Sound impressions
Jim describes Sunniva’s tonality as ‘warm neutral’, and that’s basically that in a nutshell. Compared to Serratus it’s definitely warmer and less neutral, though, similar to Ripples in that regard.
Bass is the standout here, and Sunniva doesn’t shy away from infusing music with a healthy dose of midbass regardless of what music you’re playing. A midbass-forward tuning is generally thicker, with more note weight, and that’s the main characteristic of Sunniva’s bass for me.
It’s a faster midbass presentation than Ripples, though, which means I’m feeling more sub-bass by comparison, but I still feel Sunniva suffers from substantial sub-bass rolloff compared to Serratus – and definitely compared to most dynamic driver IEMs.
The Beryllium driver in Sunniva must be doing something right though, because the texture and detail in the midbass is impressive. It’s also reasonably fast, so you’ll probably hear less bloom than you would with the slower Ripples.
Sunniva’s warmth feeds, rather than bleeds, into the midrange, with lower mids in particular benefitting the most. Male vocals are satisfyingly chesty, and instruments are played with plenty of note weight too.
There is a touch of veil (or maybe it’s just the thickness that I’m not used to), in some midrange notes, with less air between elements as a result, at least when compared to buds with more incisive clarity and transparency like Serratus. Sunniva’s fuller midrange note are definitely more romantic, if a touch less accurate, than Serratus’s thinner rendering, but the step up in midrange resolution and clarity over Ripples is noticeable.
Treble notes also benefit from the faster driver in Sunniva. There’s plenty of sparkle and detail here, with enough extension to satisfy all but die-hard treble fans. It’s not quite the open-sounding majesty of Serratus treble, so strings won’t soar as high or sound as delicately sweet, but once again it’s an upgrade over Ripples, especially in terms of resolution.
In fact, to continue the theme, I’m going to characterise Sunniva as a more technically-accomplished take on Ripples. Its tuning is such that the fundamentals are very similar to how I hear Ripples, but the shortcomings I noted in my Ripples review – resolution, speed and extension – have all been solved for the most part with Sunniva.
I’m also hearing a bigger stage, with better separation and imaging ability, though Sunniva still trails Serratus in these metrics, for me. That’s possibly more to do with its tuning, because Serratus’s cleaner sound makes it easier to pick out subtle elements and details in the music that are less forward in the mix with Sunniva.
It’s also worth noting that TGXEAR has a bass mod that works by partially blocking the bass vents and reducing overall midbass levels by 3dB. That should go some way to shedding off some of the veil I still hear (as a result of the tuning), and also opening up some of the other frequencies. Personally I like Sunniva’s tuning as-is, and would much rather pick a bud like Serratus for a different flavour.
Overall, Sunniva is a very apt name for an earbud that plays on the warmer side, but is both more advanced and refined than its ‘predecessor’ in all the ways that matter.
Closing thoughts
When I first heard about Sunniva, at the time TGXEAR’s new ‘flagship’, I was hoping for something more in line with Serratus, which is the bud that really transformed how I feel about earbuds in general. Instead, Sunniva turned out to be a direct upgrade of the Ripples blueprint, so for those who have and love Ripples it’s an easy rec.
As such, I don’t consider Sunniva an upgrade to Serratus, and in fact, their differences make them far more complementary than competitive. I think if you love the clean, crisp and transparent Serratus sound, with its outstanding extension into both sub-bass and treble, Sunniva will give you an almost opposite tuning, only this time with technical ability to match.
Sunniva would still be my pick for the likes of jazz, acoustic and rock, whereas Serratus is a better performer for classical, pop and electronic music. For not much more than the price of Ripples, Sunniva is a solid step up, and makes an ideal Ying and Yang pairing with Serratus. I’d go as far as to say Ripples has no more reason to exist now that Sunniva does.
As with all of Jim’s buds, Sunniva represents outstanding value, and at $350 it’s almost impossible not to be bowled over by the sound. Suffice it to say I’m yet to hear an IEM that can do what these buds do at the same price point, so even if you’e not convinced that buds are for you, I’d at least recommend an audition.
