AIAIAI TMA-1 - Page 55

so does the TMA-1 sound better than the m50? threads seem to point to that direction but i guess the darkness is very offputting to some. The m50 seems fairly dark to me compared to my grado cans. Plus I have always loved the look of the TMA-1. Personally I think they are some of the best looking cans in existence.

Agreed on looks, and I would say yes on sound as well. I liked them more than the M50.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by reivaj 

so does the TMA-1 sound better than the m50? threads seem to point to that direction but i guess the darkness is very offputting to some. The m50 seems fairly dark to me compared to my grado cans. Plus I have always loved the look of the TMA-1. Personally I think they are some of the best looking cans in existence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyuuketsuki 

Completely random, but according to Aiaiai's FB page, Snoop Dogg was spotted in Sydney with a pair of TMA-1s. I whole heartedly expected him to have Dre Beats... 

Actually, I thought Mr. Dogg put his name to a line of Skullcandys if I'm not mistaken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reivaj 

so does the TMA-1 sound better than the m50? threads seem to point to that direction but i guess the darkness is very offputting to some. The m50 seems fairly dark to me compared to my grado cans. Plus I have always loved the look of the TMA-1. Personally I think they are some of the best looking cans in existence.

Agreed with Morbid that the TMA-1s are overall superior in capability, but the by-design emphasis on the low and mids requires EQing to balance the treble.  I mostly prefer the M50 un-EQd, but with the right content the TMA-1 bests it even without the assistance.  If you're not planning to EQ and find the M50 unpleasantly dark, I'd say steer clear of the TMA-1.

 

Agreed on the looks.  A beautifully simplistic style that perfectly balances form and function.

Okay guys. I just got my TMA-1's and I have been listening to them for like one hour.

My first impressions:

- Relatively strong build quality : Headband is very strong. I suspect the first thing break in these will most likely be the swivel cups rather than the headband, and that's saying a lot.

- Fits loose, yet not enough so that sound quality is affected - Because of this, the headband will rest on your head, yet there is no padding. I have hair, so it didn't really affect me that much; however, I can see why people are complaining about this.

- Strong bass

- Signature dark sound

- Treble is hiding behind all the bass

- Vocals are not as clear as they are on my Etymotics

- Dubstep sounded amazing with these

- LOW IMPEDANCE! UGHHHH MAKES ME WANT TO RIP OF HAIR OUT! Came from a high impedance earphones so I was not affected by my Macbook Pros/Droid's terrible headphone jacks. This hissing is seriously untolerable.. 

Overall: Solid headphone. Fun to listen to on my desktop. Coming from the lifeless Ety MC5's, it seems like my music suddenly gained some power. Feels nice to be able to hear bass again...

And compared to my Around-Ear Bose headphones...I don't know how this sounds anything like the Bose, which has exaggerated treble. The two headphones sound different. The mid/highs sound relatively similar, that's all that I can say.

i will ask my friend to lend me his Bose AE2 to see if there is at all a diffrence.when i tried them it was really comfy as any around the ear headphones usually are, very light too! It has a detachable cable but from the looks of it the headband and joints is likely to break before the cable. When i listened to it it sounded pretty great, definitely more brighter than the tma-1s, the bass was very pronounced and never muddy. i did feel the sound to be more lean but over all engaging. I can't make further comparisons but when i do get my hands on them i will definitely post my impressions here. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by reivaj 

so does the TMA-1 sound better than the m50? threads seem to point to that direction but i guess the darkness is very offputting to some. The m50 seems fairly dark to me compared to my grado cans. Plus I have always loved the look of the TMA-1. Personally I think they are some of the best looking cans in existence.

Another agreement with Morbid, the looks are the best I've seen. Having owned the M50s, I think the TMA-1's are more my kind of sound. I have discovered, I do like a darker sound (which the TMA-1's are). If you are used to Grado sound (and like it) then the TMA-1's might not be the best option for you. However, if you are looking for a different sound and willing to take a chance, then jump right in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by obutto 

- LOW IMPEDANCE! UGHHHH MAKES ME WANT TO RIP OF HAIR OUT! Came from a high impedance earphones so I was not affected by my Macbook Pros/Droid's terrible headphone jacks. This hissing is seriously untolerable.. 

just a note on the impedance issue; you can always get line attenuators which pretty much increases resistance. they change the sound a little, but it keeps my sanity in check when listening to music through my noisy PC

Maybe I'm weird or deaf, but I don't seem to have a hissing problem due to the low impedance on the TMA-1's. I am actually quite happy as some of my previous IEMs hissed a lot and drove me nuts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lzboarder8 

Maybe I'm weird or deaf, but I don't seem to have a hissing problem due to the low impedance on the TMA-1's. I am actually quite happy as some of my previous IEMs hissed a lot and drove me nuts.

 

you arent wierd; either you listen to music too loud to notice or your source is very good. I actually perfer my laptop over my PC(which is hooked up to a fast track btw) simply because everything sounds more refined and noise free.
 

Yeah, the headphones sound perfect on my desktop (better source). It's all good though. The headphones sound amazing.

what were the best Desktop amp/dac that have you guys tried that made the TMA-1s shine the best? "looking for one with DAC out and head out and 3 inputs"

i just want to get the full potential out of it. but i have no probs with it so far w/ my laptop and ipod... 

anyways, any Foobar EQ wanna share for tma-1?

I liked the Bose QC15 more than beats by dre STUDIOS when i tried it on the apple store. the skullcandy was the best one in their demo phones though.  but the beats is getting really popular here in Chicago, its mostly High school kids tho. i havent seen anyone with TMA-1 :(

i also tried the Beats "RED" cable on my tma-1, and im not sure but i put the coiled one back  right away, now the red cable is going to be put in the storage for reserve

yea the one i got is the one from the singapore or china, not sure if its authentic =\

Quote:

Originally Posted by MorbidToaster 

Quote:

Originally Posted by diodiel 

what were the best Desktop amp/dac that have you guys tried that made the TMA-1s shine the best? "looking for one with DAC out and head out and 3 inputs"

 

i just want to get the full potential out of it. but i have no probs with it so far w/ my laptop and ipod... 

 

anyways, any Foobar EQ wanna share for tma-1?

 

 

I liked the Bose QC15 more than beats by dre STUDIOS when i tried it on the apple store. the skullcandy was the best one in their demo phones though.  but the beats is getting really popular here in Chicago, its mostly High school kids tho. i havent seen anyone with TMA-1 :(

 

i also tried the Beats "RED" cable on my tma-1, and im not sure but i put the coiled one back  right away, now the red cable is going to be put in the storage for reserve

The coiled one is awful for portability. Most people switch it out with a straight cable of some sort...

I used the coiled at home though. The Beatsbred cable is actually pretty nice as far as a portable option goes though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diodiel 

yea the one i got is the one from the singapore or china, not sure if its authentic =\

 

Shoulda picked this up: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-iCable-800-Player-Auxiliary/dp/B002AR5XIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305345980&sr=8-1

I got it for $9.50 shipped. It works and sounds perfect.

Anyways, even if the cable is fake, I doubt it will affect audio quality. Durability will be the only issue.
 

yeah i guess. i think it was just psychological for me lol. but yeah i like it now, its more normal looking now. and the coiled cable just pinched my tiny arm hair.

btw have you guys tried monster turbine gold pro?