Sound Quality
The Sivga Oriole is a fun headphone with good resolution, good dynamics and excitement. It has a forward and dynamic signature with good definition and crispness. To me, it’s a good headphone for fun listening, especially for modern music. The headphone left me with the impression that it was tuned to popular music genres, and it doesn’t have an audiophile tuning overall.
Bass
The bass response of the Oriole has good rumble and sub-bass emphasis. It’s very enjoyable and impressive, especially for modern recordings where you have a lot of bass. It feels like it’s tuned for a more mainstream crowd, instead of the audiophiles.
So the sub-bass performance is very impressive and there’s a good texture, kick and definition here. The mid-bass area is a bit diffused when compared to the sub-bass, which creates a space that is not very realistic, but certainly fun. So, great sub-bass, but the mid-bass could’ve been stronger for a more realistic tuning. It has good enough quickness and dynamism, as well as recovery.
So overall, the bass performance is good, and well separated from the mids. That provides a good sense of space that feels a bit unrealistic since the mid-bass is held back. But in terms of enjoyment, bass lovers would be well-impressed. I’m pretty much OK with it though since I think this headphone is targeted for mainstream music.
Midrange
The mids are very clean sounding with great resolution for the price. I’m actually blown away by the resolution level for 199$. Even some 500$ headphones don’t provide this much resolution, detail and transparency in the mid-range.
For the overall presentation, the mid-range is quite forward and lively, as well as being very dynamic. The upper mid-range is the most boosted area, which feels a bit unnatural but female vocals are some much fun because of this. There’s a very good definition here, especially with vocals, and the positioning is quite nice.
I think the instruments and vocals are a bit shouty at times. This was also the case with the SV023 model, although this combines that slight issue with diffused mid-bass and forward mids. The tonal accuracy, although just a bit off, is good enough for most music, but you might feel something wrong with vocals and instruments, depending on the source.
However, the headphone manages to give provide a good amount of air and the vocals are especially breathy. So the bass response plays an important role for the Oriole. Since it hits clean and physically away from the midrange, the vocals and instruments have a good room to shine, without any overshadowing from bass hits. However, there’s a price for it. The mid-range lacks the realistic timbre and foundation when it comes to fullness and mid-bass emphasis.
Apart from that, there’s good resolution and transparency in the midrange, which is the headphone’s strongest ability in this region.
Treble
The treble presentation is something I would call relaxed but well-defined. Once again, the resolution level is very impressive, and it gives a great micro-detail performance which is not expected from the price.
It reproduces the treble in a crispy way, but there’s no harshness whatsoever. Highs have a very good definition and they sound articulated. If you like your treble crisp and dynamic, the Oriole would give you that. The treble has very good transparency as well.
Highs are also nicely extended. The timbre is excellent in this region, and the openness and clarity of the treble are excellent. The timbre here is better than the timbre in the mid-range, as the treble has excellent balance, articulation, and extension for a closed-back budget headphone. The fun signature may suit many people nicely depending on the genres they prefer to listen to.
When I look at this from a purist audiophile perspective though, the treble should be a bit more relaxed and refined. Sure, you get that enjoyment and excitement, but with complex passages, it struggles to keep everything under control.
Page 1: Info, Package, Design, Build, Comfort
Page 3: Technical Performance, Comparisons, Conclusion
