[BubbaJay]

I think the main reason you don't see people modding the Aiva is because they don't need it. The Aiva already sounds so good there really isn't any reason to mod them. Now that's not to say they won't ever but I don't see there being much you can do to improve on them.

I've had mine for a few months now and they've become one of my all time favorite headphones. Every time I listen to them I can't believe they sound as good as they do, and if the soundstage had a little more width they'd be just about perfect. Now if I want a new headphone I'm going to have to spend well over $1000 to find one that will make it worth it, that's the worst thing about the Aiva.

 

[KESM]

I think the main reason you don't see people modding the Aiva is because they don't need it. The Aiva already sounds so good there really isn't any reason to mod them. Now that's not to say they won't ever but I don't see there being much you can do to improve on them.

I've had mine for a few months now and they've become one of my all time favorite headphones. Every time I listen to them I can't believe they sound as good as they do, and if the soundstage had a little more width they'd be just about perfect. Now if I want a new headphone I'm going to have to spend well over $1000 to find one that will make it worth it, that's the worst thing about the Aiva.

I’m having a similar experience...& I have a HP that is over 1k (ZMF Aeolus which is also great). I sold my Mr. Speakers Aeon Flow One planar HPs. I dare say...you can live with the AIVA. It’s a tremendous value under 1k for those seeking a slightly warmer (organic) sounding planar.

 

[G8torbyte]

Maybe just leave well enough alone... but then this wouldn't be a hobby. I have 1060s modded to the point where I can't find fault in their sound given the myriad of fine tuning tips and tricks which once you understand what does what, it's easy to get to the type of sound you're looking for. Which brings me to my question, in the end, these Sendy Aivas are planar magnetics. Planar magnetics for crying out loud. Isn't that what the modding community eats up? I've spend a lot of time searching online for pictures or videos or reviews of people modding these beyond pads, but there's literally nothing.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that one feature that concerned me about the Aiva's are the thin metal screens covering the open sides. I feel that it would not take much to break through those coverings if accidently dropped onto something sharp. If I could recommend a mod I would suggest a stronger/durable metal mesh cover something similar to Sundaras or the Klipsch HP-3's. It would take some experimenting to see how it could change the sound. The current silver metal screen underneath the black exterior has various size holes that seems to diffuse the sound very well since covering the outside with your hands muffles and degrades the sound quality. I'm happy with the performance so far and do not want to risk damaging the screens since they do seem flimsy.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @BubbaJay,

Subjectively & personally, honestly, it also depends what you pair the Aivas with as synergy is quite important, if not essential with this headphone, especially the head amp.

In my humble opinon, head amp wise, I have had good synergy & staging width with the following in no particular order :

Rupert Neve RNHP
Drop Cavalli Liquid Carbon X
Drop Cavalli Tube Hybrid
Loxjie P20

There are a few more head amps which offer some decent to good width but the above are easily available & mileage varies.

Subjectively & personally, if either you or @KESM are interested in a very good sub $ 1000 planar, especially with really good sound & good staging height (though is head amp dependant), Acoustic Research AR 1 definitely fits & is certainly sound quality wise is way above its price class.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[G8torbyte]

I'll second that the Loxjie works well if you have your preferred 6N or 5670 series tubes. Also the RME ADI-2 DAC pairs well in Hi-Power mode for the Aiva's and if you don't mind the learning curve on its myriad of adjustments. The ADI-2 DAC even allows for independent left and right output settings for anyone with asymmetric hearing impairments. The planar drivers in the Sendy Aiva's are the same drivers in the Acoustic Research AR-H1, TakStar 580's and BLON-B20 (https://www.linsoul.com/products/blon-b20) so there are some options.

 

[PointyFox]

Just bought an ADI-2 DAC (from some store in the Netherlands to be shipped to USA, might get it in a few months) and a Sendy Aiva which I'll get to hear tomorrow..probably powered by my Galaxy S9.

 

[G8torbyte]

Just bought an ADI-2 DAC (from some store in the Netherlands to be shipped to USA, might get it in a few months) and a Sendy Aiva which I'll get to hear tomorrow..probably powered by my Galaxy S9.

Congrats, you probably got a good deal from the European vendor since US retailers sale them for around $1K. I found mine at sweetwater.com as a demo model discount. The owner's manual is pretty good and breaks down each menu. Be prepared for an insane amount of options, adjustments and gain/frequency flexibility. There are some video reviews out there that help walk through the operations. Also keep an eye on RME's website for firmware updates. Latest version is USB-26 Version 30 when I checked a few days ago and they seem to update quarterly.
From what I've read on some reviews the Aiva's need a good amount of power for the magnetic orthodynamic drivers vs typical biodynamic so they may not sound to their full potential connected directly to a mobile phone. I still use a Galaxy S5 so I'll try and hear how it does out of curiosity.

PS-plugged in the Aivas to my old S5 this evening. Not bad at all and the details in sound are present by maxing out the media volume although not as intimate with a dedicated amp. It drains the battery rather quickly too so mobile devices may have trouble pushing them.

 

[PointyFox]

Congrats, you probably got a good deal from the European vendor since US retailers sale them for around $1K. I found mine at sweetwater.com as a demo model discount. The owner's manual is pretty good and breaks down each menu. Be prepared for an insane amount of options, adjustments and gain/frequency flexibility. There are some video reviews out there that help walk through the operations. Also keep an eye on RME's website for firmware updates. Latest version is USB-26 Version 30 when I checked a few days ago and they seem to update quarterly.
From what I've read on some reviews the Aiva's need a good amount of power for the magnetic orthodynamic drivers vs typical biodynamic so they may not sound to their full potential connected directly to a mobile phone. I still use a Galaxy S5 so I'll try and hear how it does out of curiosity.

I got the ADI-2 for about $950. Everywhere else is selling it for $1099.

 

[herya]

got my Sendy Aivas yesterday, still trying to get used to them, pairing them with Chord Mojo.

 

[PointyFox]

Don't have the ADI-2 yet, actually they haven't even shipped yet, so I plugged the Aiva into my computer.

Bought it new with an extra pair of new pads. Both stock and new pads are the "new" model with the fenestrated sides.

Been listening to it for about an hour now.

Great build quality and really comfortable pads. Looks really nice.
Slight driver click on both sides with change in pressure like my Stax and Audeze headphones. It's just a thing that planarmagnetics and electrostatics do when there's a good seal. My Stax were way more extreme.
Very good driver matching. Way better than my LCD-4 had.
Frequency response is kind of v-shaped with a little bass roll-off typical of open back headphones, around 33 Hz is the lowest at normal volume.
More treble than I'm used to. I've been mostly listening to the Audeze Mobius. My ears feel like they're vibrating after I mute the sound.
Mid-bass impact is slightly weaker than the Mobius, but stronger than most open-backs I've heard.
I think the additional treble is making it easier to pick up some things in songs like background/tape hiss I don't think I've heard before.
String instruments have a bit more texture.
Soundstage size is about average for a open back headphone, but positioning is better than average, especially with sounds behind the listener.

Overall pretty good value for the money. I'd prefer these to the HD600 or HD650. It may even come pretty close to the HD800/HD800S. I like the build and looks of the Aiva better though. I think the HD800S may be a little better in terms of sound quality. Possibly smoother treble from what I recall which may just be a preference thing.

I might list it for sale since I just bought an IER-Z1R...though I may want to wait for my ADI-2 to arrive (or even ship) since I'm just powering these off my motherboard.

Probably $540 including shipping to CONUS. Pretty much new, open box, with a new set of the improved pads.

 

[CoryGillmore]

Don't have the ADI-2 yet, actually they haven't even shipped yet, so I plugged the Aiva into my computer.

Bought it new with an extra pair of new pads. Both stock and new pads are the "new" model with the fenestrated sides.

Been listening to it for about an hour now.

Great build quality and really comfortable pads. Looks really nice.
Slight driver click on both sides with change in pressure like my Stax and Audeze headphones. It's just a thing that planarmagnetics and electrostatics do when there's a good seal. My Stax were way more extreme.
Very good driver matching. Way better than my LCD-4 had.
Frequency response is kind of v-shaped with a little bass roll-off typical of open back headphones, around 33 Hz is the lowest at normal volume.
More treble than I'm used to. I've been mostly listening to the Audeze Mobius. My ears feel like they're vibrating after I mute the sound.
Mid-bass impact is slightly weaker than the Mobius, but stronger than most open-backs I've heard.
I think the additional treble is making it easier to pick up some things in songs like background/tape hiss I don't think I've heard before.
String instruments have a bit more texture.
Soundstage size is about average for a open back headphone, but positioning is better than average, especially with sounds behind the listener.

Overall pretty good value for the money. I'd prefer these to the HD600 or HD650. It may even come pretty close to the HD800/HD800S. I like the build and looks of the Aiva better though. I think the HD800S may be a little better in terms of sound quality. Possibly smoother treble from what I recall which may just be a preference thing.

I might list it for sale since I just bought an IER-Z1R...though I may want to wait for my ADI-2 to arrive (or even ship) since I'm just powering these off my motherboard.

Probably $540 including shipping to CONUS. Pretty much new, open box, with a new set of the improved pads.

Nice write up! Hold onto those things man! You haven’t even really heard them yet. In comparison I didn’t like them AT ALL at first listen. I let em burn in a few hours, went and smoked a bowl (when I was still partaking last spring) came back to them and it was like night and day. They also sound much better from my desktop amp compared to my DAPs, which are probably comparable to your mobo onboard sound.

 

[PointyFox]

Nice write up! Hold onto those things man! You haven’t even really heard them yet. In comparison I didn’t like them AT ALL at first listen. I let em burn in a few hours, went and smoked a bowl (when I was still partaking last spring) came back to them and it was like night and day. They also sound much better from my desktop amp compared to my DAPs, which are probably comparable to your mobo onboard sound.

True, my brain probably needs to adjust. They already seem better than when I first put them on. Oh, I forgot to use my Shanling M0. Will test it now.

Edit: Still sounding better to me. Nothing really wrong with the sound signature. If they were a little more transparent/clean sounding, they'd compete well with headphones in the $1000-$1500 range. The transparency level is similar to good closed backs.

 

[G8torbyte]

Just a little humor, anyway I did receive the new Aiva stock replacement pads over the weekend and similarly noticed better comfort since the new ones are a little thicker. Feels better on my ears. Sound-wise the bass did seem to expand a bit but not significantly.
Worth $25? Yes, I agree too and it was much easier to swap out the pads than other headphones I've changed.

Just a quick follow-up after comparing the new Aiva replacement pads and the Brainwavz angled sheepskin. The Brainwavz worked well and feel nice but because my ears are close to my head and relatively small the Brainwavz pads made the sound less intimate since they have more depth. I went back to the new version Aiva pads with the perforation since these seem to sound best for my ears with the right fit and proximity to the drivers. The Brainwavz will likely work better for those who need a bit more space.

 

[MarCo7]

Just a quick follow-up after comparing the new Aiva replacement pads and the Brainwavz angled sheepskin. The Brainwavz worked well and feel nice but because my ears are close to my head and relatively small the Brainwavz pads made the sound less intimate since they have more depth. I went back to the new version Aiva pads with the perforation since these seem to sound best for my ears with the right fit and proximity to the drivers. The Brainwavz will likely work better for those who need a bit more space.

Thanks for sharing that info. Did you happen to experience any air pressure changes when using the Brainwavz pads? I also ordered them and used them for about 10 days. I liked the sound but often, not always, I would feel this sensation of air pressure change in my ear that I didn't feel with the the Aiva perforated ones, so I went back to those. I think I read that people felt something like this with the original Aiva pads so maybe its just an effect of the solid (non-perforated) pads.

Happy listening

 

[G8torbyte]

Thanks for sharing that info. Did you happen to experience any air pressure changes when using the Brainwavz pads? I also ordered them and used them for about 10 days. I liked the sound but often, not always, I would feel this sensation of air pressure change in my ear that I didn't feel with the the Aiva perforated ones, so I went back to those. I think I read that people felt something like this with the original Aiva pads so maybe its just an effect of the solid (non-perforated) pads.

Happy listening

You're welcome, glad to share. The air pressure could be part of it since I used the Brainwavz that were leather all over including the part against the skin. I think the leather does make a seal against the skin which could increase air pressure.
I found I prefer the cloth of the Aiva pads since leather also seems to make me sweat more in warmer temps. I probably should have tried the Brainwavz angled hybrid version with the velour liner instead but the second version of Sendy's pads are working well for me.