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SendyAudio Aiva Planar Magnetic Headphones

SendyAudio Aiva Planar Magnetic Headphones

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Product Description
After 3 years of extensive research and development, SendyAudio has released their flagship Avia planar magnetic headphones to overwhelmingly positive reception. Equipped with an ultra-nano composite planar-magnetic diaphragm unit inside zebra wood housing, these headphones deliver a rich sound signature with a distinctly natural feel Read More

Customer Reviews

4.7
(54 reviews)
5star
(41)
4star
(9)
3star
(4)
2star
(0)
1star
(0)
96% would recommend to a friend
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Tasunke
108
Dec 26, 2019
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The best I have
I just can't hear anything else. Using them for 2 weeks now. Just went back to my HD58X, which I loved before. They are now dull, veiled, just no fun anymore. Nearly the same for my NDH-20. The Sendy are just that good. Bass are good, it's not a basshead headphone. But they are nice, present, have some body but no muddiness. Mids are, to me, perfect. No bump, no lack, it's just what I like. And the highs ! Holy molly the highs !!! They are my first pair of planar headphones. So maybe it's just my lack of experience. But it just something more. It's open, fast, "revealing" as they say. But no harshness at all, no sibilance. Soundstage is very close tho, not a wide pair by any stretch. And they are O P E N, a very open pair. When no sound is played is pretty much like you have nothing on your ears, which I really like. The openess IMO really add to listening comfort. I use them pretty much every single day. And since they arrived I just smile whenever I launch Foobar. Listen to any style on them is really amazing. Yes, I know they are apparently better price/perfomance pairs based on the same driver. But I wanted those since the first hype wave. The build is gorgeous, the wood is smoooooth, the leather band is gorgeous, oh so supple and really confortable. Being bald, they are by far the most confortable thing I ever put on my head. HD58X included (Sennheiser still rock on confort). I'm 6'6’’ and quite athletic, to my frame headphone weight was NEVER a problem. So YMMV in that specific regard. Driving them from a SMSL SU-8 + THX789, with the Sendy 4.4->2.5 link cable into a Drop 2.5->XLR Tried them on my JDS Atom, but it may lack the power to fully drive the pair. And they can game, they really can game. Which is always a plus, the less I have to listen to something else, the better.
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(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Subsdfasdf
0
Jul 10, 2020
TasunkeCould you share more info w.r.t NDH20 vs Sendy?
Special.K
7
Dec 22, 2020
IMO, no. I think the Aiva edges out the Sundara on detail, especially treble. The Sundara wins everywhere else though. Aiva sounds more compressed, less soundstage, a little too V-shaped for my liking. Also I've had a much easier time modifying and finding alternative pads for the Sundara so I've been able to really tune it to my taste.
topBunk
20
Jun 24, 2020
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Beautiful Headphone with Fun and Energetic Sound
Bass: Good quality bass but not a bass monster. More "punch" than "thump". Bassy songs really pack a punch without bleeding in to the mids. Mids: I know these are supposed to have fairly resessed mids but I don't see it as lacking in most tracks. Songs where vocals are supposed to be forward, certainly have forward vocals. In some rock songs I notice the vocals being further back but not excessively so. Treble: Trebles really shines through and I certainly don't hear the sibilance that others talk about. There's detail and sparkle. I get a feeling of treble notes rising high in my head. It's a super energetic and fun sound signature. Soundstage/Imaging: It certainly isn't a huge soundstage. However, the details, clarity and separation are so good it doesn't feel smooshed together; rather it feels quite intimate. There is a really nice vertical component to the soundstage. Build/Aesthetics: These are just beautiful headphones. From the grill design, to the wood splitter on the cable, to the recessed connectors on the wood cups, ever detail is stunning and well thought out. The build quality is as solid as they look. They are on the heavy side (420 g) but I don't feel that on my head/neck, even after long listening sessions. This is due to the super comfortable pads and good weight distribution. The pads, cable and case are top notch. The pads are soft, comfortable and shaped to fit around your ear/head nicely. The headband is on the large side; I have a fairly big head and I have it near the smallest setting. This has to be one of the best stock cables I've seen. It's a bit on the short side but I like that; no extra cable always getting in the way and is long enough to do the job. Power: I thought these would be harder to drive but that's not the case. I can easily get them loud just off a Galaxy S7. Off a Topping NX4, they are loud at 12 o'clock on low gain. I've heard that they scale well with better amps, so I'm curious to try that. Pros: - Great detail and separation - Fun and energetic sound signature - Good bass quality - Amazing treble, with lots of sparkle and air - Absolutely beautiful build (aesthetically and functionally) - Great accessories (some of the best stock cable and pads around, certainly for the price) - Easy to drive Cons: - Soundstage isn't huge - Not especially vocal forward - Headband may be too large for people with smaller heads
Recommends this product? Yes
dusty_marlow
10
Apr 10, 2021
topBunkCompletely agree with your review/breakdown of the headphones. Quite different from my other planars (DCA Aeon Open) but still very very very much enjoyable. I use ifi micro idsd signature and only need the dial around 10(o'clock) to fully bring out the capabilities.....but what a joy!
(Edited)
niugneP
11
Aug 13, 2020
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Consensus Opinion Prevailed
I am not sure where the experience from the adamant and polarized negative opinions come from but I've been thoroughly enjoying them. While they certainly aren't perfect they definitely are in my top headphones at home and I can safely make them my new daily drivers for most things. They've been through a fair bit of music and gaming thus far (plus a few web conferences) and I have had no problems with sound imaging or visualization. The two particular issues I have are: the highs which can definitely be harsh at times (the most definite example of this for me was Starshine by Gorillaz) and that the fit isn't the most adjustable, if my head were a bit smaller the headband wouldn't be useful and wearing these for an extended period could potentially be a problem. Overall I would say get a pair if you have the disposable income and were on the fence (or you just want a %$#^ing beautiful headphone to put on display). Edit: Consensus remains consistent. QA is pretty bad on these, like another user reported I had a loose rattling in my left ear (presumably a screw). Support won't offer any help or guidance in trying to fix or support the product so your solution would be to yolo (which I personally didn't feel like doing) or RMA. Too bad for now but I will get another pair when the timing is right.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
DonnyG
13
Aug 27, 2020
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Brought tears to my eyes
These are AMAZING! Fairly new to audiophile and have been looking for value. Context, years ago I bought my wife Monoprice M300 in ear planar years ago (they have earhook and eartip issues, but modded are great). Not sure what sparked, but this year bought 3 headphones: first Philips Fidelio X2 HR (open neodymium, wide soundstage), then ESS 422H (on Drop) for a closed back (modded the pads, left a review today), then these. These just blow away the others. Comfort/Clamping: Excellent. Others have noted they are heavy because wood, etc. but it's completely comfortable, headband pretty much disappears. Pads are still comfortable over the arms of my glasses. Drivability: Run fine through phone, iPad. Use JDS Atom when I can. Have tried through Monoprice hybrid tube amp. They're better through a phone than my other phones through an amp. Build Quality: Incredible. Watch Zeos' video review, it's accurate, every detail has been perfected. Beautiful, natural Zebrawood, my pair with less prominent grain than the example photos. Bottom Line: Best headphones I've ever heard, literally tears started to well up in my eyes first time I listened to them. The detail is incredible, especially on acoustic music. I listened to all kinds of music for hours (classical, Jazz, R&B, bluegrass, Celine Dion), couldn't get enough. Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss Whiskey Lullaby just became one of my favorite songs. The plucking of the strings, his and her voice just shine (I forced 4 or 5 coworkers to listen to this song with these). They are my daily drivers. Haven't found any genre that sounds better on my other headphones in any situation (assuming not in a noisy environment).
  • I wear X2 HR outdoors when laying in the sun so the UV light doesn't damage my Sendys.
  • ESS 422H because closed will travel with me when noise isolation is needed. Intimate Jazz recordings seem to work with these. But Sendys are better.
  • Monoprice in ear planars were better than ESS (before the pad mod done today, haven't compared the two after ESS mod).


Recommends this product? Yes
Aamarok
5
Oct 5, 2020
DonnyGAs for the source music, is it FLAC or some other hi-res?
Popcancontro
18
Nov 19, 2019
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Narrow soundstage. Very clear. Sharp highs. No bass.
Was very excited to get them, until I got them. Build quality is awesome. Soundstage is narrow for planars. Highs are shrill and piercing. Very clear. Bass is weak, even for planars. Definitely not for everyone! Edit: They did come around a little bit with the JDS Atom amp. But I stick to the general message. Really try to preview them before purchase! Also, the 4.4mm connector was bad and would go in and out.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? No
FoxtechDH
101
Jan 9, 2020
Sorced from a balanced objective dac, yes the 200 is an amp, so 789 amp comparison is what I had intended
Poukpalaova
3
Jun 16, 2020
Yes it is. SP200 it the best for the price i've seen and sound very good with the Aiva
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I have a few planars now, but the Aiva was my first planar and my first month of using it was very confusing, I ultimately concluded that this is the most vanilla headset I might ever own. There's nothing particularly special about the tuning, it's very clean and true, audio is uncolored. Music reproduction is very fast, fast like HD 700 fast. It's a pinch bass heavy, but not overwhelmingly so, with good extension, yet not far reaching, nor ever bleeding into the mids. There's no treble sparkle to this headset, treble is entirely neutral, yet still pleasant. Soundstage is moderately wide, but not notably unique. This headset has two things going for it, one, I think it reproduces strings better than anything I own, and two, if I needed any one headset to show someone unfamiliar with headphones a good headset, this is the one. It does nothing wrong, but at the same time, it's not special. If someone went from the HD-6XX as their daily driver to this, they would likely be very pleased and impressed. The headset has a very clear sense of separation, with all parts of played audio coming through clearly, this is where the headset confused me. Although the separation is clear, it is sometimes cluttered, with tendencies to become very metallic in timbre, yet the change in timbre is not consistent. It took owning the headband a year to recognize the cause of this; the representation of this headphone is extremely source dependent. Many headphones come with a house sound that can make your music sound better or worse. The Sendy Aiva is not one of those, instead, it's extremely revealing to what's in your chain, and does nothing in sound by itself, hence, vanilla. I found that it really shined with analytical amps like the Rupert Neve, and warmer DAC chips by Cirrus Logic and Burr Brown. I did not like this headphone at all with ESS nor AKM DACs; clean and dark representations were boring with vanilla, and not to my taste. All in all, the Sendy Aiva Black Beauty being complete vanilla is what would make this headphone a wonderful choice for a collection, as I don't know of any other headset that does this to this extent, but as a singular headset, or collection of one, I would pass this one up and pick a more fun choice like the DT880, or the 99 Classics. This is something worthy of love, but not by itself.
(Edited)
Between these analyses, I'm surprised I didn't mention it anywhere considering how long ago I noticed it, but the Aiva has a slightly rich, smooth character to it's mids that's somewhat restrained by its perforated pads. Tonight, I tried rolling ZMF Oval pads onto my pair thinking the little added space I would get would be very satisfying. While it was, the sealed pads also brought out it's rich, smooth tonality far more than I was expecting and yielded a much more musical and gratifying presentation than I have ever gotten out of these. If you own a Sendy Aiva and coincidentally have any type of sealed angled pads that fit it, I would recommend giving that a try. They seem like they may have a far better affinity for sealed pads and you may be very pleased with the results.
(Edited)
jaxtrauma
2104
Mar 14, 2022
I spent about $1500 on my entire headphone/IEM collection before I fell in love with the FOCAL Clear.
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Then I equaled that amount when I got the Clear. I've found it to be an all-around performer, but the ONE thing it does well is present the often neglected mid-range, where most of music actually lives, better than any I've heard. That's not to say the other registers are overlooked, no, the Clear is honest in it's presentation, it truly is Clear. There is literally nothing between you and your music (depending on the source and DAC). Highs and lows, you hear what was recorded, good or bad. If I want to compensate for a poor recording, I have an equalizer for that. What I want out of a headphone is very similar to what I want out of my loudspeakers, that is to say, I want the full audio spectrum, whether each. FOCAL was the first, and maybe still the only headphone manufacturer to employ real, full-range drivers in their dynamic (only) sets. You literally get a smaller-sized version of the drivers in their expensive loudspeakers, yet still full-ranged. I wrote a review of the Clear not long after I got it in May 2020. It really does sound better to me now, after almost two years. Here's a link if you'd like to read it: https://drop.com/talk/43807/focal-clear-review-part-1 The FOCAL Clear has turned me into more of a jazz snob than I was before ;-)
(Edited)
Yanick
18
Dec 21, 2020
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I’m no expert. Sendy Aiva are my first planar and I can only compare them to my HD6XX. Story short, totally love them. I’ll certainly lack to specific legit audiophile lingo. The Sennheiser sound feel more spacious but, like watching a movies or a classical concert form a mid-theater seat. Switching to the Sendy give the impression of sitting on row 1, or straight on the conductor podium! This awesome intimacy is making thing more immersive than the HD6XX, perfect for Jazz and chamber music. I enjoy the Sendy for massive orchestra too, but I guess some might feel a bit of distance might help see to full musical picture (same reason one prefers watching movies from the back seat). I though the Sennheiser sound was fantastic, and they still are glorious cans, but the Sendy truly outshine them in detail, especially with reproducing the fast vibration of the Brass and strings. They don’t feel too high frequency prone to me. In fact, I even gave them a slight v shape equalizer tuning, but that’s a mater of taste certainly. Built quality seems appropriately luxurious. Love the wood. Pads are super comfy. Even at the smallest setting they feel a little too big and sit a bit too low on my hears. Nothing some Nuggets can’t fix. Did I reached my end Game Headphones after two pair? Seems like it. Hard to image what to ask for more.   I’m playing my cans form Topping DX7s XLR to Topping a90, hart audio Pentaconn cable
(Edited)
Yanick
18
Mar 24, 2021
YanickA little Update If like me you feel those are a little to big for your head. Dekoni Nugets turned out to be unparticle attached to that souple leather band of the Aiva. But if found that adding a little fold in the band (on both side) reduce it length and solved my problem. Easily moded with a small allen key.
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dr_jac
28
Mar 24, 2021
YanickIt's sorta fine for me. I keep the gaps of the headband about 0.5cm on both sides. Thanks for the tip anyway!
MEV1
36
Jun 16, 2020
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Not over priced at all.
These headphones are as nice to listen to, as they are to look at. Their name is fitting. Back Beauty. The best built headphones I have experienced. They look delicate, but feel very sturdy, and do not creak or squeak at all. They are very quiet on your head, and are comfortable for hours. I am using an SMSL SU-8 Dac with an THX 789, and an Darkvoice tube amp. The sound that comes with these headphones is amazing. The lows are thumping, but not too much. The mids are a little back, but not too much. And the trebles are really something else. Very crisp and clear, but not uncomfortable. They just sing. I have the HD 6XX, HD 598, and KZ KS10 Pro's. These are in my opinion a more fun, clear head phone than the 6XX's, but I still love my 6XX's for general listening. I have also listened to HD 800's, 4XX's, Aeon Flows closed back, and M50's. The Aiva's are better for the music in the song, and trying to hear things in songs that you never heard before. Just be careful to not turn up the volume too much. These things can really crank.
Recommends this product? Yes
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Really good but flawed
It’s a V shaped headphone with a treble bias. Treble resolution and detail is exceptional. However Bass doesn’t extend as well as it could (I think) and mids are quite recessed (there’s also something off sounding but I can’t quite put my finger on it). Soundstage is about as large as the Elex, and imaging is ok although mine seems to have a rather large and very forward center imaging. If the bass extended better and the mids didn’t have that weirdness and was brought up a bit more it would be an endgame headphone. 4/5 Taking another star off because the unit I got was defective. When driving my unit on single ended, the headphone sounded quite compressed and had 0 soundstage, it sounded like the entire soundstage could fit between my eyes, basically mono at that point. One way some people have found that could fix this issue is by running it balanced, so I picked up a 4.4mm to 4-pin XLR adaptor and the Aiva certainly opened up and restored all the details. If you don’t need a lot of sub-bass or mid range, and don’t mind potentially having to go through a return process, then yes I would recommend this.
riseuplight
77
May 11, 2020
Ares78What is an example of a headphone model you enjoy?
Poukpalaova
3
Jun 16, 2020
Ares78It's the adapter connector the problem for me. I bougth another 4.4mm to XLR and it's good now.
Axelpanic
23
Dec 28, 2019
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Endgame? Likely,
The long and the short? Short version: yes, except tubes. Long version: These are some seriously endgame worthy headphones, if you want accuracy and clean. If you want the headphone that can do it all, these are close with the exception of warmth and tubes. Still, these may be my endgame. Can't wait to see if I can find a better pair for under this price tag. See my full review here: https://www.brokeaudiophile.net/
(Edited)
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