SRH550DJ and TMA Comparison
Would anyone be interested in a comparison of the SRH550DJ and AIAIAI’s TMA-01’s? If so what all would you guys like me to compare? I’ll just post it on the forum ^.^
A buddy of mine who works at Shure’s NA Distribution center hooked me up with a new pair of their SRH550DJ (for free 
) which is shipping out to stores for the first time this weekend.
Actually, yes! It’d be very helpful for me 
I already own a HDJ2000 but I’m still looking for a good headphone/IEM for monitoring for bands and such.
TMA-01:
Sound - 9/10
Feel - 6/10
Aesthetics 9/10
Build - 7/10
Total - 31/40
Pros: Very sexy (including the pouch you put it in), great bass, the bungie style chord might save your equipment, it sounds amazing, and the pouch can be used as a screen cleaner.
Cons: Feels uncomfortable after about an hour of use, if you have long hair the headband gets lost and makes it look as if the cups are attached to your temples, the chord can still send a small soundcard flying (A2DJ) and when plugged into my mixer it ended up bending the 1/8”, the bendy headband results in the paint peeling off the headband (which has resulted in this 4 month old headset looking just as trashy as my 1-1/2 year old Bose), and it doesn’t even attempt to be portable.
SRH550DJ:
Sound - 8/10
Feel - 9/10
Aesthetics 7/10
Build - 8/10
Total - 32/40
Pros: Portable in comparison, great sound (not as good as the TMA’s, but great considering it’s 1/2 the price), feels very natural and comfortable, rotating cups make the headset stay on your head and feel very natural when you take off one cup, reliable and large company instead of a no-name small company in Denmark (making replacements and the warranty much more reliable), the cups aren’t 100% over ear (I can actually feel the base a bit more this way), and their cheap ($100, although I got mine for free ).
Cons: Look like every other major DJ headset, plastic parts (don’t feel cheap, but just not as nice as the TMA parts), a cheap looking chord, not as crisp sound as the TMA (great sound), and doesn’t make you feel like a cool hipster who’s too cool to buy mainstream headsets (which the TMA does very successfully).
Comparison: Both are amazing headsets, although the TMA’s are $200 whereas the SRH550DJ’s are 1/2 of that at $100. The SRH550DJ feel much better, are more portable, and belong to a larger company you can rely on a bit more, whereas the TMA’s look much better and have better sound quality.
The final outcome of this is that the TMA-01’s are better for staying at home and producing/bedroom DJing and the SRH550DJ’s are better for DJing (IMHO). I use my Bose on ears for travel and everyday use, the TMA’s for production (which I still suck at), and SRH550DJ’s for DJing. Then again, I would say for 1/2 the price that the SRH550DJ’s are a better deal for any use.
Photos for comparison to TMA: TylerTomaseski | Flickr
Wow awesome job! i currently own the Shure 750DJ head phones, and am not too big of a fan, mostly because they are so small! (especially when put on my big head) but they do sound nice and solid, and only $50 more than the 550DJ’s. But i am mostly wanting new headphones because i find that i dont really like the over ear design, and i think that i will like on ear more.
And i was lookin at the TMA’s! so thanks for this little comparison
If I was you I would look into the HD25-1 II’s from Sennheiser. They have perfect ratings online and would seem to be more comfortable. I’ve just come to realize that new companies, like AIAIAI, may have some really cool new ideas, but they just lack the well polished and experienced design of large companies.
I did use my TMA’s a fair amount, but I took great care of them, and the paint is still peeling. If you look at the photos I took I had a closeup.
Link to set:
[ame=“SRH550DJ | Flickr”]Srh550dj - a set on Flickr[/ame]
So the SRH750DJ would be better? Also has removable cable for $50 more than the 550DJ
Copied from another forum:
[quote]The SRH550DJ has a fixed cable with a length of 2 meters (6.6 feet); the SRH750DJ has a detachable cable with a length of 3 meters (9.8 feet).
The SRH750DJ has ear pads that fully surround the ear. Ear pads can be replaced on both models.
The SRH750DJ has an extended high frequency response.
The SRH550DJ is 3 dB more sensitive than the SRH750DJ.
The SRH550DJ weighs less than the SRH750DJ.[/quote]
If you want to fork out another $50, go for it, it’s essentially the same headset with some other features. If I was to buy again I would probably get the 750, but I got the 550 for free so I’m not complaining.
