Closer Examination

The cable that comes with the Sivga Luan weirdly feels like the cheapest cable from any Sivga set I've reviewed to date, even though the actual conductor composition is no doubt beyond reproach. I am pretty sure my feelings towards it are primarily due to the use of TPU—thermoplastic polyurethane, not TechPowerUp—sleeve over the copper inside. The previous Sivga cables had a fabric sleeve or even used individually braided wires and looked/felt better to me. Practically though the only issue is memory retention and a general unwillingness to be re-shaped easily. I am not sure why Sivga went this route for the cable! On the plus side, it is not microphonic and matches the color of the headphones to a good extent. There are knurled metal connector housings used with Sivga branding on them as we begin with a 3.5 mm TRS connector from your source and leading up to the Y-splitter. Good strain relief is integrated here and then comes the nice update with Sivga finally ditching 2.5 mm TS connectors on the headphones side in favor of more standard 3.5 mm connectors. There are L/R markings in addition to a colored ring (green/red) to help identify the left/right channels, respectively. The various metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


The Sivga Luan can be somewhat divisive in aesthetics depending on which color version you go with. When I shared some photos of this brown color version online, people either loved it or hated it—there wasn't much in between. The stock photos of the black color version seemed to fare better generally, but the point is that you have this option in the first place in a world where headphones come in a single finish from pretty much everyone else. I dig the brown and tan color scheme going on in this set and it also reminds me of some of the more expensive HIFIMAN headphones on the market—more on that in a separate article later on. The color and wood type aside, both version of the Luan are practically identical to where this review will represent either version. For example, you get CNC machined steel frames on both in addition to a good suspension-style headband assembly which consists of a steel band with two thin strips curved to fit over your head, and there is a protein leather suspension strap with foam filling in eight discrete nuggets, if you will, for consistent support all around the top and sides of the head and gaps in the middle for airflow, which minimizes hot spots. This suspension band is connected to the steel band on both sides, and the stitching on both sides of the suede leather is well done. The side touching your skin has a fabric—Sivga claims velvet—surface that is non-irritative and doesn't retain sweat either. The headband assembly meets the ear cups on either side and L/R markings on the outside indicate the channels.


Vertical headband sizing is done via the steel insert in a notch on either side wherein this effective sizing bar moves up or down between the two end points. There are no discrete steps and thus getting both sides matched exactly can be cumbersome. However, this isn't a big deal in practice that you can just eyeball it. Shown above are the two extreme points of the vertical sizing, both about average for headphones, and the Sivga Luan can be used with small or large heads alike.


There are articulating points where the frame meets the ear cups allowing for a decent amount of cup swivel on the Luan in either direction. This is enough to accommodate ear positioning on the side of your head and is accompanied by further rotation up or down to where there is good flexibility on all three axes. As such, the Sivga Luan offers one of the more customizable fit options for end users.


Sivga doesn't talk about the exact wood material used on the ear cups of the Luan but suffice to say it's solid wood and not wood vinyl. The wood is also CNC machined before undergoing manual grinding, polishing, painting, and drying. This brown color version has closed-pore wood and I suspect the black one is more matte/open depending on my experience with the Sivga Phoenix and SV023. The stainless steel wire grille has a black lacquer coating which contrasts nicely with the polished trim around it that is placed on an indent too. Then we get to the ear pads which almost appear to be clown shoe levels of over-sized compared to the cups themselves. The ear pads are easily removable as you just rotate the ear pads anti-clockwise slightly to separate the plastic interlocking tabs as seen above. This can potentially impact the overall seal achieved though.


There is a mesh screen on the ear pads helping to keep any contaminants from hitting the drivers but we see they have a protective mesh of their own. The 50 mm dynamic drivers used in the Sivga Luan are slightly angled inward to hit the ear canal directly as with other Sivga headphones. Four Phillips head screws hold the driver assembly in place on the wooden ear cups, removing which confirms the open-back nature of these headphones and machined solid wood cups, albeit the grill has some form of back dampening in place. Two wires connect the cable connector to the driver PCB, and the wires are far thicker than usual, which should appeal to those complaining about internal wiring being too thin and delicate. The solder job could be better but this won't impact functionality.


The stock pads adopt a hybrid design with the same "velvet" on the contact surface as on the suspension band itself and then protein leather on the other sides. There is foam filling inside but it's low-density foam that makes for very soft pads that are relatively easy to collapse under pressure. This can bode well for getting these oval-shaped pads to better contour around your ears but can also result in an imperfect seal easier compared to ear pads that are contoured to begin with. Note also how the pads extend outward from an opening which itself isn't all that large to where those with larger ears may notice some contact with the inner fenestrated surface—this is done to minimize unwanted resonances in the ear canal. The large L/R markings help with pad replacement although Sivga has yet to make them separately available as of the date I write this review.


On the bottom of the ear cups is where we find small cutouts for the cable connectors. These are slightly angled forward to minimize the chance of the cable connectors hitting your neck/shoulders but not as much as many other headphones recently released—should not be an issue for most people hopefully. That said, I still recommend using a taller headphone stand here to avoid unnecessary stress on the cable connection. The newer use of 3.5 mm connectors by Sivga helps increase aftermarket cable compatibility tremendously in case you don't like the stock cable, want something with a different aesthetic, or even prefer a cable that is shorter or longer. The stock cable is 1.6 m in length which works decently for portable/desk use, although I can certainly see people wanting a 1.2 m or 2-3 m cable instead. Note that TRS connectors will fit fine here despite the stock cable going with TS connectors. The other end has a 3.5 mm TRS single-ended connector (6.35 mm with the adapter) so you can use it with your laptop/PC headphone jack if you have no other choice.