Sendy Audio Aiva Review

After listening to a couple of Sendy Audio models, including its flagship, the Peacock, it’s clear that the brand focuses on delivering an even-handed and natural sounding profile with an entertaining soundstage. Taking the price point into account, the Aiva might be my favorite model of the three I’ve demoed. What can you expect in terms of sound signature and performance?

In the Box

• Sendy Audio Aiva Headphones
• Balance Cabled with 4.4mm Termination
• 3.5mm Adapter
• Cable Pouch
• Hard Carrying Case

Look and Feel

Apart from the classy zebra wood design that shapes the circumference of the ear cups, the Aiva is perhaps has the most modest aesthetic of the three Sendy models. In fact, it approximates the look and feel of its Sivga relatives. The headphone isn’t particularly light, but it’s certainly comfortable to wear. The outside of the contoured ear pads sport a perforated leather-like material, while the interior is made from soft fabric. The leather headband (supported by steel above) also has a soft and flexible design, making the overall fit quite forgiving.

Design

Like the flagship model, the Aiva employs a planar magnetic driver and is reasonably easy to drive, at 32 Ohms. A portable DAC/Amp will be sufficient. Using the balanced 4.4mm connection will give you optimal performance, but I found that the sound quality wasn’t significantly diminished using the unbalanced connection with the 3.5mm adapter.

Sound Impressions

Soundstage

You’ll get some nice spaciousness in terms width, and the imaging feels accurate on this axis. The sense of depth is perhaps less impressive, and instrument placement tends to fall into to the stereo field. Still, you’ll hear a good amount of height, and though the soundscape may not feel thoroughly multidimensional, the Aiva gives off some poppy spacial color, making it a fun listen overall.

Low-End

The Aiva presents a satiating bass response. Generous, fast and punchy, the bass brings plenty of life to pop and funk tracks. The sub-bass frequencies are bountiful as well, creating a gratifying rumble in the chest when listening to hip-hop tracks. The level of detail is decent, though strings instruments feel a little smoothed over rather than highly textured. On the flip side, there’s a sweet fluidity to note progressions and a naturalness to the timbre of bass instruments. So, overall, the low-end is a crowd pleaser, satisfying bass heads without offending more conservative listeners.

Mids

You’ll hear a relatively even balance in the mids. As a result, tracks with heavy instrumentation sound warm and all encompassing. And vocals avoid protruding in front of the mix. Much like the other Sendy models, the midrange can feel a little compact at times, sometimes lacking the clean layering needed to reveal true definition in busy mixes. Still, the separation within the instruments themselves is top notch, even in the low mids. And the sound certainly feels more delineated on the Aiva than it does on the slightly more affordable, Apollo model. But as with the Apollo, the tonality is always realistic and uncolored, making this headphone an ideal choice for those who listen to a lot of acoustic genres.

Highs

Unlike the Peacock and Apollo, you’ll hear a very sparkly high-end from the Aiva, bringing tons of crispness and shine to funk and pop tracks. Vocals are also a pleasure to listen to. Female vocalists in this range sound breathy, while showing off plenty of bounce and air. Unsurprisingly, the highest frequencies can get a little peaky at times, and jazz and string instruments at the very highest treble can become a tad fatiguing. But for the most part, the high end is skillfully presented and adds some nice flair to the more moderately balanced lower frequencies.

Summary

I found the Aiva to be a more satisfying listen than the Apollo. The fleshy, impactful bass, combined with the shiny highs and full-bodied mids, make the Aiva not only a enjoyable headphone, but also a versatile one with respect to the genres it can handle. It is also the most appropriately priced Sendy model, considering the skill that it offers. It may not be the most charismatic headphone I’ve ever listened to. But the naturalness it lends to acoustic instruments, combined with the liveliness it brings to modern genres, makes the Aiva a great all-rounder. And for those who are looking to buy their first audiophile-grade headphone, the Aiva is a perfect entry point.

You can buy the Sendy Audio Aiva at Audio 46.

Specifications