Superlux HD-385 In-Ear Stereo Headphones

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Sale Price: $14.95
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I have the previous model, the HD-381 series, all the 3 models, and wrote review about it in Head-Fi (by Earfonia). So I will compare HD-385 more or less with the HD-381, especially 381F.

HD-385 Tonal balance is neutral bright, more emphasize on midrange to upper midrange. Nice treble, good clarity, enough sparkle without being harsh or prone to sibilant. The bass is rather weak, less power than HD-381F. It is not really rolled off, but shelved down bass, meaning although bass quantity is less than average, the bass extends quite low, which is nice. HD-381F on the other hand, has more bass, fuller body midrange, and softer treble. Overall, HD-381F suits my preference better.

HD-385, like the HD-381 series, is a semi open design, meaning noise isolation is less than average noise isolation IEM. Good and bad. The bad is, HD-385 sounds best only in relatively quiet environment, not good for noisy environment. The good from the semi open design, is the absent (or very minimum) of driver's housing / shell distortion (resonant & reflection), that generally reduces clarity and causing other tonal balance abnormality. Clarity on HD-385 is very good, especially for IEM in this price range. The imaging is also good, feel more open, no narrow or congested imaging.

Detail is pretty good. Not up to the level of micro driver detail like my favorite JVC HA-FXD80, but definitely sufficient detail, especially for modern pop music to be enjoyable (a bit lacking for classical).

Dynamic is average, like many earbuds in this price range, not great dynamic, just sufficient.

Overall HD-385 is musical budget IEM with good clarity, good comfort, but the bass level is lower than what I like. I would give 4 stars if HD-385 has the bass of HD-381F. And I like the HD-385 1.2 meter cable better than the 60 cm cable of the HD-381 series.

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for the money, these are probably going to be hard to beat. only 4 stars because they are a great upgrade over most headphones that come with phones or music players, but there is still more to be desired

for in-ear/ear buds the only comparison i can make are to the denon ah-c260 which are around $22. these superlux are quite a bit cheaper

pros(and ways its better than the denon ah-c260)

fit they fit really really good. i can yawn, sleep, whatever and they dont come out or wiggle and start leaking sound

sound im not an audiophile and im not good at explaining it, but these are more clear, more bass. i dont know if burn in time stuff is real, but if it is, these havent had much so they will only get better if that stuff is true.

price cheap! better(or at least equal) than some that cost more(denon ah-c260)

i havent had them long or used them much so if i have any durability problems ill update, promise

Buy Superlux HD-385 In-Ear Stereo Headphones Now

First of all, the total quality of these phones is that of the custom ones rather than universal phones. For instance, the general level of my Superlux HD-381F is that of my Westone W4, EarSonics SM3 and TDK BA-200, but the tonal condition of this set is more complete than the tonality of the HD-381F and better than all those and all the universal earbuds I have, except AKG-K3003i or T-PEOS H200 if ever.

It is never easy for the phone addicts like me to minimalize the quantity of their phones, because every high level of phones has its special individuality. But the HD-381F is the great helper for me in minimalizing my lots of earphones and helps me to put all my universal earphones aside to sell in the future.

I regard my Unique Melody Miracle are the Best ones among all earphones for classical music and romantic music as I am doing Beyerdynamic T1 among all headphones, while my Westone ES5 for romanctic music and electronic one, including FOSTEX T50RP/TH600/900 for romantic music. But my actual favorite earbuds for enjoying music with ease are these HD-385 for classical music and romantic one, Superlux HD681 headphones for the rock with romantic music and prefer DENON AH-D950(former flagship) together with Grado ps500 to FOSTEX T50RP/TH600/900, LCD-2/3, HE500/6 and needless to say DENON AH-D 2000/5000/7000 for romantic music and electronic one.

The great job the Taiwanese company of these phones is that they make the listeners easy to enjoy their music with maximizing the key point the listeners subconsciously demand for enjoying the music.

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