Sivga Nightingale 14.5mm Planar Driver

The Sivga Nightingale is a planar magnetic earphone with a single 14.5mm, dual magnetic, driver. The dual magnetic field rectangular array structure features exceptional transmission sensitivity and impressive transient response. It leverages magnetic mechanics to thoughtfully pair two sets of high-performance rare earth iron boron magnets, resulting in a significant boost in efficiency compared to standard configurations.

Non Audio Stuff

The ear-shells are made from aluminum-magnesium alloy with a solid wooden faceplate that is hand polished to have a unique appearance as no plate is similar to another. The Nightingale is a well made earphone with a luxurious and unique appearance.

The ear-shells are quite compact and lightweight, their shape follows the natural contours of the ear and additionally the cable sockets are cleverly positioned in order not to interfere when wearing the earphones. The Nightingale is a super comfortable earphone that fits securely and stays stable without exercising any annoying pressure even after prolonged time of use. You wear it and then just forget about it, the only gripe is the average passive noise attenuation.

The well made cable uses silver plated copper wires in a four strand design. It is a 2-pin detachable cable with recessed connectors and a 4.4mm aluminum plug but the package doesn't include a 3.5mm adapter. The cable is lightweight and soft, yet durable, it doesn't get tangled and has minimum microphonic noise.

The package includes a hard carrying case with a side zipper and two sets of ear-tips in three sizes each that are stored inside a thin plastic case.



Audio Stuff

The rating of the Sivga Nightingale is 16Ω / 100dB so it is not that difficult to drive but the source must be able to provide plenty of current at such low impedance without clipping.

The Nightingale has a mildly warm, smooth and rather balanced tuning where the middle section stands out as the undisputable prima donna of the show.

Sub-bass extension is not that great for reproducing synthesized electronic tunes but enough for acoustic music where even the lowest notes are easily audible. The lower bass is slightly rolled-off until the mid-bass where things start to get even and linear. The mid-bass doesn't get emphasized, it is crystal clear, tonally accurate and without bleeding into the mid-range.

The low-end as a whole is fast, tight and controlled without audible distortion but not that crisp or firmly defined. There is a touch of echo and some lack in punch and dynamics, the attacks are rather soft, it is pretty obvious that the bass is intentionally tuned as the supporting actor to the glorious mid-range.

The mids sound present, crisp and well defined with excellent articulation and ample body. There is plenty of harmonic variety, the timbre is natural and realistic, voices and instruments sound alive, fresh and exciting with great emotional depth.

The mid-range of the Nightingale is really amazing, very engaging, lush and mildly warm with extra liquidity and without upper mid-range harshness.

The treble is also tuned in order to help the mid-range stand out so it is slightly truncated and not that extended as not to distract the listeners attention from the mids.

There is a certain lack of sparkle and excitement but not that much to make the Nightingale sound dark or missing in treble definition and clarity. This is a polite and smooth tuning that doesn't induce harshness and makes for a fatigue free listening experience.

The timbre is quite natural without any serious artificiality and devoid of metallic sharpness while texture is full bodied in accordance with the rest of the frequencies.

The Sivga Nightingale is a fairly open sounding earphone with sufficient width and adequate soundstage depth. Separation and imaging are more than satisfying for the category and the overall presentation is natural and proportional.

Conclusion

The Sivga Nightingale has a daring tuning that is not afraid to part from the current trend that favours “V” shaped and Harman based sound profiles. And this is a good thing in my book because not all people sympathize with these kinds of tunings and look for something different.

The Nightingale has a unique tonal balance with an amazing mid-range that is full of musicality and engagement. Vocal lovers are going to adore and appreciate the tuning of the Sivga Nightingale.

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The full review, including comparisons, is available in my website.

TONALITY: 7/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.2/10
TIMBRE: 7/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8.5/10
IMAGING: 8.2/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.2/10
ACCESSORIES: 8.5/10
SOUND VALUE: 6.5/10

INTRO

Sivga is a well know audio company from China, which specialize in Headphones using dynamic and planar driver. Lately they begin to release earphones as well, like the hybrid 1DD+1BA SW001.
Today I will review their first planar IEM call Nightingale.
Priced 280$, the Nightingale use an ''home made'' 14.5mm planar driver with ultra-thin diaphragm that promise crisp and immersive sound.

Let see in this review if this mid tier planar earphones can deliver potent sound value for it's asking price.


CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES



The construction is mostly plastic with the exception of wooden back plate with metal ring and the metal nozzle. The design is mature and elegant, and the body is quite light.
The 2pin connector are protuberant, so perhaps at risk of damage if you don't take care of it.
The nozzle isn't very long so it's not think for deep fit.
Overall construction doesn't feel the most sturdy....and oddly enough, ive discover we can unscrew the nozzle, which open door for modding or nozzle swapping if you feel experimental.


The included cable is of good quality, its a thick 4 cores braided cable. It come with 4.4mm balanced plug. It's not stated the details of cores wires type of number.



When it come to packaging, it's minimalist but well done. We have a solid carrying case of good quality, the cable and 6 pairs of ear tips. Those eartips choice are a bit questionnable though since the hole is way too small to permit open sound transmission of planar driver, so i suggest you to use wide bore eartips like the KBear KB07 if you seek big soundstage potential.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS




The overall tonality of Nightingale is rather niche and I consider it specialize for instrumental music more than bass heavy stuffs because its very very bass light.
I would call it crisp neutral with mids and upper treble emphasis. These are very sparkly and airy sounding IEM. For those who love brilliance and shimmer, they will be amaze, but for those that enjoy lush thick mids or round rumbly bass, it’s certaily a risky bet.

So, neutral, with bass that is warm with lower mid range and just a slight mid bass boost, then the mids are gently brigth with good resolution and attack edge, but master of the show is the treble.

Highlight of the nightingale is: open spatiality, boosted sens of transparency, mid range instrument fowardness and vividly crisp treble.

The bass have notable sub bass roll off and mellow mid bass punch with warmed definition.
Bass line are rather clean and can be perceive with some effort but they are dry, lean and more distant than rest of music. The presence is a hint boosted and it feel more textured than kick drum.
This kick drum isn’t very well define nor resolve,their this hazy delimitation to it that mix up in lower mids.
The drum set will feel a bit unbalanced because the percussions will be sharper and more fowards than kick,toms and even snare.
Separation with mids isn’t very clean, which is a bit odd cause from upper mids to upper treble the Sivga sound super crisp.
Note weight are on the thin and light side, it’s not hard thumpy bass nor rumbly and vibrant, in fact....i haven’t heard this bass flavor in my whole audiophile life but nearest i can find is surely with Tinhifi P1plus i will compare later.
At they end we can say it’s lean neutral bass that can deliver well resolve bass line, especially electric bass. But we can say its the achille’s heel of Nightingale too.

The mids are quite nice: open, transparent and well bodied with hint of warmth.
It seem specialize for female vocal, which are fowards but not too bright or shouty. Sibilance is very rare, but some upper pitch soprano can sound louder, as well, it can reveal edgy details in texture depending of very vocal, i find it a bit imprevisible in that regard.
Macro resolution is quite good and as said it’s open, crisp and airy, but i feel i can be cleaner in background if it wasn’t from this lower mids warmth.
Piano sound quite lovely too, not heaviest nor lightest in note weight and the timbre is realist and layering with other instrument is good, we have this well resolve natural resonance too, yet instrument like saxophone will sound louder since it’s more dependant of upper mids.
This saxophone is hit or miss and can feel a bit compressed in middle of stage, its not wide and lush in presence, its effortless in texture but slightly unbalanced in harmony,slightly boxy overall.
So, this is hard for me to find in what specific music style these shine, jazz dont cut it due to lack of proper macro dynamic and bass, classical do cut it and is where i feel these excell at. Instrumental like folk with acoustic guitar or harp is good too, yet this is more about treble so let’s go there now.

The treble is what will create main wow effect here since it’s vividly open and crisp,offer lot of sparkle and quite good amount of microdetails.
It's airy and brilliant and add a sens of openess to spatiality.
It's the kind of treble that can pick up fine detail of cymbals release and it does sharply extract percussions and put them fowards.
Its fast and shappy, and cleanest part of audio spectrum.
It's not a thick nor a lean treble response, i find it spiky and not the best in balance since i can get distracted by upfront percussion which are super shinny.
Since it's spiky, some percussion will be more boosted than other, snare is less loud than metallic instrument.
Acoustic guitar and harp sound open and brilliant, but thin too.


The Soundstage is one of highlight of the Nightingale, it's wide open and quite deep when their no vocal. It's airy and 3D, but not very realist due to over emphasis of percussion that add extra stereo dimension that can feel artificial.

Imaging is OK, but again, not very realist, as well, when their vocal it will dominate presence of other instrument. Bass instrument are difficult to pin point too.




COMPARISONS




VS TINHIFI P1plus

Firstly, the P1plus is notably harder to drive. Then it’s more neutral, leaner and better balanced. Macro resolution is superior as well as spatiality is cleaner, but more intimate.

The bass is leaner, deeper and more textured and well define. Kick drum isn’t as warm and hazy and it feel more speedy in attack, bass line are more vibrant and dense, though not rumbly at all too. Separation with mids is edgier and dont bleed on lower mids as much.

The mids are more natural yet a notch brighter as a whole, texture richness is fully restitute and transparency don’t have a mix of blur and edge as the Sivga. Female vocal aren’t as fowards, overall mids feel leaner and even lighter in note weight than Sivga. Saxophone and vocal are smoother in uppermids and more natural and harmonious in tone with wider presence than more upfront and compressed presentation of Sivga.

Treble is a bit similar though better balanced and less prompt to slight treblyness with P1plus,percussions are quite sparkly, snappy and fowards but in a smoother W shape way than spikier Sivga which is sharper but less full in treble, thinner and more prompt to extract metallic sound and instruments. It feel a bit more airy and stretched in stereo rendering too with Sivga.

Soundstage is wider and taller with Sivga, while deeper and cleaner with P1plus.

Imaging is notably superior with P1plus, its not just about higher pitch sound positioning and definition of each instrument is easier to pinpoint due to higher sens of transparency in layering readibility.

All in all, the P1plus feel like an upgraded Nightingale for less than half the price, but is harder to drive,even leaner in dynamic and quite a hell to use because of poor fit.

VS HIDIZS MP145

The MP145 are notably more dynamic sounding in bass and mids, as well the soundstage is wider, taller and deeper. But no1 thing that hit me is the bass, it’s more punchy and rumbly, more boosted. So tonal balance feelmore Ushape and bassy, mids are hint brighter and more edgy and treble is better balanced yet a bit more crunchy and less plain brilliant than Sivga.

The sub bass is notably more boosted and deeper, with thicker more vibrant and resonant rumble, mid bass impact have more punch but kick is a bit darker, more scooped in presence than Sivga, we have thumping ‘’omph’’ with MP145,while a mellow but chunkier mid bass punchiness with Sivga. MP145 separation with mids have less warm transition too.

Mids are more lively and lush with MP145, they are thicker and less lean and distant as a whole, attack is edgier thus definition seem better rounded. Its more spacious and open,texture is a bit more grainy and less transparent. Timbre is more liquid with the Sivga, resolution is crisper, vocal presence more compressed and intimate, note weight lighter.

Treble is quite different and not as sparkly and crisp with MP145, which is crunchier, this will benefit violin attack as well as instrument like electric guitar while for the Sivga its more shiny and benefit acoustic guitar and harp which have more sparkle and longer and cleaner resonance,its not as fully bodied and lower harmonic vibration will not densify acoustic guitar like it do for MP145.

Soundstage is gigantic with MP145, quite unbeatable in that regard but Sivga do well still, yet it feelmore closed and intimate, its mostly upper treble that add sens of air and deepness wideness, for tallness and holographic rendering MP145 is superior, you feelmore in middle of vast soundscape your part of with those while everything feel a bit static and over centered with the Sivga apart this extra stereo channel stretching with highs frequencies, mostly percussions, electric guitar and harp.

Imaging is about on par, but due to more vaste soundscape it’s easier to travel in sound layers with MP145.

All in all, treble performance feel superior with Nightingale and overall resolution cleaner but the tuning is way less versatile and macrodynamic is lacking variance of amplitude in bass and mids. The MP145 is both more fun and better tuned and don’t suffer timbre texture imbalance though the texture is a bit harsher.

CONCLUSION



The Sivga Nightingale are very niche sounding IEM that is everything but versatile. It's not a fun or bassy musicality and will mostly please vocal lover and those seeking a neutral tonality with lot of treble air and sparkle.

While technical performance are good enough, the tonal balance feel a bit off and affect naturalness of lot of instruments from violin to saxophon and piano, yet not the female vocal which shine with those.

At near 229$, this is a hard one to recommend due to very competitive planar IEM market.
I think it can please elder people with hearing lost in higher frequencies range above 10khz. Or those that need vast airy soundstage to get lost in.





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PS: I want to thanks Sivga for sending me this review sample. I don't participate to any affiliated program nor have any $ incencitive that can bias my subjective judgement.

You can order the Nightingale for 229$ here: https://www.amazon.com/SIVGA-Nightingale-Magnetic-Monitor-Earphones/dp/B0CHRZHNFF

DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank Sivga for providing the Nightingale.

It can be gotten here: https://www.sivgaaudio.com/product_d?id=17 (no affiliate links).




SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver configuration: 14.5 mm planar driver
• Impedance: 16 Ω
• Frequency response: 20 Hz - 40 kHz
• Sensitivity: 100 dB
• Cable: 2-pin, 0.78 mm; 4 strand silver-plated copper; 4.4 mm termination
• Tested at $279 USD

ACCESSORIES

Other than the IEM, these are included:
- 4 pairs of wide-bore silicone eartips
- 3 pairs of narrow-bore silicone eartips
- Cable
- Carrying case
- Eartip case

For a $200ish set, the accessories are acceptable; though perhaps the addition of a modular cable and foam tips would have been appreciated.




Speaking about tips, 2 types of silicone ones are included. The wider-bore tips boost treble and soundstage, whereas the narrower-bore ones improve bass quantity with some compression in staging. These tips come in their own little plastic case, which is quite handy.




The cable is a 2-pin 4 strand silver-plated copper one. It only comes in a 4.4 mm termination, so folks who use single-ended sources might need an adapter or to swap out the cable. The cable is of sufficient heft and is very well braided, with zero microphonics. It is sheathed in a glossy soft PVC material, with a chin cinch for added support.

Haptically, it is one of the better cables I've encountered in my IEM journey, and as always, a 2-pin one tends to be more hardy than MMCX connectors with frequent cable-rolling.




Sivga has included a semi-rigid zipper case. It is robust enough to withstand compressive forces, and the innards are lined by a velvety material and webbing.

The rest of this review was done with the stock cable and stock narrow-bore silicone tips. No aftermarket accessories were used, so as not to add any confounders to the sound.


BUILD/COMFORT



The droplet-shaped housings are furnished from 5-axis CNC-machined aluminum magnesium alloy. There is a solid wood faceplate to grace the front, and this is hand polished, painted and air-dried to add some tastefulness.




Weighing in at 15 g apiece, the shells are very light, and ergonomics are top-notch. With no weird protrusions on the inner aspects to poke the ears, I did not encounter any discomfort during usage.

As per most vented IEMs, isolation is below average. I did not encounter any driver flex during my past month with it.


INTERNALS

At the heart of the Nightingale lies a 14.5 mm planar driver, with an internal dual magnet array, comprised of 2 iron boron magnets. The ultra-thin composite diaphragm has an aluminum coil that supposedly improves transparency in the sonics.




DRIVABILITY

I tested the Nightingale with the following sources:
- Apple dongle
- Cayin RU7
- Fiio K11 DAC/amp
- Fiio KA13 dongle
- Hiby R3 Pro Saber 2022 DAP
- Khadas Tone Board -> Schiit Asgard 3 amp
- Questyle M15 DAC/AMP dongle
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One WM1Z Plus v2 Mod)
- Sony Walkman NW A-55 DAP (Walkman One Neutral Mod)
- Sony Walkman NW WM1A DAP (Walkman One WM1Z Plus v2 Mod)
- Smartphone

The Nightingale is moderately difficult to drive. It takes some juice to wake up the drivers to scale optimally, and amplification would be recommended if available.


SOUND & TECHNICALITIES

Graph of the Sivga Nightingale via IEC711 coupler. 8 kHz is a coupler peak.

Tonally, the Nightingale is a rare midcentric IEM, featuring an "n" shaped profile, where the bass and treble are less prominent than the midrange. This is admittedly a very niche proposition, as it shines very well with vocal and acoustic genres, but may not be that all-rounded for other genres eg for bassheads or trebleheads.

The bass is neutral, and focused at the mid-bass. There is a sub-bass roll-off, with just a tickle of rumble heard in bass heavy tracks. What the Nightingale cedes in quantity, it makes up in quality. There is a nimble bass heard, with fine texturing and no mid-bass bleed. Bassheads will definitely need to look elsewhere, as the lack of a prominent mid-bass thump may make this area sound a bit empty.

Having said that, the Nightingale takes to EQ like a champ, with no distortion noted on boosting this area - feel free to jack up this frequency band if the bass seems inadequate.

As per the midcentric moniker, the midrange is the star of the show. The lower mids are weighty and emotional, allowing vocals and midrange instruments like guitars to be accentuated. There is no spiky upper midrange peak to pierce the ears, and acoustic and vocal lovers will have a field-day, with the silky dulcet tones of vocals heard on a dark background.

The treble is decently extended but still quite smooth, with minimal sibilance. Clarity is decently encapsulated despite the not overly augmented treble that some companies employ to give "fake resolution".

The Nightingale's timbre has a planar sheen, and timbre-freaks might probably frown here on hearing the portrayal of some acoustic instruments. However, timbral issues are also found in most competitor planar IEMs, so this is a transducer problem more than a tuning snag.

In technicalities, the Nightingale has a very wide soundstage, that is almost akin to earbuds - it extends a few cm outside the ears - though depth is average. Imaging is good, however, note edges are dampened to minimize glare, so it isn't the most micro-detailed or separated when compared to rival planars which are more treble boosted.


COMPARISONS

Comparisons were made with other planar IEMs. Pure BAs, hybrids and single DDs were omitted as the different driver types have their own pros and cons.




Hidizs MP145

The MP145 has 3 tuning nozzles and is more versatile as such.

Graph of the MP145 via IEC711 coupler. 8 kHz is a coupler peak.

Across all tuning nozzles, the MP145 is more V-shaped, with more bass and treble. The mids are thinner on the MP145, and timbre is slightly more organic on the MP145. The MP145 has some sibilance and may be a bit more fatiguing in the upper registers.

On A/B testing, the MP145 has a smaller soundstage, but has better imaging and micro-detailing.

The MP145's shells are sumo-sized and those with smaller ears may have fitting issues. Additionally, it has driver flex, unlike the Nightingale. Thus, ergonomics seem superior on the Nightingale.


Letshuoer S12 Pro

Graph of the S12 Pro via IEC711 coupler. 8 kHz is a coupler peak.

The S12 Pro sports a deep V-shaped signature. It has more bass on tap, though the bass isn't as tight. The S12 Pro is more aggressive-sounding, and is quite in your face, whereas the Nightingale is a bit more sedate. The upper mids/treble is more extended and prominent on the S12 Pro, though it comes across as sibilant and fatiguing. The S12 Pro is leaner in the midrange, with vocals sounding not as lush.

Timbre is less natural on the S12 Pro, with a metallic sheen noted. The S12 Pro has better imaging and micro-detailing, though it loses in soundstage.

The S12 Pro comes with a modular cable, though it isn't as comfortable in fit.


Tangzu Zetian Wu

Graph of the Zetian Wu via IEC711 coupler. 8 kHz is a coupler peak.

The Zetian Wu is a way bassier IEM, though the bass bleeds and smudges, and isn't as clean and textured as on the Nightingale.

Timbre is slightly better on the Zetian Wu, though it has a recessed and thinner midrange.

Technicalities-wise, the Zetian Wu has a smaller soundstage and weaker instrument separation. Imaging and micro-detailing is about on par.


CONCLUSIONS



As per its avian namesake, the Nightingale sings excellently in the midrange, and is a specialist midcentric set. Vocal and acoustic genres are euphonic, addictive and sweet. Treble is smooth and non-fatiguing, with a tight and clean bass heard.

Granted, midcentric tunings are quite niche, and may not be the cup of tea for bassheads and trebleheads, or even for some mainstream genres, but where it shines for its specialized genres, the sonics are truly magical.

The Nightingale thankfully takes to EQ well, so for consumers open to doing so, distortion-free bass boost is an option in the pocket to shape the sonics to your preference. Additionally, the Nightingale comes with one of the best stock cables in the industry, and has great ergonomics and an elegant yet solid build. Soundstage width is also a highlight, and this IEM can rival some earbuds in this arena.



Other than not being an all-rounder, like most other planar IEMs, there are whiffs of planar timbre, and drivability is moderately difficult. It is also not as resolving as some planar competitors, though those may be more fatiguing and sibilant as a trade-off.

Midcentric profiles are a love-it-or-hate-it affair, but I applaud Sivga for trying something different from the run-of-the-mill Harman and V-shaped fare; I do think there is a place in an audio enthusiast's stable for such midcentric gear, to be whipped out when a vocal track's siren voices are sought after.

Introduction

As many may know, Dongguan Sivga Electronic Technology Co, Ltd, was established in 2016 and is headquartered in Dongguan City in China. Sivga focuses on the innovation and production of high-end headphones. The engineering team consists of highly skilled personnel from electronics and acoustics. Their philosophy is to manufacture a delicate and perfect product, where every step and every part of the work must be done carefully and with good workmanship. Only in this way can the product stand the test of time. True to that reflection is the result of the new SIVGA Nightingale, an IEMS with a 14.5mm diameter magnetic planar driver. This is a dual magnetic field rectangular array structure that offers high transmission sensitivity, even sound distribution and good transient response. It uses magnetic mechanics to reasonably combine two sets of high-performance rare-earth iron boron magnets, which significantly improves efficiency compared to an ordinary single magnet.
Well, that's what the product presentation says. Let's see what my impressions are in the following review.



Specifications

• Driver Type: 14.5mm diameter magnetic planar.
• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 40kHz.
• Sensitivity: 100 dB ± 3 dB.
• Impedance: 16Ω ± 15%.
• Cable length: 1.2m ± 0.2m.
• Connection plug: 4.4mm balanced.
• Capsule Connection Type: 2Pin 0.78mm.
• Weight: 15g.

Packaging

The SIVGA Nightingale comes in an almost square black box whose dimensions are 142x146x57mm. On the main face, on the centre right, is a golden rectangle with the brand name inscribed. At the bottom of this face is the model name in white letters, accompanied by a red globe with Chinese letters inside. The surface appears to be micro-sandblasted, with shiny dots. On the back is the brand logo at the top left, the description in the centre and the specifications at the bottom. At the bottom there are the brand's logos and in the lower right corner there are the logos of the certifications the product has. The lid of the box opens upwards. Behind it is a thick foam frame with a velvety black surface. At the top are the capsules and at the bottom is a large zippered case with the brand logo in the centre. Its surface has a diagonally ribbed texture. Inside is the cable and a plastic case with silicone tips. In summary, the complete contents are as follows:

• The two Nightingale capsules with a pair of medium sized grey silicone tips.
• A zippered case.
• A flat plastic box containing the silicone tips (2 sets of 3 pairs black and grey sizes SxMxL).
• One cable with 2Pin 0.78mm interface.

The presentation is luxurious starting with the exterior treatment of the case and the use of velvet over the protective foam moulding. The zipped case is attractive and large enough to hold the IEMS and its cable without any problems. There is one set of Sony style tips with black silicone and a brightly coloured core, while the other set is simply grey. You want to elevate the feeling of exclusivity with the plastic case containing the tips, but the sets are simple and, for my morphology, too small. There are no foam tips.
The cable is quite good, but I think that the quality of the tips, despite the fact that there are 7 pairs, is not up to the quality of the set and the price. Finally, the outer side of the capsules is protected by a transparent plastic sheet.



Construction and Design

SIVGA seems to have a penchant for the use of wood in its products. In the case of the Nightingale it is no less so. The capsules are made of a special aluminium-magnesium alloy, CNC-machined and polished to a shiny finish. The outer face is made from precious wood that has been harvested over many years. Subsequently, it has also been polished and finished through various traditional hand processes. The driver housing is made from aviation aluminium-magnesium alloy material using a CNC machining process. The diaphragm is constructed from the latest ultra-thin composite material developed in-house, combined with an aluminium coil.
The capsules are in the shape of a drop of water. On the outside, on the wooden panels, the brand logo is inscribed in silver-grey ink. The edge of the plate is a metal ring. The inner side is black and very smooth. The 2Pin 0.78mm connection interface is semi-hidden in the edge of the capsules, inside a small right-angled step. The gold-plated connectors are inside a rectangular translucent plastic plate, the corners of which have been rounded. The inner side combines an almost flat outer side with a side that slopes towards the metal nozzles. A hole is located halfway up the sloping part. On the flat part there is white lettering indicating the channel. There is also a hole on the edge of the capsules near the connection interface. It should be noted that the nozzles are threaded and removable. They have three levels of diameter, the base is 6.6mm, the inside is 5.2mm and the rim is 6.6mm. The length is 5.7mm. The bore is protected by a golden spiral grid through which a shiny black foam can be seen.
The cable consists of a Japanese square silver plated copper conductor. Its structure consists of 0.23mm wires per 7 cores + 250D bulletproof wires per strand. The cable consists of 4 strands. The outer insulation is black, imported high gloss smooth PVC, soft and hard to tangle. The plug is 4.4mm balanced gold plated with a flat end. The sleeve is a cylinder of various diameters. The largest thickness is next to the pin and near the cable exit, which is protected by a bushy metal spring. The four strands are knotted together smoothly. The splitter piece is black and metallic, just like the plug sleeve. The pin is a black metal ring, matching the other parts of the cable. It slides on fairly easily, in my opinion it could be a little firmer to improve the fit. The cables are guided over the ear by a semi-rigid transparent plastic cover. The sleeves of the 2Pin 0.78mm connectors are made of dark plastic, angled. They are short and have the channel lettering embossed on the side of the sleeve. There is a metal ring on the edge of the connectors and they are semi-buried in a recessed base with a rectangular shape with rounded corners.
Both the cable and the capsules are exquisitely, delicately and preciously made. The finishes are top of the range.
As I said, the nozzles can be unscrewed, it's something I discovered by chance, changing tips to find the best fit I noticed that one was loose. I thought I had broken the IEMS and it was just that it had unscrewed. It would be nice if they had included some different mouthpieces to get another tuning, because I can tell you that the tuning of the Nightingale is almost niche type.



Adjustment and Ergonomics

SIVGA has created a great teardrop-shaped design that fits my morphology very well, but with a big but: the mouthpieces are short and that makes the fit very difficult, a durable fit. I had to resort to unique tips, which have a narrow core, but are large and long. I have filled them with foam and with them I have achieved the necessary projection to reach my ear canals. The narrow core favours the bass and the large size and diameter, together with the homemade foam filling, ensures that a large part of the tips' surface area is in contact with my pinna and the entrance of the canal. This maximises the bass and the feeling of texture. The flat shape of the inner side close to the rim, together with the oval teardrop shape of the capsule, combine to ensure a fairly good integration into the ears, where there is hardly any contact with the ear parts, although movement is minimal, with no rotational capability. However, the whole success lies in the combination with the tips, which are unique in my collection. If the mouthpiece had been more projected, the fit and ergonomics would have been much better. So it depends on a fragile combination, but it has given an excellent result.



Sound

Profile

Again, as in the introduction, I will rely on the brand's own information: "The scientific combination of the ultra-thin composite diaphragm and powerful magnet makes the bass powerful and elastic, while maintaining high resolution in the treble. The vocal mids are rich, emotive and slightly forward." This sentence, translated to my own actual listening experience, translates as a distinctly mid-centric profile. I certainly haven't tried IEMS with such a mid-focused profile as the SIVGA Nightingale. Before I received them I looked up their frequency response and I already saw that they are unique IEMS. I also noted that such a curve was going to be a problem for my personal tastes. But I was getting ahead of myself.
Going back to the profile, as you can see from the graph, the sub-bass is dipped and the mid-bass is quite light. All the emphasis is on the mids, but rather in the first half, from 200Hz to 2kHz. After that, the high-mids and the first treble are sunk again until the high-mid and the air zone are reached. With this frequency response the sound of the SIVGA Nightingale reminds me of a PK capsule earbuds, with slightly muddy mids, very light bass and smooth highs.
Finally, the Nightingales would appreciate a little more power to offer some virtues, but it is also true that a high volume can make them suffer in the low end.



Bass

With this frequency response I couldn't start any other way than with my classic very low frequency pure tone test, to check the behaviour of the Nightingales in their lower range. Starting with the 20Hz tone reveals that the behaviour of the LFOs is unrealistic and coloured. There is hardly any sensory capability and the response is more audible than natural, like the classic vibration produced by BA drivers. Yes, the 20Hz note does not sound as it should and hence the graph represents so little bass. This sensation is not recovered until 40Hz, at which point the bass begins to sound more realistic, but without losing that sense of colouring. Despite this, the frequency presents some power above what I expected. And that encourages me to think that the bass performance is perhaps above what is represented in the FR. Although, in no case does it reach the neutral point, but is slightly below. Yes, the bass is soft, perhaps too soft. But they are not inactive. As I said, there is a certain punch in the bass that is noticeable in the ambience, even if it is only to warm up the ambience and to keep up with the rhythm of the music. If I analyse the bass performance with electronic music, I find that the sense of depth is low, the bases sound coloured, displaced, with a very light gumminess and little darkness. The texture is dry and somewhat sterile. Admittedly, there is some presence to the bases and a sense of compact, somewhat energy-biased punch, which gives a sense of wanting to turn up the volume for superior bass response, but this doesn't solve the problems. If you compare the bass response with any decent dynamic driver you can see how the bass is mutilated in its LFOs, even displaced, sounding unrealistic, turning the bass into something different. And this brings me to my other classic test of dirty, unfiltered and very low frequency bass. The result is not pleasant, the Nightingales are able to follow the rhythm, it is fast, but the sonority is not adequate, nor realistic, it is not able to represent the low frequencies as it should, being noticeable the vibrating sensation of the driver. And this is something that gets worse when the volume is higher. If the volume is low or normal, this sensation may be less. But its nature cannot be compared to bass from dynamic or other planar drivers.



Mids

In a mid-centric ensemble, the central range should be the star. In fact, it shines at times. The first sensation is that the Nightingales sound muddy, even somewhat nasal. When the first half of the midrange is the predominant zone this sensation happens. Moreover, it feels amplified by the peak between 1kHz and 2kHz, by inverted mid-highs and too smooth first highs. It is true that listening to music with the Nightingales can be a new experience, but it is not always a positive one. As I said, it sometimes reminds me of the sound of some earbuds I've tried, where the bass is not fully represented and the treble is limited. The predominance is vocal, but is more favourable in male voices. In general, the midrange lacks sparkle, brightness and transparency, something that adds to the overly warm feeling in the timbre, which comes across as incomplete, as if the music were coming from an AM tube radio. The sensation is of a lack of harmonics and of a restricted, limited, very compact and tight projection. There is hardly any sparkle and detail suffers in the same way. The combination of the lack of transparency and harmonics means that the details of the middle zone are represented in a very faint way, as well as feeling overlapped. And that's because the recreation of planes is also low. The sound is shallow and the planes are too close together. There is a large and very wide foreground, that's true. But the warmth, lack of brightness and harmonics dulls the presentation, showing a dense and not very penetrable continuity. There is a sense of body, but it is shown in a two-dimensional way, in width and height. Despite all this, it is true that with some genres I managed to enjoy a lot. But with the bulk of genres in my library, the music is executed in a way that I am not used to, that is far from what I feel as natural or realistic. The result of such specialised tuning is that the Nightingale works against the grain of the rest of the IEMS in my collection. I don't doubt that it can have some great moments, but the music has other attractions that these IEMS overlook, such as the bass and treble. The music is not only in the midrange and these need a good representation of the sidebands in order to shine.



Treble

Are the high notes shining by their absence? Perhaps that is too sweet a phrase to write in a review that pretends to be subtly serious. But to write that the Nightingales have a neutral treble would be untrue. As can be seen in the FR the treble is decreasing to a certain extent. It is also true that the mics used to measure are not very reliable in that area around 8kHz, but there is something real after that point.
The high end is inordinately soft, to the point of making the sound too sweet and warm. The representation of the upper end is very light, the sound in this zone is limited and overly nuanced, something that does not help in the realistic and natural reconstruction of the music. And that is why the timbre suffers so much. Instruments and voices are being damaged by the lack of harmonics and base. But suddenly there is a spark of air, which can further unbalance the upper range. The result is a sterile, almost inert area, too limited and penalising the rest of the sound. I am not an advocate of a flat response, but if the Nightingales had been like this, I think their sound would be much better.



Soundstage, Separation

Along with some moments in the central range, I was struck by the size of the central plane. And I say plane because there are not many layers in the sense of depth, but there is very good laterality, width and height. Although the closeness of that main shot presents a more intimate scene, even though the stage is wide, but frontal and relatively lateral. There is no gauzy, volatile feeling, the sound is not transparent or very detailed, but rather blunt and rounded. The background is not very discernible, nor is the separation. It is not a fully cohesive sound because there is some sense of air and precision. But the tuning doesn't help. The imaging is correct but not very dynamic.



Conclusion

The SIVGA Nightingale is a very well built IEMS with a pure Hi-End design. Their tuning sets them apart from the rest of the IEMS I have tried, being unique and distinctive. Therein lies its virtues, but also its flaws. SIVGA wanted to move away from conventional IEMS by creating a different sound, recreating music in a different way, to the point of twisting what hi-fi means. There are genres that sound great with the Nightingales, creating a scene that is wide, but close at the same time. Their mid-centric, warm and smooth character, seemingly oblivious to the low end and early treble, takes them away from being all-terrain IEMS to become niche IEMS. Do you dare to give them a try? Maybe they are what you are looking for without even knowing it.



Sources Used During the Analysis

• Aune X8 XVIII Magic DAC + EarMen ST-Amp.
• Hidizs S9 Pro Plus.
• Aune M1p.

Purchase Link




You can read the full review in Spanish here

TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Sivga Nightingale

The Nightingale have been sent to me directly by Sivga for me to share my impressions and thoughts in this review. They have not made any specific requests and I will do my best to be as sincere and unbiased as humanly possible.

You can find the official Sivga page for the Nightingale here: https://www.sivgaaudio.com/product_d?id=17

As always, this is a non-affiliate link, meaning I do not receive anything in exchange for clicks or purchases made.

To avoid being repetetive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews



Intro…

This is the first set of Sivga IEMs that I have tried. They do have a few other models but these are their latest release, and feature a 14.5mm Planar driver, which I believe is their first entry into the planar IEM world.

I am not overly sure what the street price of these IEMs is but the links they share on their official page (at the time of putting this review together) lead to them being available on Amazon US for $230 and on Aliexpress for 333€ plus 87€ shipping. So we are not talking about a budget set of IEMs here.

Having reviewed some of their headphones in the past, I know that Sivga are capable of some good stuff, usually with their own twist to it. In this case, they certainly put their own twist to but let's start from the beginning.



Presentation…

The packaging is simple but elegant. Arriving in a black box with just the brand and model on the front, along with some brief details on the back, the lid lifts off to reveal the IEMs sitting in a cutout with the storage case sitting in another cutout below. There is a velvety finish to the surrounding material that helps with the elegance.

Opening the storage case, which I am quite fond of, we find the included 4.4mm cable, along with a plastic storage case for the additional 6 sets of tips that are included. The tips are 3 sizes of 2 different types (plus the ones installed) but I will say that they are a little on the small size. The largest size work fine for me personally but I am usually a medium (depending on tip type and IEM in question), so if you are someone with larger canals, you will need to provide tips that work better for you.

The plastic storage case for the tips is a nice touch. I do have a few of these around but this one is a little more compact and fits easily in the mesh pocket of the included transport/storage case. Speaking of the case, it is semi-rigid, more towards rigid than semi, and has a black and grey pattern to it with the Sivga logo on the top. The case is of a nice size and of good quality. I don't usually go into this much detail with included cases, so it shows that I am a fan of this one.



Build and aesthetics…

The Nightingale use a teardrop shape for the shells, with a resin interior shell and a faceplate with a wood look to it that is surrounded by a metal border. The IEMs are fairly small and, although they are not the lightest of IEMs for their size, they fit me well and caused no fatigue over longer listening sessions due to the build.

The two pin sockets are sort of recessed behind the faceplate, just slightly, which gives for a very accomplished aesthetic when they are connected. The included cable is pretty decent, with metal hardware except for the strain relief around the two pin connectors, which is black rubber but has a silver metal ring that matches the aesthetics of the IEMs.

I have to say that I am quite fond of the simple but elegant aesthetics of the IEMs and have no issues with the fit or the apparent build quality.



Sound…

I'm afraid here is where things go downhill. When listening to the Nightingale out of the box, I had flashbacks of the Audeze iSine IEMs. I'm afraid that the tuning of the Nightingale is possibly one of the worst I have come across on planar IEMs out of the box, along with the iSine.

There is a lack of bass to the tuning that is very apparent. I have said many times that I am not someone who craves excessive midbass, in fact, it gives me a headache if it is both excessive and not of great quality, however, the Nightingale is more that just lean on the bass, it is pretty absent. Even with smaller bore tips, I still found it to be way below my preferences.

But the lack of bass I can live with, a quick press of a button on an iFi device makes things much better, it is the upper mids that I find the worst on these IEMs. At 1.5kHz the tuning just rolls off and keeps rolling off until it appears back with a peak well into the treble range. This makes everything sound unclear, distant, and, well, just bad in my opinion.

I know that audio is very subjective and I am always the first to preface things with "*in my opinon*", "*for my tastes*" or "*with my preferences*", and I am sure that someone will enjoy the Nightingale tuning out of the box, but I think that will be a very small selection of people.

Just so you know what I am talking about, here is the graph in comparison to my usual personal target as reference:



Honestly, it looks as though they had the graph upside down when tuning these IEMs!

Usually I go through a detailed listening session with my list of test tracks (which can be found here) and mention things that I notice, always referring to the same tracks so that it is easy to compare with any of my previous reviews. However, in this case, it just isn't needed, as the things that grab my attention are all negative and I have already explained the overall picture above.

But let's get away from the negativity and talk about fixing the issues!

I mentioned the Audeze iSine above and, for those of you that don't know, it was one of the main planar offerings way before the planar boom that happened recently. I think that it was generally agreed (obviously with some exceptions as always) that it was tuned pretty terrible and needed EQ. In fact, even the manufacturer knew this and sold a specific cable with DSP inside that did the EQ and made it a pretty darn good set of IEMs, holding up to even the recent batch quite a few years later.

Well, Sivga have a set of planar IEMs that are in many ways very similar.

After spending some hours with the stock tuning, I gave up and broke out the parametric EQ, something that I very rarely do for reviews. I will sometimes play around with EQ and do some tests but I avoid using it for detailed listening sessions for reviews. Well, after some tweaking, especially in those lows and in the upper mids, the Nightingale started to come alive. In fact, it started to be a very enjoyable and good performing IEM.

After some more playing around, I started to investigate tuning it to some other FR's from other IEMs and I have to say that I am very impressed with how well this IEM performs when we take it towards other tunings.

Obviously it is great when tuned to my preference target but when tuned to other IEMs that I am fond of, it took very well to their sound signature and performed on a very good level. It was a lot of fun to take tunings that I like from budget IEMs and turn the Nightingale into a set that had that same tuning but with much better performance.

Even when I pushed its limits with some ridiculously bass heavy tunings, the Nightingale didn't seem to suffer (as long as the preamp was set correctly of course) and outperformed a lot of IEMs at their own game.

It is capable of good detail, good sound stage, good image placement, in fact, it is just a very capable IEM in the sound department, it just needs tuning.



Conclusion…

I never enjoy posting negative reviews and, to be honest, I don't feel this is a negative review in general, the only negative about this set is the tuning.

I don't score IEMs except on Head-Fi as it is obligatory, but in this case, a set of 3 out of 10 IEMs could easily become a 9 out of 10 just with some EQ applied.

Now, I understand that there are a lot of people out there that don't want to EQ, and plenty of people out there that really don't understand EQ or how to use it, but I do feel that, with the Nightingale, it is going to become an obligatory part of the chain.

The bass can easily be fixed with a bass boost on an iFi chain, or even by using an impedance adapter. In fact, there may be plenty of people out there who are ok with the bass, even I could live with it for a lot of music, but it is that huge absence in the 2 to 8kHz range that makes me say that EQ is a must with these IEMs.

They are a well built, comfortable and good looking set of IEMs that, when EQ'd, become a very good set of planar IEMs, rivaling almost all the other planar sets out there on performance, but they need that tweak to get them there.

____
As always, this review is available in Spanish both on my blog (www.achoreviews.com) and on YouTube (www.youtube.com/achoreviews)

All FR measurements of IEMs can be viewed and compared on achoreviews.squig.link

All isolation measurements of IEMs can be found on achoreviews.squig.link/isolation

Sivga Nightingale ($229): Sivga enters the planar market in IEMs

3.75, because HF doesn't differentiate closer than 0.5.


Nightingale


Intro:


Sivga is known for gorgeous-looking headphones, with a variety of sound signatures. The recent iterations of Luan and Oriole are stunning at which to look, with a sound that backs up the look. The Nightingale is the company’s first planar IEM, but continues the excellent looks with a hand-finished and polished wood faceplate. Does the sound match the looks? We shall see.


I thank Collin and Sivga for the sample, and continued support. The company is on a roll, and we shall see if the Nightingale matches this.


*As per my standards, the unit was burned in for a minimum of 75 hours. Whether you believe in the potential difference or not isn’t the question. This provides the listener with a potential listening aspect for down-the-road usage after the “new car smell” is gone.


Specs:


Style: In-ear


Driver type: Planar diaphragm


Driver size: φ14.5 mm


Frequency response: 20 Hz – 40K Hz


Sensitivity: 100 dB +/- 3 dB


Impedance: 16Ω+/-15%


Cable length: 1.2 M +/-0.2 M


Plug size: φ4.4 mm


Weight: 15g


In The Box:

• 1x SIVGA Nightingale
• 1x Hard carrying case
• 2x Eartip size M
• 2x Eartip size L
• 2x Eartip size S
• 1x Eartip case

Gear Used:


Shanling M6 Pro


Music:


Jazz


Classical, including piano movements


Portugal. The Man


Unboxing:


Sivga also has a reputation for excellent unboxing presentations. The Nightingale is no different, if a bit subdued. Personally, I prefer subdued elegance.


A black square box has a lid, which lifts off to reveal the inside. Other than a gold-laden SIVGA patch and Nightingale (“Night” “Gale/Wind”) with Mandarin script, the box sparkles in gold flecks; reminiscent of the night sky to keep the theme simple.


Removing the lid, you are met with the IEMs, wrapped in plastic stick-on material for protection, and a very nice case below. The top foam is hard to keep the shape, but removing that shows medium compression foam, which helps keep it all in place.


The black & gray crosshatch hard case holds the cable and a nice thin plastic folding tray for the extra tips. Seven sets are included with one already mounted on the Nightingale. Simple and elegant. Almost considered Sivga modus operandi at this point.


Build/Fit/Finish:


There is no denying Sivga’s build quality. There was a hiccup early in the production of some earlier headphones (wood issues), which was quickly addressed. Since then, the company has stayed on top of their QC. The Nightingale is no different.


With a faceplate cut of rare old remnant wood, and hand-polished you get a stunning look to start. The silver rim around it gives an elegant look, but I wonder how a darker bronze color might have looked. This might have continued the understated look. That silver rim accents the glossy black shell (with two ear-facing vent holes). A larger silver nozzle contains a gold spiral-patterned screen for protection, adding to the good looks. A silver rim also accents the jack where the covered 0.78mm 2-pin connection comes into the Nightingale.


The black soft PVC-sheathed cable of four-wire variety comes in 0.23mm 7-core 250D bullet-proof wire in copper. It does not tangle, either. An easy-to-use Y-splitter moves up to keep the Nightingale in place as well.


The teardrop (water droplet reminiscent) shaped shell also helps the user grasp the unit, which as we know can sometimes be an endeavor in itself. I noticed that the silver rim also has an open area right behind it, where the shell curves inward. This can also help the user grasp the unit on ingress & egress.


Technology:


The 14.5mm planar diaphragm is marked by dual magnets in front and behind. Those magnets are made of an iron-boron combination, which reportedly “significantly improves efficiency.” An aluminum coil combines with the composite diaphragm material making for a transparent treble note while purportedly expanding soundstage. The frame circuitry disc lies between the back magnets and the diaphragm, keeping a close eye on the driver.


The dual frames (between magnet and driver) are also CNC-machined magnesium alloy, which gives a speedy, more accurate response to sound input.


The Sound:


Summary:


Anytime a planar is used, there will be benefits and drawbacks. Speed in the notes is mostly good in these models. Bass can be a detriment to those IEMs or headphones not named Audeze. Balancing that act with very good sound, soundstage, and signature can be tough. The Nightingale succeeds more than it does not. The bass is tight and speedy, but there is a 9kHz rise, which can create some sibilance and an unnatural tone in the treble region. Cymbal hits tend to sound digital, without realism as a result. The bass is taut, and the mids are lifted and forward accounting for the noted sound above. The Nightingale is very, very good with classical works, especially piano works. Jazz works well, too. Pop and rock sounded “different” to me.


moar:


As noted in a recent Reddit thread, the FR of the Nightingale is extremely flat, except for the 9kHz jump. This is what I hear as well. Normally a flat FR bodes well for most music across the spectrum. Here not so much, as this leads to a lack of micro-details, even with the planar driver. Definition in the notes does not come across as crisp or well-defined, with a smoother response; that isn’t really all that smooth. The jump in the mid-treble region can hinder some genres such as the aforementioned in Pop and Rock, lending to a less-than-realistic signature.


The mids do come across as the best part, especially in piano works. Female vocals such as on Amado Mio from Pink Martini showcase the talents of the artist, and the supporting instruments do make way, allowing the highlight. But there is some sibilance. Strong, and fairly well defined, but lacking the cutting edge some female songs demand.


The bass is fairly strong, and I suspect foam tips would help here (I do not have any on hand…), lowering the floor; which would help separation even more. The speed and decay of the bass notes are powerful and succinct, but slightly thin due to the rapid response. This is more about reference, than tuning.


The treble as noted above, has that bite at 9kHz, which detracts from the “realism” factor. Timbre is slanted towards thinner as a result. There is sufficient air between notes, but separation suffers a bit due to the thinning. The soundstage is fairly complex with the extra top-end energy, making itself higher than deeper; with good width. I did find the sound to go beyond my ears, which did help with separation.


I can recommend the Nightingale for jazz recordings and piano works. Here is where the Sivga unit shined. The piano notes were strong and natural. Clarity and detail were at their best with works such as the noted ones. I can add that the Nightingale would be good for older recordings, where detail crispness is not of paramount importance. Male vocals were also good, with a warmth to them that added smoothing to the character.


Latin-esque music such as much of Pink Martini’s works sounded accurate, except for the items noted above. I was provided with good energy but of a richer variety than vibrant. Sometimes, a smooth character works in genres such as this, allowing the immersive effect to provide a calmer response. Where other IEMs would provide that “get up and go” energy, the Nightingale posits a calm attitude. Not bad, just different.


finale:


Coming off several very good to excellent headphones from Sivga, I had high hopes for the Nightingale. And for some genres, the Nightingale provides a character, which matches the music well. For others, it does not. This is a dichotomy of sorts, as lately, the IEMs I have had in were very good to excellent across genres. The Nightingale is more specific to the music presented such as piano, jazz, and classical works.


This is almost a brandy-snifter by-the-fire listening device, where you value the calming effect of the song after a hard day. That is not all bad, and neither is the Nightingale for a listening session such as that. It has some very decent good points for the music listed, and your opinion may be quite different for the genres I listed as “OK.” That is kind of the point of these, you like what you like; and my opinion may be different.


I again thank Collin and Sivga for the review sample, I do appreciate it. The company is on a roll, and this small hiccup should not stop them from moving forward.

Introduction!
Hello friends!
Today in our review we’ll talk about another planar headphones from Sivga worth $279!
The headphones come in a small box with a nice design and on the front there is the brand name Sivga, and the model name Nightgale.

And as usual, the technical characteristics of the headphones are indicated at the back and one 14.5mm planar driver is responsible for the sound in this model, and the sensitivity of the headphones is 100dB and they have a 16ohm impedance.

Let's take a look at what's included!
And here we are immediately first greeted by the headphones, well fixed here, and they look quite interesting, they have such an oval shape with a wooden front panel, which in fact is rarely seen anywhere now, and there is an inscription Sivga right there.



And according to the standard, they received a 2-pin connector, but it sticks out from the case, keep this in mind, so it is advisable to install a qdc cable here, the usual 2 pins will look strange in my opinion.
Well, on the inside of the case there are markings for the right and left earphones and 2 acoustic holes located here and one on top.
And the nozzle of the headphones is quite standard and has a diameter of 0 point five mm, and it’s good that it has a protrusion so the ear pads here won’t fly off anywhere and they are fixed very securely.
Ergonomics and convenience.
Well, the fit and ergonomics are all pretty good, with the included ear pads in the ears the headphones fit quite tightly, just as I like.
Accessories.
And of course, where without accessories, there is a fairly good case with the inscription Sivga, inside of which there is what, in my opinion, is an excellent copper cable in black braiding that practically does not get tangled, has correctly formed earhooks that are really comfortable, and QDC connectors for connection to headphones, and a 4.4 balanced connector for connecting to a player or amplifier,by the way, for additional protection against bending of the cable, there is such a spring that is rarely seen anywhere these days.

And also, the manufacturer immediately took care of the ear tips, so here in the kit there is a really good set of tips, some are very similar to Sony for a long time, by the way, I haven’t seen such ear pads, but here they have respect for this, and also such soft silicone tips with such a leg, and it was with them that I listened to these headphones.

How do these headphones sound?
Well, now let's talk about the sound of this planar model Sivga Nightingale.
And this is what their frequency response graph looks like, and immediately in contrast to the Kefine Klanar from the previous review, I think it’s noticeable here that there’s a completely different and not the most typical setting for planar headphones.

At low frequencies, the first thing that catches your eye here is this kind of decline, and when listening it is really felt, so bassheads will probably pass by here, but lovers of neat, restrained low frequencies will definitely be pleased, and also pay attention to how these headphones play quite linearly right up to 2kHz and in general their tuning reminded me even more of full-size open-back headphones.
But the area of the upper middle, even for my target, was pressed down quite heavily, for which, of course, I don’t really understand, since I still think that a slight gain, at least like on my target, would be very useful here.
Well, then there are more advanced high frequencies, which were boosted well for us, I believe, to compensate for the upper midrange area so that everything sounds more holistic.
And I think that the manufacturer of Sivga decided to do something really very new among a bunch of other planar headphones with the same repeating V-shaped tuning, and they really succeeded,since these headphones sound quite dynamically holistic and natural for a planar driver.
Low Frequencies :
The low frequencies in them do not take on much attention, but simply try to carefully complement the mid and high frequencies with their low weight, but sufficient volume, and moderate attack with smooth decay and surprisingly moderately developed textural elaboration that does not take on much attention but It just neatly complements everything with its warm tone.
Mid Frequencies :
But the mid frequencies here have such a very neat smooth neutral tone and, for example, are perfect for lovers of a more dark sound, where there is no excessive brightness and the vocal part and drums are pushed ahead of everything else, because the vocals in them are presented very restrained and quite calmly with good preservation of neutrality and a very noticeable shade of warmth, that is, it is not shrill and at the same time has good resolution and elaboration of articulations.
And I also liked the fact that the female vocals will not let you get tired when listening to these headphones, so those who like this slightly smoother and calmer presentation will be pleased.
Well, the upper mids actually correspond to the graph; they don’t feel loud, so the mix sounds quite smooth and nothing comes out ahead of everything, although in comparison with headphones with Harman, of course you will think that something is wrong here because the presentation of mid frequencies here turned out to be not tiring, a little smoothed out but pleasant to the ear with such good fat in the lower middle, but for the first time for sure, you will need to get used to it, especially after bright headphones, to a new sound that you may not even have encountered anywhere before.
High Frequencies :
And friends, you are probably wondering how things are going with the high frequencies, which look quite strange on the graph, I agree, but in reality they turned out to be quite warm and not as technical as in other planar headphones, for example, the Kefine Klanar from the previous review, they have a noticeable gain at eight and fifteen kHz to give greater clarity and emphasis to the cymbals of various after-sounds and additional air.
But in fact, this range does not feel overly flashy and tiring if you listen at medium volume as I usually do, and it also does not go into some kind of strong darkness, although of course there is no super transparency and analyticality here, since these headphones have a bias towards more of that musicality and a bold structured canvas, so they don’t particularly need to show you all the nuances in the music and bring all the flaws forward in the recording, these accents will obviously be of no use here, so they just play this area comfortably by ear with good resolution and not too much hidden detail.
Stage and stereo panorama :
The scene and visualization in these headphones turned out to be well-developed in width, that is, the visual construction of such an optimal and correct scene, although a little intimate for the vocal part, but still they try to embrace and entice you with their deep elaboration of depth, brightening up this small nuance.
My conclusion on these headphones :
Sivga Nightingale turned out to be very interesting planar headphones with a rightfully rare and unique tuning, and a collected natural and holistic sound presentation without undue emphasis on the upper mids with a good, although not the most massive, even textured bass and long-lasting high frequencies.
Link where you can buy them!
https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005006032032567.html
Icygenius was with you, I will be glad if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch this full review on Sivga Nightingale: