This review is about the SIVGA M200 which is a new pair of affordable vented earbuds featuring a 15.4mm single dynamic driver with a PET diaphragm. It is priced at $49.
Disclaimer: This is a sample that was sent in exchange for our honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website that does not have any affiliate links or status. We thank SIVGA for this opportunity.
To learn more about SIVGA products previously featured on Headfonics you can click here.
Note, that this article follows our latest scoring guidelines which you can read up on here.
SIVGA is one of those companies I’ve been patiently waiting for to start branching out into the earbud sector.
In very recent times, I got my wish granted. They are now walking down the paths of the hanging-style earbud world and I couldn’t be happier about it. Let’s take a deep dive into their new SIVGA M200 earbuds!
Tech Highlights
The SIVGA M200 is a vented earbud design featuring a 15.4mm driver using a PET transparent diaphragm with a copper ring copper voice coil.
It has a moderate 32Ω resistance rating and an efficiency of 114dB so it’s not one of those high-load esoteric versions you tend to find on the market. It also comes with a few additional features that are quite rare for earbuds.
Microphone
The SIVGA M200 has a microphone on the stock cable. Generally, I am really not a fan of this design. But I understand more non-audiophiles prefer this style. I am not one of them, but in this case, the M200’s mic is actually interesting.
The M200’s microphone is actually capable of muting exterior white noise and ambient hissing sound around you.
What the hell does that mean? It means that the microphone on this earbud actually renders water and shower noise, or white noise from a loud TV, or something similar to that static sound effect, and blocks a good portion of it out.
How strangely good! I don’t have any other IEMs or earbuds that have a mic capable of this. The audio call quality was stated by friends to be very good and most others were unable to discern that I am using a $49 earbud.
I only bring this up because my research into the product showcased another person who shared the same experience as me. The microphone is just a standard microphone, it isn’t amazing in quality, but nobody could hear my shower blaring in the background while I was on the phone right next to the water, so that was a win for me personally.
Design
The exterior casing is entirely aircraft-grade aluminum and gives off a weighted, hefty feel. Oddly, or maybe, interestingly, the M200 size is relatively small and lacks a long stem bottom side that is frequently used in most other earbuds.
This one is 1/3 the typical size these days in length factor, so despite being high-grade metal in that chassis, the overall weight factor is drastically reduced compared to something like the former FiiO FF3 that I reviewed recently.
True, I am not very fond of cables with microphones on them…but, in this case, the mic is good and fills a niche that didn’t even realize I needed.
Solid aluminum frames are becoming more common these days, and I think that makes me very happy. Gone are the days of plastic housings and exteriors, even now in the budget tier, we are getting premium materials.
Comfort & Isolation
The FiiO FF3 had a little bumped dome design, whereas this M200 has a flat mesh over the driver. Due to the smaller stature of this earbud, it tends to hang nicely but does require some adjustments, and often.
I found that dome-shaped apply more pressure on the inner areas of the ear and flat designs place all the pressure on the underside of the earbud shell. This means while the earbud is fairly lightweight, it still tends to slip now and then and requires a small push inward for adjustments.
This is something all flat-face designs have issues with, especially so now that earbuds are becoming more premium in materials used that add to the weighted dragging feeling of the earbud placing pressure on one spot in your ear.
But is it comfy? Yes. It just needs an adjustment now and then if you are moving your head around.
Isolating features are nonexistent on this product. This is a hanging-style earbud and not an inner ear. You can hear everything around you without any sound-isolating features onboard. So, do not expect any isolation at all on the M200.
Classic-style hanging earbuds do not offer this, but it would be extremely interesting to see what the future holds with cancelation technology in the future. Who knows, maybe in the years to come, someone will design a hanger that isolates too!
Foams
The SIVGA M200 comes with standard foamies, nothing special to report here. These are the same foamies that are included in nearly every earbud I’ve ever reviewed or used.
The larger face of the M200, as do these larger earbuds in general, slips off now and then when removing the earbuds from your ears. Sometimes, I find my foam ring on the floor or feel it stuck in my ear after I pull out the M200.
This is a bit of a problem and I wish that some earbud designers will invest some time into some type of adherence of the foam coverings to earbuds so that they do not slip off. How? I have no idea; I just wish someone could figure that out.
Is it a serious problem? No, not at all. It happens, but not often enough to call it a serious issue. Every hanger earbud had this problem. I think we are all aware of it and endure it without thinking twice.
Stock Cable
The M200 cable is mic enabled. I truly dislike these cables, as anyone who reads my articles knows. But I find myself laughing at myself because the microphone is so useful and offers good overall quality for being so very budget-tier.
Yeah, I am just chest-puffing on these cables, they are fine. There is no real reason outside of extra weight to dislike them, or their extra bulk dragging on your shirt when you are moving and causing some microphonics issues.
Beyond that, my only concern is that some amplifiers on the higher end don’t even let you use a 3-pole 3.5mm mic-friendly adapter. I have plenty of amps from long ago that I still use that are not 3-pole compatible.
But then again, what crazy moron outside of me is going to try $49 earbuds on a higher-end old-school amp?
Packaging and Accessories
The M200 comes in a very small box and inside of it is yet a smaller fabric carrying case with a zipper, a few spare foam pads, a cute tiny clip for your shirt, and lastly a set of ear hook guides.
Beyond that, nothing else is included. The packing experience is basic and doesn’t get flashy. We get what we need, and we don’t look back. That is my current philosophy on the subject of packaging and accessories.
Sound Impressions
Bass
The SIVGA M200 is advertised as bass moderate and I am not sure I agree with that. It isn’t until I pop in a +6dB, yes +6…into the EQ systems I use, that the M200 starts to offer what I would consider moderate quantities of bass.
For the price though, I don’t have any other budget-tier earbuds that can respond this nicely to EQ anyway, so more points for that.
SIVGA brandishes this earbud as neutral and I agree with that in terms of tone and texture, the M200’s bass is tonally neutral, neither cold and pure, nor very thick and plentiful. This is a classic safe ground/middle ground effect that will satisfy most consumers.
Bassheads though will want to look elsewhere. For $49, the M200 is a wonderful option when you look at the fidelity factors from a higher perspective in terms of finances. Budget tier but sounds more like a mid-tier product for earbuds in the low-end areas.
Mids
The midrange stops feeling moderate compared to the bass experience and begins to sound less bloomed and thickened. While the bass itself isn’t thick, to begin with, the midrange takes a step back from the low end and feels a little lacking in that heft.
If this is considered bass moderate, then the mids should be lifted up and thickened a bit to match it so that things do not feel out of place.
In this regard, the midrange is noticeably thinner and lacking heft compared to the entire bass region. However, the fidelity factor is again, very nice for the price. It is a little “clinical” in that regard, but that is fine. Some people like a clinical midrange and a bloomed low end.
More so, the upper mids start to hike up in brightness factor, which makes sudden piano strikes and screaming guitars much more pronounced and energized than something like my FiiO FF3, for example.
Treble
The entire top side is significantly brighter than the midrange and the almost darkened appeal of the bottom-end bass region.
This is a bright-sounding earbud, but not painfully so. If you enjoy clinical tone in your treble, then you’ll enjoy this model. It is energetic, vivid, a little punchy, and overall, just a plentiful treble experience. This is not a relaxed or chill-sounding earbud.
It is a much more in-your-face top end, something that pokes you just a bit in a fun way and leaves you interested in perhaps playing more treble-happy tracks.
I enjoy this, I am not into bright signatures, but when they are well done and sparkled in the right way, I really enjoy it a lot because I love violin tracks and piano tracks from artists like Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles.
Expect a punch, fun, lively low end. Yes, it can get fatiguing if you are not into that sort of sound, but the experience is not painful or poorly implemented. This is not a harsh-sounding earbud; it just has extra oomph up top.
Soundstage
The M200 is a wider-than-tall sound, but not by much. Imaging properties lack the depth of field, but then again, this earbud is just $49 so I don’t expect insane soundstage experiences. What is there is just good overall.
Depth of field factor is what I would consider passable for the price, while width and height factors are generally into the good tier for me, and I am an imaging snob. Probably one of the biggest snobs out there for imaging needs!
I feel like the M200 air, or separation between instruments was also in the good areas and in my opinion.
Compared to the FiiO FF3, the air factor feels a bit grander due to the M200’s much brighter treble experience but that is not actually true. Both actually feel very similar in stage left to right air and separation qualities.
It is in the depth of field factor that you can feel the M200 is a step or two behind. Otherwise, the height and width factors are pretty good for the price. For $49? I feel good using these for workouts, walks, showers, and more active on-the-go experiences. Coming from a snob like me, it means a lot.
Synergy
The M200 stands at 32 Ω, so you don’t really need an amp at all. Confirmed as such when plugging my M200 into a TempoTec V6 or an xDuoo X3 II.
None of these sources sound any different. I failed a blind test between the two, which means this earbud is very snobbish in a good way and doesn’t require anything special to sound its best. You can use almost any source player, even budget tier, and the M200 will sound very nice.
Absolutely nothing changes when rig pairing this earbud, which is why I liked it so much for what it is. I am able to use it to the max with my Sony phone and nothing else, which itself has a nice DAC output via 3.5mm.
So, don’t worry about amplification or source needs. So long as you aren’t using one of those $15 gas station MP3 players, you’ll be fine. Extra power on high output did nothing to change any sound traits of the earbud, no level of extra or less voltage did anything for it beyond volume output.
Select Comparisons
FiiO FF3
The M200 is much thinner sounding top to bottom, more sharpened, far brighter on the top side, and more physically impacting.
The FF3 is tonally darker, much softer, thicker, and wooly feeling, and lacks the brightness factor of the M200 on the treble side. Both earbuds image well, but not great.
Both are aluminum and both have good-quality cables. The FF3 is for those who want exaggeration and warmth. The M200 is for those who want neutrality and a bordering clinical tone. One is soft on impact (FF3) and the other is harder-hitting and dynamically interesting (M200).
FiiO EM5
The EM5 sounds like a natural upgrade to the M200 in every way. Both are sharp feeling, dynamically hard-hitting, colder than warm sounding, and both have a bright top side response. These could be blood brothers, one more expensive, the other budget-oriented.
The imaging factor is what separates the higher end from the budget tier, with the EM5 being significantly more deep and realistic sounding. The imaging experience on the EM5 is absurdly good for an earbud, but still the best I’ve ever heard. The M200 is just good overall.
Our Verdict
The SIVGA M200 is a good budget-tier earbud that is very neutral sounding and has some clinical tonalities on the top side. If you like that, then this is your go-to from here onward.
The included cable mic is actually really nice for any IEM in general. In fact, I was told repeatedly while taking calls that nobody thought I was using anything other than my phone normally…and I was in the shower at the time or purposely blasting some white noise off the speakers.
This is a cheap $49 budget earbud with a good build quality and a neutral sound signature. Definitely a great stocking stuffer earbud for family and friends.
SIVGA M200 Technical Specifications
- Driver Size: 15.4mm.
- Impedance: 32Ω.
- Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
- Sensitivity: 114dB.
- Termination: 3.5mm.
- Weight: 24grams.
