HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless Review: $499 Premium Wireless IEMs Tested

The Svanar Wireless is a single dynamic driverThe most common transducer type, using a voice coil in a magnetic gap to push a cone or dome diaphragm - the same principle as a traditional loudspeaker. TWS, which comes at a whopping price of $500.

It comes with topology diaphragmHIFIMAN's patented diaphragm coating featuring a precisely-engineered surface pattern that controls breakup modes and damps unwanted resonances across the driver's operating range. technology. What’s that, you might ask? It simply refers to the special nanoparticle coating applied to the surface of the diaphragmThe vibrating membrane in a transducer that converts between electrical energy and acoustic waves; its mass, stiffness, and damping determine driver character., that’s meant to result in a more natural and detailed sound.

Features

In terms of features, it’s both lacking and really feature-packed at the same time - let me explain.

Being a TWS, it needs to have a DACDigital-to-Analog Converter - a device that translates binary audio data into an analog electrical signal that can be amplified and heard. built in - but it’s not a regular DAC. It uses an R2R structure, which is basically a resistor ladder array on a chip. That’s the same approach HIFIMAN has taken with their full-size desktop amps like the EF400 and the EF600, which also include R2R DACs. Their desktop amp/DAC combos have proven to sound very good. Unfortunately, I can’t say how much of that is because of the DAC chip itself, but either way, the Svanar Wireless has it.

In terms of connectivity, it has Bluetooth 5.2, which is almost the latest version of Bluetooth - that’s really nice to see.

But we’re not offered a lot of Bluetooth codecs to choose from. Rather, just one that I would say is really good - LDACSony's proprietary Bluetooth audio codec supporting up to 990 kbps - the highest available over Bluetooth. Quality depends heavily on signal strength; in clean RF environments LDAC at 990kbps is subjectively transparent., developed by Sony, which offers 24-bit and 192kHz bit depthThe number of bits per sample - determines dynamic range (approximately 6dB per bit, so 16-bit gives ~96dB, 24-bit gives ~144dB). and sampling rate accordingly. It’s important to note that LDAC is NOT a truly lossless audio codec. However, in practical terms, this is unlikely to be a significant concern. In the context of using wireless in-ear monitors, the majority of listeners won’t be exclusively listening to lossless music, and even if so, the difference is generally not huge - for some it’s even hardly audible.

The connectivity itself has proven to be stable and didn’t cause me any issues, like some other wireless IEMs, and I would expect it to work perfectly for that price.

Another feature that’s nice to see is the inclusion of three modes of Active Noise Cancellation - there’s HiFi mode (which means ANC off), TransparencyThe quality of a system that conveys the recording with minimal added coloration or character of its own; transparent components are "invisible" in the chain. mode, and ANC on. While it’s nice to see ANC, it’s definitely not amazing. From my testing, it doesn’t do a very good job of reducing outside noises. Don’t get me wrong - it helps, but not to the extent that you might expect at this price.

Comfort and Build Quality

The charging case it comes with is fairly bulky and pretty heavy. It’s in this kind of diamond-shaped form. It doesn’t collect many fingerprints though! There’s a USB-C charging port on the bottom and a button that lets you control some stuff on the rear side. I’m not going to go over the controls themselves, as you can look that up by yourself - I have no intention of wasting your time on that.

The earbuds themselves are also very big, but luckily lightweight. In terms of materials, they’re made almost entirely out of this silver plastic, with the addition of carbon fiber-looking material on the “swan-shaped” piece - hence the name, Svanar Wireless.

Comfort-wise, they’re pretty decent and give you a lot of options, but none of them is ideal for me specifically. Their odd, big shape is something I had to get used to, and I did after some time. However, there’s one problematic thing, at least for me - the carbon fiber part is a little bit rough in touch, more so than the silver plastic, and while the earbuds are in my ears, it’s noticeable - it has a sort of scratchy feeling.

What did I mean by speaking of the options? You’re getting a bunch of different ear tips - 8 pairs to be specific. I’m sure that most of you will figure out the perfect pair for you, as there is a lot to choose from.

Sound Quality (Tonality)

Let’s finally talk about their sound. It’s the most important after all. Tonality first - it’s entirely dictated by the ear tips you decide to use.

For example, with the regular-style big silicone ones, you’re getting a bit softer highs and a huge bass boost - too huge for my liking. I assume bass heads are going to be satisfied. However, the silicone double-flange style keeps a good balance - they reduce the lows a bit to a tolerable level and bring some highs. I found them the most tonally balancedA signal transmission method using two opposite-polarity signal lines plus a ground; noise induced on both lines is cancelled at the differential input..

On the other hand, the foam ones were definitely a no-go for me - they made the sound very thin, took away the fullness and fun.

So in terms of tonality, you can choose whatever you like, as they’re extremely sensitive to tip rolling, plus you’re getting a lot of them included in the package.

Sound Characteristics

Here we go - that’s where the Svanar Wireless shines the most.

I found the soundstageThe perceived three-dimensional acoustic space in a stereo recording - width beyond the speakers, depth front-to-back, and sometimes height information. to be decently wide. It didn’t give me an in-head type of experience, which is often unheard of in the IEM world. I’m not saying that none of the IEMs sound wide - there indeed are some, and the Svanar Wireless is just one of them.

Sound separation was also pretty nice. Usually, the instruments and vocals are well separated. Unless it was a very warm or bassy track and I used the ear tips which emphasized that even more - then everything was just drowning in the bass.

Dynamic rangeThe decibel span between a system's maximum undistorted output and its noise floor; 16-bit audio has ~96dB, 24-bit has ~144dB of theoretical range., especially in the lower mids, bass, and sub-bassFrequencies below approximately 60Hz; felt as much as heard, sub-bass conveys pipe organ fundamentals, kick drum body, and concert hall size. region, is excellent. It punches and slams very strongly, and it makes for a very fun experience. Dynamic drivers usually do a better job at dynamics than other types like planar magneticA driver using a thin membrane with embedded conductors suspended between magnets, producing sound from the entire surface for very low distortion. or electrostaticA driver using an ultra-thin membrane suspended between two charged stator plates; requires a high-voltage energizer and produces vanishingly low distortion..

Detail Retrieval

Speaking about detail, it’s pretty odd. Usually, in headphones, the details are mainly reproduced in the upper frequencies. The Svanar Wireless does it quite a bit differently. I’m unable to tell if that’s because of their design, the driver, or the codec being lossy.

Either way, the bass is very, very textured and detailed here. That isn’t particularly present throughout the entire midrangeThe frequency range from approximately 250Hz to 5kHz where most musical information, vocals, and instrument fundamentals reside. though, as the midrange itself is quite recessedA perceived dip in a frequency region (commonly the upper midrange or lower treble) that pulls instruments backward in the soundstage and softens overall presence. tonally - and it isn’t meant to be very detailed in music anyway, as that’s where the melodies and all that are placed.

In the top end, it’s also fairly resolving for a TWS. I’d say it’s surprisingly resolving for something in its class. I liked that a lot, as I’m a fan of hearing minor details in songs. But still, the low end was seemingly more resolving than the top end frequencies - such a weird experience.

Who Is This For

I don’t think that everybody is going to jump in and purchase a $500 wireless IEM, as people often associate wireless technology with lower-fidelity sound. I think that HIFIMAN is trying to break that belief and come up with a decent product that shows what’s possible while remaining wireless and fairly compact.

People are absolutely okay with buying crazy expensive wired IEMs for years. There are many top-of-the-line ones that cost over $2000, and there’s a market for that. While you have to pay a lot for the Svanar Wireless, it also offers a lot.

I’m convinced that most of its price isn’t what it costs HIFIMAN to make these, but a huge portion of that budget went into the R&D - research and development - to fit everything that it offers into a small package.