The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn’t receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don’t use affiliate links. The price of the Sivga Oriole is $199 and you can buy it from all authorized dealers around the world.
Sivga Audio
Sivga Audio is a brand that was established in 2016 and is mostly known for making value oriented headphones and earphones with wooden enclosures. Their portfolio includes open and closed back headphones with both planar and dynamic drivers. Some of their models that won critical acclaim are the Phoenix and the P-II.
Sivga Oriole
The Oriole is a closed back, over the ear headphone with wooden enclosures and a large, 50mm, dynamic driver that was designed in-house by Sivga.
Build quality and appearance
The headphone housing is made of natural high-density rosewood, which is the first choice for musical instruments, as it makes stable and outstanding sound quality. The wood is processed by CNC machining and then made by many manual processes such as sanding, polishing, painting and natural air drying. The surface of the wood housing has a high gloss piano paint finish with a laser engraved logo of the brand and is available in dark or light brown. The color and the texture of each headphone is unique due to the use of wood so each one has its own distinctive looks. The metal parts are well made and they have a high quality finish, black for the dark brown cups and silver for the light brown. Build quality is really excellent, the headphone is sturdy and well made, the headband is carefully stitched and assembled while the adjustment is smooth and noise free. The Oriole has a luxurious feeling, it is beautiful looking with a classic yet modern appearance that can suit many different lifestyles.
Wearing comfort
The Oriole is lightweight, it weighs only 280g and thanks for the comfortable headband you can use it for many hours long. The ear-cups rotate and swivel while the detachable ear-pads are soft and filled with memory foam but their diameter is marginally enough to fully fit a larger ear so there is the chance that you might feel some pressure points at the outer perimeter of your ears. The closed back design of the Sivga Oriole doesn’t help with heat and sweat management but it offers great passive noise attenuation.
Cable
The Sivga Oriole features a detachable cable with 2.5mm sockets that are not as popular as 3.5mm so finding an aftermarket cable will not be so easy and you will have to order a custom one. And you are definitely going to need one because the included cable, albeit being of decent quality with a fabric sheathing, is extremely microphonic and very noisy if you move around. A better designed cable should have been included because this one ruins the whole listening experience, especially when we consider that the headphone is made mostly for use on the go.
Accessories
The headphone comes packed in a cardboard box that includes the cable, a 6.35mm audio adapter and a hemp carrying pouch.
Power requirements and associated gear
The Sivga Oriole has a 32Ω impedance with 108dB of sensitivity so it is very easy to drive from all portable sources. You can use USB DAC dongles like the iBasso DC03 Pro , the FiiO KA5 or the FiiO BTR7 but don’t feel afraid to experiment with something better, like the EarMen TR-Amp or the Chord Mojo 2, because the headphone scales pretty well.
Listening impressions
I usually don’t sympathize with closed back headphones, especially entry level ones, because most of them have a sound signature that is too colored and are usually lacking in technicalities. This time was different though as the Sivga Oriole positively surprised me with its mostly balanced and even tuning. It has satisfying sub-bass extension and an almost neutral bass response without too much of a mid-bass emphasis so it doesn’t bleed into the mids and the lower register separation is well defined. The tuning is tonally accurate and well suited for classical music and any other genre where a natural tonality is desired while at the same time the Sivga Oriole can sound equally satisfying and fun with all other kinds of music but without exaggerating in the bass department. Technicalities are also good for the category and a headphone that is not designed for stationary critical listening.
The bass is quite tight and controlled, full bodied and weighty, without too much of a cup reverb, spatial echo or boxiness. It seems that the three holes that are located at the upper part of the ear-cups are acting as venting ports. It is also fast, well defined and sufficiently layered with natural recovery while it is impressively dynamic and impactful.
The mid-range tuning is mostly even despite some recession at its lower portion and an upper-mids emphasis that is not too much to become harsh or piercing. Transparency and clarity are better than someone would expect and the overall presentation is musical, fun and organic with a natural timbre and good sense of realism. Vocals and instruments are well articulated, they have a solid foundation and plenty of harmonic wealth, the Oriole sounds mildly sweet and warm with a very satisfying level of engagement factor. The Sivga Oriole is good for listening to popular tunes but is also equally capable when things get more serious with classical music.
The treble is crisp and lively with plenty of detail retrieval and clarity, the headphone is fast and energetic but the overall tuning is quite safe without alarming peaks that could lead to brightness and cause listener fatigue. Don’t expect maximum transparency or resolution not the last word in refinement but what I like is that the timbre is quite natural without much artificiality or metallic hue and the treble texture is as weighty and full bodied as on the bass and the mids.
Another striking feature of the Sivga Oriole is its open sounding character, the soundstage gets fairly expanded and spacious, especially for a closed back headphone, with good positioning accuracy. The presentation though, is mostly flat without too much of a depth layering and holography but this is a bit of unfair observation for the headphone, given its price point, and at the end what it matters the most is that the Sivga Oriole is not claustrophobic and it never becomes congested at all even with stress tests like Bruckner’s 7th symphony.
In the end
The Sivga Oriole was a positive surprise as it proved to be a well tuned headphone with a balanced sound signature and good technicalities for the category. It is also beautiful looking, very well made, lightweight and comfortable so it gets highly recommended in case you are looking for a headphone suitable for casual and more critical listening both for home and outdoor use.
Copyright – Petros Laskis 2023.
Pros:
+ Balanced tuning with a natural timbre + Good sub-bass extension + Competitive bass technicalities + Musical and engaging + Energetic but not bright + Very open sounding for a closed back design + Easy to drive + Excellent build quality + Lightweight and comfortable + Classic yet modern appearance + Good passive noise isolation
Cons:
- Lacking in resolution and refinement - Detail retrieval is average - Upper mid-range emphasis might not be for everyone - The soundstage is flat - The cable is very microphonic - The ear pads are not big enough for larger ears
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