Headphones · Side-by-side
Sivga Luan vs Verum Audio Verum 1
The Sivga Luan scores 0.1 higher and costs $50 less - on the data, it just wins.
Our pick Sivga Luan The Luan is 0.1 ahead on the rubric, tested on the same chain by the same listener. It is also $50 cheaper, so nothing is being traded.
See the case for eachThe short version
The Sivga Luan scores 8.1/10 (Recommended) and the Verum Audio Verum 1 scores 8.0/10 (Recommended), both headphones tested on the same reference chain. At $299 against $349, the Sivga Luan saves you $50. The Luan's headline strength, per its review: Looks and feels like a $500+ headphone for $299. The Verum 1's: Stunning wooden earcup design with metal cut-out grills. A 0.1-point gap is one step on a 0-10 scale: real, but smaller than the difference fit and system matching will make.
Higher score
Sivga Luan
A semi-open dynamic with real wood cups and a natural, chocolatey midrange - $360 at launch, now $299.
Verum Audio Verum 1
A $350 open-back planar that goes the opposite direction from most of the market - smooth, refined highs, full warm mids, and ruler-flat bass to 20Hz.
The overlap
Common ground & where they differ
No scores here. This row reads the driver, form factor, bracket and origin off each review's tags, so you can see whether these two are siblings or a class apart.
Both share
Only the Luan
Only the Verum 1
The verdict
Which one to buy
Short version: the rubric leans Sivga Luan - but what's upstream, what you listen for, and what your budget allows can each flip it. Here's the case for each.
The case for the Luan
Sivga Luan
- Looks and feels like a $500+ headphone for $299
- Real wood earcups with smooth blacked-out metal grills
- Cheaper by $50, and it gives up nothing on the score
- Higher score, plainly - Recommended, 8.1/10, 0.1 clear of the Verum Audio Verum 1
The case for the Verum 1
Verum Audio Verum 1
- Stunning wooden earcup design with metal cut-out grills
- Real leather pads, magnetically attached for easy swap
- That $50 premium buys character and build, not a higher score
Sound character
Sound signature, overlaid
Each axis is positioned from the review body itself. The same word-frequency model anchors every review on the catalogue.
| Axis | Sivga Luan | Verum Audio Verum 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Warm to Bright | leans warm | sits near neutral |
| Relaxed to Analytical | leans relaxed | leans analytical |
| Polite to Aggressive | leans aggressive | leans aggressive |
| Lean to Bass-heavy | leans lean | sits near neutral |
| Intimate to Wide stage | sits near neutral | sits near neutral |
The numbers
Specs, side by side
The 3 specs both reviews record come first, so the rows you can actually compare are at the top. Manufacturer figures unless a measured value is noted; N/A means we haven't recorded that spec yet.
| Spec | Sivga Luan | Verum Audio Verum 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Dynamic | 82 mm planar, 28 rare-earth magnets |
| Impedance | 38 Ω | 8 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 100 dB | 96 dB/mW |
| Connector | Dual 3.5 mm | N/A |
| Magnets | 24.5 mm oversized | N/A |
Trade-offs
Pros & cons, side by side
Luan
Pros
- Standard 3.5mm jacks - no fragile 2.5mm connectors
- Hard leather carrying case included
- Natural, chocolatey midrange with detailed vocals
- Looks and feels like a $500+ headphone for $299
- Real wood earcups with smooth blacked-out metal grills
Cons
- Bass rolls off below ~45Hz
- Semi-open (felt behind grills) - not fully open-back
- Soundstage is decent but not hugely expansive
- Stock cable looks utilitarian - rubberized, single-ended only
- Sounds presented mostly in front, less around-the-head
- Mid-range scaling with better amplification is subtle
Verum 1
Pros
- Smart 90-degree cable that stays off your shoulders
- Suspension-style leather headband adjusts beautifully
- Smooth, non-fatiguing treble - almost impossible to make sibilant
- Full, warm, inviting midrange with forward vocals
- Ruler-flat bass extension down to 20Hz, fast yet with long decay
Cons
- 8Ω impedance demands real current from the amplifier
- Needs ~2W/ch to truly open up - scales heavily with power
- Treble may sound a touch veiled on first listen
- Soundstage is fairly closed-in, not super wide
- 90-degree connectors make many aftermarket cables awkward
- Only single-ended cable in the box - balanced sold separately
Method
How they were tested head-to-head
The Sivga Luan and the Verum Audio Verum 1 were auditioned back to back on one chain, driven from the same HIFIMAN Serenade amp/DAC (Himalaya Pro R2R), fed bit-perfect from the Hermes 12th digital transport over USB. The two were volume-matched at the output and swapped across the same set of reference recordings - acoustic, vocal-led, dense modern, and large-scale orchestral - so every session compared like for like. This is a direct head-to-head rather than two separate verdicts compared after the fact, and both sit against the published headphones reference list at the matching price tier.
What the 0.1-point score gap actually means
0.1 points is a real gap but a narrow one. It shows up on some tracks and disappears on others, and it never reverses: the Sivga Luan is ahead whenever it is audible at all. That is small enough that fit, comfort, or price can legitimately outweigh it.
What would flip the verdict
The Sivga Luan wins on the rubric, but the Verum Audio Verum 1 becomes the right pick under three conditions. First, when system fit favours it - your amplifier, room, or source has a character that pairs better with this piece than with the higher scorer. Second, when one of the cons listed against the Sivga Luan is a hard disqualifier in your context: drive requirements, ergonomics, connectivity, or footprint. Third, when budget is genuinely binding - the Verum Audio Verum 1 costs more than the higher-scored piece, which is unusual, and only earns it with a specific synergy. Outside those three, the higher score is the safer bet.
Full methodology and disclosure live on the about page. The reference chain and the scoring rubric behind both scores are published on the homepage, and each review carries its own head-to-head list and publication date, plus the date it was last re-checked against the rest of the catalogue.
Common questions
Common questions about this comparison
What's the real-world difference between the Sivga Luan and the Verum Audio Verum 1?
Scores first: the Sivga Luan takes it 8.1 to 8.0, a 0.1 gap. Where they really split is voicing: the Verum 1 runs a touch more analytical, the Luan more relaxed. Each review flags something different - the Luan's "Silent, perfectly damped cup swivel and tilt mechanism" against the Verum 1's "Suspension-style leather headband adjusts beautifully". Those, not the decimal, are the real decision.
Which should you buy, the Sivga Luan or the Verum Audio Verum 1?
Default to the Sivga Luan - it's 0.1 ahead - but on a sympathetic system the Verum Audio Verum 1 closes most of it. Take the Verum Audio Verum 1 if its character or your chain leans that way; otherwise the Sivga Luan.
The bigger picture
Where they rank
This page is the head-to-head - the buying guides put both of these up against the whole field.