[Mink]

It is true that the sound changes dramatically when I press the ear cups closer to my ears. In my case the sound then becomes claustrophobic. It works well for vocals, but vocals only, the rest of the sound picture gets compressed.

 

[Mink]

Since the Sivgas are the brightest, most sibilant headphones in my collection, alongside the Denon D5000s (and to a lesser degree the Fidelio X2s and X3s) I thought it could be a good idea to put them side by side.
First the frequency response of both headphones.

This proves to me that a frequency response doesn't tell the complete story.
The Denon D5000s frequency response looks a lot better, not a dip in the mids, not a bump around 1K and only one truly large spike in the high mids around 5K, a similar but broader peak compared to Sivga's 5K peak.
The Sivgas should sound thinner in the mids, with a boomier and more extended low bass and overall brighter than the D5000s.
In reality, well at least to my ears, the D5000s sound a lot thinner in the mids. Male vocals, that lack a bit of body with the Sivgas, compared to the HD650s, Avantone Planars and especially compared to the NightHawks are significantly leaner and thinner on the D5000s.
The D5000s are lot more sibilant and at times harsh sounding. Overall the high mids on the D5000s are frequently more glassy and hard sounding compared to the Sivgas.
I can non-stop listen with the Sivgas, without fatigue for hours and hours, the D5000s become fatiguing after one hour or so.
Things fare better for the D5000s concerning the lows. D5000s bass has a lot more weight, slam and is deeper than Sivga's bass. And it is better controlled. Sivga's bass has more punch though.
D5000s sound is more grounded, even though the overall tonality is thin, it doesn't get nervous and jumpy.
In an earlier post I mentioned the Sivgas don't always sound grounded and their bass can get a bit jumpy and I felt it may have something to do with poor dampening.
Well, it may well be the dip in the mids, that causes this. A bit weird if you ask me, it doesn't affect details, timbre and texture of instruments, it only takes away a tiny bit of body, but the bass may become a loose cannon because of this.
Finally, when it comes to soundstage the D5000s win. The Sivgas have a much wider soundstage, but less cohesive and with less depth. D5000s soundstage is ideal, very natural in my opinion.

 

[dstarr3]

Considering these and other headphones reportedly sound so sibilant yet don't show it in measurements, I'm beginning to think that sibilance in particular is highly dependent on the chamber created inside the earcup and the listener's ear when the headphone is being worn. And unless you've implanted a perfect microphone inside your skull, you just can't perfectly replicate the chamber that is made of a headphone earcup against a person's real head. And the differences between a real head and a simulation head are apparently crucial to the reproduction of sibilance, hence why measurements don't show it but so many people experience it.

Not to mention things like the size and shape of a person's ear completely changes the acoustic properties of that chamber, the size of a person's head influences the clamping pressure a headphone has which influences the density of the earpad foam and the distance of the driver from the outer and inner ear. Amount of hair, skin, oil, subcutaneous fat. Plus just simple things like glasses affecting the earpad seal. All of these things vary from person to person. You measure these things on 100 people and you'll get 100 different variations. And even the same individual person wouldn't measure the same given just a couple days.

It's no wonder so many people report so many different experiences from the same headphones. There are just so many variables having so many little influences.

 

[Mink]

Considering these and other headphones reportedly sound so sibilant yet don't show it in measurements

I agree with you about the shape of a person's ear and the chamber, but the measurements clearly show a peak around 5K and one at 8K.
Frequency charts may not tell the complete story, but they at least warn you how things are likely going to sound. And boy, does this chart by Crinacle gives a fair warning to those with treble sensitive ears
I can hear those peaks and yes I find the Sivgas to be sibilant, but my ears don't perceive it as harsh and fatiguing.

 

[dstarr3]

Well it's interesting because I usually associate sibilance with a big 8-10khz spike, but that's exactly where these trough.

 

[kimdeug]

Well it's interesting because I usually associate sibilance with a big 8-10khz spike, but that's exactly where these trough.

sibilance is associated more at 5-6kHz region, pick at 8-10kHz gives you an effect of technical details on 3d harmonic distortion.

 

[zazex]

Bought these just very recently, and found them too heavy in the bass.
After listening with a few different amps, CD's etc. it never let up.
Still, they're good looking and evidently nicely made.

BTW most of my listening is done with Sony MDR Z7M2, Grado PS500e, and
Shure SRH 1540
(not all at the same time)

 

[Mink]

I am having an almost surreal experience right now. I am having a cold and my ears are bit clogged and every pair of headphones, including the softer than soft Avantone Planars and Sennheiser HD650 but especially both Nighbirds sound a bit harsh and edgy in the treble, with the exception of these so called sibilant Sivga's LOL
I guess every headphones driver creates its own unique sound pressure. I know both NightOwl and NightHawks seem to create more sound pressure than my other pairs, which make them sound so engaging meanwhile (due to their eccentric tuning) keeping the listeners fatigue low. Well not when I am having a cold. No matter how I EQ them, the upper registers in mostly speech pop my ears unpleasantly.

 

[BubbaJay]

I just bought a pair to see if they are as good as people say. They'll be here on Thursday and I have a few nice closed backs that I'll compare them to and if they can even come close then they're well worth it for only $150.

Besides how they sound I'm just as much looking forward to the build quality because they are one of the nicest looking headphones I've seen in a while and I hope the quality matches the looks.

 

[Slater91]

I just bought a pair to see if they are as good as people say. They'll be here on Thursday and I have a few nice closed backs that I'll compare them to and if they can even come close then they're well worth it for only $150.

Besides how they sound I'm just as much looking forward to the build quality because they are one of the nicest looking headphones I've seen in a while and I hope the quality matches the looks.

Have you received them yet? Any thoughts on them?

 

[Youcan1]

I just bought a pair to see if they are as good as people say. They'll be here on Thursday and I have a few nice closed backs that I'll compare them to and if they can even come close then they're well worth it for only $150.

Besides how they sound I'm just as much looking forward to the build quality because they are one of the nicest looking headphones I've seen in a while and I hope the quality matches the looks.

They do look nice and I like that they have soft plush earpads. I have a hard time believing that they can compete with what I have now for $150 though.

 

[BobSmith8901]

I am having an almost surreal experience right now. I am having a cold and my ears are bit clogged and every pair of headphones, including the softer than soft Avantone Planars and Sennheiser HD650 but especially both Nighbirds sound a bit harsh and edgy in the treble, with the exception of these so called sibilant Sivga's LOL
I guess every headphones driver creates its own unique sound pressure. I know both NightOwl and NightHawks seem to create more sound pressure than my other pairs, which make them sound so engaging meanwhile (due to their eccentric tuning) keeping the listeners fatigue low. Well not when I am having a cold. No matter how I EQ them, the upper registers in mostly speech pop my ears unpleasantly.

I've now had these for a few weeks and my basic call that these are ideally suited for well-engineered acoustic music still holds.

But I'd like to add... there's something about these that defies measurement. They're not the most resolving; they're definitely bass heavy depending on the sources like production and bass instrumentation, and this can get in the way at times; they've got some sibilance; vocals can be perceived as a bit thin depending on the recording (but I think I have personally overemphasized this aspect due to reading some reviews and getting some confirmation bias).

But they present music generally quite pleasingly, especially acoustic, but also can throw down with stuff like the new Hans Zimmer Dune soundtrack--the bass of the SIVGA's really enhances the dramatic opener in speaker-like fashion) in a thoroughly engaging way that makes you want to grab them just to see what they'll do! I guess, for me, their tuning seems to mostly take the edge off digital harshness and if you primarily stream but also listen to local music on a DAP like I do, that can be a good thing. Especially given their high sensitivity, paired with a DAP like the Shanling M6 Pro 21, you've got tons of headroom along with a good DAP/headphone synergy, FR-wise.

Like a set of Pioneer speakers that one might have checked out (aging myself here) in your late teens or early 20's and been blown away by the dramatics, these kind of capture that... speaker thing.

 

[Dobrescu George]

It is mighty time we post something interesting, as the weekend draws near, and I had a cold right in the middle of the week, so today we're having a look at the SV021, or Robin, the latest high-performance entry-level headphone from SIVGA!!

If you ever felt like a basshead, but if you want some mighty good detail, a really well made, and comfortable headphone with a nice cable, and soft earpads, soft headband, but a hard hitting bass, the Robin Hood of headphones is going to be fun to listen to~

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/11/sivga-robin-sv021-headphones-bassheads-united-winner.html

 

[Dobrescu George]

Bought these just very recently, and found them too heavy in the bass.
After listening with a few different amps, CD's etc. it never let up.
Still, they're good looking and evidently nicely made.

BTW most of my listening is done with Sony MDR Z7M2, Grado PS500e, and
Shure SRH 1540
(not all at the same time)

I think considering the headphones you already have, you would've been much better with Sivga Phoenix, it follows a more familiar signature with what you have.

SV021 is more of a 99C combater, basshead headphone than a balanced one

 

[zazex]

I think considering the headphones you already have, you would've been much better with Sivga Phoenix, it follows a more familiar signature with what you have.

SV021 is more of a 99C combater, basshead headphone than a balanced one

That's some mighty useful information, especially since you're the first and only person who's mentioned it.

I didn't quite understand all the praise for the SVO21, since I felt certain that the bottom is just too ripe.
Then I said, "well, maybe it's me or my gear or...something" and returned them without hesitation.

I haven't any interest in trying them again, not soon anyway, but I do appreciate the info you posted.