Closer Examination

The cable that comes with the Sivga SV023 is quite impressive, and reminded me even of the excellent Audeze LCD-5 cable for a while. It certainly looks more premium than the other Sivga cables I've had experience with, with the tan and copper color scheme contributing at least partly towards this appearance. I do wish the braiding of the four strands was done more tightly though, since it is otherwise a bulkier cable than the mass indicates. The biggest thing of note here is the use of a 4.4 mm Pentaconn-style TRRS balanced connector headed to the source, indicating that perhaps the SV023 needs more power than you might think. It's part of a relatively large housing that has an anti-kink metal spring extension, the same is also seen on the included adapter that allows you to go to a 3.5 mm connector as seen above. The cable conductor is composed of 6N (99.9999% purity) oxygen-free copper, and the cable ends up fairly easy to coil, route over objects, and reshape as needed. No microphonics were felt in use either, completing the good functionality aspects here. Plenty of Sivga logos are present on the cable from branding, including on the physical Y-splitter that leads to a rarely seen cable cinch—for headphones anyway—and two thinner cables headed to the two channels. These come with their own large housings with knurled finishes for better grip, and are marked "L" and "R" for the left and right channels, respectively. Sivga is using 2.5 mm TS connectors with a single ring (green for left, red for right), and the connectors are all gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


As with the cable itself, the Sivga SV023 certainly looks the part in convincing anyone remotely familiar with premium headphones, that the SV023 is a member of that club. I particularly enjoyed the muted, darker colors here compared to the brighter aesthetics on the Sivga Phoenix, although the actual frame and headband design is quite similar. This is good—why change a working formula? The headband consists of a steel band with two thin strips curved to fit over your head, and there is a genuine goat skin leather suspension strap with Sivga branding on the top, and foam filling in nine discrete nuggets, if you will, for consistent support all around the head, with gaps in the middle for airflow, minimizing hot spots. This suspension band is connected to the steel band on both sides, and the stitching on both sides of the leather is well done. The headband assembly meets the ear cups in a fairly elaborate aluminium alloy connection on either side, and L/R markings on the outside indicate the channels, in addition to markings on the ear pads themselves.


Vertical headband sizing is done via points where the suspension and steel bands meet, with the notch on either end being the region of movement for the sizing bar. There are no discrete steps, so getting both sides right can be somewhat cumbersome—just eyeballing it seems to give decent results. Shown above are the two extreme points of the vertical sizing, both about average for headphones, the Sivga SV023 may be used with small and large heads alike.


The bracket and frame here is cleaner than on the Phoenix too, especially with no visible logos outside. The brackets connect the headband and frame to the ear cups at two separate points, as typical with such headphones, and we get ~45° horizontal swivel in either direction. There is also a pivot point for small amounts of angular inward and outward movement, so there is some flexibility on all three axes—as such, the Sivga SV023 is one of the more customizable options when it comes to a good fit over the ears.


Sivga uses walnut wood for the ear cups here, which is effectively the housing. The wood is CNC-machined and put through a combination of grinding, polishing, and touch-up painting, followed by natural air drying, resulting in an extremely smooth surface, one of the feature points of the SV023. The wood is raised outward more than usual, and in the center is a CNC-machined aluminium ring in black to contrast against the gunmetal gray stainless steel mesh, providing a complex layering effect while also keeping the SV023 open-back in design. Then we get to the unique ear pads, which Sivga says are especially-shaped based on the dimensions of the human head, for comfort and sealing.


I mentioned before how these ear pads come with L/R markings on the inside, and removing one is as simple as pulling it off given the typical installation mechanism in place, whereby the stretchy bit on the back fits in the space in the ear cups. The ear pads use a hybrid composition with protein leather on the outside and a soft breathable velvet fabric on the side contacting the face. Inside is memory foam of medium density, and the synthetic leather sides are further perforated for additional breathability and long-term comfort. The stock pads are accounted for in the final tuning of the headphones as per Sivga. A look from the side reveals the complex contouring and angled nature of these ear pads, and I am somewhat perplexed by the larger gaps at the top than the bottom. If paired with a deliberately designed ear cup and bracket, it should make for a near-custom fit on people—more on this on the next page. The opening is oval-shaped and large enough to fit pretty much all ears, and there is an integrated fine screen to prevent dust and other contaminants from hitting the internal drivers.

Removing the ear pads also provides a closer look at the new 50 mm dynamic driver that visibly looks different from those used on the Sivga Robin and Phoenix. There's also the part where the drivers are now aligned off-center, similar to the HarmonicDyne Zeus and Poseidon we saw earlier, the grille over the driver is also a different design. Indeed, Sivga claims pretty much everything here is in-house developed, and we will go over this in more detail on the next page. Four Phillips head screws hold the driver assembly in place on the wooden ear cups, removing which confirms the open-back—semi-open if I say so myself—nature of these headphones and the machined walnut wood. 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. Note also the Sivga branding on the drivers complete with company website to alleviate any doubts as to who is responsible for making these.


On the bottom of the ear cups and towards the front is where we find small cutouts in the wood for the cable connectors. These allow the cable plugs to connect easily enough, which in turn naturally directs the cable away from your body and comfortably sets it down at the splitter on your chest, or a desk when sitting down. The Sivga SV023 utilizes dual 2.5 mm TS connectors, meaning there is compatibility with aftermarket cables supporting this connector type, should you want to try something other than the stock cable. I'd have liked to see Sivga go with 3.5 mm TRS connectors though, as there are simply far more cable options in this size. Regardless, with the two cable sections combining at the splitter and you using the cinch to secure them in place, the overall weight balance is still centrally placed as the cable heads to the source. The cable is a standard 2 m in length, making it ideal for desktop use. The provided adapter adds ~20 cm to the length should you prefer a single-ended source, and then slightly more if you go with a 1/4" adapter in series. It's not the most ideal scenario for portable use thus, and most of my listening was done at home with the likes of the FiiO K9 Pro and its 4.4 mm output. I will also point out that Sivga offers a new cable with an optional in-line microphone and a 3.5 mm source connector, if you want to go that route.