SIVGA ANSER Open-Back Headphones Review: Maximizing Spacious Sound

This review was made possible by SIVGA, who provided the product.

SIVGA, a high-fidelity audio brand established in 2016, has gained significant popularity among audiophiles thanks to its exceptional acoustic design and meticulous craftsmanship. SIVGA’s product lineup consists of diverse models, notably recognized for their unique approach of utilizing natural wood for the housing material. Series like the P-II, SV023, ROBIN, and PHOENIX each offer a distinctive acoustic experience through varying wood types and design characteristics.

Today, we’ll be reviewing the SIVGA ANSER, the brand’s premium open-back headphones, which combine solid wood housings with dynamic drivers. One of the greatest advantages of open-back headphones is their wide soundstage and natural acoustic environment. Let’s delve into its features.

Product Specifications and Components

**Specifications**

Befitting a premium product, the SIVGA ANSER comes in packaging with protective foam padding. Included are the ANSER headphones themselves and a 2m detachable cable.

The cable terminates in a 3.5mm stereo mini-plug, and a 6.35mm adapter is included for connection to home audio systems or headphone amplifiers. A linen pouch for storing the headphones is also provided.

Design and Features

The most striking feature of the SIVGA ANSER is undoubtedly the wood housing with its visible wood grain. The natural grain and color variations of the natural wood are preserved, giving each pair of headphones a unique pattern.

Unlike conventional headphones, the ANSER’s open-back design features an open structure. This allows sound to disperse naturally, creating a wide soundstage and delivering a natural, clear sound quality. It also contributes to comfortable listening even during extended wear. With improved airflow, the ears feel less stuffy, and the natural way the sound envelops the ears reduces listening fatigue.

The SIVGA ANSER comes with a 2m high-quality detachable cable. This allows for easy replacement if the cable gets damaged and offers audiophiles the option to upgrade to a premium cable if desired.

The headband is adjustable to accommodate various head sizes, and the earcups can both slide and rotate, ensuring an optimal fit for different face shapes. This flexibility contributes significantly to long-term wearing comfort.

The earpads are made of luxurious velvet, providing a soft feel and excellent comfort. The appropriately thick and dense cushioning gently surrounds the ears while minimizing pressure, creating a fatigue-free listening experience even during extended music sessions. The breathable velvet material also prevents excessive heat and moisture buildup, especially during warmer months.

The headband is also finished with the same velvet material and ample padding, effectively distributing pressure on the top of the head. The SIVGA logo is tastefully embossed on the top of the headband, and the use of high-quality leather complements the overall premium aesthetic.

At the heart of the ANSER lies a SIVGA-developed 50mm dynamic driver. This driver features a titanium-plated frame and a carbon fiber polymer dome. The titanium-plated diaphragm edge and powerful neodymium magnets ensure accurate vibration without distortion, even at high frequencies. The carbon fiber polymer dome is lightweight, rigid, and suitably elastic, contributing to fast responsiveness and a rich dynamic range. This hybrid structure delivers balanced sound across a wide frequency range and captures even the finest details.

SIVGA Open-Back Headphones

Within SIVGA’s lineup, the ANSER and ROBIN represent the open-back and closed-back designs, respectively. Comparing these two models helps illustrate the characteristics and advantages of open-back headphones.

The ROBIN, a closed-back model, has fully sealed earcups, effectively blocking external noise and minimizing sound leakage. This design traps the bass resonance, delivering a more powerful and punchy low-end. The closed structure increases sound pressure, resulting in a more direct and focused sound, especially beneficial for genres like pop or EDM where strong beats and bass are crucial.

In contrast, the open-back ANSER allows for free air circulation. This structural difference fundamentally impacts the sound characteristics. The primary advantage of open-back headphones lies in their wider soundstage and more natural acoustic environment. The free flow of air allows the drivers to move more naturally, creating a sense of spaciousness akin to listening to music in a live concert setting.

This characteristic particularly shines with genres like classical, jazz, and acoustic music, where instrument placement and spatial representation are essential. It more realistically reproduces the positioning of orchestral sections, the resonance of the concert hall, and the interplay between instruments. Furthermore, the open structure effectively dissipates heat and moisture buildup, ensuring a more comfortable listening experience over extended periods.

However, open-back headphones are susceptible to external noise and sound leakage, making them less suitable for public spaces or noisy environments. They are primarily designed for focused music listening in quiet settings like at home.

In terms of comfort, the ANSER surpasses the ROBIN. While the ROBIN offers basic headband adjustments, the ANSER features both sliding and rotating earcups, allowing for a more precise fit to the user’s head and face shape. This significantly reduces fatigue during long listening sessions.

Sound Test

The SIVGA ANSER is a high-performance headphone with an impedance of 38Ω and a high sensitivity of 105dB. While these specifications allow for basic operation with standard smartphones or portable players, using a headphone amplifier is recommended to maximize the ANSER’s potential.

For this test, the ANSER was paired with a Topping A70 PRO amplifier and a D70 PRO DAC. This combination, known for its neutral and transparent sound, was chosen to convey the headphone’s inherent sound signature as faithfully as possible.

The ANSER’s bass performance is quite impressive for an open-back headphone. While many open-back models lack low-end weight and presence, the ANSER leverages its wood housing to reproduce bass with appropriate quantity and elasticity. The impact of the bass drum is clear, and the texture and resonance of the double bass or electric bass are rendered naturally. The texture and contours of the bass are distinct, allowing you to perceive not just the rumble but also the instrument’s character and playing technique.

Compared to closed-back headphones, the overwhelming presence of sub-bass might be slightly less pronounced, which is inherent to the open-back design. Nevertheless, it delivers sufficient bass energy without compromising overall balance, providing a solid foundation for the music.

The ANSER’s greatest strength lies in the midrange. In this frequency range, where vocals and primary instruments reside, the ANSER exhibits remarkable clarity and texture. It beautifully reproduces the thickness of male vocals and the delicacy of female vocals, capturing details like the vibration of acoustic guitar strings and the hammer strikes of a piano.

The midrange presentation is incredibly lifelike, as if you were listening in a live setting. The natural resonance of the wood housing adds an analog warmth even to digital sources, which is particularly noticeable with vocal-centric music or acoustic performances. The high resolution in the midrange allows for clear separation of instruments even in complex arrangements, demonstrating excellent clarity even with multiple sound sources, such as orchestral string sections or choral harmonies.

In the treble range, the ANSER strikes a good balance between clarity and smoothness. Thanks to the titanium-plated driver frame, high-frequency details are excellent, reproducing the delicate shimmer of cymbals or the high notes of a violin without harshness. While some high-fidelity headphones emphasize analytical treble, which can lead to listening fatigue, the ANSER offers a smooth treble characteristic with appropriate energy, ensuring comfort during extended listening. It captures nuances like the texture and airiness of string instruments and the breath of female vocals without any piercing sharpness.

The true strength of the open-back design is evident in the soundstage and imaging. The ANSER creates a wide and deep soundstage, allowing for clear separation of orchestral sections in orchestral pieces. The depth, not just the width, is impressive, giving the impression that the music isn’t merely emanating from within the headphones but is unfolding in the space around you.

The imaging is also precise, allowing for accurate perception of the location of each instrument or vocal. This allows for easy separation of elements even in complex arrangements. Especially with live recordings, it vividly reproduces the ambience of the venue, creating a sense of presence as if you were there.

Comfort

The SIVGA ANSER prioritizes comfort as much as sound quality. In headphones designed for extended listening, comfort is paramount, and the ANSER excels in this area.

The earpads are covered in luxurious velvet, offering a soft touch against the skin. Inside, plush cushioning with appropriate elasticity gently cradles the ears. The thickness and density of the earpads are designed to minimize discomfort even during long listening sessions.

The breathable velvet material prevents excessive heat and moisture buildup, especially in warmer weather. This, combined with the inherent ventilation of the open-back design, helps maintain comfort during extended use.

The headband is also finished in velvet with ample padding to effectively distribute pressure on the top of the head. The SIVGA ANSER weighs approximately 342g, relatively light for high-fidelity headphones. This weight strikes an optimal balance, providing a secure fit without straining the neck or shoulders.

Conclusion

The SIVGA ANSER stands out among premium high-fidelity open-back headphones with its unique design. The wood housing not only looks luxurious but also contributes to a warm and natural sound. The combination of the 50mm custom dynamic driver, titanium plating technology, and carbon fiber polymer dome elevates the technical sophistication, delivering detailed yet balanced sound.

The advantages of the open-back design, namely the wide soundstage and spaciousness, are fully realized in the ANSER, providing exceptional immersion, especially with acoustic genres like classical and jazz. Even in the bass department, often a weakness of open-back headphones, the ANSER leverages the properties of its wood housing to deliver a satisfying performance.

In terms of comfort, the velvet earpads and headband, along with flexible adjustment features, ensure comfortable extended wear. Whether you’re new to high-fidelity audio or a seasoned enthusiast, the SIVGA ANSER is an open-back headphone worth serious consideration.