Headphones

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Sendy Audio, along with its parent company Sivga, has a mixed record here at SoundStage! Solo. Brent Butterworth wasn’t a fan of the Apollo headphones, giving them a 3.5/10 for sound quality, but he really liked the Peacocks, giving them a 9.5/10, which earned them a Reviewers’ Choice award. I thought the Luans were OK, but I liked the P2 Pro headphones more. So I had no idea what I was in for with the new Aiva 2 headphones ($599, all prices in USD).

They certainly have some interesting specs. The planar-magnetic driver is only 1μm thick, which Sendy says ensures “very clear performance for medium and high frequencies.” The steel-and-zebra-wood housing and frame is quite elegant. The back of the earcups feature a version of Sendy/Sivga’s cool-looking latticework. In all, they look higher-end than their price suggests. Do they sound it? Excellent question.

In the box

Included with the Aiva 2s is a hard, leather-wrapped case that’s similar to what you get with other Sendy/Sivga headphones. The 2m braided cable, which connects to the earcups with 3.5mm connectors, ends in a 4.4mm connector. Don’t worry if you don’t have a source with a 4.4mm output, as a 4.4mm-to-3.5mm adapter cable is also supplied. Lastly, there’s a hemp carrying bag for the cables.

Use

The Aiva 2s are extremely comfortable. The earcups, which swivel and pivot, have “skin-friendly velvet” where they touch your head and are filled with memory foam. At 420gm, they’re a little on the heavy side. That’s about the same as the P2 Pro (435gm) and Audeze LCD-5 (420gm) headphones but a little heavier than the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro MkIIs (376gm). So they’re in the ballpark for serious headphones but definitely not lightweight.

Sound

If you imagine an EQ setting of +1 treble and +1 bass, you have a good idea of the overall sound of the Aiva 2s. They lean more towards the upper-mids and highs, bordering on bright, but there is still enough bass that they don’t sound lopsided or empty.

I started with “Echoes - Part 1” from the new remaster of the soundtrack to Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii (Pink Floyd at Pompeii - MCMLXXII, 24-bit/96kHz FLAC, Columbia Records / Qobuz). Nick Mason’s cymbals stood out here quite a bit, though they weren’t harsh or overly crystalline. Roger Waters’s bass was never lost in the mix, but there wasn’t much low-bass extension. The driving bass line at the start of “One of These Days” didn’t have as much power as you’d hear with more bass-friendly headphones. When the band came in, it was the cymbals and the snare that took center stage. The midrange didn’t feel particularly suppressed, but the treble was more prominent.

Planar-magnetic drivers are usually really good at fast, realistic transients like percussion hits. To check that on the Aiva 2s, I put on “Space Lion” from the Seatbelts’ original Cowboy Bebop soundtrack (16/44.1 FLAC, Sunrise Music / Qobuz). This track is a mix of percussion, saxophone, synths, and a chorus of vocals. The drums had an immediate attack and bounced beautifully around the wide soundstage. The maracas stood out, but there wasn’t as much air to the mix as one might expect with headphones with some extra treble.

Figuring they’d do well with some classical, I cued up a performance of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (24/96 FLAC, Harmonia Mundi / Qobuz). This particularly brisk take of the third Brandenburg Concerto has great spacing of the instruments across the soundstage. The harpsichord never got lost, and while the cellos and violone definitely took a back seat (chair?) to the violins and violas, there was enough bass that it still sounded like a cohesive group and gave the track enough weight, when otherwise it could have been very top-heavy.

The Aiva 2s aren’t super-hard to drive—definitely easier than bigger planars like some Audeze headphones. I got plenty of volume with the amps I tried, including the Schiit Audio Magni. Using the meekly powered Sony NW-A306 media player, I was able to get a reasonable listening level, but not one that I’d call particularly loud. If you’re considering using these with a portable device, I’d recommend either one with decent power on its own or one paired with a portable amp.

Comparison

While they use traditional drivers instead of planars like the Aiva 2s, the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro MkIIs ($599.99) are some of the best headphones I’ve reviewed in a while. I put on that favorite of audiophiles, Holly Cole’s “Cry (If You Want To)” (Don’t Smoke in Bed, 16/44.1 FLAC, Blue Note / Qobuz). Cole’s voice was more forward in the Aiva 2s. The DT 1990s had more, and deeper, bass. The 1990s didn’t quite have the detail of the Aiva 2s, but weren’t lacking in treble and were better balanced overall. There was a crispness to the Aiva 2s, which had better transients. If you’re looking for more treble and less bass, the Aiva 2s are the better option. They certainly look cooler than the more staid DT 1990s.

Given their familial similarities, the Sivga P2 Pro headphones ($449) seemed a logical comparison as well, despite being slightly cheaper. Even before getting to the sound, the Aiva 2s are a little more comfortable, with softer padding on the earcups. With “Budapest” by George Ezra (Wanted on Voyage, 24/96 FLAC, Columbia Records / Qobuz), the Aiva 2s had more treble, with the tambourine and snare being more noticeable. However, the treble was easier to listen to. They’re more similar than different, but I preferred the Aiva 2s.

Conclusion

As far as treble-friendly headphones go, the Aiva 2 headphones do a good job of creating a detailed sound without being fatiguing. I prefer more bass in my favorite headphones, and these are sort of the mirror-universe version of that. They’re also quite attractive and well built. In all, they’re a great entry in the midrange planar-magnetic category for those who prefer more highs than lows in their sound.

. . . Geoffrey Morrison
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Associated Equipment

• PC: iBuyPower Windows 10.
• DAC–headphone amplifiers: Schiit Audio Magni, Rotel DX-3
• Portable media player: Sony NW-A306

Sendy Audio Aiva 2 headphones
Price: $599
Warranty: One year, parts and labor

Sendy Audio
Dongguan SIVGA Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.
Juhui E Valley High-tech Industrial Zone, Jinfu 2nd Road
Tangchun Village, Liaobu Town, Dongguan, Guangdong, China. 523000
Phone: 0086-769-22885985

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.sendyaudio.com