The surface world is loud. Generally too loud. If you happen to commute, you understand this all too nicely. A very good pair of energetic noise-canceling headphones is strictly what you have to get pleasure from somewhat peace and quiet, even on the noisiest practice. Shure’s Aonic 50 has good ANC; you could possibly even argue it’s too good.
Most ANC modes silence low-end sounds higher than high-pitched ones. However these headphones don’t care. Excessive-pitched or low-pitched, it cancels all the things. Actually, if you’re strolling on the road, you most likely shouldn’t have it turned on as a result of it would actually mute each ambient sound. It’s that good.
The 45-hour battery life on these is far more than something you’d discover on flagship headphones by a competitor model. I want it had been foldable, somewhat lighter, and had a extra balanced sound profile.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Design
I want they had been foldable and somewhat lighter.
The Aonic 50 isn’t the most effective journey buddy. It doesn’t fold and is available in a big carrying case that takes more room and weight than you’d like. Sony makes the identical mistake with their flagship headphones, the WH-1000XM5. At the least the case is properly padded and zippered, so when you had been to take these on an journey, you’d be at peace realizing that they’re secure, in contrast to Apple’s flagship headphones, AirPods Max, that do fold, however their bathroom seat cover-looking carrying case exposes them to outdoors components on a regular basis.
I additionally want these headphones had been lighter as nicely. Their 11.8-ounce physique feels a bit heavy in your noggin. I felt the necessity to take them off to provide my head somewhat break after round half-hour of sporting them. For context, the WH-1000XM5 weighs 8.8 ounces. The AirPods Max are a lot heavier at 13.6 ounces, however together with premium metallic on these makes up for the bump in weight. Contemplating the Aonic 50’s physique is all plastic, its weighty construct makes even little sense. At the least the padding is beneficiant although, so your ears and head are glad till it begins to weigh you down actually.
Shure’s newest headphones have been designed fairly nicely when it comes to controls. The appropriate ear cup handles all of the buttons, and the Sort-C charging port, and the left one takes care of the three.5mm headphone jack. I like how each button has a unique really feel, so that you don’t run into missteps. There’s a toggle change for biking between ANC On, ANC Off, and Ambient On, a quantity rocker with a play/pause button, and a easy energy button. The earcups don’t double as contact interfaces, and I’m okay with that. I cherished the press and really feel of bodily buttons, particularly as a result of they had been intuitive and easy.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Sound
Highly effective ANC and (Very) Heavy Bass
If there’s one factor I can swear on in these headphones, it’s how astonishingly good the ANC is. It’s so good you’ll wish to be sure you flip it off on the streets due to how a lot it mutes the ambient sound. I can by no means be on the telephone in a Subway station due to how loud it will get as different trains are passing by. The Aonic 50 Gen 2 fully silenced the extraordinarily loud rumble of the trains, and I used to be in a position to attend a complete work assembly on the station.
Most ANC modes work nicely with low-end sounds, however these are additionally nice for high-end noise. I used to be amazed at how nicely they muted the high-pitched noise from a big, chatty group of individuals standing proper subsequent to me as I grabbed espresso at work.
I rode the Subway with these a variety of instances and cycled between modes to get a way of how nicely it muted ambient sounds. The ambient mode supplied the proper combine of outdoor noise and my music, and the ANC did such a unbelievable job that I missed an vital practice announcement and ended up lacking my station.
Their sound, nevertheless, is much less spectacular than I anticipated. It doesn’t justify its steep price ticket and falls somewhat in need of what I’d need from a model like Shure. That is much less of a critique of those headphones and extra of a touch upon how I count on nothing lower than premium audio in terms of Shure. Particularly once they’ve marketed the headphones for his or her “studio-quality sound.”
With somewhat tweaking, the Aonic 50 does sound higher. The companion app does an honest job of getting the sound excellent, although I’d have most well-liked not to do this a lot further work.
These headphones are undoubtedly bass-heavy. At first, I used to be impressed by the large driver dimension on these–50mm in comparison with 40mm on Apple’s flagship Apple AirPod Max and 30mm on Sony’s XM5s. But it surely sounds just like the bass is overpowering the opposite components of the orchestra. The mids and treble don’t have sufficient house to shine, and it feels just like the bass flows onto all different components of the soundstage. General, the music ended up sounding thick and lacked that high-end crispness and readability.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Battery and Mic
Enormous 50-hour battery life and a crystal-clear mic.
Whereas we’re evaluating these to Sony’s and Apple’s flagship headphones, it’s price noting that the WH-1000XM5 presents a 30-hour battery life whereas Apple offers you 20 hours. Each of those pale compared to Aonic’s huge 45-hour battery life. I want their portability had been a bit higher; their battery life would have made them good for being taken on the go.
I took dozens of calls with these headphones and particularly requested for feedback on how crisp my voice sounded and the way nicely town behind me was getting silenced. I obtained glorious suggestions in each areas. Reportedly, my voice sounded fairly clear, sharp, and crisp, and the very loud fifth Avenue behind me was muted so nicely that my pal couldn’t even inform I used to be outdoors.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Ought to You Purchase It?
Sure, when you’re on the lookout for highly effective ANC and a protracted battery life.
Shure’s Aonic 50 shines in a number of areas. They provide intuitive controls, a transparent mic, glorious ANC, and an enormous battery life. However Sony’s flagship headphones, at $330, present nice ANC, too. The appreciable distinction in battery life is the place you’ll be able to say Shure’s headphones actually shine. It’s additionally greater than double what Apple’s over-ear headphones provide. You must go for these when you’re assured you’ll be able to work across the heavy bass or care extra in regards to the ANC and battery life than the sound.