NEW! Aiaiai TMA-1 Studio

[reddragon]

Quote:

Oh, I forgot to mention the other thing I don't like about these headphones. The beefy looking ear pads, while very cool looking, provide little to no isolation. You would think that by the way the cups are designed you would hear minimal leakage. There's sound leaking all over the place with these. The whole package is misleading.

 
 
ok i see, thats a con for a closed headphone.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Oh, I forgot to mention the other thing I don't like about these headphones. The beefy looking ear pads, while very cool looking, provide little to no isolation. You would think that by the way the cups are designed you would hear minimal leakage. There's sound leaking all over the place with these. The whole package is misleading.

 

 

[BRSxIgnition]

Quote:

Oh, I forgot to mention the other thing I don't like about these headphones. The beefy looking ear pads, while very cool looking, provide little to no isolation. You would think that by the way the cups are designed you would hear minimal leakage. There's sound leaking all over the place with these. The whole package is misleading.

Ah, that sucks - I'll definitely test that when I get mine. 

 

[ninjames]

Well I've never heard an Aiaiai set and I'm not particularly interested. Idiotic statements are idiotic statements. No mob mentality necessary!

 

[DorianMode]

Ok, so I've spent an hour or so A/Bing these with the regular TMA-1s now, and I'll post some initial impressions (I'm not really an expert at this, so please bear with me. For reference, the headphones I'm most familiar with are the TMA-1s, Senn HD 280s, and Koss Porta-Pros).
 
Packaging
 
Beautiful, as you'd expect from a company so focused on design. Very similar, in fact, to the packaging of the regular TMA-1.
 
Build Quality/Feel
 
These things are built in pretty much the same way as the originals, and seem like they should be just as sturdy, for the most part. I'm not as confident that the PU foam earpads will hold up to wear, but I guess we can wait and see on that one. As far as comfort goes, these headphones feel great on the head (with the PU earpads, at least. I have yet to try the pleather ones). The extra-padded headband is a welcome addition and the foam earcups sit very lightly over the ears.
 
Sound
 
Now the most important area, and the one which surprised me the most. I hate to say it, but on first listen I'm pretty disappointed. These things sound basically the opposite of what I expected considering they were pitched as a TMA-1 that was tuned for a more balanced sound. These headphones are DARK. While I think they have pretty good clarity overall, the low end overpowers everything. Perhaps some equalizing would take care of this, but I'd rather have something that gave me a more neutral sound out of the box.
 
Here are some rough impressions I wrote while listening to some of the songs I was A/Bing with:
 
 
The House that Heaven Built - Japandroids
 
Upper mid-range and treble seem subdued compared to regular TMAs, which surprises me. I'm also worried that the lower mid-range seems a bit echo-y and muddled. Some of this may just be my ears adjusting to the change in sound, though. The difference in midrange between the two 'phones was so noticeable I had to turn the volume down when switching to the regular TMAs.
 
To Care - James Blake
 
This song sounds pretty similar on both sets of headphones. The bass extension seems identical.
 
I Feel Better - Hot Chip
 
Bass at the beginning hits hard with both cans, but Studio seems a bit more echo-y and less clean to my ears. I suspect, however, this is just due to the more subdued mids on the Studios, which allow me to catch a few more of the details of the bass. I can definitely see how people are calling these guys veiled.
 
Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
 
Honestly the whole thing sounds muted with the studios. I feel a bit like the song is being played far away so only the bass is carrying over to me.
 
Holy Night Fever - Deerhoof
 
Much more forward-sounding on the regular TMA. Studio makes the repeated notes of the bass guitar overpowering and sacrifices a lot of the vocals.
 
You Ain't No DJ - Big Boi
 
The Studios sound pretty good on a song with spare production like this, but it's still clear that the vocals are too buried in the mix.
 
Crown on the Ground - Sleigh Bells
 
This song just doesn't really work on the Studios. It needs to hit really hard, but with these guys the joy of that guitar flying into the red is drowned out by the similarly blown-out but less exciting bass.
 
 
I really want to like these headphones, but right now I can't say that I do. I think I'll keep listening to them for the next few days to see if any of my feelings change. I guess I'll also try out the pleather pads, though I really want an earcup that sits around the ear like these do with the  PU foam pads on.
 
 
Edit: Also, for anyone who may be interested, the PU foam (and presumably the pleather) earpads from the Studios will fit on the earcups of the regular TMAs. However, I found that the headband on the TMA-1 did not provide enough clamping force to get a good seal with the foam earpads. I'm now testing out the Studios with the pleather earpads, and I'll be sure to let you know if they change my opinions dramatically.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Well I've never heard an Aiaiai set and I'm not particularly interested. Idiotic statements are idiotic statements. No mob mentality necessary!

 
Someone not liking something is idiotic?

 

[SONIC BOOM]

Quote:

 
 
Edit: Also, for anyone who may be interested, the PU foam (and presumably the pleather) earpads from the Studios will fit on the earcups of the regular TMAs. However, I found that the headband on the TMA-1 was did not provide enough clamping force to get a good seal with the foam earpads. I'm now testing out the Studios with the pleather earpads, and I'll be sure to let you know if they change my opinions dramatically.

keep us updated 

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Edit: Also, for anyone who may be interested, the PU foam (and presumably the pleather) earpads from the Studios will fit on the earcups of the regular TMAs. However, I found that the headband on the TMA-1 was did not provide enough clamping force to get a good seal with the foam earpads. I'm now testing out the Studios with the pleather earpads, and I'll be sure to let you know if they change my opinions dramatically.

 
Is it any different with the Studio pleathers on the regular TMA-1s? Pics? 

 

[DorianMode]

So far I think the Studios sounds better with the pleather earpads, but in this case "better" just means they sounds more like the regular TMAs to my ears. Definitely not a reason to drop an extra $50 on them.
 
I did try putting the pleather earpads on the regular TMAs, and found that again the clamping force was too weak. There might be some interesting modding to be done with the Studio earpads and the TMA-1s, but something would definitely have to be done about the headband.
 
Also, here are a few (rather shoddy) pictures taken with my phone.
 

Studios with pleather earpads sitting in their fun little tray
 

Regular TMA-1s and Studios (both in pleather)
 

Regular TMA-1s wearing the PU earpads from the Studios

 

[manveru]

Quote:

I did try putting the pleather earpads on the regular TMAs, and found that again the clamping force was too weak. There might be some interesting modding to be done with the Studio earpads and the TMA-1s, but something would definitely have to be done about the headband.

 
Thanks for the pics and impressions. 

 I would have thought that putting the Studio pads on the regular TMA-1s would increase clamp, since they are significantly bigger/thicker. The TMA-1s are already secure enough on my head, and the prospect of putting circumaural pads on them is just too intriguing. I wonder how the sound would change providing one were able to get a decent seal though.
 
Actually, looking at pictures of the pleather pads, those don't even look circumaural at all. They just look really large with a small opening in the center. 

 

[DorianMode]

I thought the same thing on the clamping; I think what makes for a loose fit is the fact that the TMA-1s are designed to sit on the ear rather than around it, and the different distance means that the Studio needs a tighter fit. That said, I am currently wearing my girlfriend's TMA-1s (yes, we each have a pair) and noticing that the clamp on hers seems stronger than I'm used to. It could be that due to more usage or difference in manufacturing my TMA-1s have a looser fit than others. If I get the chance, I'll test the Studio earpads on her headphones as well.
 
And yes, the pleather earpads seem more like really large on-ear pads than a true circumaural design.

 

[BRSxIgnition]

So.. they're not that good DorianMode?
 
I was so excited for these too..

 

[ninjames]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manveru 


 

Someone not liking something is idiotic?



What? No. The statement from the guy saying that he can't burn in headphones because he has a job and a life is idiotic. Like whatever you want.

 

[DorianMode]

Quote:

So.. they're not that good DorianMode?
 
I was so excited for these too..

 
Based on my first evening listening to them, they don't really match up with what I hoped they would be. That said, I hope you won't let my opinions color your experience too much, because I know you're pretty interested in these and it may turn out that the sound signature is more to your liking than mine.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

What? No. The guy saying that he can't burn in headphones because he has a job and a life is idiotic. Like whatever you want.

 
Oh I see. Misunderstanding noted.