[CartmanTheCoon]

Hi, i want to buy an open back headphone with a wide soundstage mostly for single player gaming on PS4 but also to watch great quality Blu Ray and i don't want to spend much.

I'm ready to get the Superlux HD681 or 681B for about 29 euros but i know they require a change of pads. My issues are:

1- I can't stand round pads, i don't like the pads touching my ears and oval ones are just too comfortable.

2- I can't really find pads to buy except overpriced velour Brainwavz pads on amazon. Thomann has other pads for cheap but the shipping costs are insane: 20 euros for anything...even 10 euros pads.

There's another issue, which has to do with the PS4 controller not being able to drive headphones with an impendance higher than 32ohm. The HD681 are 32ohm and as far as i know no one's had any low volume problems with them on PS4. That also leaves me almost with no options.

Unless i can find some XL round pads that will absorb my ears i was thinking of using the fake leather oval pads i have or to buy some oval velour pads from amazon if i can find them(the Brainwavz oval pads are cheaper than the round ones).

Could the oval pads fit on the HD681 and how would they affect the sound?

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Ovals will fit on them..but they transmogrify into round pads when you do! The pads fit the form of the cup, so they 'become' round.
My advice is twofold:
1) get the HD681, the headband is more comfortable.
2) search aliexpress for "Brainwavz HM5 style pads" or something similar. My favorites on the 681 were the hybrids (velour on the part that touches your face, pleather on the outer ring) with fenestrated pleather:
here's the pad I am talking about (I think I paid $12.00 for them):

they are pretty deep, and you can a ring of foam backer rod inside them to make them even deeper...should be plenty of room for your ears

 

[CartmanTheCoon]

Ovals will fit on them..but they transmogrify into round pads when you do! The pads fit the form of the cup, so they 'become' round.
My advice is twofold:
1) get the HD681, the headband is more comfortable.
2) search aliexpress for "Brainwavz HM5 style pads" or something similar. My favorites on the 681 were the hybrids (velour on the part that touches your face, pleather on the outer ring) with fenestrated pleather:
here's the pad I am talking about (I think I paid $12.00 for them):

they are pretty deep, and you can a ring of foam backer rod inside them to make them even deeper...should be plenty of room for your ears

Thanks for the reply. I guess i should have specified that i didn't really expect the oval pads to "stay oval" but just to stay wider than the round pads, just enough for my ears to fit without the pads touching them. Also, the HD681's headband is more comfortable compared to what? The HD681B? Don't they have the same headband?

The 668B is the one with the completely different headband, while the 681B is more balanced and has a little more bass.

I wanted to buy from aliexpress but i'm concerned about the package getting stopped at customs and having to pay a lot more. What about these?

https://www.amazon.com/BRAINWAVZ-Velour-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B078HDVCN2

The inner hole is 65mm so the ear space is actually larger than the oval ones i have, which of course have more vertical ear space but these ones should fit just right overall. Still not sure, though.

 

[buke9]

The thing about changing pads you change how the headphones sound so you might look at another headphone.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Thanks for the reply. I guess i should have specified that i didn't really expect the oval pads to "stay oval" but just to stay wider than the round pads, just enough for my ears to fit without the pads touching them. Also, the HD681's headband is more comfortable compared to what? The HD681B? Don't they have the same headband?

The 668B is the one with the completely different headband, while the 681B is more balanced and has a little more bass.

I wanted to buy from aliexpress but i'm concerned about the package getting stopped at customs and having to pay a lot more. What about these?

https://www.amazon.com/BRAINWAVZ-Velour-Replacement-Memory-Earpads/dp/B078HDVCN2

The inner hole is 65mm so the ear space is actually larger than the oval ones i have, which of course have more vertical ear space but these ones should fit just right overall. Still not sure, though.

I am not aware of there being a 681 vs. 681B (I haven't bought any Superlux in a while so they may have come out with a B version)...I assumed you meant the 668b, which is the mistake people usually make.
As far as ordering from Ali, I live in California as well and I have never had an issue with customs. I have ordered from them and Gearbest at least a dozen times and never had any issues.
The Brainwavs pads would be fine...I don't remember if I ever tried velours on mine, I did have some cloth ones that kinda sucked out the bass. If I remember correctly thats why I liked the hybrids, the leather on the outer edge seemed to help keep the sound pretty close to stock.

 

[CartmanTheCoon]

The problem is i'm not in Cali right now, i'm in Europe and that's where i'll be for the next few months. Now that i think about it, though, hybrid pads might be able to preserve the accuracy of the sound more than the full velour ones. I'll have to ponder my decision. If there was any other headphones similar to the Superlux HD681 in that price range, with oval pads and everything i need, i'd definitely rather get that. But i don't think there's any open back headphones with a soundstage that wide at 30 euros or even 50.

If anyone can recommend any alternatives to the HD681 i'll gladly listen. Anyway, thanks for the help!