Sivga Nightingale IEMs – An Absolute Classic Earphone
Sivga Nightingale is a $279 USD pair of IEMS / In-Ear Monitors designed with a classic wooden design, detachable cables, and with 14.5mmk planar magnetic drivers at the heart, made for the hifi enthusiast who wants to remain classy and eccentric. Today we will review the Nightingale and compare them with other similarly priced IEMs including Simgot EA1000 Fermat (219 USD), BQEYZ Winter (239 USD), and Kiwi Ears Quintet (219 USD).
Introduction
Sivga is known to bring a rich selection of headphones and IEMS to the market, each with their own unique signature and tuning. Most of them have in common a beautiful midrange, and today we are reviewing the product which has likely the most musical and beautiful sounding midrange and voicing of them all, the Nightingale. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Sivga has provided the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Comfortable fit, Beautiful shell design, Lightweight, Superb cable, 4.4mm Balanced connector, Natural, light sound, Excellent detail level, Smooth and musical voicing.
Cons – Hard To drive for an IEM, Sensitive to source noise, Neutral sound has limited bass.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/4bGKP7n
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
Sivga always comes up with some of the most memorable products, most of them featuring high-end designs as well as wooden construction, and with the Sendy Audio Peacock, also beautiful aesthetics, so the Nightingale is following the same approach, having the faceplate made of wood and coming with detachable cables based on the popular 2-Pin connector. While the cables are thin, they are of a higher quality than what we get from most Chifi companies, and they have a nice, looser braiding which cancels both kinks and makes it steady and comfortable. The cable does not conduct microphonic noise at all, and it is a 4.4mm balanced cable, which is also a nice touch, considering that most of my sources are balanced and are using a 4.4mm balanced connector nowadays.
Sivga is known to have developed unique drivers, and although they don’t have the stronger marketing of other companies, they come up with some unique pieces of tech, for example the new Nightingale having an in-house designed Planar Magnetic Driver. This driver is 14.5mm in diameter, and it uses a special dual magnet design, which should offer improved transient response and a more even sound presentation. The diaphragm is made of a composite material, ultra-thin, with the coil is made of aluminum, for a lighter and faster driver.
The wearing comfort of the Nightingale is excellent, they feel lightweight, they have a comfortable cable and they isolate well from the outside noise, with a passive noise isolation grading between 20 and 30 dB. The leakage is low, and the default tips offer a good comfort and fitting for the Nightingale. I feel the wooden faceplates are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen, while the cables having a Silver Plated Copper material high-end considering the price point of the Nightingale.
We have a low impedance of 16 OHMs, and we have a low SPL of 100 dB, which results in an IEM which is slightly sensitive to noise coming from the source, so FiiO Q15 does present background hissing, while also needing a high volume to actually sound great. For the match-up and pairing part of Sivga Nightingale I’ve been using a selection of sources including Hiby R4, Creative Sound Blaster X5, Aune Yuki, Dethonray Listening M1, iBasso DX260 Music Player, and Shanling UA4.
As Nightingale has a most beautiful midrange, but not a lot of bass nor a lot of treble, it sounds great with more V-Shaped sounding sources, or with sources which have a clean, open midrange, high-resolution source and with those that have a low background noise. My most favorite sources for the Nightingale have been iBasso D16, iBasso DX260, and Dethonray Listening M1. If you want to stay on a budget, which considering the price point of the Nightingale, you should, Hiby R4 has an excellent sound and can drive the Nightingale with no background noise.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – Nightingale is light, airy, and slightly intimate in the sound, but the highlight is the beautiful voicing, as this is one IEM that can present literally all male and female voices truly real, smooth and musical. It is basically the smoothest sounding IEM below 1000 USD for voices and with a mid centric tuning. This means that the sound is clean, but mostly neutral-natural, the bass is neutral and clean, fast and snappy, while the treble is airy, well extended, but not overly sharp, nor fatiguing, just enough to give resolution and high-end extension, but not forced upon the listener, with the midrange being the central element of the sound with the Nightingale. The sound can be described as boundless, I often find myself checking if they still have a proper fit, the way Nightingale reproduces air and high-end makes them sound as if you’re not wearing IEMS once you’re actually playing music, but they do have that great fitting and passive noise isolation.
Bass – The bass is clearly not the central element of the Nightingale’s sound, as they sound neutral – natural, with a fairly natural bass. There is a good sense of depth when the song really asks for it, but for most natural sounding songs, the bass is shy and while existent and not completely rolled off, it takes a 2nd place allowing the voices to shine through as the central element of the sound.
Midrange – The midrange is the central element of the Nightingale’s sonic presentation, taking the central spot in the sound in both loudness and spatial presentation. This leads to an intimate listening experience with the singer of each song, but also allows all the other instruments to breathe around the singer, creating a specific kind of wide in the background, but intimate in the foreground listening experience. Most voices will sound in your ears, really close to you, while most cymbals, for example, scatter and get projected way outside of the mental boundary, which creates the feeling that Nightingale is free, open and unbound.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – The dynamic range of the Nightingale is very high, which makes all songs sound laid-back, relaxed and creates a high difference between instruments. This being said, the texture presentation is very smooth, clean and fatigue-free, with zero grain, and a special liquidity to the sound, fluid presentation even for grungy instruments and a special musicality. This emphasizes classical music, but gives a slightly too high of a dynamic range to rock and metal, taking away their energy and impact, removing the “wall of sound” effect, replacing it with a more open presentation instead.
Volume Control – You can’t have a volume control much better than this, as we get zero variation, the sound is as intimate, smooth, musical and sweet regardless of the volume. Despite this not being a central point in their marketing, Sivga achieved creating an IEM that can bring to more than 120 dB with zero distortion, so you can expect the Nightingale to have the low distortion that Flagships usually have.
Treble – We have a clean, open and smooth treble, which sounds airy and extends as if Nightingale had the size of a concert hall. The treble is always impressive with the nightingale, as it allows them to feel as if they were speakers, which is very much in contrast with the intimate voicing. Overall, the whole sound is very musical and pleasing to the ear, with zero fatiguing elements, but 100% smoothness and playful guitar sounds, perfect voicing, as well as zero distortion.
Comparisons
Sivga Nightingale vs Sigmot EA1000 Fermat (279 USD vs 219 USD)
Build – Simgot EA1000 Fermat is made of metal, so it is heavier than Nightingale, it feels more solid, but also is less ergonomic if you want a light IEM. The cable of EA1000 is slightly of a higher quality, feels sturdier, but is also more tangle prone, and also more prone to microphonic noise. Both are somewhat hard to drive, and Ea1000 Fermat isolates very little from the outside noise, as they are open, and they leak a lot, while Nightingale leaks very little and isolates very well.
Sound – Sonically, both play voices really nice, but Nightingale is more detailed, cleaner and more open in the midrange, they sound smoother, more relaxed and the midrange is more of a central element. EA1000 has a warmer sound, with more bass, less treble extension, and is better if you want a warm and thick sound, while Nightingale is perfectly natural and neutral.
Sivga Nightingale vs BQEYZ Winter (279 USD vs 239 USD)
Build – Winter is actually made of metal, so it is much heavier, less comfortable but feels more premium when worn and when held in the hand. The cable of the Nightingale is less prone to tangling and microphonic noise. Both IEMs are somewhat hard to drive, but Nightingale can eat more power to get loud, yet both are about as sensitive to source noise.
Sound – Sonically, Nightingale is a perfectly sweet and smooth mid-centric IEM with a somewhat laid back sound, while Winter is basically the same thing, but with a different tuning. The biggest difference is that Nightingale is lighter in the sound, has a faster transient response, with a sharper, more edgier treble, while Winter is thicker, warmer and smoother, fuller sounding. Both IEMs make great companions for all music styles if you like a mid centric sound.
Sivga Nightingale vs Kiwi Ears Quintet (279 USD vs 219 USD)
Build – Both IEMs are fairly light, but Nightingale is lighter, more ergonomic and prettier, to my eyes the wooden veneers feeling and looking luxurious and refined, while Quintet has a sharp metallic faceplate that will satisfy basically anyone regardless of taste, but won’t feel flashy to anyone. Both IEMs have a good passive noise isolation, but Nightingale is stronger, leaks a bit less, but is also much harder to drive and more sensitive to source noise.
Sound – Sonically, Quintet is a much warmer sounding IEM, with more bass and warmth, while Nightingale sounds more balanced, and the midrange of the Nightingale is more relaxed, and far more pleasing when it comes to female voices. Quintet is more of a standard all-rounder, easier to recommend if you are not quite sure what you want from your IEMs, while Nightingale is the dream of someone who enjoys pure heavenly voices, and actively wants a mid centric sound.
Value and Conclusion
With a meager price point of just 279 USD, Nightingale offers what I consider to be likely the most beautiful sound I’ve heard in a long time for both male and female voices, along with a comfortable fitting and a excellent build quality, being one of my favorite IEMS I heard, without hopping over the 300 USD price range. They also offer that beautiful shell with a wooden accent, and Nightingale has exceptional resolution too, without compromising on musicality, being an especially strong value and having an exceptionally high price/ performance ratio.
In fact, when you factor in the practical transport case, neat cable, as well as the 4.4mm balanced jack connector, Nightingale is what I would consider one of the best IEMS to grab if you’re looking for musicality, voicing, and clarity in the midrange.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/4bGKP7n
Technical Specifications
Style – In-ear
Driver type – Planar diaphragm
Driver size – φ14.5 mm
Frequency response – 20 Hz – 40KHz
Sensitivity – 100 dB +/- 3 dB
Impedance – 16Ω+/-15%
Cable length – 1.2 M +/-0.2 M
Plug size – φ4.4 mm
Weight – 15g
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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