Welcome to Bang Your Head, the hard rock and metal newsletter.
I first heard about AiAiAi headphones last fall. Apparently AiAiAi have been making headphones for a while, are popular with DJs, and their “thing” is that the headphones are modular. That means the parts are all replaceable and upgradeable. You can build your own headphones from the many different parts they offer or you can purchase a “build” at discount. I thought this was all pretty neat and when I saw their Black Friday 30% off sale, I ordered the TMA-2 Move Wireless ($180, on sale from $230).
Unlike other headphones, these come unassembled. Each part is in its own bag and there were bags for:
Bluetooth speaker drivers
Padded ear cups
Padded headband
Connecting cord
Travel bag
Assembly was easy. Just slide the speaker drivers onto the headband and plug in the wires. Then attach the ear cups. Done! The overall build is all plastic, but it has a nice feel to it. There is not visible branding as the only place it says AiAiAi is under the headband.
These headphones are incredibly light, which makes them quite comfortable. They probably have a bit more head clamping pressure than I want, but it does keep them secure and because the ear cups are so soft, the pressure is not a problem, even with glasses.
When used wirelessly, my preferred method, you control everything with a small thumb joystick on the right earcup. Push it in and hold to turn it on or off, move it up/down for volume and left/right to skip songs. It’s pretty slick. I use them primarily with an iPhone 12 and they work just fine, even showing the battery level at the top.
Speaking of that, battery life is amazing. I gave them a full charge on Dec 16 (which took maybe a couple hours) and even though I used them nearly every day, didn’t charge them again until Jan 30 (when they still said they had 20% left, at which an extra boop is played when you power them on). AiAiAi estimates 40 hours and I totally believe it.
Sound quality is big and punchy. These have much more bass than I am accustomed to (my main headphones are Bose NC700). They also have a wide soundstage. I have really enjoyed using these to listen familiar music to hear new and different things. There is no noise cancelling, but I haven’t felt the need for it using these around the house as the big ear cups provide plenty of noise isolation.
As far as the modularity goes, I’m not sure it matters all that much to me. They have several speaker drivers to choose from, but the Bluetooth S10 drivers are really the only ones I would consider as I don’t want headphones that are only wired. The headband included with this package is also pretty great so I don’t see a need to change it. About the only thing I might consider is getting the smaller on-ear ear cups. I suppose the modularity will be helpful if anything breaks, but they come with a 2 year warranty.
I really like these and have been using them more than the Bose NC700 lately. However, the Move Wireless are not perfect. There is a glitch with them that can cause the music to not play when rapidly switching between songs, sadly something you might do when testing, but pausing and continue seems to alleviate it. There is rumor of a firmware update and perhaps a companion app (hopefully with an EQ) that is being worked on, but no official news yet.
If you’re a musician or podcaster you might prefer the TMA-2 Wireless+ instead as they offer a low-latency wireless connection that can be useful for recording, in addition to Bluetooth and wired modes for regular listening.