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| AIAIAI TMA-1 |
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| Interview | ||||||
| How were these requirements covered in the design and technology of the
TMA-1? What are the key aspects of these headphones? Jacob: Well, to begin with we wanted to keep it simple, and so did pretty much all our DJs. In other words no joints that could break, not too many technicalities that could bruise and distort the sound. This idea has been central both on the technical and design aspects of the TMA-1, and out of that approach grew this new stripped-down aesthetics. The robustness of the TMA-1 was also a factor when designing - the less you put on it, the less can break. In that sense, the TMA is thought of, and build as a tool. Tartelet played a key role in the development of the TMA-1. What was your part? Tomas: The Tartelets (me and Fredski) have been friends of the AIAIAI family for many years. Ever since we hosted a weekly night at their club at the A house back in the day. Once they started on their headphone projects we obviously mentioned a DJ headphone as a way to go for them. Instead of them little nonsense earbuds they made ;-) They where actually DJ’s themselves but at an amateur level and only because they had the chance in their own club. But they knew about the issues. And once we convinced them to do it, it made sense to get involved. We have a strong network with DJs, producers and other labels around the world + we know a lot about the scene in general. But that being said it's been very exciting for us to work with other aspects of the scene than making and releasing music. Our part has been to take part of the early stages of development, setting the scene. After this it’s been to activate our network of like-minded DJs, mostly DJs we met on the road really. And then we’ve been working closely with both AIAIAI crew and the guys from Thank You For Clapping to get this whole user-driven development approach to work. How would you describe the performance of the TMA-1? Tomas: First of all it's very intense in the sound, and the hi- mids and low frequencies are well represented, which means that they are both good for professional monitoring and for |
daily use on an ipod. The brace has a very tight but still flexible fit, which will work for most people I would say. I’m super satisfied with the result and so are our testers ... But I’m sure reviews will start popping up real soon. They will also be a good way to get a “feel”. Matte black... practical for heavy use as it won't stain as easily but also a very cool colorway. What were your ideas that lead to the decision for this color? Jacob: Well, from a design point of view, we wanted to move away from the very colourful, and try to do something that alluded to the idea of the DJ-headphone. When you take a pair of Pioneer, Sennheiser or Monster and hold them in front of a bright light, the shadow they cast on a white wall looks quite similar. You can’t see logo’s, colours and other little differences. We wanted to work with that shadow image. We wanted to move towards a more iconic idea of a headphone. We wanted it “murdered out”. And the funny thing is, when you hold the TMA's in front of a bright light, the shadow you see on the wall is still the TMA-1... The TMA-1 could be seen as a flagship for AIAIAI in a new segment. What are some of the future plans with it that you can already tell us about? Jacob: We are looking into several ideas spurred from working on the TMA-1 project. Ranging from larger over-ear versions to being able to do custom sound settings and emulations. We are also looking into ear protection as part of the TMA-1 project. Most musicians suffer some kind of hearing impairment. Frankly everyone with an iPod/MP3 likely suffers some level of hearing impairment without really knowing it. This somewhat invisible problem is something we will dedicate quite some time and resources to in the future. Thanks for the interview and we will see you soonin Berlin! -- Beinghunted  |
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