Sivga’s latest earbuds the M200 comes with a 15.4mm dynamic driver inside. This big dynamic driver consists of PET transparent diaphragm with a copper ring and a copper coil. The shell of the M200 is made from aviation-grade aluminium alloy.
What’s in the box
Specs
- Transducer type: Dynamic driver
- Transducer size: φ 15.4mm PET transparent diaphragm
- Frequency response: 20Hz – 20KHz
- Sensitivity: 114dB +/- 3dB
- Impedance: 32 Ohm +/-15%
- Cable length: 1.2M +/-0.2M
- Connector: φ 3.5mm
- Weight: 24g
- Price: 59$
I would like to thank Sivga Audio for providing me with the review sample of the M200 Earbuds (no affiliate link).
Some still don’t know the difference. Earbuds sit in your outer ear, IEMs on the other hand (in-ear monitors) as you may guess from the name, sit in your ears, some even in your ear canal like Etymotic’s models.
With 32Ohms impedance and 114dB sensitivity, the Sivga M200 seems rather easy to drive but as I always say. Don’t let these numbers or the high enough volume level on your phone fool you. Portable USB DACs coming into the market day after day, and you should get one. Don’t trust your phones or laptops’ internal DAC chip and power, except if you are using one of those Hi-Fi phones that aren’t produced anymore. You will thank me later.
Sound
The Sivga M200 delivered a lot more than I expected in every single category. Bass, soundstage, imaging, resolution. And most importantly, tonality. While you feel like you’re wearing a pair of in-ears with the M200, the sonic presentation is much closer to a pair of open-back headphones. The soundstage is wider and deeper compared to IEMs and you are thankful from the first moment you put them on because it affects the whole experience in a very good way. I think this comes with the earbud design style as the driver sits far from your ears compared to IEMs.
The M200 has an extremely smooth and natural sound. Its stand-out feature is a vivid and wonderfully textured mid-range that is forward without being shouty, and which puts vocals and instruments front and centre. The M200’s tone makes it great-sounding, but what makes it special-sounding is its very good sense of space and imaging. A genuine out-of-head experience. The decay on the reverbs is amazing coming out of a 59$ earphone.
M200’s bass is impressive considering its style, being an earbud. You aren’t going to find the levels of bass that you might get from a well-sealed pair of IEMs, but it’s actually considerable in terms of both extension, and texture. M200 creates some genuine bass-heft when called upon, and because of how flat-head style earbuds are designed, the bass level can be increased by twisting them inwards and pointing the drivers directly into your ears. It’s not head-rattling but it has a very nice reproduction of bass texture.
The mid-range is very much the star of the show here. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the M200 gave me one of the most realistic and natural musical performances in a while reviewing lots of IEMs lately. The way the M200 dissects the instrumental parts and places them around you is amazing.
I’m a bit of a treble head and I like a bright, detailed upper-octave that doesn’t shy away from revealing top-end information. The M200 doesn’t disappoint in this regard and provides clear, transparent, and snappy highs. This earbuds easily dispatches the fast and busy passages without ever breaking into sibilance or harshness.
The M200 is definitely a success regarding sound quality and performance. However, it’s certainly not an all-rounder. The M200’s talents are best suited to acoustic, instrumental, and vocal music. It will sound ok in more low-end-heavy types of music like EDM and hip-hop, but real bass heads may find themselves wanting more.
Sum-Up
Now I am getting to understand why many people prefer earbuds over IEMs, this is definitely another level of music listening experience. Sivga M200 is perfect for genres that show off its lovely textures and incredible imaging and spatial abilities. It’s also well built and has an amazing-looking and matching cable which I didn’t have the urge to mod the shells for a detachable cable. Already perfect for a 59$ package including the sound.