Posted by Pros: Super comfortable
Great sound – good technicalities and a very clean midrange and treble
Retro vibe with great synergy across sources
Amazing with tube sources
Detachable MMCX cable
Cons: If you are an IEM person, the bass on this will sound insipid.
Not the ideal solution for music while commuting, in the gym, or if prone to aggressive head movement.
As luck would have it I got sent the M260 earbud from Sivga. I thank them for the fun few hours I have had playing around with the flathead
whilst composing this. But as always my thoughts are mine and mine alone.
With flatheads, unlike IEMs, you have to hope for a good fit and pray that your ears are the right size. They rely very simply on the friction between the skin and the earbud to hold them in place. So they need to be of an average size that would work with most people. They need to be small enough to fit most ears but large enough to hold a sizeable diaphragm since they do not have any structures to mould the sound into an iEM shaped nozzle. And then just the right size to hang on to the ears.
For me, the M260 fits. I have small ears with large ear canals. Yeah I know it’s weird. It is what it is. These flat heads with the donut shaped foams that come pre-installed just sit super comfortably with no undue pressure on the pinna or the tragus. The foams help increase the friction and keep them in place as long as head movements are not extreme. So no rubberneckin’.
The Sivga M260 shows up in a small little box with the earbuds, a nice enough 3.5mm termination cable, and extra foams all nicely packed in a cloth-covered zip case. The earbuds themselves are very good looking. Machined Aluminium shells with a little bronze disc announcing that they are Left or Right buds but they look the same. The earbuds end in mmcx connectors which is a great plus for me because I can cable swap to a balanced one in case I want to listen to them with the Gremlin. My only hot take would be little raised dot on say, the right earbud to identify it as that side along with the letter. Just would make donning them correctly in low-light situations a little easier. Ideally only on the earbud because which degenerate would want to change cables in the dark.
I tested the Sivga with the Hidizs AP80 Pro Max, the iPod 5th and 7th (because nostalgia merits more nostalgia), and for kicks, with a swapped cable, the Apos Gremlin. Tidal playlists and local Flac files were used. And over a two hour flight, for science, to say that flatheads really do not isolate or cancel ambient sound. Just so you know I’m thorough in my research.
Let’s dive in!
Bass
It’s a flathead. Earbud. NOT an IEM. There will not be a sub bass rumble that fills your head and shakes your windows and rattles your walls. There will be no physical slam to the kicks. These will, however, reproduce the notes faithfully. In silent surroundings the effect is a little better. Most of my 2 hours were spent listening to Skinny Hightower, a multi-instrumentalist, who makes some incredible grooves – mostly jazz fusion/post bop what whatever call smooth jazz when it gets some low end groovy beats. I’m told contemporary jazz is the term that applies. But I digress, the bass is present but does not and cannot by the laws of physics have any significant weight. Angel by Massive Attack actually sounds a tad insipid but complaining about it, in my opinion is futile and reveals a lack of knowledge of audiology and physics.
Mids
Vocals are where this earbud really makes a difference. Male and female vocals and instruments are very, very well reproduced with no unnatural characteristics. Guitars, wind instruments, strings, pianos and synths, all of which live happily ever after on the “We Like It Here” album by Snarky Puppy along with extensive rhythm sections, sound engaging and realistic. They also sound separated and well layered with no muddiness or lack of clarity. As we get to the upper treble, however, muted trumpets can get shouty and some female vocals as well. But this is inconsistent and possibly a response to instruments and voices having a peak that the mastering did not iron out.
Treble
Treble is also largely well done with little harshness and sibilance. Cymbals have a nice enough shimmer and at least in most of the tracks there were no worrisome peaks that would have made the entire listening experience annoying. I did not think there were any treble peaks that weren’t meant to be there. Even the usual suspects were not too bad to listen to – All Nite by Janet Jackson and Holler by the Spice Girls.
Staging, Imaging
The M260 has an expansive sound stage. The monk GTR still sounds probably a little more open but when compared to most IEMs I have heard the M260 is able to produce a wide stage with a holographic presentation with great imaging of where sounds are coming from. This would be a great gaming set, if that’s your thing. This earbud is able to keep instruments separate and manage the layering well enough on busy tracks. And this extends to the treble as well.
Final thoughts
I really enjoyed listening to these and I think I will reach out to them every once in a while if I want an effortless listening experience with a retro vibe. It will probably sit with my iPods, since they also synergize fairly well. At $40-45, it is a well crafted device that does its job well.
But yes if you listen to music on this soon after an IEM the obvious lack of bass will potentially disappoint those looking for a low end impact. But that just doesn’t happen without a tight seal and possibly narrow bore ear tips. So bassheads, skip this one. This is meant for easy listening in a quiet environment and maybe even gaming.
PS – But for a truly, syrupy goodness, try these with a balanced cable on the Apos Gremlin. The warmth from the tubes add a fantastic low end boost and overall smoothness that makes this set a keeper.