Sendy Audio Apollo Pro

Sendy Audio’s Apollo Pro — A 78mm Planar with Sivga’s Best Comfort and a Warm, Open Sound

Sendy Audio is the audiophile-focused sister brand to Sivga — the same Dongguan-based company behind the wooden dynamic-driver headphones I’ve reviewed before, including the Luan and the Robin SV021 Pro. The Apollo Pro is a substantial retune of the original Apollo, built around a 78mm planar magnetic driver, and having spent three weeks with it, the sound signature has moved on a lot from that first version.

At €499 ($449 / £449) it sits above the Luan and the Robin SV021 Pro in Sendy Audio’s range, and after living with it alongside my other Sendy Audio review, the Egret, I’d put the Apollo Pro right up there as one of the best headphones the brand has made.

I have been listening to the Apollo Pro for three weeks now, and it has genuinely been a pleasure — this is one of the more open-sounding headphones I’ve used this year. But first, let’s take a look at what’s in the box.

Unboxing and Build Quality

The Apollo Pro arrives in a plain kraft box with a line-drawing illustration of the headphone’s distinctive sunburst grille on the front:

The back of the box prints the core specification in both English and Chinese, alongside the Sendy Audio logo and the manufacturer details that confirm the Sivga connection — this is made by Dongguan Sivga Electronic Technology Co., Ltd:

Inside sits a genuinely handsome leather carrying case, embossed with the Sendy Audio logo and finished with brass hardware:

Inside the case, the headphone sits with a linen Sendy Audio drawstring bag tucked into the headband cavity:

The box includes: the Apollo Pro headphone, the leather carrying case, a hemp accessory bag, a 4.4mm balanced cable, a 3.5mm-to-4.4mm adapter, and a 6.35mm-to-3.5mm adapter. The cable itself is a triple-composite build — Furukawa OFC, silver-plated, and gold-plated copper strands woven together with shielding to cut noise — coiled neatly with the adapters and a cable tie:

The two adapters ship individually bagged for protection:

It is a genuinely high-quality cable, but it’s worth flagging as a small caveat: it’s on the heavier and longer side, which is fine at a desk but something to be aware of if portability matters to you, and finding an aftermarket alternative with the right connector can take some hunting.

Build quality on the headphone itself is excellent for the price. The earcup grille uses a sunburst metal mesh pattern over the 78mm planar driver, set inside a CNC aviation-aluminium frame:

Fit and Comfort

At 354g — confirmed on my own kitchen scale, matching Sendy Audio’s spec exactly — the Apollo Pro isn’t a light headphone, but the comfort is genuinely excellent, arguably the best I’ve experienced from Sendy Audio or Sivga to date:

The earpads are breathable velvet with a soft lamb-leather headband, and the depth and softness of the pad cushioning is a real strength — I could happily wear glasses without it meaningfully affecting the bass response, which is not something I can say about every headphone with deep pads:

Compared against a cluster of other earpads from the collection, the Apollo Pro’s fabric texture and depth stand out as noticeably plusher than most of what’s sitting alongside it:

Sound Impressions

I listened to the Apollo Pro over three weeks from a desktop chain, rotating it against several other planars and against the Egret. The overall character has a bit of that “high-end Meze” warmth to it, paired with a matching treble, and — thanks to the open design — a touch of that expansive Hifiman soundstage effect. It is, on the whole, a well-balanced and very enjoyable listen.

Bass

The bass is warm without tipping into bloated or muddy territory — nicely controlled for an open-back planar, with enough weight to feel satisfying without ever overstaying its welcome in the mix. On “xanny” by Billie Eilish, the sub-bass has real presence and texture without smearing into the vocal, which sits just above it.

Midrange

The midrange carries that Meze-adjacent warmth I mentioned, with a natural, inviting quality that never feels thin or clinical. It’s a genuinely engaging presentation rather than a strictly neutral one, and it suits vocal-forward material particularly well. On “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star, the vocal has real body and warmth without ever feeling pushed forward artificially.

Treble

The treble matches that midrange warmth with a bit of its own energy — well extended and detailed, though this is the one area where I’d flag a caveat: some listeners may find it a little more present than they’d like, particularly coming from a warmer, more relaxed-treble headphone. On “Chocolate Chip Trip” by Tool, the cymbal work and percussion have good detail and air, though on brighter recordings that extra energy is more noticeable.

Soundstage and Imaging

Soundstage is a genuine highlight — the open-back design delivers a real sense of space, closer to what I’d expect from a Hifiman planar than from most other Sendy Audio or Sivga headphones I’ve used. On “Born, Never Asked” by Laurie Anderson, the layered vocal treatments spread out well beyond the earcups, with good separation between elements even in a fairly dense mix.

Comparisons

Within Sendy Audio’s own range, the Apollo Pro sits alongside the Egret as one of the two most complete tunings the brand has produced. The Egret leans toward authoritative planar bass and a composed midrange; the Apollo Pro trades a little of that bass authority for a more open, spacious presentation and a warmer overall character. Both are excellent, and the choice between them comes down to whether you prioritise the Egret’s bass weight or the Apollo Pro’s soundstage.

Against the Sivga Luan, the family resemblance in comfort philosophy is obvious — both prioritise exceptionally soft, breathable padding — but the driver technology and tuning are quite different. The Luan’s 50mm dynamic driver has a warm midrange with a brighter treble boost around 15kHz, while the Apollo Pro’s planar driver gives it a more open, spacious presentation that the Luan’s more conventional dynamic design doesn’t attempt to match. Pictured together with a wider selection of Sendy Audio and Sivga headphones, the family design language — wood, leather, and metal — is easy to spot across the range:

Against the Sivga Robin SV021 Pro, the comparison is really one of price tier and ambition. The Robin SV021 Pro is a genuinely impressive $200 closed-back once EQ’d, but its stock midrange needs that correction to sound its best. The Apollo Pro, at more than double the price, doesn’t need that intervention — it’s well-balanced out of the box, with a substantially more spacious open-back presentation that the closed-back Robin was never going to deliver. Here are three genuine Sivga-family headphones from the collection side by side, showing the range of wood finishes the wider family covers:

Against the Sennheiser HD600, the Apollo Pro’s planar driver and warmer tuning make for an interesting contrast with the HD600’s more classically neutral, midrange-forward accuracy. The HD600 remains the more analytically “correct” of the two, but the Apollo Pro’s open, spacious presentation and warmer bass make it the more immediately engaging listen for a lot of music.

Against the Hifiman Edition XV, the comparison is closest in spirit — both are open-back planars in a similar price bracket with a relatively easygoing, non-fatiguing character. The Edition XV’s treble is more deliberately relaxed than the Apollo Pro’s, which makes it the safer choice for treble-sensitive listeners, while the Apollo Pro counters with a touch more warmth through the midrange and a comfort package — that leather case, those earpads — that goes well beyond what Hifiman includes at this price.

Specifications and Measurements

At 27Ω and 93dB sensitivity, the Apollo Pro is an easy planar to drive — nothing here demands a particularly powerful amplifier, though as always a clean source will let the driver show what it can do.

I don’t have my own bench measurements for the Apollo Pro ready for this review, but subjectively the response is nicely controlled — a little warmer than some listeners will prefer, but never bloated or muddy, which is a harder balance to strike than it sounds. I’ll be adding frequency response, distortion, and comparison overlays against the Egret, the Luan, the Robin SV021 Pro, the HD600, and the Edition XV once I’ve completed my own measurements.

Rating Explanation

The Pragmatic Rating of 5 reflects a headphone with genuinely nothing significant to complain about — the style won’t suit everyone, and sourcing the right aftermarket cable could be a minor hassle given the connector, but beyond that this is one of the best Sendy Audio or Sivga headphones you can buy, right up there with the Egret. The Features and Price ratings of 5 both reflect excellent quality across the board for the money — the leather case, the cable, the build, and above all the earpad comfort all feel like they belong on a considerably more expensive headphone.

The Measurements Rating of 4 reflects a nicely controlled response that leans a little warmer than some listeners will prefer, without ever becoming bloated or muddy — a deliberate tuning choice rather than a flaw, but one that keeps this just short of a 5 for anyone chasing strict neutrality.

This one is for anyone who wants an open, spacious planar sound with genuinely exceptional comfort, and who doesn’t mind a distinctive look and a slightly heavier stock cable in exchange for one of the most complete packages Sendy Audio currently offers.

Conclusion

The Sendy Audio Apollo Pro is a very pragmatic open-back planar, and probably the brand’s most complete headphone yet. The comfort is outstanding, the looks are distinctive even if not universally to everyone’s taste, and the warm, open, well-balanced sound signature — with just a little extra treble energy for some listeners to be aware of — makes for a genuinely enjoyable long-term listen. Alongside the Egret, it’s the clearest evidence yet that Sendy Audio and Sivga know exactly what they’re doing.