Today we will talk about the brand new SIVGA Anser headphones.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank SIVGA for providing me with the Anser for the purpose of this review. As always the review is unbiased and all thoughts and expressions in this review are my own.
Unboxing, design, build
Anser comes in a large box made out of cardboard. Besides the headphones, you also get a de-attachable braided cable that terminates with a 3.5mm connector, a 3.5mm to 6.35 mm adapter and a carrying pouch. The carrying pouch is nice for storage, but if you need to regularly carry the headphones I’d advise investing in the case.
Before we dive into more details, I need to say that to me the design of Anser looks like an updated SIVGA Oriole that I reviewed last year.
The headband is made out of metal and is covered with pleather with white stitching. In my Oriole review I mentioned that I wanted to see a slightly thicker headband padding. And the padding on Anser is actually improved, as SIVGA decided to add a fabric to the inner part of the headband padding. It made it thicker and also more durable and sweat resistant. The headband clamping force is average.
The joints that connect the ear cups to the headband are made out of metal too and the size adjusting mechanism works well with well pronounced clicks.The joints also rotate 180 degrees horizontally and the ear cups also rotate vertically inwards approximately 45 degrees.
The ear cups are made out of wood, the enclosures are CNC milled, and the wood is polished, painted and air dried. And the ear cups look and feel great too! On the outer part of the ear cup there is a metal mesh which makes the headphones open back.
Inside the cups, there are 50 mm dynamic drivers developed by SIVGA in house. The drivers use a titanium-plated diaphragm suspension, while the dome itself is made out of organic carbon fiber polymer and that results in a clear sound reproduction.
The ear pads are hybrid and seem to be the ear pads from Oriole that have been reworked. The ear pads are made out of pleather and also have a fabric on the inner part, contributing to the comfort and durability. The ear pads are filled with memory foam, but I wish it was more dense. The ear pads have an oval shape, measuring 100 mm by 85 mm and the opening of the ear pad is oval too, measuring 60 x 45 mm. By the way, the ear pads are easily removable and that’s a good thing.
The 3.5mm cable sockets are located on the bottom of the ear cups. The headphones come with one de-attachable braided cable. There is a 3.5mm connector on one end and two 3.5mm TRS connectors on the other. The cable has a metal splitter and the length of the cable is 2 meters. The cable feels solid but due it’s fabric coating it’s microphonic, so I advise to use an aftermarket cable if it bothers you.
Overall I think the design and build of Anser is good, and the choice of materials is also good, but I need to mention that due to large ear cup weight and ear pads size the headphones feel a bit clumsy.
Fit & comfort
The comfort of Anser is good. If you have small or medium ears, they will fit inside the ear pads with no issues. I have large ears and they almost completely fit inside the ear pads. Taking into consideration the ear pads are also 25 mm deep there is enough space. The ear pads are soft and comfortable. Despite the fact headphones come at 342 grams, they still feel light on the head and I didn’t experience any discomfort. The padding of the headband is also good and the average clamping force makes Anser very comfortable for long listening sessions.
SIVGA Anser sound impressions
Before we talk about the sound, please note that all sound impressions in my reviews are completely subjective. You should take them with a grain of salt.
The impedance of Anser is 38 Ohms and the sensitivity is 105 db which means you won’t have problems powering it off the portable sources. As usual I started my tests with Apple dongle and then continued my tests with SMSL MDA-RAW1, iBasso DX170, FiiO KA17 and iFi Hip Dac 3.
In short – Anser has a relaxing, slightly warm and safe sound presentation so I think it pairs best with the neutral and transparent sources.
The bass extension is good, but it’s not near any basshead levels. The bass is tactile, the midbass has a nice amount of punch and the sub bass has quite an authority. If you value bass quality over quantity, you will like the bass here. The bass details are average, but it’s fast. The bass can also bit somewhat soft and blunt which can suit some genres better than the others.
The midrange is warm due to bass bleed, but still sounds natural. I personally liked the lower midrage on Anser more than upper midrage which in my opinion lacks a bit of refinement. Though I still need to mention that female vocals sound engaging and lush. The instruments are slightly in the background, and sometimes lack a note weight, and the overall timbre of the midrange is colored. The well-recorded vocals on the other hand sound intimate and slightly from above your head, which is quite an enjoyable experience.
The treble is slightly veiled, soft and rounded, making not so well recorded albums much more palatable. On the other hand, with a well-recorded material I personally lacked the treble energy, sparkle and extension. I think the tuning is exactly what SIVGA were aiming for so if you are a treble sensitive person, you may like this headphone. Still in my opinion there is not enough air and extension in the treble, and I didn’t like how the treble behaves relative to the overall volume levels.
Despite being an open-back headphone the soundstage is average in width, but at least it’s not too flat and has some depth. Details and micro details, while not class-leading, are ok. However, I think that the overall resolution falls short compared to the competition in this price bracket. So if you prefer an open and airy presentation with a lots of micro details, you may be disappointed.
For my current music library I gained not much advantage from Anser’s tuning, but I need to highlight that it made some not so well recorded albums much more enjoyable.
So what do I like about these headphones?
- Good design and choice of materials
- Good fit and comfort
- Lush midrange
- Overall relaxing sound signature that suits many genres
- and the headphones can be forgiving with poor recordings
What I don’t like?
- The included cable is microphonic
- The resolution could be better
- The treble lacks sparkle and extension for my personal taste
- and the sound stage size is average, despite open-back design
The SIVGA Anser is versatile and I would say it’s a good all-arounder headphone. It’s a safe choice for music, movies and gaming (excluding competitive ones) and I think it perfectly suits the needs of it’s target audience. These headphones are priced well, look great, have a good build and excellent choice of materials. In addition they offer a relaxing sound presentation, so if such tonality is your thing – I strongly advice you to give it a try.
And that concludes my review for today. If you want to see more content like this, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
