Aiaiai Tracks Headphone

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Aiaiai is relatively unheard of in the audiophile circles, but our search for attractive designer devices resulted in a pair of Tracks headphones landing in our Labs. The experience we had with previous "designer" headphones was average at best, but Aiaiai, in collaboration with Kilo Design, has bold claims about the audio performance of beneath its minimalistic design.

Design

This is where we started liking the Tracks. Unlike most headphones, there's no nasty finger-cutting sealed clear plastic box. Instead, the Tracks arrived in a simple, yet attractive black-and-white box.


Inside, we were surprised to find that the Tracks needed some assembly, which was interesting, but not entirely difficult. Aiaiai packs in three pairs of differently colored plastic sliders which slide onto the headband. After installing the sliders, the ear cups snap onto them via a ball-and-socket joint which gives the ear cups a reasonable amount of swivel adjustment.

Adjustments for head size are done by sliding the ear cups up and down the steel headband, as the headband comes in a fixed size. This proved to be rather tricky as there's no visual indication or notches where the sliders can snap onto. Fortunately, once we had the adjustments done correctly, the sliders stayed put.

The cord is about 128cm long, measured from the ear cup to the 3.5mm plug. It is on the slightly thin side but very flexible and good at untangling itself after being coiled up for transport.

The fit of the Tracks is very comfortable, with the swivel adjustment ensuring that the ear cups rest flat on the ear. The cushions are just thick enough to cushion the hard edges of the plastic driver enclosure and the headband had the right amount of clamping pressure to ensure that the set stay put yet remains comfortable. Violent head movements will dislodge the headphones, though. The earpads are easily removable, but at time of this review, we had no information regarding the availability of original replacement earpads.

Just an issue we noted--the left and right channel definitions are imprinted on the Y joint on the cables. This could be an issue as the headphones are of a symmetrical design, with both ends looking exactly similar. A simple solution would be to mark the left or right channel with a slider of a different color. Slapping on a sticker that Aiaiai has included in the packaging works, too. Of course, we could suggest that the manufacturer mark the channels with blue and red markings, but that would make it too "mainstream"?

The Tracks also come in a headset version which has a mic and in-line remote control that's compatible with iPods, iPhones and Blackberrys.

Performance And Conclusion

Surprise was in store for us after we had given the Tracks a burn-in with our favorite tracks. For such a small headphone with equally small 40mm drivers, the bass was deep and punchy. The midrange wasn't very well-produced, sounding rather honky and constantly being shadowed by the booming bass notes. The trebles were good though, projecting clean and sharp tones without being piercing.

The sound staging was unsurprising for closed-back on-ear headphones. While sounding tight, this also meant a fair amount of external noise didn't mix in with the music. It did fare well for most but the noisiest environments.

For a relatively new brand, especially in Asia, Aiaiai is already leaving us with good impressions with its Tracks headphone. From the way it sounds, it won't win the hearts and minds of the serious audiophile. But for those seeking a simple, stylish headphones that sounds more "fun", with deep, boomy bass and clear trebles, the Tracks is worth considering. It's no Koss PortaPro successor by any measure, but it's just as good if you'd want something that has a bit more punch.