Sound Of Flat Glass Dynamic Drivers – SIVGA Que UTG IEMs
Sivga QUE UTG is a $98 USD pair of IEMs or In-Ear Monitors designed around a Flat Glass Diaphragm, using a South American Green Sandalwood faceplate, having a 0.78mm 2-Pin Detahcble cable and tool-free interchangeable plug system for the jack. Today we will review this entry-level pair of IEMS and broadly explore how they compare to the market.
Introduction
Sivga is a company known for their high price / performance ratio, outstanding products, and as we will explore today, blending innovative technologies with wood, and a rustic design. Sivga products are available for purchase on Amazon, Linsoul and countless other Chifi vendors.
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. Huge thanks to Sivga and Sendy for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/44B7e3P
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okurFko
Build Quality – Design
While most companies are stuck on re-using the same tech and refining it, Sivga went with a prototype tech for the Que UTG, using a flat glass diaphragm driver at the core of the Que Utg. The whole point of this design is to create a dynamic driver that uses the hard and rigid glass diaphragm, with a featherweight light construction of the membrane. Ths should create a faster impulse response without the dry and disadvantage of the balanced armature approaches.
To balance the fast response of the driver, Sivga includes a PU surround in the acoustic chamber of the driver, working in tandem to dampen the brighter sound of the glass driver. If you appreciate a high-end design, you will love the naturally aged South American Sandalwood faceplates. Using high-precision zinc alloy housings, Sivga Que UTG also has acoustic vents, to complement the organic dampening and remove unwanted resonance of the drivers.
You can easily swap between the 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced plugs of the Sivga Que UTG, and we also have a nice transport case included in the package. With an impedance of 32 OHMs, and a SPL of 103 dB, Sivga Que Utg is theoretically harder to drive than most IEMs, also less sensitive to background noise, and it has a somewhat short 1.25m cable, but each earphone is just 10 grams heavy, which theoretically makes them fairly comfortable.
Fit – Subjective Usage
In actual wear, Sivga Que UTG is comfortable, they have lightweight shells, the cable coils naturally around my ears, and it is not heavy, nor too short. Wearing comfort is a 10/10, size is medium, and cable quality is excellent in general.
Passive noise isolation is medium as Sivga Que UTG is not exactly the pair of IEMS with the highest isolation out there, at around 10 – 15 dB of passive noise isolation, but they do not leak very much and they have no void or driver flex, being quite comfortable. Default eartip quality is a 10/10, they don’t need upgrade.
Sound Quality
Pairings – I have paired the Sivga QUE UTG IEMs with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Listening M1, Dethonray Clarinet, FiiO K17, SMSL C200 PRO, and Singxer SA-1 V2 connected to a SMSL M200 DAC. Those are harder to drive than most IEMS, but not quite as hard to drive as most full-sized headphones, they do not pick up background noise from the source, and they pair well even with sources that are known to be noisier or problematic. One little downside is that they are revealing and using less revealing sources will dampen the resolution and clarity you can achieve with the Sivga Que Utg.
Overall Signature – With a limited prior experience with glass drivers, I always felt like those sound quite bright, so it is nice to see a company balance that out and give the Sivga Que UTG a V-Shaped sound with a big, punchy, deep bass, and a musical, but detailed and fast midrange. Treble is rather sharp, aggressive and quite punchy. Overall, Sivga Que UTG is aggressive and revealing, crisp and detailed, punching far above the price point in resolution and clarity, and they also create a huge soundstage, with good separation.
Bass – Starting from the low-end, Sivga que Utg is a really bassy pair of IEMs, they have a strong punch, bass goes low and punches deep, reaches about 30 Hz down low, and energy is strong between 40 Hz and 100 Hz. This creates a rather warm bass, with a bit of bloom and extra body for all music. This bass feels really big and heavy, and has a strong 10 dB to 15 dB of extra energy above the midrange, which is a bit recessed in quantity. Bass feeling is groovy and big, satisfying for most music, but best with pop, electronic and modern music.
Midrange – Que Utg is the kind of IEM that sounds fast, revealing, crisp and detailed. You can somewhat hear the crisper resonance of the glass driver, it is fast and lightweight, it sounds close to what Balanced Armature drivers sound like, with an added warmth and bass depth thanks to the ingenious design of Sivga. There is an upper midrange bias in the sound, thinner voices sound more forward and bear more energy, there’s more presence in the upper midrange for violins and pianos than there is in the lower midrange for deep male voices and deeper sounding instruments. The crisp and detailed approach sounds best with modern, pop and electronic music.
Treble – With a rather specific peaking range between 6 kHz and 10 kHz, Sivga Que UTG is rather crisp and sparkly in the treble, they have a strong energy and brilliant top end. There is more air after the main peaking range ends, and Que UTG has a strong treble brilliance. The treble never fully rolls-off, only relaxes a bit when you reach the higher registers.
PRaT / Textures / Dynamic – Texture response of the Sivga Que UTG is quite interesting, they have a really fast response, sharp like a BA driver, but Sivga managed to squeeze a warm, bloomy bass with a much slower speed and decay than the midrange and the treble has. From this perspective, sound is not the most cohesive one, and combining a really slow bass with a really fast midrange and treble results in a sound that feels textured up top but provides a strong backbone and body.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Sivga que utg has good control and a high headroom, but sound gets more aggressive if you bring the volume too loud, they sound better at medium and lower volumes, becoming rather full-on aggro if you pump the volume too loud. Control is good at higher volumes, although the tonal balance changes in favor of a more balanced, more linear sound louder, and it gets warmer, more v-Shaped at lower volumes.
Soundstage – Sivga que UTG is a rather big and wide sounding pair of IEMS, they create a lot of space between instruments, they give music a sense of space and strong layering, with a good instrument separation. I generally enjoy their signature with modern music, pop, electronic, dubstep, but it works equally well for rock and metal.
Value and Conclusion
Sivga que UTG is a high performance pair of earphones from the entry-level range, they are excellent in the performance department and one of the few IEMs I can wholeheartedly recommend if you want to experience evolution and new tech. They have an ever so slightly experimental sound, and Glass Drivers are slowly coming to the market, but if you’re not willing to experience a new sound, Sivga also makes more traditional dynamic driver based headphones.
At the end of the day, I like how Sivga Que Utg sounds, they are excellent in resolution, clarity, deliver a strong bass, impact and sound beautiful in the midrange, being basically an excellent deal dressed in low price and a beautiful wooden faceplate. They are a fully recommended purchase today and a pair of IEMS you’d love a lot if you give them a chance.
PROs
- Excellent price performance ratio
- Superb resolution and impact
- Dynamic, punchy and colorful sound
- Beautiful design and a complete package with modular cable, for the low price it has
- Big bass, sharp treble, excellent for all music styles
- Comfortable and reliable
- Best for rock, pop, metal, EDM, Dubstep and modern music in general
Cons
- Can be a bit bright and peaky at times, not for those who don’t want a revealing sound and sharper treble
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/44B7e3P
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okurFko
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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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