Superlux HD681 (2013) vs Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018)

The Superlux HD681 (2013) makes for a good, if unremarkable, Over-Ear Headphone for people with a $25 budget.

The Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018), however, is merely mediocre at its $379 asking price, when compared to similarly priced products, and won't satisfy the needs of most people.

In either case, we suggest that you first take a look at some other options at the $25 and $330 price points before committing to one of these - it's likely that you'll be able to find some better alternatives.

If you're still interested in learning more about the Superlux HD681 (2013) and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018), however, we wrote a summary of what we could find about them:

The Superlux HD681 (2013) was loved by reviewers at Rtings, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "The 7 Best Studio Headphones For Mixing And Recording - Winter 2021" roundup where it was named its "Best Budget Studio Headphones", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

As for the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018) analysis - it impressed reviewers at Android Central, a source that's known for its objective testing and well-thought-out methodology - it performed great in its "Best Sony WH1000XM3 Alternatives in 2021" roundup and earned the "Ranked 2 out of 6" title.

We conducted an analysis of all of the review data that we could find on these two products. First, we focused on sources that tested and rated both of them, like Rtings, and learned that they all showed a preference for the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018).

Then we took a look at the highest review scores that these two Over-Ear Headphones received. We found that the Superlux HD681 (2013) managed to earn a rating of 9 from Head-fi, whereas the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018) got its highest, 9, score from reviewers at Pocket-lint.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Over-Ear Headphones on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Over-Ear Headphones being 7.5 out of 10, whereas the Superlux HD681 (2013) and Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018) managed averages of 7.7 and 8.0 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Superlux HD681 (2013) vs. Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H9i (2018) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.