently. Do you remember ASUS Cerberus? Here, too, thin arms are used, only wire ones, on which the cups are attached, and a little higher - fastenings with pads. The design automatically adjusts to your head, but if the result is not satisfactory, the arms can be slightly bent or straightened to better fit your head. Personally, I didn’t need this, but you never know.
The ear pads are made of good leatherette and are pleasant to the touch. They are easily removed from the cup, which is convenient for cleaning; underneath they hide a foam pad and a plastic grille that protects the speaker. There is a sticker on the grille with a message that it is better not to carry out further dismantling.
Some active comrades suggest carefully peeling off this very warning sticker in order to improve HF transmission. Considering that even grills with “acoustically transparent fabric” actually impair high-frequency transmission, perhaps this action makes sense. I didn’t have to experiment; the magazine is bound by an obligation to return the sample safe and sound.
And some hotheads suggest removing the foam pad or replacing it with another, thicker/thinner one. There is no need to remove it for sure: you may get a gain in the HF area, but only until some nasty stuff flies into the speaker, or until some kind of plaque forms on the diffuser (or membrane, I don’t know what to call it better) , which will affect the mass of the moving system and turn the sound of the 272HD into complete randomness. And experimenting with various protective pads is an audiophile joke, a harmless fun activity, although, in my mind, it is better to trust the choice of the developer and manufacturer’s engineers.
The cord built into the left cup of the 272HD is very short. About 3cm
