INTRODUCTION

   In a market filled with a virtually limitless number of headsets and headphones from a very large number of manufacturers that increases every day it can become extremely difficult for consumers to find just the right one suitable for their needs. Just imagine that even professionals such as DJs and studio sound engineers who require very high audio precision and clarity offered only by the best headphone/headset models also have a hard time choosing the right one for the job due to the numerous offerings available. When i first started doing consumer electronic related reviews a few years ago i did focus quite a bit on testing professional and enthusiast grade headphones/headsets to help people figure out which was the ideal one for them but for the past two years or so because of extreme workload i had to make a tough decision and so i decided to focus on reviews surrounding other more popular product lines (gaming related). Well it seems however that old habits die hard and since many of you have asked we decided to start a brand new section dedicated to professional/enthusiast grade headphones/headsets and what better way to do that than by testing the latest TMA-1 DJ Headphones with Mic by AIAIAI?

   AIAIAI is an audio design company dedicated to developing high quality audio products for everyday use. AIAIAI’s modern, minimalist headphones and earphones deliver clear, amplified sound. Headquartered in Copenhagen, AIAIAI is proud to contribute to Denmark’s worldwide reputation as leader in acoustic and electro- acoustic design and engineering. Informed by a heritage of Scandinavian design, AIAIAI strives to create high quality, accessible audio products that deliver value far beyond trend-driven aesthetics. AIAIAI boasts a world-renowned network of industrial designers, audio technicians and DJs as part of its unique and highly collaborative development process. Exploratory and experimental, the process enables AIAIAI to develop new products on the leading edge, independent of current market trends.

   Choosing the TMA-1 DJ Headphones With Mic by the Danish AIAIAI for our first professional grade headphone/headset review was not a random choice something which you will all get to see for yourselves later in this review. So the closed type TMA-1 DJ Headphones feature 40mm titanium drivers with an impendency of 32 Ohm, a frequency response from 20Hz and up to 20KHz, 110dB of sensitivity and a harmonic distortion of less than 0.3%. Our version also comes with an in-line 3 button Omni-directional microphone (43dB sensitivity) used to answer calls when plugged into an iPhone (also compatible with iPad/iPod) and although i doubt many people would purchase professional grade headphones just to use them with their smartphone i think it's a nice and convenient touch. Specifications however is not the only area where the TMA-1 DJ Headphones excel at, so is appearance but for that we need to move on.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The box is all painted black and has a large product picture at the front right next to the AIAIAI logo.

Listed at the right side are the contents of the bundle both in English and French.

A picture taken from the side of the TMA-1 DJ Headphones is placed at the left side of the box.

The main product features are explained in depth at the rear right next to a few words about the product and beneath a large product picture.

As you can see the front opens up like a book to reveal the TMA-1 DJ Headphones, the specifications table (again in English and French), a frequency response curve chart and a large picture showcasing the various parts of each earcup.

It turns out that the unit has a sensitivity of 103dB as pointed out on the interior of the front cover (unlike the reported 110dB on their website).

The bundle includes the TMA-1 DJ Headphones, replacement synthetic pads, 1.5m detachable coiled cable, 1.5m cable with the 3 button microphone, 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter (mounted at the end of the coiled cable) and a carrying pouch.

THE TMA-1 DJ HEADPHONES WITH MIC

Aside being very small the TMA-1 DJ Headphones are also great looking largely thanks to the matte black paint and the no-joints/hinges design (which should also add to the overall durability of the headphones).

Remember the rather small sized REVO Wireless we reviewed a few days ago? Well the TMA-1 DJ Headphones are even smaller and lighter (190g) something which i didn't really expect.

AIAIAI chose not to fill the headphones with unnecessary logos and designs not even on the exterior of the earcups (the rubber feeling however is more than enough).

The cable port is placed on the base of the left earcup and thanks to its design it allows the user to lock the cable in place to prevent pulling it out accidentally.

The headband is adjustable and so from the second hole and up to the last one down you can extend it up to 38mm on each side.

By default the TMA-1 DJ Headphones come with the semi-leather pads pre-mounted which as you can see are quite small and smaller than what we expected (as such audio isolation is not the best).

Removing the pads is extremely easy since you just need to pull them out as seen above.

AIAIAI packs a second set of pads made by synthetic material they are however less thick and not as soft as the semi-leather ones.

The L/R markings are placed on the interior of the headband.

Although i really like the AIAIAI cut out logo on the interior of the headband there's almost no padding present and that may not appeal to some people.

As mentioned earlier our version comes with an in-line 3 button Omni-directional microphone to answer/mute/end calls when used with an iPhone.

CONCLUSION

   Testing the TMA-1 DJ Headphones took time but it was well worth it in the end since they proved to be amongst the top professional grade headphones i have ever used. So the TMA-1 DJ Headphones were plugged into several devices during testing including my two Yamaha A/V amplifiers (RX-V650/RX-V463), the Logitech Squeezebox Touch, two android smartphones (LG Optimus 2X/Huawei Honor), an iPhone4 and finally the Creative Labs Titanium HD audio card placed in our primary system. Just like the REVO Wireless we found no reason to burn-in the drivers of the TMA-1 DJ Headphones since even after almost 36 hours of use they sound the same as the moment we took them out of the box so that's definitely a plus. Now at first i thought that the 40mm drivers were not large enough to product deep and rich bass (at least not as much as 50mm ones) but i was wrong and so the TMA-1 DJ Headphones produced remarkable and very accurate bass levels with extremely crisp/dynamic midrange response and very accurate highs. If i had to point out a single issue that would be the lack of noise isolation mainly due to the rather small earcups but that mostly occurred when listening to music in low volume levels so that shouldn't pose a significant issue to DJs and professionals alike. As for the Omni-directional microphone well we didn’t really put much time testing it since it worked as intended with the few calls we used it for.

   Normally high end professional grade headphones cost quite a bit (most times exceeding the USD300/300Euros price mark) but AIAIAI seems to think otherwise since they are pricing their solutions quite aggressively (always compared to the competition). So as we speak the TMA-1 Headphones with Mic retail for USD186 inside the USA (Amazon) and at around 199Euros inside the EU. For the ones that care not about the in-line microphone the standalone version goes for around USD20/20Euros less so do keep that in mind. Overall i am very satisfied from the TMA-1 DJ Headphones, they are small, extremely durable, feel great thanks to the matte black paint (feels like rubber coating), are quite comfortable (although the headband could use some padding) and produce extremely accurate audio so what more is there to ask? True noise isolation is not great especially at low noise levels (although the sound doesn't leak outwards) but that's something that happens with quite a few professional grade headphones out there so i can live with that. Long story short AIAIAI has designed and manufactured an amazing headset worthy of our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Extremely Durable)
- Size/Weight
- Crisp/Accurate Mids/Highs
- Deep/Rich Bass
- Plenty Of Volume
- Omni-Directional In-Line 3 Button Microphone
- Coiled And Straight 1.5m Cables
- 3.5mm To 6.3mm Gold Plated Adapter
- Gold Plated Plugs
- Price (Compared To The Competition)

CONS

- Passive Noise Isolation
- Headband Padding