Superlux HD-665

Looking for affordable monitoring headphones ("cans") for studio tracking, I compared Superlux HD660, Superlux HD665, t.bone HD 990D, Vic Firth SiH2 and Beyerdynamic DT-770M to each other and to my DT-770 pro 80. I know, not a really fair reference, but my idea was to seek for cans that would not cost more, preferably less than my DT-770 and still would have proper, useful sound quality. From the models selected, you can guess that acoustic isolation was also a desirable feature, to prevent the sound from the cans bleeding into e.g. a singer's mic and thus saving time cleaning up tracks from this bleed. That is why I also searched among headphones dedicated to drummers. I will review all of the models mentioned, each in their own product page. Here we go for the Superlux HD-665.

As far headphones ever do, the HD-665 does not make you look sexy, rather like wearing Mickey Mouse ears or the type of noise blocking headphones to protect your ears when moving the lawn - and actually, for a great deal, the HD-665 is just that. It claims to reduce noise by 30dBA, and that claim seems fair: it is the only pair of cans I tested that really blocked outside noise significantly (but not completely), and, reversely, let hardly any sound from its drivers bleed into the world outside (all models compared at a similar, "normal" loudness level, of course). This might be a real time saver when it comes to editing and cleaning up recorded tracks!

Its construction is of a simple but sturdy and one-size-fits-all design, that seems to be able to withstand some "heavy use". The ear shells can not be adjusted actively to the size of your head, but they are fitted to a double arc of sturdy metal wire, with a silicone strap stretched transversely between them to rest on your head. The elasticity of this strap allows for adaptation to the size of your head. The metal arc makes the ear shells clamp to your head tightly, but not too tight, which is not only important for comfort of wearing, but also for making the ear pads seal to your head properly for optimal isolation. I have not tested it with other people and am not sure how it will fit on XS or XL sized heads...

On the bottom side of the left ear shell, there is an "appendix" of about 5cm of cable fitted with a 3,5mm stereo jack. This inserts into a 3m extension cable with 3,5mm stereo connectors on both terminals (female-male). To me this appears somewhat unusual: in other models with detachable cord, the cable had male connectors on both terminals, and a female receptacle in one or both ear shells. The connection between "appendix" and extension cable is tight though, minimising the risk of getting disconnected in the middle of the performance of your life, just as is the connection between the extension cord jack and the 3,5-to-6,3mm adapter jack supplied with the HD-665.

As it seems to be designed for drummers especially, the HD-665 sounds a little "boomy" when no tone adjustment is made. By turning down bass a little, and maybe turning up a little treble to your taste, it produces a sound that is pretty much useful for listening to all kinds of content, including monitoring your recorded tracks.

In summary:
-sturdy construction
-good isolation (best of the models I tested)
-fair sound quality, especially after some tone adjustment

And then its price: fair and decent compared to what you get (and much cheaper than the DT-770, as I aimed for!)

All together, this set of cans meets my requirements best! I am keeping it, and order a few more to be able to serve a complete band on a recording session in my one room studio!

BTW: I also compared the HD-665 to Alesis' DRP-100 (not in Thomann's product line and hard to find in stock elsewhere at the time of writing). Except for some minor brand specific differences in appearance, they are fully identical when it comes to build quality, sound, functionality and price, despite spec sheets showing some differences in freq.range and impedance a.o. So if you do not care for the blue (non-detachable) cable of the DRP-100, then the HD-665 is a totally equal choice!

Bought these to allow me to hear the rest of the band while still protecting my hearing.
At first they appeared great; they protect REALLY well against very loud volume levels, are comfortable, and still allow you to hear what you need, if combined with suitable headphone amplification and a mixer.

There are two major downsides thought:

First, they filter frequencies in a way that give a VERY inaccurate picture of the actual source. This is when not plugged in. So you can forget adjusting a guitar amp or tuning a drum by ear when using them. I once forgot this and spent 6 hours fine-tuning a snare in preparation for a recording. When I finally got the sound I wanted, I switched hearing protection. Suddenly the snare sounded really really bad (same thing without any hearing protection, through a mic and so on).
I've since payed extra attention to how they impact the sound and noticed they are so deceptive I would have stopped using them entirely, just for that reason.

Secondly, if you tense up your head and/or neck the "right" way, the headphone opens a gap, letting in a lot of sound.
I'm mainly a vocalist and drummer and have found it near impossible to do any vocals without this happening frequently.
While drumming they stay in place a little better, but when doing fast fills or going across the kit to reach cymbals, it almost always happens - with noticeable negative effect on my hearing.
I believe the core of the issue lies in the "auto-adjustable" band that is supposed to keep the headphones in place; when you stay relatively still, or rather, keep everything above your shoulders still, it works as intended. But the band let's the headphones slip to low, and at an angle where the lowest part is on direct contact with my jaw. So when I move it, the headphones follow.
Had there been a way to manually adjust the size/length of the band, I could keep them high enough that they protect my ears without my jaw interfering.

The latter problem would likely not impact everyone, but I do believe I have a fairly regular-sized head, so I think these headphones are only suitable for people with very large (or at least tall) heads. I have band mates who cannot wear them at all, since they are to large and simply won't stay on their ears.

Regardless of issue number 2, the first one is, in my opinion, bad enough to not make it worth it. Had the drivers been better, one could have used them to get an accurate picture, but they are pretty bad - which is expected, since these are not meant as proper "studio headphones", but considering the other flaws it unfortunately renders them completely useless for me.
Perhaps worth it as cheap tracking headphones in the studio, but there are better alternatives for that..

These headphones are good for drummers, and e-drummers. And that's exactly why I bought them in the first place.

I practice every day on a TD-17, and it took me a long time to find headphones which were satisfying.

With other headphones, I had 4 kind of problems:
- the construction of the headphones was too fragile,
- the sound was too sharp (too much highs and mids),
- the volume was too low, or
- too much stick sound through the headphones.

- The construction of the Superlux HD-665 is excellent.
- The sound is solid for e-drummers.
- The volume is really loud.
- With these headphones on, I don't hear much of other noises around me, except loud noises. I can't hear the sticks on rubber pads or rims anymore, while practicing. And that's was exactly what I was looking for.

My overall rating? I wished the sound was just a bit better. Or the comfort was like the Beyermagic DT 770 Pro (*). But compared to other so-called 'headphones for e-drums', even to those which have high ratings, I tried some, and I didn't like them. Some broke within a few months, often the sound was too thin, but most of the time I had to turn the volume very loud to solve the problem of stick sounds on rubber hi-hat/cymbal pads.

(*): the volume of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro/ 80 Ohm for the Roland TD-17 is not loud enough. It's a great comfortable headphone, but not for the TD-17, without extra amplification.

NB: A year later: these headphones are still working and they are still great. I recommend them for e-drums. They are powerful and you don't hear the sticks on the surface of your e-drums. They sound more bass then treble, but that's OK. They are extremely well builded. During summertime, they are warm. But they really are better then a lot of other brands.