1 Year Review of the TMA-2 Wireless+ // They're awesome, here's why.

[@benoftroy]

1. latency is no prob. I love the freedom to move around in the studio, put on/take off guitar, play synth on other side of desk, etc. 2. both headphone and transmitter power on should be switches, not momentary buttons. 3. random reconnection bleeps are a big bummer (i've heard this is fixed with firmware update but it's Windows only till next year) 4. rly wish the headphones would remember volume position when powering on. whenever i want to use these I have to press and hold a difficult button on the transmitter, wait for power on. then press and hold an unlabeled button on the headphones, wait for power on. press the volume down button several times bc it defaults to max volume. then I'm ready to go. it sounds like a small thing until you have to do it 4 or 5 times per day. all that versus just pick up my wired headphones and go. these are great once i get going, but they have some very fixable tweaks they should make in the next hardware revision that would make these far more enjoyable to use imho. also, thanks for the video Ricky!!

[@reasons4171]

This is insightful.. thanks for sharing

[@justinmccamish9059]

Issues #3 and #4 are fixed in the latest firmware. Find a friendly Windows user and enjoy the difference!

[@larsbutnotleast1535]

@@justinmccamish9059 that´s exactly what i have to do. find a friendly windows user. searching now . . . . . . . . .

[@Dan_Mahoney]

I just got them today and used them in the drum room. No problem doing a loop set with drums, bass and keyboards. I had to try them after seeing this video! You have helped with all my Novation and Synth stuff too. Rock on Ricky!

[@landonh3535]

The M8 tease. I saw that!!! Man if you add an old Akai sampler to the mix to sequence with it, we are walking in lockstep. lol.

[@latenitecali]

Nice m8! Hope to see a video on that soon, I love mine

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks again for kicking it! Do you have these or something similar and notice the latency as an issue? Also, get 20% off the TMA-2 Studio Wireless+ and 30% off all other items on the AIAIAI store for Black Friday: aiaiai.audio/black-friday07

[@robertgarvansnyder4665]

I just got my pair a week ago. On the whole, I love them- my wife is expecting, so having a hassle free way to do studio work when she’s tired, or when the baby is sleeping in a few months, is more than worth the price tag. My biggest gripe is that these cans are super uncomfortable. Apparently there’s memory foam in there, but the second I put them on, I feel hard plastic against my head. Going to try out the PU Leather pads and see if there’s a difference.

[@scott_glasgow]

Pros: Being able to move around the room is great! No cables on guitars or any instrument for tracking is great! Modular is very cool too. Cons: The hiss is there-- even at lower levels. With my UA Apollo headphone amp it distorts badly at about 75% of level gain where as my Sennheizer HD600 never distort and gets proper volume matching my Dynaudio Core speakers in my studio. The volume of these headphones is an issue! Maybe it is an OHM issue with headphone jacks on laptops to audio interfaces, IDK. I took these headphones and my laptop on a vacation so I was connecting via bluetooth for some simple work in my DAW while traveling. I had to have it cranked on my 2023 macbook AIR and the headphones to 100% and still was not very loud (I guess a headphone amp would be the solution however when traveling you want the least amount of stuff possible in your bag). Not ideal!

[@Mikeroo8]

I never get bored seeing your content Ricky!! You are the best bro!! 😎

[@RickyTinez]

Thanks Mike!

[@repasiv]

your nerves got like a latency of 40-60 ms i believe. So by the time you sense the touch of a key the sound is also right there. You only notice it if there is another time reference present as well, just like you've mentioned with djing.

[@RickyTinez]

yea that was the main thing that made me notice! Same with the Latency on the SP-404 video, i never noticed until i played the same thing twice at the same time. One through the SP and the other not.🤯

[@tukoijarrett9155]

we also respond a bit quicker to sound than visual stimuli

[@repasiv]

@@tukoijarrett9155 hm, I have no idea, but this would mitigate the perceived latency.

[@musicproductionbrauns2594]

Isn't that a constant? It just add on top of the 40-60ms. I feel the latency above ~17ms

[@jeffreyjbyron]

I own a pair of these. The one thing I want everyone to understand is that these are not using a new technology, it's the same 2.4ghz RF that has been around for over a decade. In fact, there are a lot of wireless RF headphones that are just as low latency. When you buy these, you are buying the brand, modularity, style, and can quality, All which are amazingly good, but for $350 you can get almost 2 DT770s or HD280s, AT M50, etc. Many people don't mention how the 16ms latency isn't going to work for a lot of vocal applications. 16ms is enough to sound like a slap delay if you are using them for podcasting, clean vocals, etc. Maybe you could get used to them, but even for zoom chats I find it way too distracting. They are heavy, top heavy to be specific. You can't headbang in them. If you are a really active drummer, they will fall off. It's annoying to charge them. The USBC cable is in an awkward place to reach on the headband. I wish the just put it somewhere easy to access!!! This is kind of a big deal, because I often can't be bothered. The need a charging stand that doubles as a transmitter. This might sound weird, but I have a pair of old Brookstone wireless headphones I use for tracking. Extremely light, loud, no noise, comfortable and sound great (like decent cheap hifi). I see them on ebay for $30. I would never mix with them, but if you need something just to try out if wireless works for you, they are cheap. Oh, and they have a charging stand! Anyway I wish I knew this stuff before I got mine. I will probably return them!

[@fahadha]

Any other alternatives other than the Brookstones?

[@jeffreyjbyron]

@@fahadha I'm sure any 2.4ghz wireless will work with as little latency. It's the same tech they've been using in wireless mics for 15 years.

[@fahadha]

@@jeffreyjbyron I appreciate that, and I see a lot of options when I do a websearch, but what's not clear or that obvious is which would have a neutral sound that would be good for this application ie recording music. From that standpoint it could be that these AIAIAI are the "best" option

[@jeffreyjbyron]

@@fahadha I guess it depends on what you mean by "best". The AIAIAIs sound good, but for mixing I wouldn't use wireless at all, and there are much better sounding wired HPs for the money. The AIAIAIs aren't good at isolation, either. For tracking, we need headphones that are loud and convenient. The AIAIAIs are very heavy, top heavy specifically, so a lot of musicians won't like them (they often slip and fall off when playing drums aggressively or rocking out). For vocals they are usually a bad choice because of the latency delay (sometimes this can be masked with reverb, but you'll never get a clean sound). Likewise, they can't be used for podcasting or virtual meetings without the distracting delay. Any nuanced djing like beat-matching is out of the question too. So for the intended application, I'd probably recommend the Senn RS or XS series. Or something inexpensive that is loud and comfortable! Tracking headphones take a beating! I'm not a cheerleader for Brookstone HPs, but I was surprised they were $20 and worked well. Plus the charging stand is great. Charging the AIAIAIs is annoying as hell... The build quality of the AIAIAIs is great. They feel premium. I love the modular design. But if that's what you're after, get their wired cans. My main criticism is they seem to be marketing these as a new technology. It's not. Thats BS.

[@fahadha]

@@jeffreyjbyron fair enough and I'm glad to get your perspective. I guess by best I meant for this application in the wireless realm and more specifically the kind of recording Ricky is doing, ie electronic music into ableton in a small home studio. It's not live instruments or vocals, not necessarily alot of physical movement (like drums) and the wireless aspect seems useful?

[@godzilla964]

I love my pair. I use them for silent guitar practice. All I need now is an impulse loader to get cabinet tones through my headphones.

[@sfkim44]

for DJ, you need to change the pad to E02 or E04. the alcantra ear pads don't isolate any sounds ....

[@everpuremusic]

Yup. I work with them just fine playing keyboard or finger drumming on my Elektron boxes with the Aiaiai wireless on the headphones out. 16 ms is just fine for that. I do think though that they’re a tad on the heavy side for longer sessions. But yes, they’re pretty comfy to wear. Definitely worth the money for performing and roaming around even in small studio or rehearsal spaces.

[@badaegis]

Built-in Mic? I never noticed that and missed it on the site’s specs. Thanks for the call out.

[@toi_techno]

When I record my jam clips I plug into my mac and there is slight latency. Even though it's only an issue while I record a few minutes, surprisingly I've got totally used to it. (I use Audeze El-8s)

[@velanche]

Thanks for this. With Logic finally released on iPad, I thought I’d order one and give it a shot. Looking forward to digging in!

[@lordundhimself1310]

How was your experience? I also get down with Logic on iPad

[@PatternMusic]

So I discovered a hack with the AIAIAI Wireless+ headphones. I bought a pair on the Black Friday sale. Unfortunately, the sound character is not to my liking. But the low-latency wireless works quite well and runs for 16 hours. I was ready to send them back. But I discovered that if I remove the AIAIAI speaker cans from the headband and using a TRS-socket-to-TRS-socket adapter I can connect other headphones (such as my much preferred OG Grado SR80s) to the AIAIAI wireless headband. Mileage may vary with other headphone models. I use a velcro cable wrap to tie up the Grado cable. I put the AIAIAI headband around my neck. Grados on my ears. VOILA! Low-latency wireless Grados. As an added bonus, I find the AIAIAI noise floor problem is actually much reduced with the Grados.

[@AndyHolt72]

Hey Ricky, big fan, over here in England… you occasionally mention your ‘day job’ ; you’ll mention Novation / Elektron etc. but then camera work & production?.. what is it you do, ‘cos, seems you’re living the dream brother. peace.

[@steffenhenriksen1412]

How do they compare for mixing to, lets say Sennheiser HD 650 or beyerdynamic dt 990 pro?

[@synth-studio]

Glad they’re working out for you and many others, Ricky. 😊

[@Jbrunel510]

The hiss was/is definitely noticeable. Excited to try the tip out to turn up the headphone amp all the way first. I’ve also noticed one ear is about 0.5-1db louder than the other..

[@somewhere-else]

mine were uneven too and then one went. it was annoying but they did at least send me a replacement.

[@JSPHKH]

i had a similar issue and it turned out i had plugged in the ears wrong (right into left). something to double check before you send them back (which you should absolutely do if the drivers aren’t outputting equally)

[@somewhere-else]

@@JSPHKH they make you check it anyway when you contact them, guess it's a common problem. mine were actually shot.

[@Grimbakor]

Had mine for ~6 months and your review as well as your solution to the hissing was exactly what I experienced too. Only time I noticed latency was when streaming and monitoring my microphone straight into my headphones through the audio interface, other than that I've never noticed it.

[@ramontg5488]

Hi 😄 does it works with teams, zoom and all of that ? Integrated microphone?

[@joeSeggiola]

What is the "older plastic design" of the headband you're talking about, exactly? What's the difference, how can I check if mine is old or new? Thank you very much for this long-term review anyway! 👋

[@ryvlaw]

How neutral are they really? I would like to use them for mixing and it would be important that the headphones themselves don't add a flavour to the sound

[@Steven205]

So I'm an audiophile with like 10+ different headphones. I honestly didn't care for these headphones and I think you went over some of them. 1. Latency isn't really a problem. I think they work fine 2. I hated turning on the headphone and transmitter. As someone else mentioned it should be a switch instead and there should be an auto off feature on the transmitter. 3. The disconnects were super annoying. I never tried updating the firmware to be fair, but I also felt like I would get a better signal out of these than bluetooth. Not the case... 4. The headphones themselves don't exactly sound that amazing and even the comfort of them was a little off for me. I never quite got used to the head clamp on it. 5. The modularity bit sounds good on paper, but I don't feel like people are going to swap out parts all the time. 6. I think overall they're just a bit premature. Before you know it every brand is going to introduce a version of this and I'm hoping that this tech will reach the likes of Sennheiser.

[@flagermusen]

What is the battery life on them when using the transmitter? Like with real usage?

[@DJTILT]

if these were noise cancelling too, then I could just bring one headphones for traveling + djing. Great Review

[@ramontg5488]

Hi 😄 does it works with teams, zoom and all of that ? Integrated microphone?

[@cbsdave3g]

Ricky what diaphragm model is best for DJing

[@seenuhello1]

These headphones do have latency, but it's small enough to be easy to ignore. The sound quality is just barely acceptable, and there's a constant hiss that's a little bit annoying. What I don't like is the button they've used to turn the transmitter on and off. It's a hard little button that's unpleasant to long-press. A switch would have been nicer. And the charging port on the headphones is in a position that's difficult to access. They should put it on the outside, and not on facing inward and down. But all said, I'm grateful they make this product. If you want wireless, I don't think there's an alternative. I used to use Sony's RF400 TV headphones. Zero latency, but they had two big problems. They had an automatic shut-off feature to save power, and kept shutting off if there was no sound for a minute. And being analog RF, there was lots of static and interference if you moved your head in certain ways. These AIAIAI headphones have neither of those problems.

[@brunovalente2077]

Honestly, I've been thinking on buying one of this for a long time and all you said on this video I already got it. What I think it is weird is that I don't ear no one talking about what really metters: is it the sound quality good??? Or what you all guys are saying is that the wireless low latency is so great and handy that in the end being just ok sound quality it's enough in the overall scenario. I actually asked a friend who own them and I couldnt even get a clear answer about sound quality... 16ms its not so little latency as I wish, and if the sound quality is not superb why would I buy them for that price? I wonder

[@RickyTinez]

I think the sound quality is great. i can hear the bass,, the mids, the highs. I think it's hard to say YES this sounds GOOD because, as we all know, its super subjective. I think they sound great. to make music, listen, and dj.

[@brunovalente2077]

@@RickyTinez Thank you Sir, aprecciate, your honest opinnion, I agree, thats true, sound quality is so subjective, depends on the person, the soundcard, the cables, the music genre, the average volume we use it, everyone's ears work slighly diferent depending on our realaxation, or eventual ear loss, etc..

[@jamesp8095]

Does anyone not use the monitor to beat match? Maybe im too old school. Bought some AIAIAIs around 10yrs ago and I liked the sound but the rubber surface very quickly disintegrated where I stopped using them and vowed never to buy this brand again.

[@futur_sunds]

What is the song that plays in the intro of this video and what seems like most of your vids??

[@GametimeSlime]

Do you have to use that adapter when connecting on your phone?

[@Tidus030990]

When you gonna drop that Rad-0 review fam

[@virgilwilliams2378]

I'm too much of a sucker for in ear monitors. And i was going to purchase these headphones, but the Sennheisers i have is really good when it comes to durability in dealing with their cable. I have not change the cable on my IE 40 earphones for 4 years. As with Shure i had to change them.

[@moresauce3000]

Can you recommend any in ear monitors?

[@neunmalelf]

Please what is the handheld device (case ?) at 0:28 ?

[@DERAILEDbeats]

Dirtywave M8 i think

[@frandes2k]

I have a question: can you use a splitter with 2 of these headphones while you're using them wirelessly so you have one of them in the recording booth and one of them in the control room ?

[@robertgarvansnyder4665]

potentially if you had a splitter running into two separate transmitters you could pull this off, haven't tested it though.

[@frandes2k]

@@robertgarvansnyder4665 thanks!

[@JohnSchussler]

My main issue is that turning them on requires a 5 second hold on the power button. Super annoying.

[@TheNextExit]

The charging port is awkward on the phones so the L shaped cord is the only thing that fits. And come to canada for hedphones. They almost cost me 500 bucks here.

[@Traphomesboii]

what’s that ? 😮 0:28

[@RHFLAME]

M8 tracker

[@larsbutnotleast1535]

Hi Ricky and thanks for sharing. Actually i bought these headphones because of you. I saw them on the musicstore, did some research when your video came up. And i´m still totaly down with it. Althoug i had to change to plugs instead of earrings. With the rings the earpads are too smal for my realy huge ears. Before i had a pair of byer dynamic 770 pro wich are significantly larger in diameter. Still it´s kind of on-ears for me, but not uncomfortable. ***It would be realy great if aiaiai sold some bigger earpads. I would love them even more.*** Latency for me is OKish. I play bass and keys, and if its within a direct monitoring setup thats a totaly acceptable latency. If i go into my computer, run an effects-chain and rehearse the effected signal i´d rather go wired. It adds up to about 40 to 50ms range. That´s where i start to feel the latency is going to be an issue, for me at least. So everything that shaves of a little bit is welcome. For the hissing noise i do the same. Power up the headphone amp and turn down the headphones. That´s ok. Another issue i have noticed (but did not research on for now). There is kind of a reconnection sound going on from time to time. Haven´t made up a rule quite jet where it´s comming from or why it is happening. Lucky me, it hasen´t been heard during any recording. It could be if the signal gets real low, maybe as a warning-sound that it is going to shut down soon?? I realy don´t know. reagrds - Lars

[@jona_KardCiv1]

There is basically 1.1 milliseconds for every foot of sound travel. So if a speaker is 15 feet away, to your ear it will have about the same latency as the headphones. 1.1 x 15 = 16.5

[@yessirskiiii123]

This video has a loud hissing noise behind the audio. Is that because you recorded the audio for this video using these headphones?

[@hazmatforhumanity7318]

I saw that you have an Ultranova which is funny I was just thinking the other day, "has Ricky ever reviewed the Ultranova?" I have one myself and we have what I would call an abusive relationship. Its got some absolutely incredible sounds and functionality but I find the menu diving to be a big pain in the ass. Whats your opinion of the Ultra? PS - I've been eyeballing these headphones for some time now.

[@sixahem]

My orders in. A £230 ish not bad worth a try.

[@jamestaylor954]

I want these to play games wireless lol

[@markuskreuzinger3250]

My tma-2 dj preset seem to have pretty low quality plastic. Its because of the softeners that the surface is sticking like glue now. Pretty disappointing for 200 Euro headphones

[@kodithebear]

The SO5 MK 2 speaker units sound terrible. Like reallllllllly bad.

[@PAPICHOLO_JWI]

LOL ... CURRENTLY HAVE A SET OF BLUETOOTH WIRELESS HEADPHONES #2 I'VE PURCHASED A BLUETOOTH TRANSMITTER WITH A 3.5MM PLUG... #3 PLUGGED TRANSMITTER INTO MY DJ CONTROLLER'S HEADPHONE OUT #4 PAIRED IT TO MY BLUETOOTH HEADSETS AND BRAVOOOO !!!!! NO MORE WIRES IN THE DJ BOOTH....

[@ChrisFotopoulos]

Realtime is between 6 to 20 milliseconds and humans feel audio latency that is more than 50ms so even wireless sould be ok !

[@vicemayorskeletonmeat]

just move your monitors farther away

[@scarfypedia]

firsttttttt let's goooooo

[@leonaardegraeve9242]

Expensive plastic

[@Ss-zg3yj]

Not a single mention about sound quality. Paid.

[@Dunx]

I was really excited for these, and for the most part they’re pretty great. But I actually found that I could feel the latency in a distracting way when playing v-drums. Guitar, synths, video editing, no problem. Just for live drums they’re not doing it for me. Which….was one of the main reasons I bought them. 🫤