AIAIAI TMA-1 Closed Headphone

[sYlt]

Originally Posted by The DarkSide

Do you have them as well? Do you have the same issue?

@sYlt: How about you? These are most likely going back this Sat.

I've actually just sent mine back today for repair/replace because of that isolation problem on the left side.
But I did notice that when I tilted my head front or back, they would move place, which is quite unfortunate but I don't think that will be a problem for me in the future, I didn't try walking around with them though.

[CrowdAds]

[The DarkSide]

Well I can't be bothered to send them back to J&R Music World and HOPE I get a set of TMA-1's w/a tighter fit. If I had ordered them directly from AIAIAI I'd have most likely have exchanged them tho. I'll just get another set w/the same issue - and I'm not gonna keep sending them back for another set all the time.

TMA-1: Going back,...

HD25-1 II: Staying w/me,...

[RaduSpeedy]

So far, I love mine. So today I thought I'd try the other earpads (haven't even oppened them till now ) and was like : where is the bass, the soundstage ... it's all gone. So I put the pleather pads back on, and the other ones I'll use for experimenting with different materials
...any ideas ? (I see people are modding Grados all the time)

[Confispect]

Hmmm,

Congrats.

I was going to order these but I got the HD650 instead.

[james1]

The clamping force was way to low on these, they slid off my head very easily even with slight movement or adjustment. Therefore the isolation was well below par and I could only listen to the full extent of their great sound by pushing them against my head. I much prefer the SennHD25 clamping force to these. But dont get me wrong, these sound great (dark, fun, superb for rock, electro) and look great, so if you have a big bonce (or maybe I have an unusually small one) then these wont be for you.

[The DarkSide]

C/O CNET: AiAiAi TMA1 Professional DJ Monitoring Headphones - http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/a...?tag=cnetRiver

A pretty good review, even if it does leave out a highly deserved star IMO.

[TimYoung]

Tried the TMA-1 yesterday at the apple store. They sounded super dark, unrefined and muddy as has been said. Why is there so much love for them?

[Jack4L]

Well dark, without a hot treble is kind of unique ain't it? Atleast in this scale, and if there are alternatives then its just a matter of preference. Unrefined could just be a reaction to you not being used to that kind of sound signature.

Like all headphones its an acquired taste more then anything. I think the main characteristic that most people hold above all else is the build quality and looks- heck maybe its just me but I am more forgiving of these headphones because I like their looks

[The DarkSide]

Originally Posted by Jack4L

Well dark, without a hot treble is kind of unique ain't it? Atleast in this scale, and if there are alternatives then its just a matter of preference. Unrefined could just be a reaction to you not being used to that kind of sound signature.

Like all headphones its an acquired taste more then anything. I think the main characteristic that most people hold above all else is the build quality and looks- heck maybe its just me but I am more forgiving of these headphones because I like their looks

WHAT??? I liked the way they sounded, and I'd still have them, if the fit didn't suck. Remember, I hated the crappy high's on the Sony MDR-V6, so this was a godsend to me. If the TMA-1's fit better I'd still own them,...

[TimYoung]

Originally Posted by Jack4L

Well dark, without a hot treble is kind of unique ain't it? Atleast in this scale, and if there are alternatives then its just a matter of preference. Unrefined could just be a reaction to you not being used to that kind of sound signature.

Like all headphones its an acquired taste more then anything. I think the main characteristic that most people hold above all else is the build quality and looks- heck maybe its just me but I am more forgiving of these headphones because I like their looks

Yeah, I didn't get the sound signature. It deffo sounded unrefined as I did a comparison to my headphones at the time which cost the same price. I dunno, I'll try it again next time. I was so unimpressed with it that I put it down after like 10 seconds. Oh saying that I tried it on the ipod nano so it might be a bit unfair.

[sYlt]

I'm loving mine every single day

It's indeed a shame that the clamping force is low, I think that an increase of 20% of it's clamping force would be perfect. Other than that, these sound superb for me. It's nice to listen to a different sound signature every now and then, or more like, every day

[Confispect]

Brain burn in.

[Yagmort]

i did notice that both dfkt ("..Yet I certainly wouldn’t categorize them as “basshead” phones...") and ClieOS ("..While it is not what I would refer as bass monster...") doesn't refer to TMA-1 as basshead phones in their reviews. This makes me wonder if not TMA-1 then what (within basically the same sound signature as TMA-1)?

[Jörgemeister]

^ I think is because some people might call "bass" at dark sound signatures, so that could be the confusion, Ive read plenty about them being bass heavy but I trust more experts like ClieOS and dfkt, so if I understand correctly the AiAiAi are dark but not bassy.

Dark - A tonal balance that tilts downwards with increasing frequency. Opposite of bright. Weak high frequencies.

In a FR chart it would be high in the low levels and decreasing constantly.



I used to fancy for these but got the HD25 instead, never looked back. But they do look awesome.

[Confispect]

^ What he said and yeah I used to want them to HD650 was my cure.

[Yagmort]

i didn't intend to sound like i don't trust dfkt or ClieOS no way quite the opposite is ture nothing but respect here.

so could you guys please enlighten me on this dark vs. bass subject? TMA-1 FR looks awesome in bass department being almost linear without humps and goes really down to 20 Hz.. so i wonder how the frequency response chart of a true bass head looks like?

[Jörgemeister]

^I cant, havent heard them yet, I only know about them because I considered them once.
this review if interesting, if you want to have a different approach besides ClieOS and dfkt. he made some points abotu the darkness in the second page

[Confispect]

A Strong Mid-bass can make everything sound dark as can a beefier mids that slants lower. Graphs don't tell it all but i've heard that it was dark on several occasion's but dark isn't necessarily a bad thing I hate overly bright IEMS (DBA-02) And yeah it does look "awesome" there's also a nice treble dip to. Can't tell it would go with it or if it would sound unbalanced as shit haven't heard them. TDS appear please.

[The DarkSide]

I had the TMA-1, and the HD25-1 II's at the same time. Even if they had the same clamping force I prefer the hd25's to the TMA-1's. I personally found the mids clearer, the bass crisp and forceful (but not "basshead" booming), and the soundstaging to be more "open". I like the hd25-1 II's a bit more - and both cost the same.

And as for straight up bass - I didn't find the TMA-1's to be any better than the hd25-1 II's. The senns just have better, cleaner sound. And that's what I want most.

[Yagmort]

well it seems i like dark sound as i always have eq settings with full bass and lowest treble if a device allow eqing.