Superlux HD330Pro (150 Ohm)

The headphones from Taiwanese music equipment manufacturer Superlux (to the reviews) have regularly secured top positions on our price-performance leader board in recent years. And they have done so with remarkable continuity because, despite price tags that are regularly in the lower two-digit range, there have been and still are no really bad downsides to these headphones. The new HD330Pro semi-open studio headphones continue this trend in fine style.

The design of the Superlux HD330Pro

The HD330Pro are semi-open, circumaural headphones. This means that air is exchanged with the environment through the rear panel, which is perforated with holes. This has advantages, particularly when you wear them for longer periods, as neither does the unpleasant build-up of heat occur as quickly nor does the famous “diving bell effect” that makes you feel completely isolated from your surroundings. However, in the studio, a disadvantage of this design in recording situations is that a little more sound penetrates from the inside to the outside – when recording vocals, for example – leads to “crosstalk” into the microphone. Another disadvantage of this design is that sound pressure cannot build up quite as much in the bass range as it would with in-ears or closed headphones. From my own many years of experience as a live and studio sound technician, I can report that closed headphones become annoying on the ears much more quickly during longer sessions than semi-open ones.

Superlux HD330Pro: available in two versions

With hi-fi and studio scenarios in mind, the HD330Pro comes in two versions – with 32 or 150 ohms impedance. The choice between the two versions is relatively simple: if you want to use the headphones with low-power sources – i.e. anything that runs on batteries or rechargeable batteries – you should go for the 32-ohm version . If, on the other hand, they are mainly to be used with mains-powered players and correspondingly powerful amplification, choose the 150-ohm version.

Why? For example, if we assume an output voltage of one volt at the source (a simple AA battery has 1.5V), the 32-ohm version already delivers 31.25 mW, whereas the 150-ohm version only delivers 6.6 mW. So we would have to supply the 150-ohm version with four volts to get the same power. The theoretical advantage of high impedance is an extended dynamic range since a larger voltage range is available. Personally, I have seldom heard a really significant sonic advantage. This was also the case in our test; in a direct comparison (with the appropriate players), I could not detect any significant difference between the 150- and 32-ohm versions. Only when the 150-ohm version was plugged into a mobile phone did it audibly receive too little current to be played to full effect.

The other specifications also read as professional: 40-millimetre drivers with neodymium magnets are used, and these have a sensitivity of 93 dB and – according to the manufacturer – are capable of reproducing frequencies in the range from 10 Hz to 30 kHz.

The HD330Pro’s appearance and handling

Due to their design, the HD330Pro are somewhat bulky “cans”, weighing 315 grams, which makes them comfortable on the listener’s head. Thanks to the thick ear and skull pads, the weight is distributed very comfortably on the head. All three pads can be removed and replaced if necessary. In terms of the overall appearance, but particularly with their grey ear pads and the positions of the screw connections, the HD330 is somewhat reminiscent of the DT 990 Pro from Beyerdynamic. Whether this is intentional or whether this sort of design is inevitable when building semi-open, circumaural headphones, I will leave it open to discussion at this point. I would also like to mention another – rather unpleasant – design similarity: the connecting cable between the left and right earpieces is routed through the headband on both sides, and then just “somehow” comes out from underneath. This is not only unattractive but also causes the padding to protrude somewhat. This is a problem much better handled by the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro, for example, because there is a recess in the plastic through which the cable is neatly routed to the outside. The 2.5 metre-long connection cable is firmly soldered and is led out of the left headphone. It ends in a stereo mini-jack plug that can be expanded to a standard jack with the adapter, which is included in the package.

The sound of the Superlux HD330Pro

“Wow, they’re crispy,” is the first thought that popped into my head after I put the HD330Pro on for a listening test with Dawuna’s debut album “Glas Lit Dream” on the player. This album is an ideal tester for headphones with its quiet lo-fi sounds and many small micro edits. And the Superlux HD330Pro delivers the music with surgical precision: on the sonically innovative “The Lighthouse”, these headphones reproduce even the smallest snippets of crackle and field recordings.

In the ultra-high range especially, this is so engaging that even my treble reference – the DT 1990 Pro from Beyerdynamic – would be a little envious. With German rapper Sido’s distinctive sibilant Ss, as exhibited by “Liebst Du mich” from his album “Paul”, for example, this can sound almost exhausting. But, according to their own statement, this was the declared aim of the Superlux developers: to build headphones that convey a lot of body and emotionality, especially in the mids and highs, and they have certainly achieved this. The bass, on the other hand, was a little more discreet, almost taking a back seat to the impressive highs and mids. Fans of powerful bass-driven entertainment may find this too little thrusting, but fans of music that is performed more lightly will love the sound image.