Sivga Que Review

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Que? What? Nope. Que is Sivga's new in-ear monitor earphone and it means Magpie in Chinese. This bird-named IEM is set to be released for $69 USD and comes with Sivga's signature wood appearance and will be available soon.

Sivga chose to use a white maple wood faceplate design on this product, and it looks very good in person. The zinc-alloy housing is in a light beige color that gives this shell design an overall very clean, mature and modern look.

The shell design is also very easy to wear and lightweight. I had no issues wearing these for long listening sessions, and with the lack of weight, it makes it extremely comfortable.

The cable included is a 2-wire white braided silver-plated copper cable that is very lightweight and flexible. It terminates in a 3.5mm stereo jack and 2-pin connectors. The metal hardware is a different tone than the shell, but it still looks like a wonderfully matched set. Sivga also includes a brown leather zipper case that looks nice. My wife wants to take it as her own. There are also 6 pairs of tips included.


Sound Impressions

Sivga tuned the Que to have a elevated and warm bass range, with dip in the upper-mids and bright treble range. It's an interesting tuning that looks somewhat similar to the 64 Audio Nio or the Sony IER-M9 but with some notable changes in the treble peaks. I found the overall sound to be a warm, slightly dark, and a bit grainy at times on some tracks.




Listening to Slowdive's "Kisses", I found the Que to present the track a little fuzzier than my normal listening preferences and IEMs (for example, the Hidition Viento). The bass guitars and kick drums are presented with a good amount of definition and impact, but doesn't have dynamic power. It's a smoother rendition of the instruments. There is also a little bit of a haziness sound to the mid-range and treble that I hear on vocals and the way cymbals and snares sound. 

On Atlas's "Past Lives", I actually like the presentation more than on Slowdive's shoegazer music. This indie rock track has a constant hi-hat attack that is subdued quite a bit and leaves a much smoother and elegant presentation. I wouldn't say it's realistic sounding, but it keeps the song from being fatiguing. On some brighter headphones and IEMs, this song can sound lean and fatiguing, but on the Sivga Que, this song has plenty of body and sounds really enjoyable and soothing.

On the Alison Kraus remake of Keith Whitley's classic track, "When You Say Nothing At All", the Que presents this track like it's being played in a large auditorium. To be fair, this song already sounds like that, but the Que's dips and peaks really play to this track's mixing. Krauss's vocals sound as angelic and sweet as ever, but without any of the harshness that some headphones may make her extreme soprano voice can sound. All the strings on this track are also fairly tamed down, making it a smoother and easier to listen presentation, with the bass guitar having extra emphasis. Like on my impressions of Slowdive's Kisses, however, the drums do sound a little bit unnatural, with an odd timbre of sorts. But that said, this track sounds well regardless.


Final Thoughts

The Sivga Que is a beautifully designed IEM with a comfortable fit and a nice cable. I really like the simple and modernistic wood look and accessories. The tuning is warm and slight dark, and would appeal to those who really enjoy a smoother and fluid sound, as opposed to a neutral and dynamic one. This one works well with certain music over others for my tastes, but with specific rock music and jazz, its a nice pick overall. 


Sivga Que can be found at the follow links:


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