Sendy Aiva: $599, available from Musicteck: https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/sendyaudio/products/sendyaudio-aiva-black-beauty-series-97-76mm-planar-magnetic-headphones?variant=18480633839678
Perusing the Musicteck site, which I do not do often enough, I noticed a couple of items. One I, which has been on my radar for a long time, and another that piqued my interest simply by looking at the image. This review is about that item. The Sendy Aiva. To say I was smitten would be like a dog anticipating a new bone. Needless to say, my tail wagged, and tongue was panting like said dog. You think I jest, but…I quickly contacted Andrew, with whom we arranged a model. This is about that model. First and foremost, the Aiva was purchased at a discount for an open and honest review. And of course, I would have it no other way.
After the order (which included the other item), I read all I could about Sendy and the Aiva. I found a brief thread on Head-Fi (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-sendy-audio-aiya-impressions.900362/) and a mention by another reviewer, with copy/paste items from a foreign webpage. Images of the Aiva were superb. This was indeed a looker. Having been stolen by @PinkyPowers Atticus, the Aiva recalled the way I looked at his gem upon arrival. But first, a brief history.
From the Musicteck page description: SENDYAUDIO (SHI YI Technology Co., LTD.) founded in 2015 and is made up of the elite teams who worked in audio industry earliest in China. Black Beauty Series is 2019 new positioning products of SENDYAUDIO, and it took three years of hard research and development. We adhere to the use of traditional craftsmanship, coupled with the selection of high-quality natural solid wood as the material for the housing. The whole production process consumes a lot of manpower and time, which include material selection, CNC machining, engraving, grinding, polishing as well as repeated oiling and drying. The finish texture of each individual piece is unique.
Intro YouTube video from Sendy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHVVXY5SA6s
From the video, you can see the care taken in making the cups. Hand sanded, and finished with several layers of poly, the company states the finish will keep the headphones together through many weather variations. The first time I have heard a company address humidity and such as a concern. Grado never mentions the sort, but no one concerns themselves with deterioration either. What I can say is that the Aiva finish is top notch, superb. No blemishes, and definitely built to last.
Very little is out there regarding Sendy Audio, but from my perusing’s the talk is of how the Aiva punches well above their weight. Some call for a raising of the price to $1k. Well…I for one am glad they do not cost that much. Could they? Well, I guess you will have to read on to find out.
Suffice to say, I really, REALLY like this set of headphones so far. I would state that this isn’t quite your typical planar sound. There is a bit of dip in the mids, but not enough to bother me. Some have posted graphs, buuuuuttt…I’m not going there. Nope, no way.
Gear used/compared (prices USD unless noted otherwise):
Focal Elear ($700, 2.5bal cable)
Campfire Audio Cascade ($800, 2.5bal cable)
ZMF Atticus (from memory, $1099, 2.5bal cable)
Mr. Speakers Ether-C Flow ($1500, 3.5/6.3se cable)
Grado GH-2 Limited Ed ($650, 3.5se cable)
iFi Pro iDSD & xDSD used for MBP and XDuoo, others run on their own accord.
MacBook Pro/iFi
XDuoo x10tii/iFi
Shanling M5s
Questyle QP2R
Songs used:
Too bloody many to list all, but you want songs, so there you go:
Coldplay-All I Can think About Is You
Coldplay-A Message
Coldplay-White Shadows
Dona Onete-Sonos de Adolescente
Los Lonely Boys- Heaven (en Espanol)
twenty one pilots-Trees
twenty one pilots-Car Radio
twenty one pilots-Heathens
Damian Marley-Everybody Wants To Be Somebody
Damian Marley-So A Child May Follow
Damian Marley-The Struggle Discontinues
Ziggy Marley-Lighthouse
Ziggy Marely-See Dem Fake Leaders
Mark Knopfler-Laughs And Jokes And Drinks And Smokes
Santana w/ Mana- Corazon Espinado
twenty one pilots-Trench
shuffle SD card music
More coming…and it will be good.