PRICE: $150 (PHP. 7,000.00)

PROS:

• Amazing build quality and aesthetics
• Very comfortable fitting
• Fun, versatile sound
• Good imaging and gaming performance
• Surprisingly wide for closed back headphones
• Good bass punch and impact
• Good detail retrieval
• Very easy to drive

CONS:

• Slightly unusual timbre
• Can get harsh on sibilant prone tracks
• Bass lacks nuance
• Mids is recessed and occasionally distant sounding

WHO THIS SET IS FOR: 

• People who want a premium looking headphone without the premium price
• People who want a very comfortable closed back headphone
• People looking for a fun, all-rounder and casual pair of headphones
• People looking for a pair of headphones for gaming
• People who want a pair of headphones with good details under $200

WHO THIS SET ISN’T FOR:

• People looking for a neutral sounding headphone
• People looking for a more open sounding headphone
• Treble sensitive people
• People who want a more nuanced listening experience
• People who want a deeper reaching bass

GENRES:

• Pop
• Rock
• HipHop
• R&B
• Soul

SHORT REVIEW:

For my first pair of headphones, the Robin impressed me with its superb build quality, comfort and fun sound. Having been an in-ear enthusiast for most of my audiophile life, the immersiveness of headphones still cannot be beat. However, I can also acknowledge the flaws of the Robin like the recessed midrange, slightly boomy bass and occasionally sibilant treble. However, this kind of sound is perfect for casual listening thanks to its versatile and fun but quirky tuning. RECOMMENDED WITH CAVEATS!

FULL REVIEW

There are usually two sides to buying headphones from people who have a little bit of money; it either looks good or sounds good. Most casual listeners end up on the former as most of them usually don’t care much for sound as long as it works. Audiophiles like you and me would fall on the latter as most of us don’t even care about how our headphones look. 

But what if I told you that you could get both? And only for $150? Well, you wouldn’t believe me of course! But let me introduce you to the Sivga Robin and how this wood-fi set from 2021 is still a very compelling choice for those who are looking for an attractive and well-rounded set that has one trick up its sleeve that makes me feel compelled to suggest this to specific individuals. 

DISCLAIMER:

The Robin was sent in exchange for my honest thoughts by Sivga. Rest assured, all my thoughts and opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way to say anything about the product.

SIV-GOT THE PHONES!

Sivga is a brand that those who have been in the hobby for a while should be very familiar with. They’re a professional hifi brand known for providing some of the most premium looking and feeling headphones without the premium price tag. You have sets like the Phoenix, the Luan and their planar P-II. They also have a subbrand called Sendy which focuses more on planar magnetic headphones which contrasts the dynamic-focused Sivga. 

The SV021, also known as the Robin, is a set released back in 2021 to high acclaim. A set under $200 with some of the most premium feeling and looking build and a well-rounded sound was not something you could find back then. But how does it compare now almost 4 years later? Let’s start with the unboxing.

UNBOXING

There’s not a lot to talk about the unboxing besides the very clean and linear unboxing process and inclusions. You get the rather large, textured box with the Robin’s illustration on one side and the words “Crafted with Craftsman Spirit” on the other along with specifications and contact details. 

Here are the full list of inclusions:

• Sivga Robin Headphones
• Cloth Pouch
• 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable
• 3.5mm to 6.35mm adaptor

I honestly don’t have a lot to complain about the accessories, despite knowing in-ears provide much more than this. The carrying pouch is more to protect it from scratches than protecting it in any other way and the inclusions of a thick jack (6.35mm) adaptor is a nice inclusion for those who use it on home studios or music production studios. 

INTERNALS, BUILD & FIT

Starting with the internals, the Robin uses a self-developed 50mm dynamic driver by Sivga themselves. This goes to show their confidence in their products to be able to source their own drivers from their own manufacturing. This also allows for more versatility in the construction, tuning and overall quality of the product when the brand itself makes the drivers. 

The driver itself is made from an ultra thin diaphragm made of polycarbonate and fiber material and a 3mm thick high performance magnet. It also features a coil made of special copper clad aluminum wire. They claim these all ensure that the Robin produces a high dynamic performance that is transparent and bright with high sensitivity to be driven out of lower powered devices. Highlighting good dynamic performance with high sensitivity is honestly one of the most important features for a pair of headphones to have as it allows them to sound great even through laptop or smartphone AMPs. 

As for the design and construction, the Robin features dark wooden cups with a smooth matte finish and the SIVGA logo engraved into the cups.

 You can also find the two 2.5mm inputs on the bottom of each cup.

The cups itself are made five axis CNC carving with multiple processes to reach the exquisite look. And I’d argue that exquisite is an understatement for this price range as this thing feels considerably more expensive than how much it really costs. If you’ve seen or felt the Meze 99 classics, this feels just as premium as that for nearly half the price. 

This is all topped off with some of the most comfy leather earpads ever, a sturdy aluminum band and a protein leather headband. 

Comfort wise, the Robin was one that I had low expectations when I first unboxed it. One of the most important things for a pair of headphones for me is for the cups to swivel. When the earcups don’t swivel, it usually causes discomfort due to one side of the cup putting more pressure than the other and causing unnecessary imbalance in the seal. 

But my goodness, the cups on these essentially make up for the lack of swivel as it’s so thick yet so plush that any discomfort from the lack of swivel is completely negated. 

The cups are so deep that I never experience my pinna feeling any pressure from touching the driver inside of the cup. This could often be found only with the use of aftermarket earcups, but this experience comes stock with the Robin. The lack of pressure from under the ears is also welcomed as I dislike it when headphones clamp under your ears. 

While not using my favorite style of headbands (which is the tension-style headband), the Robin’s headband is comfortable and supports the top of my head without any discomfort even in long listening sessions. 

Due to being closed back, the isolation of the Robin is expectedly good. It’s not as good as some closed back headphones with active noise cancellation that I’ve tested, but they’re good enough to block most background noises. You’ll still be able to hear loud sounds and air hitting the headphones themselves, but they’re minimized to the point where you probably won’t even hear it if you’re listening to music. 

As for the cable itself. it’s a thin and lightweight cable that does the job just right. It’s long enough for my desk and for use when walking around my house, but I wouldn’t say it’s a heavy duty cable. It’s also a little tangle prone and feels cheap overall. I’d personally opt for an aftermarket cable if I really wanted to get the most secure listening experience, but the stock cable is more than enough. 

SOUND

Sound Signature

The Sivga Robin features a bright V-Shaped sound signature. It’s a very fun, energetic and well-rounded sound signature that fits most genres you throw it at, but more at an acceptable level rather than the optimal level. This has the benefit of making the Robin a set you can just pick up and listen to any time, anywhere without worrying about the perfect song or genre synergy. Timbre-wise, however, it’s definitely not the first in line I’d call to be “neutral”. There is a recess in the midrange that causes vocals to sound a little distant and the bass and treble energy colors the music in a way that you’ll just know this isn’t the most “accurate” sounding pair of headphones. But that’s not a bad thing, I’d argue! I’ll talk more about the intricacies of each section soon. 

Drivability

The Sivga Robin is a very easy to drive pair of headphones with an impedance of 32ohms and 105db of sensitivity. From my old dinky laptop to my topping DX1, the Robin sounded fantastic and I did not have any issues with power or sound. Using a better source will improve the sound, but not by a lot. The DX1 made the sound more dynamic and better separated, but you won’t lose much by using a less powerful or cheaper source. 

Volume

The Robin is a comfortable mid volume listening set. It does decently on both low and high listening volumes, but mid volume is where it shines. It combines the tight but thick sound in the low end with the sparkly and energetic treble without inducing harshness whatsoever. You do sacrifice on some low end tactility and top end details, but that’s a worthy sacrifice for the tonal balance of the Robin. 

Bass

I was certainly impressed with the bass performance of the Robin when I first heard it. Since I’m usually used to leaner or open back headphones, I found myself impressed with how enveloping the sound of the Robin was. It was thick, rich but surprisingly tight. I didn’t find it to sound loose or woofy and gave the overall sound a rich but mature presentation. Obviously, it’s far from neutral and it’s not even the bassiest pair of headphones I’ve ever tried. But I’d argue that the bass presentation of this is perfect for people who just want a fun but well-balanced bass that gets the job done without getting fussy over the track. My main gripe about it would be the smoother presentation which is mostly a me thing as I like tactile bass as well as the extension feeling like it could go deeper. 

Mids

This is where I feel a little bit more torn as the midrange of the Robin is a mixed bag. On one end, the vocal energy of this is very forward and gives both female vocals as well as air instruments a very energetic and in your face sound. It’s also surprisingly detailed for a pair of headphones in this price range and with this much bass. Unfortunately, the dip in the lower mids and the sudden rise to the upper mids mess up its tonality a little bit too much that I would not recommend these for people who want a clean midrange. Upper mids is definitely the focus on this set and if you like energetic sounding instruments and vocals, this is a great set to get. 

Treble

Depending on your listening levels, this is the part where the Robin truly shines or is something you’d drop instantly. The treble of the Robin is sparkly, detailed and very well extended. I was genuinely surprised with how detailed the Robin was despite its warmth and I became addicted to listening to jazz instrumentals with this set. However, jacking the volume too high or listening to poorly mixed tracks will rear is fangs as the sibilance starts to show up and starts to sound harsh on poorly mixed tracks. This isn’t a major turn of for me as I do like brighter leaning headphones, but I also cannot deny that this is a little bit too much for most people. The benefit of this is the solid detail retrieval of the Robin and the excellent extension that make it stand out from all the headphones I’ve tried under $200. 

Technicalities

I was quite impressed with the technical performance of the Robin for a closed back headphone with this kind of tuning. Despite having a lot of bass and treble, the separation and imaging of this is very impressive. Even in more complex tracks, it’s able to separate the small details from instruments, vocals and even ambience. Stage is less impressive, but still great for a pair of closed back headphones. Dynamics could be improved, but resolving ability and detail retrieval is very impressive for the price. 

REAL WORLD USAGE

Arguably the biggest selling point of the Robin is the superb comfort that it provides for real world usage. Like I’ve mentioned in the comfort section, the Robin’s lack of cup swivel is negated by the extremely soft earpad cushion that is unlike anything I’ve tried before. And while it’s not the lightest on the ear, it’s definitely the most comfortable with a good amount of clamp. This is something I took issue with when I was using the Philips SHP9500 where its comfort was great but the stability was not. The Robin does not have such issues and maintains good stability over even erratic movements. 

But the best use case for the Robin, which I had 0 expectations that it’d be good at, is gaming. 

Gaming

Playing both competitive and immersive games showed why headphones are still a completely different beast to in-ears. The level of wideness and immersion while still being able to pinpoint all the important elements and sound cues is insanely good on the Robin and is one of the best I’ve heard in this price range. This could be due to the emphasized low end providing the necessary thickness on some scenarios while still sounding clean all-throughout. But whatever it is, I was genuinely impressed with the gaming performance of the Sivga Robin. So much so that I completely ditched my in-ears that caused the occlusion effect and discomfort over long gaming periods in place of the Robin’s that I ended up going for hours without any problems. Well, except for one. 

Heat and Sweat

If you live in a humid country like the Philippines, you’re probably aware of the pain of wearing headphones during summer. And if you’re not running on AC 24/7, you know the suffering even more as you either have the stinkiest pair of headphones, or you never even get to use them. Unfortunately, due to the leather material of the pads and closed back nature of the headphones, you need to expect sweat dripping from your head when using the Robin during peak summer days. 

COMPARISONS

As I’m rather new to “reviewing” headphones, I’d like to compare the headphones that I’ve spent the most time with rather than the ones that “make sense” to compare. This also brings the interesting conversation of openback and closed back headphones and their differences. 

vs Samson SR850

The cheapest pair of headphones in my collection (and the very first “hifi” gear I’ve ever owned), the SR850 is a considerably brighter but more neutral set between the two. However, the Sivga Robins exhibits the fundamental differences of a cheaper driver compared to a higher quality driver as the overall presentation is more refined, cleaner and more technical on the Robin, despite having worse tonality. Expectedly, stage is much wider on the SR850 and somehow sound better separated than the Robin, but the Robin has a cleaner way of presenting instruments, albeit in a less natural way. 

Ergonomically speaking, the SR850 is 3 steps down from the Sivga Robin as the former has a very cheap feeling build quality that speaks true of its price. The Robin improves upon everything from the quality of the pads and headbands all the way to the comfort which exhibits a massive difference. 

vs Philips SHP9500

One of the most famous budget headphones in the market, the SHP9500 excels at being one of the best “gaming” headphones thanks to its very wide stage and pinpoint imaging. However, music listening is a little lackluster due to the lack subbass extension and exaggerated treble. The Robin on paper may seem brighter and harsher, but the midbass contrasts the energy in the treble enough to make the Robin a more musical listening experience than the SHP9500. One of the biggest complaints about the SHP9500 is the lackluster resolution despite the wide stage. This is where the Robin’s superior and more refined driver shines as the resolving ability is considerably better than the SHP9500. This is to be expected, however, as the price difference is almost half. Tuning might still be more “normal” on the SHP9500, though.

 I will admit that the SHP9500 does sit on my head more comfortably, but the Robin’s pads are so comfy that I forget that the cups don’t swivel on the later. The build and construction on the Robin is expectedly better than the almost full plastic and cheap feeling SHP9500. 

vs Audio Technica ATH AVA500

Telling a similar story to the previous sets, the AVA500 has a more open, cleaner sounding and more “neutral” tuned listening experience compared to the Robin, but the Robin is a considerably more fun listening experience thanks to its more emphasized bass and more energetic treble. Timbre, once again, is expectedly better on the AVA500 compared to the Robin, but the Robin is more lively sounding overall. Technically speaking, the AVA has cleaner sounding separation but the Robin has better details, resolving ability and a more pinpoint imaging. 

Just like the previous sets, the AVA500’s build quality pales in comparison to the Robin. Unlike the SHP9500, the Robin is also insanely more comfortable than the AVA500 which is odd considering the AVA is the one made for professional use between the two sets. 

Compared to Open Backs Summary

Despite the seemingly obvious conclusion that open backs will always sound wider and close back headphones sound more claustrophobic, the Robin proved itself rather competent in the stage and imaging department. One of the things to note is that the price difference between all the sets is rather steep with most, if not, all my open backs being priced under $100 and the Robin at $149. I’ve tried enough high end headphones to know that those budget open back headphones aren’t exactly breaking any records when it comes to technicalities. But the fact that they were at least able to compete in some levels in terms of sound goes to show that the fundamental differences between open back and closed back headphones can give the impression of a “better’ sounding headphone overall. But nothing beats the fun, engagement and impact of a closed back headphone!

CONCLUSION

Who said good looking headphones can’t be good and be affordable? Sivga proved themselves in 2021 to be capable of creating a pair of wooden headphones with superb comfort and a fun sound that can still keep up in 2024. It’s a fun sounding pair of headphones perfect for casual listening that has made my music listening experience enjoyable with all the factors combined.

But I also understand that the Robin isn’t a perfect pair of headphones. The tuning is largely the reason for this as it’s an aggressive v-shaped sound signature that dips the midrange and can be a bit too much on both ends. This makes it a fundamentally casual and fun sounding headphone rather than the conventionally neutral “audiophile” headphones. I don’t think this is a bad thing, however, as the beauty of the current headphone market is that the market isn’t as big as in-ears and tuning is still largely varied depending on the brand. Companies have their distinct house sounds or have completely varied tuning on each of their sets entirely. That’s where I appreciate the existence of the Robin as proof that a fun sound can exist even without flaunting that you followed a specific target closely. 

In the end, the Robin is something that most casual listeners would enjoy. Big bass, energetic treble and a solid build for just $150 is a solid value for people looking for that kind of headphone. It makes me wonder how the SV023 evolves from the SV021!

Thank you so much for reading my review on the Sivga Robin. If you would like to order one, consider using the non-affiliated link below: https://www.sivgaaudio.com/product_d?id=11