Aiaiai TMA-1

Warm bass ; Clear, detailed treble ; Well balanced stereo sound ; Rich, resonant tone

No iOS control button included ; Vocals low in some mixes

Even if you aren’t in the market for a $250 headphone, the TMA-1 Studio are worth hearing for the sheer pleasure of the experience – and they just might convince you that investing a few extra bucks in a set of cans can pay huge dividends.

So with most of my amps, I expected the treble to be more sparkling and up front for a DJ headphone. Probably AIAIAI tuned down the treble as this is the Studio version of the TMA-1 but I can’t say I enjoyed the “standard” treble using this setup. I...

award.

Cool, minimalist design ; Warm, forgiving sound ; Comfortable ; Built to take abuse

Leather pads showing premature wear ; If you like analytical sound, look elsewhere ; Foam pads leak sound

Great sound quality for a closed phone – warm, dynamic, punchy, fast, non-fatiguing, not nasal or honky, no recessed midrange ; Very efficient, very loud even with underpowered MP3 players ; Excellent minimalist design ; User-replaceable...

Might sound too “weighty”, “full”, or mid-heavy for some kinds of acoustic music ; Heavy and awkward coiled stock cable (can be easily replaced) ; Foam ear pads don't deliver balanced sound quality (use the leather pads instead) ; Slight...

Will the TMA-1 dethrone the Sennheiser HD 25-1 as the be-all-end-all DJ phones? Probably not. Do the TMA-1 generally sound better than the HD 25-1 to my ears? Yes, they do – especially noticeable in the bass, treble, and soundstage. The TMA-1 midrange...