As 2022 draws to a close and we look ahead to 2023, we’re bringing you our picks of the best new gear this year, from drum machines to turntables.
It’s hard to believe it’s only six years since Apple introduced their ubiquitous AirPods, but in that time wireless headphones have become commonplace. Apple weren’t necessarily the first to adopt the Bluetooth protocol for wireless streaming, but the technology has grown massively in popularity over the last half a decade, to the extent that these days it’s almost unusual to see people walking around with old-fashioned wired headphones.
In recent years, we’ve seen more and more studio headphones and even DJ headphones and turntables adopt Bluetooth as an option, with models like Audio-Technica’s ATH-M50XBTs or Pioneer’s HDJ-X5BTs seemingly offering the best of both worlds. The only problem is that wireless connections via Bluetooth aren’t perfect; they can introduce latency (a delay between the sound source and the headphones) and there’s also an inherent loss of sound quality. Not the end of the world when it’s used for convenience, but an obvious issue in the studio or DJ booth, where wired connections still have a major advantage.
AIAIAI’s solution to these problems arrives in the form of the TMA-2 Studio Wireless+, the latest iteration of the Danish brand’s modular headphone design. The Wireless+ model uses a radio frequency transmitter which plugs into your sound source, connecting to a receiver built into the headband. The benefits are simple: ultra-low latency and much higher sound quality than Bluetooth.
Wireless headphones aren’t necessarily the first choice for studio applications, but the TMA-2 Studio Wireless+ represent a sizeable shift in suitability for music production. As things stand, they’re the best option if you need the benefits of wireless transmission in the studio.
https://www.juno.co.uk/products/aiaiai-tma-2-studio-wireless-professional-wireless/857741-01/