[abvolt]

Looking forward to your review I've been eyeing these..

 

[Bonddam]

There’s big improvement with my bass control on my ifi pro Ican. It produces better v shape for listening to EDM. The thing it has going for it is the resolution. I’m comparing it to my HEKv2. The HEKv2 is better overall being that I can improve the bass as well. My amp let’s me choose 3 different frequencies. The Aiva I’ve got them at boost at 20hz. I’m happy to have this can in my collection.

 

[FullBright1]

There’s big improvement with my bass control on my ifi pro Ican. It produces better v shape for listening to EDM. The thing it has going for it is the resolution. I’m comparing it to my HEKv2. The HEKv2 is better overall being that I can improve the bass as well. My amp let’s me choose 3 different frequencies. The Aiva I’ve got them at boost at 20hz. I’m happy to have this can in my collection.

Glad u are enjoying your new gear.
Congrats.
Mine arrives tomorrow.
Gym at 5am, then off to UPS at 10am to pick up the Sendy's.
Im looking forward to feeling the thill of a new gear thats finally in my possession.
Such a BUZZ.
Mini-review to follow.....

 

[omniweltall]

Looking forward to the reviews. Would be great if you guys can do comparisons with other cans.

 

[Whitigir]

Looking forward to the reviews. Would be great if you guys can do comparisons with other cans.

I already compared it to HD800/S. The Aiva is crazily good price-build-performances ratio.

Hell, when it can stay on my ears next to my T2 + Stax SR009S and SR009 right next to me at the moment that I have every means and leisure to enjoy a real hi-fi set up. Here is a picture for fun.

I can careless about different opinions, preferences, and view. But to my personal experiences, if it can impress me like this, then it doesn’t need to stay sub $1000

 

[omniweltall]

I already compared it to HD800/S. The Aiva is crazily good price-build-performances ratio.

Hell, when it can stay on my ears next to my T2 + Stax SR009S and SR009 right next to me at the moment that I have every means and leisure to enjoy a real hi-fi set up. Here is a picture for fun.

I can careless about different opinions, preferences, and view. But to my personal experiences, if it can impress me like this, then it doesn’t need to stay sub $1000

Thanks for the impression. I think I missed it.

I like that wood and grill pattern.

 

[FullBright1]

Looking forward to the reviews. Would be great if you guys can do comparisons with other cans.

Happy to oblige.
Will compare it to :

Anandas, LCD-X, Quads, Alara's, Oppo PM-2s, and Stax 330s, as these are the Cans im into lately.
I wont compare them to anything that is Closed, as ......what's the point?
Apples to Bicycles....

But mostly i'll just tell you if the Cost vs Value ratio is good or great or spectacular.
I have a feeling that this set of headphones is going to be the next "riot" around here, as its beautiful, its a Planar, and its at that price point where, even if you hate it, its easy to resell and not take a huge hit.
Mainly i want to find out about its comfort, its build quality, its style, and why its being reviewed as "aggressive" sounding......on the web.
What does that means?....That is a very obtuse and vague adjective to use to describe sonic presentation, so, ......i'll know in a few hours, and then so will you, dear reader.
Thx for checking me out.....

 

[Whitigir]

I have my review up, if any of you want to check it out. Gotta say, this is the first time I enjoy something at $600 out of the box without the desire to tinker around

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/sendy-audio-aiva.23656/reviews#review-21891

Thanks for the impression. I think I missed it.

I like that wood and grill pattern.

I also love that ! I have a soft spot for Wood furnitures and other stuff....the Aiva doesn’t appear to be a sub $1000 when I first encountered it. I didn’t even think the sound performances was to be cheap either. So the price of $599 was unexpected, and the performances still stretched ways beyond it cost even when I have it here and listen to it everyday.

 

[Mr B1]

I spend several hours comparing the LCD2c, HEXv2 and the Aiva since these last 2 came in today. Here's my initial impression from that. Lots have been said about these but I hope to add some alternative, additional views on that.

At first instance I was quite impressed with the Sendy Aiva. It has good bass extension (although not that present) and nothing seemed overly pronounced; it seemed to bring everything evenly to the fore and hints at great range and resolution.
It's the brightness that gives that impression - and coming for HEX and LCD2c yes it's somewhat bright, but with my Violectric and especially tube amp it is totally fine.. however with the brighter Aune X7s it did fatigue quickly.

Physically, it's a headphone with some weight, but it's very comfortable with only a tit bit too much caliper-pressure. My wife liked the snug fit. Ears touch the drivers easily. The headphone is quite compact for a planar, and the carry-case just snugly packages it - it's very, very nicely done the carry case!!! However, the lead is short and there's no 1/4" plug... ?! As for driving it, I tried driving this from my V30+.. it's very poor. Beyond MrSpeaker Aeon flow poor. That hints at that a good amp is need to drive these 32ohm cans.

Upon further listening and comparison, I started noticing things...separation is poor, imaging is poor: a plucked bass is a bass somewhere and the plucking noises somewhere, they don't sound like one instrument - let alone having space around it (which for example the Aeon Flows did for me). This headphone actually can't do quiet passages in music.. everything just fills the cans. There's no black background, it's not even grey. I also don't find it carries emotion very well.. harmonising vocals don't have much magic So those are the negatives that came up for me, and that's in context of the other two - not absolutes.

So to me it seems, the Aiva is a bit an ever-ready-bunny just go go go, and while mids and highs seem dynamic and fast - and generally pretty exciting, it' seems to do it all the time, so the contrast is gone. I can't call it congested as still a lot comes through but it's heading towards it. The sound to my ears is also not very natural for instruments and voices, it lacks air around them too, voices also seem somewhat recessed which seems to contradicts the soundstage which is really close by.

With those downsides, you may think it's a bad headphone. Well no, it's not that. It still find it enjoyable.. maybe like FM radio can sound great at times. There's just somehow compression .. something similar I noticed on the Aeon Closed, but without the separation and black background that those Aeons have with good amp. And yet the Aiva is very open - putting your hands near the cups significantly alters the Aiva's sound. It seems contradictory but that's what it seems to be.

Switching to the Hex or LCD, suddenly there's accurate placing of instruments, quiet / contrast in tracks, a black background. The HEXv2 doesn't have the bass extension, but has such a nice spacious projection and natural sound yet is never boring, despite lack the impact of the LCD and to a lesser extend the Aiva. The HEXv2 also doesn't do anything wrong - it's very well balanced, it sounds hi-end somehow, it's very light and comfortable and easy to drive. It will be my pick for at work.
Moving to The LCD2c that one has the superior sub base, dynamics, impact, heft, texturing of the lows but suffers from an obvious veil in the mid - mid highs, which gets very obvious surrounded by the Aiva and HEX.

In the end I found my self wanting to listen to the LCD2c and HEXv2 the most. While originally these headphones were in different price brackets when launched, I managed to get all of these recently for around the same price, new, .. so yes apples and apples. Also for some other context.. and in the context of me letting go of headphones, the Aeons will still be going out as they're good but too polite for me personally. The Aiva's will get more listening time!

I mainly used the McChanson SET amp, but also the Violectric 220 and the Aune X7s. Source: Tidal / Tidal Masters via RME DAC.

Tracks:
https://tidal.com/track/102395728 Para Machuchar Meu Coracao -
https://tidal.com/track/77652566 East of the Sun - Dianna Krall
https://tidal.com/track/1480118 Amarok - Mike Oldfield
https://tidal.com/track/1313390 My funny valentine - Chet Baker
https://tidal.com/track/80206157 raingurl - Yaeji
https://tidal.com/track/59156823 The Drug - Royksopp
https://tidal.com/track/1410921 Bitter Sweet - Roxy Music
https://tidal.com/track/634293 Today is a good day to die - Manowar

*EDIT: I've been listening more with the Violectric and with this amp, I get a lot better separation, a precise and quite wide image, a deeper soundstage and some blackness too. There may be an element of burn in. Adding a little EQ in overtones of voices reduces the recessed character there. There must be a dip there that reduces the realism and character. To be continued..

 

[11parsecs]

Happy to oblige.
Will compare it to :

Anandas, LCD-X, so, ......i'll know in a few hours, and then so will you, dear reader.
Thx for checking me out.....

Looking forward to your review.

I'm particularly interested in the comparison to the LCD-X.

The X's "easy to drive" nature is my high priority*. Equal priority to all round audio 'nirvana'

And the price difference - retail - in Australia isn't that great - at least not to me.

* ie LG V30's, Origen G2's, even the little MH752's DAC thingy - you get the idea.
Great sound from 'average' DAC's.

 

[FullBright1]

Looking forward to your review.

I'm particularly interested in the comparison to the LCD-X.

The LCD-X is one of my all time favorite headphones.
Tyll thought that it has the most "natural-neutral" sound of all the Audeze gear's (at time of review).
I think he is speaking about this set with an understanding that Audeze headphones are not really designed as
a flat-neutral, or transparent, sound.
They are definitely designed with a rounder deeper overall tonality, smooth, refined, warm, etc.
The LCD-X's sound has this same approach, but, its created to be easily driven and has more presence and articulation dialed in
as compared to most Audeze headphones, including the Sine.
As compared to the Sendy,.... well this is interesting as the Sendy has a sound that Audeze would be proud to own.
It has a certain bottom end width that Audeze fans will like, and it also has a midrange clarity that will be appealing to most Audiophiles.
The Sendy's top end, is sort of "polite with a bit of energy", but, its certainly nothing like the typical treble freq analysis etch that you find with most Hifiman headphones.
Compared to something like the Ananda, the treble freq of the Sendy would be considered very polite.
The LCD-Xs dont offer the same low mid width that you find within the Sendy's sound, so, the Sendy's do sound noticeably warmer then the LCD-Xs.
I've noticed that the LCD-X's , used, generate a lot of desire, and seem to sell around the $900USD mark, (without a case) so, this is a popular headphone that, if you find one
in this price range, used, it should not be an issue to pass it to the next hopeful, if it didn't thrill your ears.
There is a "Fazor" version of the LCD-X, and perhaps the newer builds are more desirable.
There is also a closed version that i have not heard.

 

[11parsecs]

The LCD-X is one of my all time favorite headphones.

They are definitely designed with a rounder deeper overall tonality, smooth, refined, warm, etc.
The LCD-X's sound has this same approach, but, its created to be easily driven and has more presence and articulation dialed in
as compared to most Audeze headphones, including the Sine.

As compared to the Sendy: Sendy has a sound that Audeze would be proud to own.
It has a certain bottom end width that Audeze fans will like, and also has midrange clarity that will be appealing to most Audiophiles.

The LCD-Xs dont offer the same low mid width that you find within the Sendy's sound, so, the Sendy's do sound noticeably warmer then the LCD-Xs.

I've noticed that the LCD-X's ,used, sell around the $900USD mark (without a case) so, this is a popular headphone that, if you find one in this price range. Used, it should not be an issue to pass it to the next hopeful, if it didn't thrill your ears.
There is a "Fazor" version of the LCD-X, and perhaps the newer builds are more desirable.

Appreciate your detailed take on both.

I have a nagging feeling that the LCD-X is due for a revision, its been 3 years since they were (technically, strap is different) 'updated'. And Audeze et al, sort of have to respond to newcomers like Aiva.

Decisions, decisions.

And, I'm the sort of person that once I do ALL my due-diligence and make a purchasing decision, I just STOP. (And enjoy).

The dynamics in the Australian used market are no where near as favourable for the "try and buy/upgrade/sell off/get 75% back" approach.

+ we get hit with import duty and the exchange rate is so bad, you're better off paying slightly more for new, with warranty. You also know which revision you're getting.

If you drop Big Coin, you want it to be right.

Same with my car, I gave up the 20 year passion of car magazines, as they just make you think you're driving a POS, 2 years later

Thank you again.

 

[FullBright1]

Appreciate your detailed take on both.

I have a nagging feeling that the LCD-X is due for a revision, its been 3 years since they were (technically, strap is different) 'updated'. And Audeze et al, sort of have to respond to newcomers like Aiva.

Decisions, decisions.
And, I'm the sort of person that once I do ALL my due-diligence and make a purchasing decision, I just STOP. (And enjoy).
The dynamics in the Australian used market are no where near as favourable for the "try and buy/upgrade/sell off/get 75% back" approach.
+ we get hit with import duty and the exchange rate is so bad, you're better off paying slightly more for new, with warranty. You also know which revision you're getting.
If you drop Big Coin, you want it to be right.
Same with my car, I gave up the 20 year passion of car magazines, as they just make you think you're driving a POS, 2 years later
Thank you again.

Well, im not certain you will get a warm fuzzy feeling from what im about to say, but, we can try it.
Maybe, the LCD-X, series, is fully evolved, as, its often the case of headphone models, that they are going to stop after v2 evolution, or within a 5 yr period.
Sennheiser is the one company that seems to pay no attention to time passing, but most headphone makers do, and they are always getting to that 2nd version, within the next 2 yrs.
Of course HIFIMAN apparently builds v2 of all their products, before they release the original, and that might explain why they have v2 out, about 2 months later

It could also be a fact, that as the LCD-Xs do such a good job with "their sound", then why mess with it., other then whatever tweeks have been refined, since it was created.
This is not a headphone that has an army of people that like to dislike it, such as you find with the HD800 by Senn.
But rather, the LCD-X, is, in general, one of the headphones that everyone does not hate, and more love it then like it.
I vote Love.
Its not a perfect sound, but it is a very good one. Its sort of a "go to" type of listening experience.
Its one of those......"ok, ive heard all my headphones, now, where is the LCD-X""
I sometimes have the experience of listening too much to headphones, and i just begin to not like how headphone's sound.
Thats just me, but, i rarely have had this experience with the LCD-X.
As a matter of fact, if i have this "i dont like headphones", experience with a new one too soon, then that is very telling..
The LCD-x is also not feather lite, but its weight is comfy because the strap and cups are well designed to allow its weight not to be a real issue.

I shop everywhere for gear, and i see the LCD X for sale and they dont last a long time when they are priced @ $899-999 USD.
So, this is not a new design, yet, its still a very desirable gear, because enough time and enough good reviews have sort of created an aura of desirability around it.
Also, im sure there are headphone addicts here on the HD-fI forum that hate the LCD-X, and maybe one of them can respond and tell you why its not one of their favorites.
Its always good to have a balanced perspective, as if you ask me, i'll always encourage you to buy it.
So, it might be advisable to listen to the voice of dissent, if one shows up.

 

[stimuz]

Well, mine just came in and the first thing I tested was the bass. It's not as bad as people say, still much better lows than your average dynamic.

 

[Bern2]

Well, mine just came in and the first thing I tested was the bass. It's not as bad as people say, still much better lows than your average dynamic.

Not really a ringing endorsement...can it handle EQ (sub bass) somewhat well?