AIAIAI TMA-2 STUDIO XE Review – Affordable Modular Studio Headphones!
In this video, I’m going to
do a quick unboxing and review
of the AIAIAI TMA-2 studio XE headphones.
AIAIAI is a Danish company who probably is
best known for their modular DJ headphones.
These are also modular which means that
you can swap out the individual components.
The modular approach means that they’re
likely to live a longer life span than
ordinary headphones. They’re also made
from recycled materials where possible.
Before we continue I should point out
that they did send me these for free,
but there are no strings attached so the
opinions reflected in this review will be my own.
unboxing is a bit unconventional
as there’s some assembly required.
There are several bags containing
the various components.
This is the a01 which contains a protective
pouch. Great if you need to carry them with you.
Here’s the h01. This is the headband itself.
These bags are made from
recycled material by the way.
This is the co2, not to be confused with
the gas co2. It’s the 1.5 meter coil wire
Next is the e04 containing the cushions.
This last one is the s05
which contains the drivers.
So, let’s open the bags and see what
we’ve got here. You just tear it.
Overall the
There’s no noise from the materials themselves,
as can be the case with some cheaper headphones.
Assembly is easy and there are no tools
required. Just follow the instructions on the box
The red plug goes in the hole marked red. Pretty
straightforward. So let’s move on to what you’re
all itching to know: How is the quality and what
do they sound like? I’ve been using these for
some time now and the first thing I noticed is
that they’re extremely lightweight. Compared to
my old AKG’s I barely notice I have these on,
which is great for long mixing sessions. This
could potentially lead to some mishaps though. Who
hasn’t experienced the embarrassment of getting up
to grab a cup of coffee or something, only to find
yourself hanging by the cord of your headphones.
Yeah, I thought so… Fortunately these come with
a coil wire, so this scenario is far less likely
to occur. A coil wire is much more practical and
I think other studio headphone manufacturers could
learn something here. If you should ever
damage the wire you can simply replace it.
That certainly wasn’t the case with my old ones.
I had only had those for about a week when my cat
decided to chew on the wire. The cushioning is
very soft and they’re not pressing on my ears.
Because they’re so lightweight they’re also very
comfortable to wear long-term. They’re also easy
to adjust. Because this is all modular, you can
easily change to a different cushion. Like these
for example, the e08. I must admit I prefer the
pricier alcantara ones. As always, you get what
you pay for, and the XE version is the budget
version, so it comes with the cheaper leather
cushions. Let’s look at the specifications. The
frequency response is rated at 10 to 20 000 hertz.
The impedance is only 32 ohms which means these
will work with any USB audio interface out there.
USB audio interfaces can’t power high impedance
headphones, so this is a huge plus if you intend
to use these with a typical USB audio interface.
The TMA-2 studio XE comes with a 40-millimeter
speaker diaphragm made from bio-cellulose, which
they claim provides more high-frequency details
and more pronounced mid-range, better dynamics,
and more natural tonality. When I started using
these, my initial reaction was that the
low-end felt a little bit overextended.
The low end is very precise though, and they also
provide good clarity up top. I’d also like to hear
some more energy in the one-kilohertz region,
but I still don’t have any problem hearing every
detail here, and the sound quality overall is
very good, and I find them enjoyable to listen to.
In short, the sound quality is very good
but they’re not as flat as I thought,
and looking at the frequency response curve
my suspicion is pretty much confirmed. No
headphones are perfectly flat though, and they
all have their pros and cons. For example,
here’s the akg k612 pro in comparison. They
have an undesirable drop-off in the low-end,
which is not ideal. The TMA-2 has a more
pronounced low-end, which can be beneficial
if you’re into more bass-heavy music, as it
enables you to hear low-end detail more easily.
Another thing to point out is that these are
closed-back headphones. I generally recommend
open headphones for mixing and closed for
tracking. That said, that’s not always practical.
Many people need headphones that block outside
noise and don’t bleed sound into the environment
for various reasons, and in that case, these
work very well, because the insulation is
very effective. It also makes them well suited
for tracking. So, to sum it up, I think these are
good all-around studio headphones for music
producers who want good quality headphones
at an affordable price. There are flatter
alternatives out there for critical listening,
but again, you get what you pay for, and these
are certainly very good entry-level headphones.
The build quality is solid and the modularity and
the eco-friendly design are also a plus. If you’re
on a budget and looking for affordable headphones
that will last a long time, then you might want
to consider the TMA-2 studio XE studio headphones.
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if you like this video. Thanks for watching.
