SIVGA Oriole Wooden Closed Back Wired Dynamic Headphone (Brown)

Product Information

The long list of similarities between the Sivga Oriole and Robin SV021 makes the short list of differences particularly poignant. If a softer, warmer listen is more your style, the Robin SV021 may be more up your alley. If your interests lean further into brightness and imaging, well, I’ll tell you now: go with the Oriole. As for me? I liked the Oriole a bit more – though I enjoyed both EQs equally for different reasons, the Oriole’s wide stage added extra intrigue that I simply found more exciting. Whatever you’re into, I found the pricing on both headphones to be perfectly appropriate. I hope we see even more from Sivga at this price point and quality in the future. The Luan’s fidelity exceeds any other competing similarly-priced headphones I currently have, except for one. The only actual competition for the Luan is the FiiO FT3. Especially in the mid and upper regions and there seems to be no emphasis nor is it recessed in any area in particular, but contrary so in the bass region and the mentioned peaks. However, some of your decision making process needs to come down to what you feel more comfortable with. Earbuds are easier to store away, but not everyone likes the feeling of them in their ears. Alternatively, headphones can feel more secure over your head but are heavier and require more thought when storing them. What are the benefits of over-ear headphones? Other than that, the cable, although nothing spectacular, is a good one in terms of build and comfort. It’s unnecessarily long for a portable over-ear model, but it’s fine.

Oriole’s treble is crisp but sweet. There’s no sharpness or sibilance present in the treble but it has enough energy to give the overall sound a lift. It’s not especially precise or detailed and micro-detail retrieval is only average. It’s obvious that the treble tuning is aimed at creating a natural tone rather than being clinically exacting. Comparison with the SIVGA Robin

That said, while Oriole’s response is relatively smooth compared to other headphones at this price point, there are some slight peaks and dips in the response. Since the SIVGA SV023 headband assembly doesn’t fold the included case had to be rather large understandably but I was tempted to sprinkle some baby powder on it. I almost blushed when I first saw it actually. I say that for laughs but it’s actually a nice case. In their marketing materials, SIVGA promised the Oriole would have “a smooth, balanced, rich sound with a wide soundstage, good instrument separation, and high-resolution clarity.” After listening to these headphones for some time now, I think they made good on a lot of what they promised. Sivga is committed to making refined products and producing different headphones. Made up of teams who worked in the audio industry earlier in China, they adhere to the use of traditional craftsmanship, coupled with the selection of high-quality natural solid wood as the material for the housing.

When I handed her the Orioles, I asked her what price range she thought they might belong to. Her guess was five times more than reality. That is high praise for Sivga’s construction.But, of course, there are limitations and the sound can feel constrained at times compared to pricier options. They also don’t support hi-res LDAC or have automated control settings. The buttons are easy to find though and the extremely lightweight design makes them one of the most comfortable to wear for long periods. And all this for one of the most affordable prices on the market? These are a steal. The earpads are from soft leather. The shape of the earpads is very ideal and your ears comfortably sit inside them. However, this headphone has smaller earcups than the previous models, so after a certain amount of time, you start to feel them pressuring your ears a bit. It’s almost like an on-ear headphone but it just manages to cover your ears around. I think the instruments and vocals are a bit shouty at times. This was also the case with the SV023 model, although this combines that slight issue with diffused mid-bass and forward mids. The tonal accuracy, although just a bit off, is good enough for most music, but you might feel something wrong with vocals and instruments, depending on the source. These smart features feel snappier and more responsive than previous versions – though they have very tough competition from the clever features offered by the Sennheiser further up.However, for sheer noise-stopping power, these have the edge.

However, within that space, the SV023 creates within your head detailed micro placement with good accuracy and displayed very technical ability. There is some good height projection and within the given space a good amount of dimensional information is produced but not much upfront. The Luan has an excellently coherent physical shape with equal parts height, width, and depth of field. This headphone doesn’t sound wide, but that is because the mids are so forward. This headphone doesn’t sound particularly tall, but that is because the entire stage size is more forward than moderately placed.When we trailed this feature, we found the call quality to be remarkably clear, even when walking on a busy London street. There are 11 different noise cancellation modes on offer too, so there's something for every potential scenario – only the Sennheiser Momentum does this better (oddly, the newer Bose QuietComfort QC45 don't include it). Since the time I started writing for Headfonics, I noticed a number of headphone makers that are veering away from the unrealistically airy and ultra-wide staging because the intensity and personal space headphones created are most enjoyable with a realistic and well-placed stage as in the SV023. That really depends on your budget – you don't need to overstretch yourself to prices you can't really afford in your quest for great sound. Sound-wise, these headphones are impressive. During our testing, we noted an expansive soundstage, which we felt revealed separation and clarity. Our only criticism was that they sometimes over-celebrate the treble, which can result in the mix sounding disorganized and jumbled. Otherwise, we're treated to a detailed mix with plenty of dynamic rise and fall through the mids and a decent serving of snappy bass weight.