Sivga SV023 review: The best headphone you’ve never heard of

At a look

Professional’s Score

Professionals

• Excellent construct high quality and exquisite mid-century design
• Earpad indentation is a present for eyeglass wearers
• 4.4mm balanced connector, with a 3.5mm adapter
• Exceptionally comfy

Cons

• Might use only a contact extra bass
• Will shortly drain a smartphone’s or moveable digital audio participant’s battery (as is typical of high-impedance headphones)

Our Verdict

The Sivga SV023 headphone doesn’t sport a well-known emblem, however its construct high quality and stellar sound preserve tempo with headphones from extra acquainted rivals.

Greatest Costs At the moment: Sivga SV023

How a lot inventory do you set in model names whereas searching for luxurious headphones? Sivga is a Chinese language producer established in 2016, so there’s a superb likelihood you’ve by no means heard of it. Don’t let that cease you from contemplating the Sivga SV023 open-back headphone. It boasts excellent construct high quality, precision finishes, high-end supplies, arresting visible design, and excellent audio high quality–all at a comparatively cut price worth.

Sivga additionally markets headphones below the Sendy Audio identify. Neither label enjoys the popularity or carries the load of such manufacturers as Focal, Audeze, Bowers & Wilkins, Sennheiser, AKG, or Audio-Technica, however the Sivga SV023 ship an general expertise that means a far larger worth level.

This assessment is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of one of the best headphones.

Right here’s the killer function that may make the SV023 a compelling possibility for anybody who wears eyeglasses. The earpads on this headphone have a slight inward curve on the prime that gives a slot for eyeglass arms.

The Sivga SV023 deserve critical consideration as a premium headphone possibility. They give the impression of being implausible, sound nice, and have much less sound leakage than you’d anticipate from a high quality open-back headphone.

This mannequin does have a excessive impedance of 300 Ohms, so that you’re finest served by a setup that features a powered headphone amp. Whereas I used to be in a position to make use of them with an iPhone and a Lightning adapter, the ability wanted to drive them was a critical battery drain. Wise listeners received’t open-back headphones in a public area—they leak an excessive amount of sound—however I listing it as a con anyway in case individuals don’t learn the complete assessment.

James Barber/Foundry

Is the Sivga SV023 a well-built headphone?

Sivga packages the SV023 in a big presentation field with foam inserts lower out to carry the headphone case. The field is fabricated from cardboard, but it surely’s printed with a brown and black ink that provides the preliminary impression of linen. A line drawing of the headphone and the Sivga emblem are printed with a high-gloss ink.

Whereas the container may not be as over-the-top because the handcrafted wood bins that include some premium headphones costing hundreds of {dollars}, the primary impression is that you simply’re opening a luxurious good on par with what you’d get on the retailers on Bond Avenue in London or Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

You may toss the field or stash it on a shelf and by no means consider it once more, however the hard-sided leather-based carrying case wouldn’t look misplaced in a Louis Vuitton retailer if you happen to changed the emblem. The brown leather-based floor is paired with a brass zipper and 4 brass toes. There’s even a classy leather-based carry loop with a brass hook.

James Barber/Foundry

Probably the most distinctive factor concerning the case is its form. It’s broad on the prime to account for the headscarf and curves all the way down to its base that homes the earcups. That base has a slight despair down the middle that provides an general impression of a nude sculpture quite than a carry case.

Inside, you may have a headphone that options walnut earcups with chrome steel mesh openings, an aluminum headband bracket, and a headscarf that’s made out of goat pores and skin and chrome steel. The out-facing facet of the earpad has a black leather-based face with racing-glove-style pinholes, however the half that touches your ear is a much more comfy grey knit cloth.

The leather-based headband rests tight in opposition to the highest of your head whereas the bracket stays in place. The impact is considered one of a Chilly Warfare-era set of army cans with upgraded supplies. The walnut end offers them a pleasant mid-century trendy really feel.

James Barber/Foundry

The SV023 has a 160cm cable (about 63 inches) that’s made of 4 contrasting gentle and darkish braided copper wires, with 2.5mm jacks for every earcup. Every cable is labeled L or R in white on the connector, and all sides of the headscarf bracket can be labeled L or R. There’s a 3rd set of left and proper indicators printed on the material inside every earcup. In the event you’re the sort of listener who appropriately shops your headphone in its case, then that focus to element will make your life simpler each single time you employ them. It’s a welcome contact.

The cable has a 4.4mm balanced connector on the supply finish, however Sivga places a 3.5mm TRS adapter and a 3.5mm-to-1/4-inch adapter inside a hemp drawstring bag that matches within the case alongside the headphone and cable.

The Sivga SV023 options two beryllium-plated 50mm dynamic drivers, with a sensitivity of 105dB +/- 3dB and a frequency response of 20Hz – 40KHz.

How does the Sivga SV023 headphone sound?

James Barber/Foundry

The Sivga SV023 weighs simply over 11 ounces, and that weight, alongside the material earpads, makes the headphone comfy for lengthy listening classes—I by no means felt like I wanted a break from carrying them.

For an open-back headphone, the Sivga SV023 has remarkably little sound leakage even with the beforehand talked about earpad indentation that creates area for eyeglass arms. These are the one open-back headphones I’ve used previously couple of years that didn’t hassle anybody else within the room whereas I used to be utilizing them.

I used the 4.4mm balanced reference to an iFi Neo iDSD desktop DAC and amplifier linked to an M1 Mac Mini and listened to music from the Qobuz app for Mac after I wasn’t watching the NBA playoffs through YouTube TV. The compressed TV audio sounded wonderful, but it surely’s the music that issues with headphones like these.

James Barber/Foundry

Listening to a 24-bit/192kHz stream of John Barry’s 1966 album Nice Film Sounds of John Barrythe SV023 impresses with an emphasis within the higher midrange and powerful element within the bass and trombone ranges on recordings of music from the James Bond movies. “The Knack” options extra of a combo association, and the SV023’s extensive soundstage is proven off to nice impact within the sparser instrumental sections in the beginning of the observe.

When enjoying the 24-bit/48kHz observe “Nothing Left to Lose,” from Every little thing However the Lady’s 2023 album Fusethe SV023 don’t fairly plumb the depths of sub bass that Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn are reaching for with the observe, however that bass is remarkably good for a headphone on this worth vary.

Do you have to purchase the Sivga SV023 headphone?

In the end, the ears that tuned the Sivga SV023 had been aiming for a excessive stage of element that stayed on the facet of a nice listening expertise, quite than one which aimed to extract each little bit of element out of a recording. It is a headphone designed for listeners quite than for combine engineers.

Mix that tuning with lovely design, excellent construct high quality and a remarkably comfy match, and also you’ve acquired a headphone possibility that delivers outstanding worth for its worth. The Sivga SV023 could not include a well-recognized emblem, however the firm has crafted a headphone that deserves a glance.