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Sivga Phoenix Review (headphone)

Cahudson42

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I also thought that the amount of movement would be so little as to not be a problem...but apparently not..

FDF60B44-CF2C-4D67-9FBA-00E1BFD664C6.jpeg

Edit: 4/28 Appears I have caused confusion by Not mentioning that this is a different brand headphone exhibiting a crack - not the Sivga Phoenix...Sorry....Apologize
 
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dorirod

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"Getting a good bit was super easy" - typo since I didn't get the feeling you thought these HP were particularly delicious.
 

Dmitri

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I also thought that the amount of movement would be so little as to not be a problem...but apparently not..

View attachment 126835
Wow. That definitely stinks. Not sure if that’s due to wood movement or it’s a structural break/defect. Interesting in that it’s across the grain, which makes me think they lack the necessary structural integrity at the socket attachment. To keep things light, wood can’t match well engineered plastics for sure. Sorry to see that. Pretty sure it ruined your day... : (
Think I’ll stick to my plastic HD 580’s and 6xx’s...can’t see ‘em while I’m wearing them anyway!

Edit...looked again...that’s the end grain showing and not cross grain isn’t it? The break makes more sense now, and definitely a foreseeable problem area. That is very likely wood breakage caused by wood movement that has been impeded by a fixed structure behind it. Ouch. Poor design!
 
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GWolfman

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@amirm On some headphones it literally takes me a minute or two to find the darn designation.

Amir also needs new glasses to read his own measurements. Please donate.
To his credit, some merely have the L/R stamped or embossed with a small letter in the frame material, so it blends in (e.g., little to no contrast) making it difficult to find. Sometimes not too hard to read once you actually find it, but as there's no standard each set/manufacturer has it labeled in a different location and/or manner.
 

m8o

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I think I'd like the tonality of this headphone with a variation on the equalization shown; sort of an inverse of it. If one applies the target curve to 'touch' around 1KHz (whatever works best) and not 400 (which is entirely valid, as the 400 is picked here only for uniformity), there is a better correlation sort of averaging both above and below to the target if one only applies a three or so octave cut [Q ~= 0.71 ?] centered on the big mid-bass hump. Edit: p.s. this is not to say I wouldn't also cut out some of the largest peaks or fill the dips too.
 
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sweetchaos

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To import this PEQ profile into 'Equalizer APO', use:
Preamp: -5.4 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 45 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 2: ON LS Fc 90 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 1.0
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3100 Hz Gain 5.0 dB Q 4.0
Otherwise, see my PEQ guide.
..................................................................................................................
For those who don't have PEQ-capable app, and want to use GEQs instead.
Preamp: -3.1db
32 2.9
64 0.4
125 -0.8
250 -1.0
500 -0.7
1000 1.8
2000 0.5
4000 1.0
8000 -1.8
16000 -1.7
Preamp: -4.4db
20 1.4
25 2.4
32 1.9
40 1.6
50 1.0
63 0.5
80 0.1
100 -0.2
125 -0.5
160 -0.7
200 -0.7
250 -0.8
315 -0.8
400 -0.7
500 -0.4
630 -0.1
800 0.6
1000 1.5
1250 1.4
1600 0.5
2000 -0.2
2500 -0.0
3150 4.4
4000 -0.7
5000 -0.8
6300 -1.0
8000 -1.0
10000 -1.2
12500 -1.5
16000 -1.9
20000 -2.1
If you want to import into "Wavelet" (Android App):
GraphicEQ: 20 -1.7; 21 -1.7; 22 -1.7; 23 -1.8; 24 -1.8; 26 -1.8; 27 -1.9; 29 -2.0; 30 -2.0; 32 -2.1; 34 -2.2; 36 -2.3; 38 -2.4; 40 -2.5; 43 -2.6; 45 -2.7; 48 -2.9; 50 -3.0; 53 -3.1; 56 -3.2; 59 -3.4; 63 -3.5; 66 -3.6; 70 -3.8; 74 -3.9; 78 -4.0; 83 -4.2; 87 -4.3; 92 -4.4; 97 -4.5; 103 -4.7; 109 -4.8; 115 -4.9; 121 -4.9; 128 -5.0; 136 -5.1; 143 -5.1; 151 -5.2; 160 -5.2; 169 -5.3; 178 -5.3; 188 -5.3; 199 -5.3; 210 -5.3; 222 -5.3; 235 -5.3; 248 -5.3; 262 -5.3; 277 -5.3; 292 -5.3; 309 -5.3; 326 -5.2; 345 -5.2; 364 -5.2; 385 -5.1; 406 -5.1; 429 -5.0; 453 -4.9; 479 -4.9; 506 -4.8; 534 -4.7; 565 -4.6; 596 -4.4; 630 -4.3; 665 -4.1; 703 -3.9; 743 -3.7; 784 -3.5; 829 -3.3; 875 -3.1; 924 -2.9; 977 -2.7; 1032 -2.6; 1090 -2.5; 1151 -2.5; 1216 -2.6; 1284 -2.7; 1357 -2.9; 1433 -3.1; 1514 -3.3; 1599 -3.5; 1689 -3.7; 1784 -3.8; 1885 -4.0; 1991 -4.0; 2103 -4.1; 2221 -4.1; 2347 -3.9; 2479 -3.7; 2618 -3.2; 2766 -2.4; 2921 -1.1; 3086 -0.2; 3260 -0.8; 3443 -2.2; 3637 -3.3; 3842 -4.0; 4058 -4.4; 4287 -4.7; 4528 -4.9; 4783 -5.0; 5052 -5.1; 5337 -5.2; 5637 -5.3; 5955 -5.3; 6290 -5.3; 6644 -5.4; 7018 -5.4; 7414 -5.4; 7831 -5.4; 8272 -5.5; 8738 -5.5; 9230 -5.5; 9749 -5.5; 10298 -5.5; 10878 -5.5; 11490 -5.5; 12137 -5.5; 12821 -5.5; 13543 -5.5; 14305 -5.5; 15110 -5.5; 15961 -5.5; 16860 -5.6; 17809 -5.6; 18812 -5.5; 19871 -5.5
 
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KiyPhi

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The pads are shaped.
Did you have any seal issues measuring or when listening ?
These also appear to have swivel while some of the others with sealing issues did not. Perhaps that is an overlooked factor. I believe the HE6 which were the only Hifiman headphones measured so far without sealing issues also have some swivel.
 

MediumRare

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Seems to me the alignment of FR with a target at one frequency is arbitrary and misleading. If 80% of the curve is below target, seems to me the target level is too high.

1619632913109.png


What if the total SPL is used - or even just by eye - to line up curves a closely as possible? In this case about 4 dB. Then we’ll see the EQ problem is quite different: too much upper bass, the rest is actually pretty good.
 

Robbo99999

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Did anyone else notice the angled pads look they're on the wrong way!? Normally the narrowest part of the pad faces forwards, with the thickest part of your pad facing backwards (being behind your ear). In the pic you can see the thinnest part of the pad is pointing upwards, that strikes me as odd. Pics on Amazon & elsewhere seem to show that indeed that they do intend the thin part of the pad to be pointing upwards - unusual design choice then.
 

dorirod

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Did anyone else notice the angled pads look they're on the wrong way!? Normally the narrowest part of the pad faces forwards, with the thickest part of your pad facing backwards (being behind your ear). In the pic you can see the thinnest part of the pad is pointing upwards, that strikes me as odd. Pics on Amazon & elsewhere seem to show that indeed that they do intend the thin part of the pad to be pointing upwards - unusual design choice then.

Yes I thought that looked strange too, but it seems to be the top that's thinner rather than the sides. Look at the top gap in this photo:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...dphone-hifigo-289437_695x695.jpg?v=1593508026
 

Robbo99999

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solderdude

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Seems to me the alignment of FR with a target at one frequency is arbitrary and misleading. If 80% of the curve is below target, seems to me the target level is too high.

View attachment 126905

What if the total SPL is used - or even just by eye - to line up curves a closely as possible? In this case about 4 dB. Then we’ll see the EQ problem is quite different: too much upper bass, the rest is actually pretty good.

The EQ and sound signature will be the same. Amir references at 400Hz looks like on the left channel. Had Amir referenced to say 1kHz the 300Hz would appear higher but the only difference would be the position of the 0dB line.
 

restorer-john

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Wow. That definitely stinks. Not sure if that’s due to wood movement or it’s a structural break/defect. Interesting in that it’s across the grain, which makes me think they lack the necessary structural integrity at the socket attachment. To keep things light, wood can’t match well engineered plastics for sure. Sorry to see that. Pretty sure it ruined your day... : (
Think I’ll stick to my plastic HD 580’s and 6xx’s...can’t see ‘em while I’m wearing them anyway!

Edit...looked again...that’s the end grain showing and not cross grain isn’t it? The break makes more sense now, and definitely a foreseeable problem area. That is very likely wood breakage caused by wood movement that has been impeded by a fixed structure behind it. Ouch. Poor design!

That's a completely different headphone @Cahudson42 pictured. Not even the same brand.

The ones reviewed (Sivga) have recessed 1/8" sockets and not surface mount mini XLRs.

1619642088768.png
 

Dmitri

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That's a completely different headphone @Cahudson42 pictured. Not even the same brand.

The ones reviewed have 1/8" sockets and not mini XLRs.

View attachment 126923
I noticed that too. I think Cahudson42 was just making a generalized comment regarding wood use in HP’s. Still, you’re correct Jon. It’s important to note that the image portrayed is not of the actual headphones being reviewed here. Thanks for correcting that. ; )
 

bobbooo

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Seems to me the alignment of FR with a target at one frequency is arbitrary and misleading. If 80% of the curve is below target, seems to me the target level is too high.

Yep, I've made this point before, so for your information I'll just link you to a previous comment with a better method of target curve alignment Oratory uses, which results in a depiction of perceived tonality that makes more visual sense, and on average lower dB magnitudes needed for EQ filters and so less negative preamp gain required.
 
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m8o

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Yep, I've made this point before, so for your information I'll just link you to a previous comment with a better method of target curve alignment Oratory uses, which results in a depiction of perceived tonality that makes more visual sense, and on average lower dB magnitudes needed for EQ filters => less negative preamp gain required => more headroom.
Ah, I like that. I've had the same critique but bit my tongue. I like the approach described at that link.

Apart from this, I've actually started using oratory1990.csv as my target curve in AutoEQ a few days ago. I see that he is on to more than a few things that I am aligned with.
 
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