I was admittedly far more curious about the Sivga Phoenix than most other headphones here, primarily because I had heard that the same driver sounds quite different in the Sivga Phoenix and Robin. The Robin was clearly targeting a more portable use case with the closed-back set going for a V-shaped tuning, and it took my listening to the Phoenix to better understand why I felt the bass there is being pushed further than it should be. Here too are filters for bass extension, which measures akin to a good planar set. Equalization is already done in advance, and the Phoenix sounds warm, but in a good way. There isn't much more room left for users to play with before details turn muddy, which is perhaps what happened with the Robin pushing it further. Regardless, I am happy to note that the Phoenix is a better set in pretty much every way, and an easy recommendation over the Robin even for the increased cost if you are fine with an open-back set, of course. I can definitely see some folks ending up with both sets for different applications, and the similar driving requirements mean you can use the same source set to the same volume and easily swap between the two as needed.

The upper mids need some more work, especially compared to how up-front the lower mids with male vocals are. Once again I urge you to consider EQ, where a total of two filters will take the Phoenix from good to nearly great. The dynamics aren't going to best a $500 planar set such as the HIFIMAN Edition XS, but the Phoenix currently costs half as much courtesy discounted pricing from readily accessible vendors. But it gets way more things right as-is, and $250 is smack dab in the middle of where I truly believe you will get the best value for your money when it comes to headphones. The competition is tough, yet Sivga carved out a niche for the Phoenix where few others are present. Good job overall!