Today’s feature is a review of the AiAiAi TMA-2 Move Wireless, which is a Bluetooth edition of their classic modular TMA closed-back dynamic driver headphone series. It is priced at $230.
Disclaimer: This was sent to us as a sample for our honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. We thank AiAiAi for this opportunity.
To read up on more AiAiAi products we have covered on Headfonics you can click here.
Note, this article follows our latest scoring guidelines which you can read up on here.
AiAiAi is one of those hidden gem headphone companies you see now and then when the sunlight hits just right. We have covered them since the original TMA-1 but the last in-depth was almost 8 years ago with the TMA-1 X review.
Around town, on the college campus, you might see unassuming ninja-looking headphones on someone’s noggin’, boppin’ around the halls or in the back of the classroom. And when you ask that person on the bus or subway what that headphone even is, they reply “AiAiAi!” …it is quite normal for nonaudio enthusiasts to maybe back away slowly.
But not we ‘chosen few’. If you have to gall to bother said music listener at random, you might spark a conversation that revolves around what amp they are using. And so, you’ve now made a new AiAiAi companion. Congrats!
Tech Highlights
AiAiAi touts their TMA-2 Move Wireless 40mm bio-cellulose diaphragm as the star of the show, the impending doom-ridden asteroid that looks amazing in the sky until it hits, then it is nothing but audio bliss in the afterlife.
The material is made of an organic compound that is grown with and of pressed bacteria. It is both renewable and biodegradable. Not only that, but it also has great sound relaying properties too. The internal structure of the material is very stiff, but also very lightweight. Thus, an ideal type of material to form drivers out with.
AiAiAi has said that they have attempted to seize the most rigid form they can in this design, which had an aim to act as much like a solid piston as possible. They, like all other companies, try to reduce wobble and resonance, which of course creates a ton of distortion. A great headphone has lacking resonance, so the goal is always to reduce that to the best of their abilities.
Wireless
Although the TMA-2 Move Wireless is branded as a wireless option, it does have a normal 3.5mm style cable option as well. In today’s market, I expect no less and do not want to see only a wireless option without the ability to plug directly into a source or amplifier.
We are audiophiles after all and generally, only normal consumers will be satisfied with only ever connecting via Bluetooth. But that’s just the thing now in 2022…Bluetooth 5.0 is a monster.
We are advancing so fast now that it seems like in the next few years, we will all see the death of wired audio and the death of the 3.5mm for audiophile-grade products. And you know what I say to that? GREAT! Kill it.
Design
The TMA-2 Move Wireless is highly modular in setup. That means most of the parts easily pop off and are replaceable. The basic design of the headphone is over the ear, and you can opt for some different sustainable bio-friendly materials, like the Alcantara pads, which are closer to velour in typing. Or the vegan leather options.
Each would come in their own container bag. Do note, that the Alcantara and the vegan leather are both extremely soft in tactile feel. These pads are quality, no doubting that.
Beyond pads, the headband is actually the focal point of the entire headphone and offers a very soft PU leather binding at the top. On this headband also are two coiled 3.5mm male connectors, which plug into the top of each modular housing earcup that can be removed freely at any time.
This is great for users who might experience damage in one side of the earcups, it can be tossed and replaced with another very easily through AiAiAi’s website. Did you snap the interior cable? No worries, just replace the headband, no need to replace the cups too because the cups are not hardwired permanently to the cable leads. I really, really love this design.
Comfort & Isolation
There is no getting around this, so I will just state it directly. The TMA-2 Move Wireless has a high clamp factor out of the box. Too much. Yes, the earpads are magnificent and soft, but that doesn’t matter if the headphone has a vice grip-like effect.
Is it severe or painful? No. But it does get bothersome quickly. This was fixed with some stretching on a box each night for the course of a week, continually adding in extra spacing with some books until the clamp factor naturally decompresses in the headband.
Manual wrestling of the headband (IE: stretching it backward and outward yourself) is not recommended…ever. It needs to naturally and slowly be done so you do not run the risk of large fractures in the material. A slow adjustment is needed. It took about a week for my set to release in that regard and that helped a lot, but even then, it was still on the tight side.
Isolation
Isolating qualities are on the low end despite the TMA-2 Move Wireless being a closed-back design. What is there, is just fine. But this is not a noise suppressing experience that the designers coded into the design. So, don’t expect anything epic in that regard. It will drown a bit more out with the vegan leather pads vs the Alcantara option, but only just audibly so.
So, do I find this a comfortable set? Yes and no. The pads and the headband are lovely, supremely soft, the headphone is lightweight and flexible from top to bottom. However, the clamp factor is a bit too hostile and needs some time to break in before I can comfortably wear them for hours out of my day. With less clamp, I’d rate them very highly in comfort.
Stock Cable
As mentioned, the TMA-2 Move Wireless is a headphone that is supposed to mostly be used…wirelessly. But they did drop in a 3.5mm cable that is 1.4m long, with one side intended to port into the earcup that is a straight style, and the opposing lead end into your source is a right angle 3.5mm.
I enjoy this because the earcup port is not supremely recessive in nature and that means I can swap out for custom cables easier than most other headphones. The stock cable is a plastic-soft sleeve, so it has some pliability and is not fabric laced, or rigid.
Packaging & Accessories
Well, AiAiAi offers a bunch of options for you with their configuration tool that allows you to customize your buying experience. You can alter some colors of the TMA-2 Move Wireless pads and headband to your own whims. The stock cable, micro-C charging cable, and a soft pouch come with the headphone.
Everyone else is optional from some hard cases to a larger high-quality zipper pouch. The included pouch has a humorously large zipper on it, and I just can’t get over how funny it looks. What a huge zipper.
Sound Impressions
Bass
The TMA-2 Move Wireless can sound slightly different depending on which pads you opt for. The vegan leather produces more bass but offers less imaging. The Alcantara offers less bass, but a wider and more breathable sound field.
What you have here is essentially the little brother of the Philips X1 series, which is probably one of the best mid-tier headphones in the world. The TMA-2 Move Wireless Alcantara earpads drop the dense bass quantity off a bit, but they do not reduce quality.
For the price, things on the low end are relatively good in price to performance. The TMA-2 Move Wireless is not very pure in regard to tonality, it is on the warm side, a bit wooly and thick. Just up my alley, if you are an avid reader of mine, you’ll know this is my favorite bass type.
As far as quality goes, I do not believe AiAiAi wanted to make a clinical headphone or one that is reference quality or offers a hyper-accurate tone. The TMA-2 Move Wireless feels like it is geared for musicality enthusiasts, like me, who prefer fun over accuracy.
Now, that is not to say that the TMA-2 Move Wireless is overly exaggerating. It isn’t. It is just more on the not-so reference in tone and texture type. The physical quantity is on moderate tier, it is neither a basshead model nor a bass-light model that will leave you feeling like more is needed.
Mids
The AiAiAi series models, at least to my knowledge and experience, are borderline forward in the midrange and as per my history with this company, I feel that is still a cosmic truth.
The TMA-2 Move Wireless is a touch behind “forward” sounding, meaning in your face, very up-close and lively engaging midrange. Instead, it is just one step back, a tad relaxed, but still engaging enough to enjoy vocalist experiences in your music. Sometimes, very close up can be fatiguing. It is all preference.
The quality offered is spot on for a headphone in the $200 tier. I have another set here from Sivga that I recently reviewed called the Robin, that I feel is comparable in sound quality in the midrange. Interestingly enough, Sivga sells for $149 but has no wireless options. That is a specialist headphone and the AiAiAi is a generalist all arounder with Wireless too.
Midrange quality is comparable between the two, but the TMA-2 Move Wireless wins in treble and bass quality, as well as imaging. I found that interesting. For the price, the TMA-2 Move Wireless is the better option overall for those who prefer a thicker midrange feel. Voices simply feel of a higher density factor.
Treble
The TMA-2 Move Wireless has some solid sparkle on the top side when you are using the Alcantara pads, but I feel like the vegan leather pads reduce the sparkle factor out entirely and force the top side of the headphone to feel very safe and reserved. Very chill.
Whereas the Alcantara pads produce a more lively, brighter, and more impacting top side that is more fun. As far as quality goes, I don’t feel or sense a difference in fidelity between them, I only feel one has more quantity than the other.
Both are enjoyable and it is nice to have both options here because some tracks sound better with either or installed. My classical experiences sound better with the vegan leathers, due to a natural lacking hot treble most of the time that comes out of classical soundtracks.
The Alcantara sound better with rock, or fusion, due to more emphasis on guitar and sudden harsh strokes of piano keys and cymbals. This is a pick your poison thing. Which do you prefer? Brighter and lively, or chill and relaxed? Both are equally as good.
Imaging
The TMA-2 Move Wireless performs slightly above average in imaging prowess. Their best quality is the width and overall air factor, which for the price, is very good.
Height factor and depth of field are just okay, and acceptable, as I have a few other models here from other competitors that offer a bit more in this area. But interestingly enough, those models lack where the TMA-2 excels.
The TMA-2 Move Wireless is not an imaging monster, it is a headphone designed for travelers and those who are going to abuse the living hell out of their headphones in a backpack, or a bag, or something like that.
For the price, imaging factors are just overall good and neither excellent nor lacking. Due to it not being a specialist produce with an aim for imaging, or a history of having excellent imaging, I do not consider the TMA-2 Move Wireless requirements to include such qualities. What is there, is just fine, and the fun factor more than makes up for the just okay imaging experience.
Synergy
The TMA-2 Move Wireless is only 32Ω, which makes it pair with pretty much every headphone amplifier and source possible. It doesn’t need power; you can run it right off a low-tier music player or phone for power needs.
However, since this is a solid mid-tier performer, you might want to think about how an amplifier addition can improve the phone source quality if you are running with the 3.5mm cable option and not wirelessly.
If that is the case, the world is your plaything, opt for whichever amplifier type you prefer in tone because you can make the TMA-2 Move Wireless sound more clinical, or warmer, depending on what you use.
For example, my Ultrasone Panther is an absurdly expensive portable amp but for the purpose of tonality testing, it is very clinical and pure. It lacks warmth and wooly sound. It makes the TMA-2 Move Wireless sound more clinical and more closely related to a reference monitor.
But toss that aside and just run out of the xDuoo X3 DAP and you get a much warmer, denser feel to everything. You can grab more warmness, or more coolness depending on how good you are with pairing the right amplifier or USB source. Again, power needs are not the aim here, just tonality matching. Any portable amp will run 32Ω very well.
Our Verdict
The AiAiAi TMA-2 Move Wireless is set up for music enthusiasts who move around a lot and will likely abuse their headphones too much. It was intended to be modular and to have parts end up broken by the owner, only to be easily replaced later.
I no longer have my X1 from Philips anymore but I have an extensive history with the Fidelio series models in the past. This TMA-2 Move Wireless sounds like an alternative option for the Fidelio L1 and X1 series in tone and texture. And that is high praise. A smaller L1? Hell yes. Take my money.
The immense Synergy factor of this model makes it a supreme generalist. Wireless, wired. Doesn’t matter, both sound great.
The battery life is listed at 40 hours but I feel that’s a bit of a stretch, I got less. But still, a lot of hours of usage can alter the tonality depending on how musical or pure your source is.
AiAiAi TMA-2 Move Wireless Specifications
- Diaphragm Bio-cellulose
- Driver diameter 40 mm
- Impedance 32Ω
- Magnet High-grade Neodymium
- Max power 100 mW
- Rated power 40 mW
- Resonance freq. 80 Hz
