Years ago, Danish headphone company AIAIAI took the world by storm with its modular headphone design. Since its first model, the TMA, AIAIAI has continuously been at the forefront of innovative design and technology.

At the end of 2021, AIAIAI again raised the bar and introduced a wireless studio headphone, allowing one to move around without worrying about getting caught on something. Fast-forward to today, and the Danish company has unveiled the next step, the wireless DJ headphone.

With more power, better tech, and longer battery life, the TMA-2 DJ Wireless headphones might be the next big thing in the booth.

So What’s New?

In short, both everything and nothing. As the name suggests, the wireless aspect is new to the DJ realm, and builds upon the previous version, the W+ Link has been developed specifically for wireless audio with ultra-low latency audio, over a stable and robust connection. And no, it’s not Bluetooth. W+ Link boasts an inaudible 9.5 ms, which falls below the human perception threshold, and any latency under 10 allows for a latency-free experience.
How does this differ from Bluetooth?

For reference, Bluetooth is approximately 250ms, and the signal strength depends on the surrounding interference. On the other hand, W+ Link maintains a robust connection up to 20m, or about 65ft.

That’s pretty damn far.

Along with the W+ Link, you can use a mini jack for DJ Mixers, or a USB-C connection to connect directly to your computer.

As for what’s not new, they look like any other TMA-2 save for the grey TMA-2 printed on the headband, the USB-C port, and the mode button. Otherwise, the durability, sound, modularity, and style everyone loves remain unchanged.

My Experience

I had a chance to be one of, if not the first DJ in America to use their wireless headphones during a recent festival set, and although I was nervous, long story short they performed flawlessly. I got many questions asking what the heck was going on, and all I could say was, “The future is wireless.”

As corny as that is, I believe it’s true.

I’ve had the chance to see some upcoming tech from competitors going in a similar direction, and although using their own tech, the result is the same – wire-free DJing.

I also tried them in the club and a warehouse, and the results were similar. The isolation is excellent. The W+ link never faltered and I never had any issues. People were again confused by the wireless setup as I moved around the booths freely.

The accompanying app allows you to change the sound profile of the headphones. For these gigs, I kept it on the default setting.

The Gym Test…

My final test was in the gym using Bluetooth.

They stayed perfectly on my head while I trained, regardless of angle or movement. Wearing headphones for a long time can eventually get very uncomfortable. I never felt any discomfort on the top of my head, nor too hot on my ears, even in the sauna. I tested out the bass-boosted eq, which AIAIAI suggests for workouts. It reminded me of my other pair of TMA-2s that used a Japanese driver that created a darker more punchy sound. The most important part was the high isolation to keep the gym’s music out. Thankfuly!

As I get older, I continuously get rid of stuff, trying to simplify my life as much as possible. Only traveling with one pair of headphones that can work seamlessly with nearly any device, that’s what we want. I used my previous pair of HD25s to make music constantly while traveling, and while the TMA-2 clearly has a different sound profile, it’s good enough to work on for non-critical listening. Then again, if you know your speakers, that’s less true.

Bringing It All Home

Overall, as much as I love the analog realm, wireless DJ headphones just make sense.

There’s no other way around it, save for audiophile setups. In the club? That’s where you need it most. Having used them in three very different environments and setups, I can confidently say AIAIAI nailed it with these. The added bonus is that they are one of the most popular brands that have a serious following, meaning people already know they can expect a great-sounding, well-built headphone that won’t break the bank.

Setting them up out of the box was flawless, and the W+ never gave me any reasons to doubt its abilities.

My only concern is that the W+ receiver looks exactly like my SSD and so when I got to my gigs I realized I left my actual SSD at home…

The post Review: AIAIAI TMA-2 DJ Wireless Headphones appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.