Given my job as an audio writer, it’s hardly a rare occurrence that a pair of box-fresh contenders for our best headphones roundup arrives at my desk, are slipped over my head (by me – I don’t require a servant for everything) and proceed to envelop me in a glorious sonic bubble for several hours.
At the end of such days, long after I should have gone home, comes the inevitable gawping and sighing over how much these beautiful sonic servers cost. And then there’s the big decision: do these cans warrant a delicate conversation with my bank manager – or indeed, my long-suffering fiancé?
But today was different. Today, I thought a zero had been scratched off the label on the box. Today, I won’t need to bend the ear of my financial administrator or my boyfriend. Because today, I listened to Sivga’s latest headphones (styled to SIVGA in the company’s marketing), specifically, the Chinese audio specialist’s new Oriole wooden wired over-ears.
And they’re ridiculously good for $149 / £149 (which is about AU$230).
Style over substance? Not the Sivga Orioles
Regular readers will know that my colleague Kevin Lynch covered the release of both the new Sivga Oriole and the Sivga Robin. And upon learning about them on paper, my heart (and my ears) jumped at the chance to get to know them more intimately.
I’ll get straight to it: for the money, this is an incredible set of over-ears. Now, this article does not constitute a full review; I only spent a day with the Orioles (after running them in, which you should always do before assessing the sound quality of any set of headphones – just leave them playing for at least 15 hours on a low volume)…but I was very, very impressed.
Of the two sets of headphones Sivga released, the Oriole intrigued me more from the get-go. Why? Because despite the wooden cups and 50mm drivers (both pairs have this, and they’re larger and more capable than those found in most of the best over-ear headphones within their price bracket), the lovely light 280g build, soft memory foam padding and high-gloss finish, it’s the voicing that is more to my preference.
Sivga tells me that the Oriole features a “balanced and wide tuning ideal for classical and jazz music”, while the Robin has a what the company described as a more “lively, forward sound” aimed at rock, pop, and dance music listeners.
I listen to plenty of rock and pop (and I was a professional dancer, so dance music goes with the territory), and yet I’ve always prioritized an integrated, layered, expansive and detailed performance over a slightly more forward, fun-sounding, zealous presentation. Did I get this in the Oriole? My goodness, yes – but I’ll get to that shortly.