[dazKewl]

Quick question for the current owners. Do the blemishes on the cups in these photos look like something you've seen on your own headphones?

 

[maufreg]

Quick question for the current owners. Do the blemishes on the cups in these photos look like something you've seen on your own headphones?

No, not at all. My coat seems perfect.

 

[KCXT]

Quick question for the current owners. Do the blemishes on the cups in these photos look like something you've seen on your own headphones?

No - mine didn't have any visible flaws.

 

[dazKewl]

No - mine didn't have any visible flaws.

No, not at all. My coat seems perfect.

tl;dr: Bought my SIVGA Phoenix from @Audio46. Told them they had blemishes. First, they said it's normal; then said maybe someone in my household dropped them; returned them; then they said blemishes are "a wood finish, you can not control the look for the wood or the blemish" & that I'm banned from their store LOL

----------------------------------------

Thank you both for the response. That's exactly what I thought. In fact, there were more spots like this on both cups. I ordered mine from Audio 46. Shipping was fast and the headphones came in with the wrapper on; i.e., brand new. It took me a few days to actually open the box to test the headphones. They do have a 30-day return policy, so I wasn't too worried about it when I opened them after 5 days and tested the headphones for a couple of days before deciding that these blemishes can't be a natural part of the finish. So I decided to request an RMA to return these. No big deal, right? WRONG! What follows is my first email to them and their response to each one after that:

Spoiler: chain of emails

Hi there,

I finally had a chance to open the box and test these headphones this past weekend. They sound great for their price point. However, upon inspecting them physically, I noticed (as you'll see in the attached pictures) there are various blemishes/discoloration on the outside of the cups. I thought perhaps it's part of the design to make them look like "real" wood. But that does not seem to be the case after having looked at quite a few photos of these headphones on forums like Head-Fi and other online reviews. The more I looked at them, the more I realized this is not normal at all. So I'd like to return these for a refund.

Please, email me the RMA and I'll follow the instructions I found on your website to return these to you.

Thank you in advance,

to which I received the following response the next morning:

Greetings

Our experience with wood finishes each headphone is not consistent the look.

You can mail it back to us

And it included the RMA info and address... Now thinking back, I should've probably stopped here and should've just shipped the headphones to them. Their policy says they wouldn't pay for the return shipping, which I would've actually been OK with, but in their response above they more than just insinuated that this was normal, and that kind of bothered me... So returned the following email:

Thanks for getting back to me. This is not inconsistency in the wood grain/finish. This is clearly a flaw that their quality control didn't catch. I have looked at pictures of well over 15 pairs of these all over the internet posted by new owners and not a single one of them shows such obvious blemishes. I'll ship them back to you today. I expect to be refunded for my return shipping costs as well since this is a defective item.

Thank you,

Then I got this back from them:

We noticed you had them over a week, did anyone of your family dropped them.

.....I just couldn't believe this any more.... So I wrote:

Seriously?! haha wow.... I'm an adult living with no pets or children and no one in my family (that'd be my adult wife) would just pick up a box of headphones, open them up, and drop them! The answer is no! And thank you for noticing I "had them over a week"--as I mentioned in my very first email, I finally got to try these this past weekend. They are in perfect shape EXCEPT for these blemishes--as you'll soon see, they are very smooth where the blemishes are. So in my opinion, at the manufacturer or wherever these were finished, this set somehow ended up with these defects during the process as if they were rubbed against another surface before the finish was complete. You'll notice that no matter how someone drops these, they can't create these sort of defects. The largest discoloration is actually under the fork that holds one of the cans--again no amount of dropping them can possibly cause this unless the can is somehow completely separated first!! Definitely a manufacturer defect.

These are being shipped via xxxxxx with tracking number: xxxxxxxxxxxxx. A copy of the xxxxx receipt will be included in the box for reimbursement.

A few days later they did receive the headphones, and I received this gem in my inbox from the same "customer service" rep:

Greetings

We did receive the headphone we did inspect it and it is a wood finish, you can not control the look for the wood or the blemish,
We did compare it with the unit on display, both look a different color, blemish and finish [they could've perhaps averted all of this if they had mentioned this the very first time I emailed them with the photos and perhaps by sending me some photos of their "unit on display"]. It is not a manufacturer defect.
we will refund you.
Please note you are banned from ordering from our store. [this part is in bold in their email too lol]

Thanks,

Obviously, I was done with them the second they started questioning me about this defective unit, but what followed to the very end was.... well, I guess you can be the judge of that. FWIW, they did refund me the full price as well as the return shipping costs. Of course, I'd more than happy to post screenshots of the emails with date/time of each. Maybe I am in the wrong and my manner of communication (?) justified this individual's accusatory tone from the very beginning--this person did sign his name at the end of each email, so it's supposedly the same person each time. I had never had any other dealings with them prior to this purchase as mentioned before.

 

[chickentender]

Quick question for the current owners. Do the blemishes on the cups in these photos look like something you've seen on your own headphones?

That's too bad. Glad it was eventually sorted for you at least. Just wanted to add that, no mine (when I had them) didn't have finish imperfections anything of that sort. Not whatsoever.

 

[Makemusic]

so you didn't like the bass on the Phoenix???

These have bass when it’s there. The mids are present as is treble well extended. These are great dynamic headphones, and I’m sorry if they don’t fit your head. I have more expensive phones to compare. They punch above their price point.

 

[voja]

Some have been curious about the frequency response - I am finally able to share it with you all, Sivga has directly sent it to me.. so it's official

 

[Roderick]

Hmm... That makes me think Audioquest Nighthawks.

 

[letlive]

Hmm... That makes me think Audioquest Nighthawks.

They sound similar. The Phoenix is less dark.

 

[Roderick]

I did an easy mod for alleviating the discomfort caused by the flat pads. I rolled up some toiletpaper and stuffed it underneath the pads. I've only had few hours with the Sivga so I won't comment how the sound changed but comfort did increase a lot. Even though the mod is simple it IS altering the acoustics of the headphone. So changes in sound will depend on how much tp one uses, how densely is the tp stuffed in there etc. Of course other materials should be explored too. I chose tp for it's availability not for it's superior acoustic properties

I think this could be used as a bass reducing mod too if one finds the bass excessive. Just leave some parts without the tp and theoretically it should cause some bass to "leak" out. This mod might also be an easy way to increase the soundstage. Often increased distance between ear and the driver expands the soundstage. Simple, reversible and cost a penny, so it is worth a shot anyway.



I measured the Sivgas before and after. All one should take for these measurements is that it does not completely change the character of the headphones. I did my mod in like three minutes and with some tweaking I'm sure sound can be tuned closer to the stock version.

 

[Youcan1]

Anybody in this thread ever try the KLH Ultimate Ones? The way people describe this headphone is exactly how I would describe the KLH, which uses the shell of a different Sivga headphone with a new "beryllium" driver. I'm trying to decide between this and the Focal Elegia for my final headphone audition.

 

[FiCurious]

I have a hard time imagining that the Sivga can keep pace overall with the Elegias, but have only heard the Elegia of the two. It's hard to compare open and closed to each other, but the Elegia is one of the most open sounding closed backs I've heard. Similar to a comment above, if the bass is there in the track, it's there on the Elegia (given you can get a good seal).

I was very interested in the Sivga when it was announced, but the amount of reviewer/follower hype has kinda turned me off a bit, tbh.

 

[KCXT]

I have a hard time imagining that the Sivga can keep pace overall with the Elegias, but have only heard the Elegia of the two. It's hard to compare open and closed to each other, but the Elegia is one of the most open sounding closed backs I've heard. Similar to a comment above, if the bass is there in the track, it's there on the Elegia (given you can get a good seal).

I was very interested in the Sivga when it was announced, but the amount of reviewer/follower hype has kinda turned me off a bit, tbh.

I have the Elegias and gave the Phoenix a demo (my complete review and thoughts are a couple of pages back) and the Elegias are definitely a couple of steps up overall in the technical aspects (expected given the retail price chasm). However, their voicings are different and I feel the Phoenix has a different overall goal than the Elegias. If big bass is the major goal then the Sivgas are the choice, though at a cost of technical capabilities and perhaps comfort. The Elegias have quality bass but not to the scale of the Phoenix.

 

[coreypine]

I sold my Sennheiser HD 58X and bought the Sigva largely on Zeos's review and a couple others. It has been a very good swap as I feel the Sigva's outperform by any measurement and offer a much more fun sound. Soundstage (impressive), bass (fun, measured, deep), musicality, clarity, seperation, and more, all better on the Sigva. As for the fit, I find the headband and clamp comfortable. I have not had to bend and twist them for a better fit. I wear a medium hat. For $255 on Amazon (after my swap of the HD 58X, my cost is ~ $100.), these cans are GREAT. They definitely punch much more than their asking price.

 

[mengshi]

Has anyone here compared the Siva Phoenix with the Beyerdynamic Tygr 300R? Zeos says they have "similar" sound and looking at the frequency response curves I can see some similarities except for the higher base shelf of the Phoenix. Anyone opinion? Both are build well but I think the Tygr will have less fit issue for most (I'm Asian with a big head so the Phoenix may not suit me. LOL) and Beyerdynamic has more legacy in build quality.

On the other hand, the fixed cable is a pain......