Review: Superlux HD562 (Budget but Brilliant HD-25 clone)

Firstly I would like to thank Superlux for sending me this sample to review, I always try to write honest reviews and these have received over 50hrs of burn-in before the final review, no real differences were noted.

Gear Used:
iPod Classic 7G > HD562
Dell XPS15 > HD562

Specs:

• Cable length: 1.2m
• Sensitivity: 101dB
• Impedance: 70 Ohm
• Driver Size: 39mm
• Frequency response range: 10-22000Hz
• MSRP: Around £25-£35

Packaging, Accessories and Build quality:

The packaging is plain and simple, a white box with Superlux and a picture of the headphone on it, you can find details on the sides of the box, and specifications on the bottom. On the back there are further product details. The box is quite colourful and eye catching, inside it is very simple but it holds the headphones in place during shipping and does its job in protecting them. No luxury packaging, but for the price I cannot complain, and at the end of the day, the box is most likely to be thrown away anyway.

Accessory wise, these come with a thin fabric carry bag and a 6.3 to 3.5mm adapter, along with a pair of velour earpads which I installed straight away. It is really good to include velour earpads in my opinion, as they help with comfort and also make the sound a little less boomy. Overall I can’t fault the accessory package at this price either.

Build quality feels good overall, the plastics are not great but they don’t feel too fragile. The cable is replaceable using the same one as the Sennheiser which these look very similar to. The stock cable is flexible and feels like it should last a while, the pads are easy to replace and I can see these being quite easy to modify. Again I cannot fault them for the price, providing you don’t abuse them they should stand up to daily use quite easily.

Comfort, Isolation and Cable noise:

Well these look the same as the Sennheiser HD-25, and the split headband helps distribute the pressure more evenly rather than just in one spot. I find this helps with the wearing comfort a lot, but the clamping force of these is quite strong, this means they stay on your head better, but do feel a little tight after short periods of time. This can most likely be remedied by leaving them stretched over some books for a day or two. Overall I like the comfort, but the clamp is quite tight, both pads are equally comfortable but I do prefer the velour, they don’t heat up your ears quite as much.

Isolation is good with both pads, naturally the pleather pads will isolate more, but the velours do an acceptable job and I would say they are fine for everyday use, and even be fine on most public transport and daily commutes. They block out a decent amount of outside noise, but they will no block out as much as a pair of sealed IEM’s. For a supra-aural headphone though, they do well.

Cable noise is not a huge issue with supra-aural headphones, and these don’t suffer too badly, there is some noise if the cable hits the housing but this is not problematic as the cable doesn’t tend to hit the housing often.

Sound:

Lows: Depending on the earpads used you can tune the lows to the amount you like a little. With the pleather pads I found the lows to be a little too much, with big impact and body but a little overwhelming, masking the mids a little. The lows extend very well only rolling off right down low, they also have very realistic body and decay, with the velour pads the lows are a little more controlled and they blend better with the rest of the sound. The fair well with most genres, and can just about keep up with faster metalcore tracks, but they sound their best when played with some music with a fairly heavy bass beat.
The lows don’t warm up the mids too much, with only a hint of added warmth and body.

Mids: The mids are slightly behind the lows and highs in presentation, giving these a very slight v-shaped sound signature, yet they still retain good clarity and separation, very impressive for the price. Both male and female vocals fair well with no sibilance or harshness to be detected, guitars manage to not sound congested. Overall the mids still cut through the mix, they may not be crystal clear but still very impressive for the price.

Highs: Well you get the full package with these, the highs are present and crisp, always audible and with good extension and sparkle. They add a little excitement without being harsh, they just sound complete and where they should be. They may not have the refinement of higher priced headphones, but hey for £30 I really cannot fault them. At least the highs are where they should be with good presence.

Soundstage is small but this is not a problem, as these are portable on-ear headphones that have a fun and engaging sound. Instrument separation is very good though, they do not have a lot of air around each instrument but you can pinpoint them all quite easily.

Conclusion:

Well I think I have found my new favourite sub £50 on-ear headphones, I used to love the AKG K518, which are still a fantastic buy but the highs leave a little to be desired, although extensive modding does make them quite good. These are just better value as you don’t have to mod them (although you probably could quite easily) and they are the full package. You get extra ear pads for better comfort, and the sound is not lacking in any frequency range.

Yes they are not the most refined, but you get nearly all the SQ of the Sennheiser HD-25 at a fraction of the cost, only time will tell about the build quality, but the cable is replaceable which is great at this price. I can highly recommend these for a throw about pair of portable headphones, they would be great for active use too as they clamp fairly hard meaning they stay on your head well. The overall sound is fun and engaging, maybe a very slight v-shape but great overall.

Sound Perfection Rating: 8/10 (fantastic for the price, minor issues with comfort)