Sendy Audio Peacock Headphones

Sendy Audio is a brand owned by the excellent Sivga Electronic Technology, makers of the entry-level Robin and Oriole headphones, both reviewed well here at HF&MS with their wooden features. These Sendy Audio Peacock headphones represent a step up in budget, however, in a competitive space crowded with quality they’re in good company.

Design

The Sendy Audio Peacock are open-backed planar magnetic headphones with a large 88mm transducer. They are firmly in the ‘big luxury headphones’ category in both actual size and price. Sendy claims the Peacock has a frequency response of 20Hz – 40kHz with a sensitivity of 103dB (±3dB) and an impedance of 50 Ohms, so it is a fairly easy drive.

The planar magnetic ‘Quad former design’ driver is housed in a CNC aluminium case. This driver technology has a planar magnetic driver featuring double magnets, and double coils on each side of the diaphragm (Quad former description taken from the Sendy site, there’s a lot of technology going on here!).

The Peacocks come with a standard 4.4mm balanced connector but a comprehensive set of adapters to XLR or 3.5/6.35mm headphone jacks. In the box, there is a leather carry case for a rucksack (given the size).

Quality

The build is good with a lovely peacock pattern on the open-backed exterior which is very attractive. The wooden surround of the headphones is CNC carved and has a good solid feel. I have the black version here, there is a gold version with some of the banding in gold rather than black. I feel the black is a little more understated.

The headband boasts a goat skin cover as do the removable ear pads. These are the largest headphones I’ve experienced. The standard cable in the box is an 8-core 6N OCC** braided cable that is super heavy and delightful. This cable is terminated at the cup end with a mini 4-pin DIN arrangement, that clicks into place satisfactorily.

Overall the headphones weigh in at 578g.

They are priced in the UK at; £1,500

** (6N means the cable conductor is 99.9999% pure and OCC refers to the Ohno Continuous Casting process used for extruding copper as cleanly as possible for audio purposes).

There is a dealer locator here;  Select the Brand you need and go from there.

The full specification is here;

Performance

Review Equipment

I’ve been listening to the Sendy Audio Peacock with the Chord Electronics Hugo 2, a new Volumio Motivo which is fun, an iFi Audio Diablo 2 and a Schiit Vali 3 tube headphone amplifier.

Physically

First impressions are very favourable, the cables are the USP. They are heavy, and very tactile and you are going to want to suck them as you relax into the music. They are also noiseless, if you’re chewing them or fiddling which is perfect.

The headphones are quite heavy on the head not unduly so, but here the headband delivers stability that gives you confidence going forward (literally), thereafter you are in the music and the definitive immersive experience.

The left-right labelling is clear on the outside for a nice change.

Sendy Audio Peacock Sound Quality

…with the Hugo 2 I am getting the full emotion of the story.

If there is one takeaway from this review it should be that these Sendy Audio Peacock headphones are more laid back than a Sunday morning, and that is OK, for many listeners. What do I mean by this statement? It feels like the treble is rolling away, adding to the laid-back feeling and there is nothing to hint at harshness or an overly bright presentation. Therefore, extended listening with these headphones is the definition of non-fatiguing.

Maybe the best example of longer listening is if you are a classical or opera music dude (or dudette). In this case, extended listening to take in the whole story is going to be essential.

Now classical music is less my thing but the Max Richer recomposing of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Qobuz 24 bit, 44.1kHz) is my jam and this version is very pleasing indeed, particularly Summer 3 where the violins hot up. This is a visceral presentation, and these headphones lend themselves to this performance.

The same is true for the only piece of opera I know well, La Traviata. This piece is a solid two-and-a-quarter hours in length. The Dame Joan Sutherland studio recording as Violette is one of the better ones with Pavarotti, peerless, as Alfredo (Decca 1979). In these headphones, with the Hugo 2, I am getting the full emotion of the story.

Reference audiophile tracks like Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Tin Pan Alley (Tidal MQA 16-bit, 44kHz) have less bite in the treble which many casual listeners will like. There is plenty of resolution in the midrange too with nice guitar detail in Radiohead’s Faust Arp (Tidal 16-bit, 44kHz).

You are probably looking at planar magnetic headphones for the space they can offer and instrument separation on the soundstage. This separation is accessible with the Hugo 2 through La Traviata (it feels like a great recording) and so too with Radiohead’s In Rainbows album. This space is less open with the tube-based Schiit Vali 3, which by design is a deck chair on a Sunday morning. With the dynamic iFi Diablo 2, the headphones come to life like the Hugo 2 and support the Peacocks nicely, particularly with their ‘Nitro’ button shifting things along. Planar magnetic headphones do prefer to be driven.

Thoughts

There are lots of headphones out there, you will need to listen to a few of them to get your flavour. There are many dynamic driver-based headphones out there from the likes of Focal, Meze Audio and the usual big brands like B&W and Sennheiser.

HF&MS reported on the latest from Focal’s burgeoning range of headphones. I’m minded to think of other luxury headphones that have crossed the desk here. Two that spring to mind at half the price of these Peacocks, are the Mark Levinson No.5909 (£800) and the Meze Audio 109 Pro (£769).

If you really are after planar magnetic headphones, the Peacocks offer a decent challenge in price terms to the likes of the Audeze LCD-5 at £4,000 and the various esoteric HiFiman or Dan Clark offerings.

Whatever your choice, headphones always offer the best value for money in this crazy audio world so an outlay in headphones is always going to be a good investment.

Overall

…the comfort factor makes the package quite compelling…

If you’re into the immersive headphone experience and are looking for non-fatiguing headphones, these are your guys, the cable is a particular highlight. Added to this the comfort factor makes the package quite compelling. The easy listening experience will be very attractive to many, particularly in my view, to long-listening classical music and opera lovers.

Specification

Full details are on the company’s site.