Sendy Audio Peacock Headphones

David W. Robinson: a Portrait in Winter, 2020. (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson)

Switching my attention briefly to high-end headphones, with three of them in my queue to write up…

Headphones. I do love excellent headphones…always have. Since my high school days in Walnut Creek, CA, every opportunity I had to listen to them, I would do so. There was always something magical about stereo LPs listened to on good ‘phones while stretched out on a bed. And, naturally, while doing live recordings of rock jam sessions, I always had my trusty Koss Pro 4A headphones with me. At the time, that was the best I knew…a sealed dynamic design.

Ye Olde Editor with his Sony TC-630 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1970. (Photographer unknown.) You can just make out my Koss Pro 4A headphones at the base of the TC-630.

Of, course, since then we've come light years. We've also proliferated types of headphone designs and their drivers, including dynamic, planar magnetic, electrostatic, variants of the last like Warwick Acoustics' Balanced Drive High Performance Electrostatic Laminate (BD-HPEL), closed backs, open backs, over-ear, generic in-ear monitors, custom in-ear monitors, around-ear…it's a long list.

And with the swelling interest in personal-fi/portable-fi systems, coupled with streaming on various sources on the Internet, the shift to headphones has become a powerful torrent.

I have several sets of headphones that I'll be writing up over the next quarter or so. Each pair is excellent, though each is also different from the others.

Cutting to the chase, a brief impression. The first of these is the Peacock, a beautiful and seductive new headphone from Sendy Audio.

To be honest, I was unfamiliar with Sendy Audio, a subsidiary of the Chinese firm Dongguan SIVGA Electronic Technology Co., LTD., when they first got in touch with me about their new headphones. At the time, I hadn't heard of them, nor of the Peacock. Given the number of headphones that I've reviewed over the years, I wasn't sure that I wanted to take on another project at the time. We exchanged emails back and forth, with Sendy Audio really asking me to give the Peacock a try. After some time, and further consideration, I finally relented, and decided to take them on spec.

And I'm glad that I did. What a delightful surprise the Peacock turned out to be.

The very handsome Sendy Audio Peacock Headphones in our office reference system (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

Description and specifications

First off, the Peacock is an over-the-ears Planar Magnetic design. As you can see, it's a very attractive pair of ‘phones…in the realm of audio porn for your head. Their website provides the basic particulars for their approach.

Style: Over ear
Transducer type: Planar Magnetic driver
Transducer size: φ 88mm
Frequency response: 20Hz - 40KHz
Sensitivity: 103dB +/- 3dB
Impedance: 50 Ohm +/-15%
Cable length: 2.0 M +/-0.2 M
Connector: φ 4.4 mm balanced
Weight: 578 g

More details will be seen HERE; the technically-inclined reader should read this before proceeding.

Supporting cast

The stellar T+A HA-200 Headphone Amp/DAC (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

For this evaluation, I used the stellar T+A HA 200 Headphone Amplifier/DAC (review forthcoming). I ran the Peacock in 4.4mm balanced mode, using Sendy Audio's supplied 2-meter balanced cable. The T+A has its own very fine DAC, that supports out to DSD1024, and up to PCM 768kHz/32-bit. The playback software was JRiver's Media Center 28, accessing all LAN-based music, especially DSD and PCM on our Wolf Audio Systems QNAP 1273U NAS, equipped with 96TB of nominal storage (84TB of actual storage configured in RAID 5).

I employed the RSX Technologies Beyond AC Power Cable, an extraordinary performer. Power conditioning was via the Clarus Audio Concerto. A Furutech NCF Booster Brace was used to provide damping support for the RSX Tech Beyond. Walker Audio's Valid Points Isolation System gave the T+A HA-200 a float from the underlying non-audiophile shelf that it rests upon.

Overall, very solid ground for listening.

Design

The Peacock Headphones are a Planar Magnetic design with oversize drivers, potent magnetics, and precision assembly. They have an open back framework, allowing the drivers to breath and for spaciousness to develop. And didn't I love the handmade, lovely hard-shell leather carrying case! Absolutely smashing.

Break-in time was minimal, although I have no idea of how much time the factory might have put on these before they were shipped to me. Over here, no more than 25-50 hours at this end had everything coming into focus quite nicely.

I've listened to quite a lot of Planar Magnetic headphones over the years. But this isn't just another Planar Magnetic design, as I found out very quickly. Not at all.

Cutting to the sound…

So…what was it that won me over so quickly with Sendy Audio's Peacock/T+A HA-200 combination?

Good question.

This being a Brief Impression, I'll go directly to the summary.

First of all, the Peacock looks great. When I first unpacked them, I was actually rather surprised…the quality exceeded my prior expectations. The curb appeal on these headphones is very real; they actually look more expensive than they are. Beauty beats ugly every time. Wood…soft goatskin leather…a striking open baffle…an attractive and easily adjustable headband…what's not to like?

Answer: nothing.

Second…and very important, this…the Peacock Headphones are extremely comfortable. The combination of soft goatskin leather and memory foam allowed me to listen to music for hours, literally. I've tried headphones that made long-term listening bloody near impossible, unless you suffer from a really severe form of audio-masochism that makes you enjoy headaches, pressure zones, and crushed ears. Personally, I had no problem listening to the Peacock ‘phones for 4-6 hours at a stretch. That, for me, is quite a long time with a pair of headphones…but I was able to do so regularly with the Peacock.

In amateur astronomy, the classic newbie question is "What is the best telescope?"

Pro answer: "The one you'll use."

Makes sense. If you won't use something, why would you keep it around?

Third, the sonics of the Peacock surprised me. There was a righteous combination of:

Very fine, indeed! These are headphones that can get down with Rage Against the Machine or swing with Gershwin, both in DSD64. Stokowski or Rickie Lee Jones, evoked without a sense of muddiness or smudging? Absolutely.
The Peacock produces an intensely rich and blooming musical experience. Warm, but not oppressively so. Well-balanced sonics, with excellent integration all frequency ranges…but always in service of the music. And isn't the music in our recordings supposed to be what high-end audio is all about?
In fact, the bass reach of these headphones was one of the most gratifying dimensions of listening to them. Following the lower reaches of any recording was simple…you couldn't miss it. Even at lower volumes, bass didn't dry up. Far from it. These are some of the best headphones that I've heard when it comes to delivering the lower octaves effortlessly. Quite impressive.
The listed sensitivity figure of 103dB +/- 3dB together with a 50-ohm impedance sounds about right. I found that I had to actually turn down the volume on the T+A HA-200 while listening to music after shifting over from other headphones.
Yep, no doubt. You get a very strong sense of the elements of a recording with the Peacock Headphones, since they are so easily heard. You can't miss it…either micro or macro. One listening session…you'll know.
Imaging and soundstaging. Well, of course. And these are two of the hardest elements to get right in headphone design. The Peacock provides a real sense of spaciousness; here, their particular open baffle really allows things to breath sonically. The strong detail control contributes to imaging, while the larger sound space really does seem to flow from their implementation of the open baffle on the ‘phones. Listening to Stokowski's Rhapsodies (DSD64) on the Peacocks is a genuine caution. Very spacious, and yet there is a real sense of where the instruments are. In headphones, this means that you're doing something very right…and Sendy Audio has clearly accomplished that.

Conclusion

What an experience! The Peacock certainly caught my ear, and towed my heart away. And it did so quite rapidly after they came out of the box. Be forewarned!

That all of these fine qualities could be found, so very nicely balanced, and so richly satisfying, in a framework that makes it very comfortable to listening to for many hours at a time…and all at a package price, for everything, of just under $1,500…well, my hat's off to Sendy Audio.

In fact, I was so impressed, that I'm giving Sendy Audio's Peacock Headphones one of my Brutus Awards for 2022. I do so with great satisfaction.

If you love music, are in the market for a very special pair of audiophile headphones with a stellar combination of audio virtues, at this price, then do yourself a favor. You owe it to yourself to hear the Sendy Audio Peacock Headphones. I can pretty confidently say that I think you'll be delighted with the results.

I certainly am.