I did not see Sivga mentioned on hifivision yet, so thought... It would be a good idea to post my first impressions about the headphone (and my listening experience of various Hifiman Models) .
Background:
My experience is limited to closed backs for office or listening purposes.
My mostly used and trusty old Audio Technica M50X is no more with me( naah, that tank didn't get destroyed, it changed hands err ears). That pushed me to search for a replacement.
Constraints for replacement were defined as this:
Detachable Cords (non proprietary preferred)
Closed Back (Usable in office etc, was ready to do away with this requirement if the planar or other openback experience was overwhelming)
If possible, no Amp required. (M50x didn't)
Considered headphones before auditions (couldn't audtion them all), was willing to sacrifice few requirements for better (not slightly better) experience:
Couldn't get to listen anything on AKGs!
But, man. I could listen to permutations and combinations of following:
Sources:
Mac Book ( Apple Music)
Samsung A31 (Amazon Music, basic... non hd)
DAC&/AMP:
Gustards 16s (Separates)
Helm DB12 AAAmp
I felt sorry for not taking my DSD512s or other stuff with me.
Songs:
Howlin Mercy, Way down in the hole.
Killin Strangers, Marylyn manson
Hanna Vocal, Chemical Brothers
Few songs by Johnny Cash
Frequency and other tests.
Wailers.
Headphones:
Yay! The good stuff! The subjective stuff!
Had never audtioned the planars. Wanted to go "all in" for them! Bragging points!!!
Man!!! They are airy! Almost like the towers I've at home!
Even between them, they have different personalities! For me, 400se s sounded very similar to Sundaras. Devas and Aryas have absolutely different signatures from 400se or the Sundaras.
I loved them! Had I not, had the system at home... I wouldn't have blinked once, to get any of them!!! (They scale! A lot!!! With good amps / dacs)
Now comes the cheap stuff, which kind of agrees to most requirements:
Sivga Robin / Sivga Sv021:
They are light, very comfortable (no clamping force /weight to force you 'out of experience'.
M50s were like Gina Carano clamping your head!!!
They (Robins not Gina) don't miss the details. They are underclaiming the frequency response. Can be used with any portable devices (just like 400se s). And all of them scale Better with amps.
These Sivga Robins have got a mooshy AND proprietary pads. They cover your ears well and they don't go all Carano! Almost weightless! I was pretty impressed. Handmade wooden cups etc didn't matter to me, but if that's what you get for *free, it's okay .
Wanted a black version, did away with "look at me" brown version.
PS: I am considering DX30 pro plus as external DAC for my headphone and AVR (4700) inputs. Any suggestions?
Background:
My experience is limited to closed backs for office or listening purposes.
My mostly used and trusty old Audio Technica M50X is no more with me( naah, that tank didn't get destroyed, it changed hands err ears). That pushed me to search for a replacement.
Constraints for replacement were defined as this:
Detachable Cords (non proprietary preferred)
Closed Back (Usable in office etc, was ready to do away with this requirement if the planar or other openback experience was overwhelming)
If possible, no Amp required. (M50x didn't)
Considered headphones before auditions (couldn't audtion them all), was willing to sacrifice few requirements for better (not slightly better) experience:
- AKG: K371, K701/702,
- Beyerdynamic: DT 770 Pro (32-80 ohm)
- Hifiman: Sundara (Given the rave reviews), Deva, 400Se
- HD599 (didn't consider 560 because of 120 Ohms)
- Meze 99s. Looks.
- Sivga Robin (Sivga SV021)
- Last resort: Audio Technica M50X / M70X
Couldn't get to listen anything on AKGs!
But, man. I could listen to permutations and combinations of following:
Sources:
Mac Book ( Apple Music)
Samsung A31 (Amazon Music, basic... non hd)
DAC&/AMP:
Gustards 16s (Separates)
Helm DB12 AAAmp
I felt sorry for not taking my DSD512s or other stuff with me.
Songs:
Howlin Mercy, Way down in the hole.
Killin Strangers, Marylyn manson
Hanna Vocal, Chemical Brothers
Few songs by Johnny Cash
Frequency and other tests.
Wailers.
Headphones:
Yay! The good stuff! The subjective stuff!
Had never audtioned the planars. Wanted to go "all in" for them! Bragging points!!!
Man!!! They are airy! Almost like the towers I've at home!
Even between them, they have different personalities! For me, 400se s sounded very similar to Sundaras. Devas and Aryas have absolutely different signatures from 400se or the Sundaras.
I loved them! Had I not, had the system at home... I wouldn't have blinked once, to get any of them!!! (They scale! A lot!!! With good amps / dacs)
Now comes the cheap stuff, which kind of agrees to most requirements:
Sivga Robin / Sivga Sv021:
They are light, very comfortable (no clamping force /weight to force you 'out of experience'.
M50s were like Gina Carano clamping your head!!!
They (Robins not Gina) don't miss the details. They are underclaiming the frequency response. Can be used with any portable devices (just like 400se s). And all of them scale Better with amps.
These Sivga Robins have got a mooshy AND proprietary pads. They cover your ears well and they don't go all Carano! Almost weightless! I was pretty impressed. Handmade wooden cups etc didn't matter to me, but if that's what you get for *free, it's okay .
Wanted a black version, did away with "look at me" brown version.
PS: I am considering DX30 pro plus as external DAC for my headphone and AVR (4700) inputs. Any suggestions?
