Aiaiai TMA-1 and FiiO E11 opinion?

[Cyrne]

Hey all,

I've been on the look for some quality studio headphones and recently found a very good review about these Aiaiai TMA-1 headphones.

I would like to know if anyone around have one of these tested out and could tell me your opinion. What other headphones could be at the same quality level or better in a range of £200 - £300?

I spend quite a few hours with headphones while working, I believe ear confort / ergonomic is also very important for me as some headphones start hurting my ears after 30 mins of use. Anyway, I am no audiophile so there is a lot of things I do not understand, working along with sound designers have required of me as a motion graphics artist a good headphones investment, I guess above all I am looking essencially sound quality, confort and noise cancelation.

By the way, do you think an amplifier like this FiiO E11 could make the most of my headphones by boosting the sound quality?

Thanks in advance!

 

[quadpatch]

Hi Cyrne, It sounds like you do something similar to me. I have lots of time during the day to listen to music and have become very much into headphone listening, as you'll see from my signature.

I haven't heard the TMA-1, but from what I remember reading they seemed to be rather bass heavy. If you'd heard them yourself and liked them I would say go for it, but otherwise I would recommend caution considering you mention quality 'Studio' headphones. 'Studio' would usually make me think of recommending something like the Sennheiser HD600 / HD650 (although they are open, I use them at work), Beyerdynamic DT770 / DT880, SoundMAGIC HP100 / HP200... People seem to say that the TMA-1 is pretty comfortable, but I don't think they would be quite as comfortable as the ones I've mentioned there.

As far as the Fiio E11 is concerned, I would consider something like that after you've got your headphones right and lived with them for a while. Amping will almost always make headphones sound better. If you're playing your music from a computer then I'd recommend a combined DAC/amp rather than just an amp.

 

[Cyrne]

Hi quadpatch, thank you so much for your reply those are indeed great alternatives to the TMA-1, really appreciate your help.

The sound quality of the Sennheiser HD650 is absolutely superb, I've been considering these as well although they're more expensive.
I am curious about the DT 770 didn't had the chance to try them but I've read really good reviews about them.
I've also been on the look for the AKG 550 as they also look pretty good, ever tried these?

I have to agree with you about the DAC / Amp, it will be a later on investment.

Once again thank you for your advice,

Cyrne
--

 

[dalethorn]

Between the DT770LE and the Soundmagic HP200, I'd take the HP200 for sure. Where the 770 has that distinctive hollow sound, the HP200 is silky smooth. Both have strong treble, and both are slightly more bassy than purely neutral.

Edit: I just got a copy of Chopin Ballades played by Anita Chang, recorded by AIX in 2002, and played on the HP200 and Microstreamer DAC. Top-notch recording by high-tech guys, excellent grand piano, and sounds very good with the HP200. The only question I would have is to the perfection of the very high-pitched notes in some of the strong chords. I think they sound right/sound good, but it would be most interesting if someone else could make that judgement. I think these are ideal stress tests for amp and headphone.

 

[quadpatch]

You're welcome Cyrne . I have heard the K550, I used to own them, here is a link to my review:

http://noblehifi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/akg-k550-review.html