AIAIAI Swirl in-ear headphones w/ microphone review

Jason Tsay Sep 7, 2011 Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Us Accessories, Audio, Exclusive, Gadgets, Geek Culture, Music, Okay Geek Review, Reviews

Remember AIAIAI? The company that manufactured the awesomely minimalistic TMA-1 headphones we reviewed? This time, they’ve sent us their Swirl in-ear headphones which sport a similarly simplistic design. Is the audio quality just as good?

Features

• bold, industrial in-ear housing with a tactile finish
• 3 Button in-line microphone
• sturdy cables with in-line coil for added flexibility
• 5 sets of form-fitting ear buds
• 10mm in-ear drivers

Our Impressions

The AIAIAI Swirl comes in a small cardboard box covered in the same play/pause pattern on the company’s other headphones, the TMA-1. This time however, there’s a small window for you to see what each earbud looks like. Inside, you get the headphones, four sizes of clear replacement tips, and a manual.

The Swirl is one of the most unique pairs of headphones we’ve seen in a while. The style is very minimalistic and rugged. AIAIAI decided to send us the yellow version which really is quite cool. Everything aside from the (gray) headphone jack is colored an electric yellow - even the foam tips. The L shaped jack is compact and fits imto most ports with ease. The earbuds and remote are matte finished while the tips and cord are somewhat glossy. Two especially interesting design elements involve the cord. The area where the cord splits into two takes the form of a large Y (think Mercedes Benz logo) with markings for R and L. Below that is an area where the cable is coiled. We’ve never seen in ear headphones with a coiled cable and think it actually looks quite cool. When you’re using the headphones at home and have the cable on the table, for instance, the coil isn’t bothersome but when you’re walking around with it, the coil tends to be a hindrance. The remote/mic module is also fairly rugged and features three large buttons which require a good amount of force to press. This helps to ensure that you don’t accidentally activate something.

Having some sort of gloss plastic coating, the foam tips won’t pick up earwax as quickly as other styles of foam tips. On the other hand, after you’ve squeezed them a couple of times, they start to show signs of wear and wrinkle up. That said, they do block out noise pretty well and are relatively comfy. If you have small ear canals, however, the tips might not fit you as well. The silicone tips are also not bad but don’t compare to the comfort of the stock foam tips. Sound quality on the Swirl is very good. We let the headphone burn in for a while before we gave them a listen and our music came out very warm and balanced. Bass was striking while highs were not sacrificed one bit. Clarity was rather exceptional with the Swirl.

Overall

The AIAIAI Swirl are a great looking and great sounding pair of headphones. It features a easy to use microphone/remote module and a very appealing design. Despite this, we would not recommend the Swirl if you plan on using them outside a lot. The coiled cable is just too much of a hassle to deal with when you’re walking around or standing up. If you’re simply going to use the Swirl at home, we see not reason not to give them a spin!

Pro’s

• unique look
• warm sound

Con’s

• coil not great when you’re walking
• not great for people with small ear canals

Where to buy

AIAIAI / Amazon — MSRP: DKK 550

This review was done by Jason Tsay, who was provided the Swirl by AIAIAI.