Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the Sivga Oriole placed on a mannequin head to help show how these headphones would look on the human head. Note that the head is slightly under average sized, so account for the discrepancies accordingly. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, so make sure to properly use the various pivot points, and the height adjustability of the headband and ear cups. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page, but I will point out that the Oriole weighs 280 g and certainly does not feel heavy on the head if properly positioned. I do wish the headband was more plush though, and I can see customers potentially adding in a wrap-around headband cover or even something such as the Dekoni Nuggets if they can fit in there. Clamping force seems adequate enough, at least on my average-sized head. The extensive fit options in the form of vertical headband sizing and cup swivel in two directions allows for the Oriole to better match your head and ears alike. The pads are large enough to be over-ear for most, although I can see larger ears perhaps touching the inside fabric owing to the use of the thinner pads coupled with softer foam filling. It's easy enough to get a decent seal although there is minor leakage from the sides to where those sitting next to you in a bus, say, are likely to get a second-hand taste of whatever you are listening to, which does reduce one of the main advantages of closed-back headphones here, even though the ambient environment is not going to be a real issue for your listening experience. I'd also not use these outdoors too much in the absence of any rated dust or spill resistance.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

Sivga does not share any details about the driver used in the Oriole except to say it is an "in-house developed 50 mm dynamic driver." As such, I can only speculate this is the same dynamic driver used in the Robin with its polycarbonate and fiber diaphragm that is reportedly ultra-thin and flexible. If so, driving it back and forth should be a 3 mm thick Nd-Fe-B magnet with high magnetic flux, and the diaphragm should be paired with a CCAW (copper clad aluminium wire) voice coil. Either way, the Oriole is fairly easy to drive even from portable sources given the relatively average 32 Ω mean impedance; however, with a 15% deviation over the frequency range owing to the likely non-linear impedance curve, and above average sensitivity of 108 dB/mW. This helps reduce the entry barrier for the mainstream audience to pick up a set of the Sivga Oriole, since it can be used with a 3.5 mm output on your laptop or PC, let alone also your phone with a dongle cable adapter.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.

Testing was done similar to other recent headphones, such as the Sivga SV023. The headphones are placed on an artificial head simulator connected to a reference USB sound card which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running. The headphones were powered off a transparent source—the FiiO K9 Pro ESS in this case—for measurements after confirming it was not a bottleneck in any way. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, netting a good balance of detail and signal to noise ratio. The default tuning was used for testing, and no app or program-based EQ settings were chosen, unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is measured at least thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the individual measurements for statistical accuracy.


As before, you can find my headphone frequency response measurements on VSG.squig.link along with all the earphone measurements. Scroll to the bottom and choose different targets there, including two from Harman Kardon developed after years of R&D. The Harman 2018 over-ear target in particular, is a reference curve many headphone makers aim for now, but I find it too bass-boosted. As such, I am opting for the Harman 2018 curve with the bass target from the Harman 2013 curve, which is what is referred to as the "Harman Combined" target. Before we get talking about the sound signature of the Sivga Oriole, I want to briefly talk about the channel balance achieved here. You will notice how the left and right channels are quite similar across the entire 20 Hz to 20 kHz range of interest. The tiny discrepancies could be measurement artifacts or simply present without my ears detecting them anyway. As such, I have no complaints on driver matching which is usually not a priority in the price range the Oriole belongs to.

Sivga hasn't shared much on what the goal with the Oriole was and also why someone looking at a Sivga set would consider this vs. the Robin from last year. All I was told was this was an update to the Robin with better tuning in mind while also making some changes to the build and design as we saw on the previous page. The Robin went with a clear V-shaped sound that no doubt contributed to its more mainstream appeal, at least relative to the general Sivga headphones lineup, and the Oriole tweaks that to be a more mature set. It's still bass-heavy although the bass shelf is now concentrated from 200 Hz and lower. As with typical closed-back sets, we get a dip in SPL that is effectively a compromise for the design. It has to happen and can be spread out, if you will, and here we see Sivga opt to have it right at 200 Hz to further accentuate the bass shelf while also making for cleaner mids. This is a boomy set which will satisfy bassheads with plenty of punch, but does lose out on detail—especially if you are looking for contrast between beats at different sound levels or even to appreciate leading and trailing edges of tones.

Layering is not a strong suit here thus and, if this is indeed the same drivers as in the Robin and Phoenix, then now we have a third different take on what they are capable of. If you care more about electronic music and just want to jive to the hard-hitting beats then sure, the Oriole will be plenty fine for it. I don't see it as working out for the mid-bass as much, especially with any music genre involving bass guitars and kick drums whereby you do lose out on contrast and dynamic range. On the other hand, the good imaging coupled with a satisfying soundstage and nice instrument separation can make this work well for pop and country music. The mids are stronger here than I expected with vocals especially benefiting. Female vocals can be slightly nasally but not enough to be a real negative in my books. Sivga also addressed the potential for sibilance from the previous sets here, although it does make for lacking lower treble to where it's not the best set for classical music. I also felt that the entire treble response was over-dampened even though it's likely not deliberately so, and this is another Sivga hallmark that unfortunately has not changed much over the last year. It also affects timbre to an extent and snare drums felt metallic to the impact shot whereas violins fared better and sounds more natural against other string instruments.


I have a few other closed-back sets here in the price range the new Sivga Oriole operates in. This logically includes the predecessor Sivga Robin, in addition to the even more popular Meze 99 Neo. I'd say the Oriole is the best of these three for me in multiple ways. Build quality is the best of the lot with the new yokes in particular also helping make these quite comfortable to use for long periods of time, although the Meze set can compete favorably on the comfort factor. I also appreciate that the Oriole comes in two color options with matching accessories, although the Robin also has that exact feature. The Meze 99 Neo is a plastic set and really it would be the Meze 99 Classics at a higher price that are closer to these, but all three vary significantly in tonality and technical performance. The two Sivga units felt equally resolving with the edge given to the Oriole, although I am not sure if this is to do with the tuning where the Robin is more typical of a V-shaped tuning, and the Meze 99 Neo is just bad. Indeed, the Oriole is what the Meze 99 Neo could have been—albeit it is obviously not perfect too and I'd personally use EQ in the bass shelf and the 200 Hz dip—and it also ends up more favorable for a multitude of different genres compared to the Robin and the 99 Neo. The Sivga Oriole is also just a better set for general media consumption too.