The outside world is loud. Sometimes too loud. If you commute, you know this all too well. A good pair of active noise-canceling headphones is exactly what you need to enjoy a little peace and quiet, even on the noisiest train. Shure’s Aonic 50 has good ANC; you could even argue it’s too good.
Most ANC modes silence low-end sounds better than high-pitched ones. But these headphones do not care. High-pitched or low-pitched, it cancels everything. In fact, when you’re walking on the street, you probably shouldn’t have it turned on because it will literally mute every ambient sound. It’s that good.
The 45-hour battery life on these is way more than anything you’d find on flagship headphones by a competitor brand. I wish it were foldable, a little lighter, and had a more balanced sound profile.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Design
I wish they were foldable and a little lighter.
The Aonic 50 isn’t the best travel buddy. It doesn’t fold and comes in a large carrying case that takes more space and weight than you’d like. Sony makes the same mistake with their flagship headphones, the WH-1000XM5. At least the case is nicely padded and zippered, so if you were to take these on an adventure, you’d be at peace knowing that they’re safe, unlike Apple’s flagship headphones, AirPods Max, that do fold, but their toilet seat cover-looking carrying case exposes them to outside elements all the time.
I also wish these headphones were lighter as well. Their 11.8-ounce body feels a bit heavy on your noggin. I felt the need to take them off to give my head a little break after around 30 minutes of wearing them. For context, the WH-1000XM5 weighs 8.8 ounces. The AirPods Max are much heavier at 13.6 ounces, but including premium metal on those makes up for the bump in weight. Considering the Aonic 50’s body is all plastic, its weighty build makes even little sense. At least the padding is generous though, so your ears and head are happy until it starts to weigh you down literally.
Shure’s latest headphones have been designed pretty well in terms of controls. The right ear cup handles all the buttons, and the Type-C charging port, and the left one takes care of the 3.5mm headphone jack. I love how every button has a different feel, so you don’t run into missteps. There’s a toggle switch for cycling between ANC On, ANC Off, and Ambient On, a volume rocker with a play/pause button, and a simple power button. The earcups don’t double as touch interfaces, and I am okay with that. I loved the click and feel of physical buttons, especially because they were intuitive and straightforward.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Sound
Powerful ANC and (Very) Heavy Bass
If there’s one thing I can swear on in these headphones, it’s how astonishingly good the ANC is. It’s so good you’ll want to make sure you turn it off on the streets because of how much it mutes the ambient sound. I can never be on the phone in a Subway station because of how loud it gets as other trains are passing by. The Aonic 50 Gen 2 completely silenced the extremely loud rumble of the trains, and I was able to attend an entire work meeting at the station.
Most ANC modes work well with low-end sounds, but these are also great for high-end noise. I was amazed at how well they muted the high-pitched noise from a large, chatty group of people standing right next to me as I grabbed coffee at work.
I rode the Subway with these a number of times and cycled between modes to get a sense of how well it muted ambient sounds. The ambient mode offered the perfect mix of outside noise and my music, and the ANC did such a fantastic job that I missed an important train announcement and ended up missing my station.
Their sound, however, is less impressive than I expected. It doesn’t justify its steep price tag and falls a little short of what I’d want from a brand like Shure. This is less of a critique of these headphones and more of a comment on how I expect nothing less than premium audio when it comes to Shure. Especially when they’ve marketed the headphones for their “studio-quality sound.”
With a little tweaking, the Aonic 50 does sound better. The companion app does a decent job of getting the sound just right, though I would have preferred not to do that much extra work.
These headphones are definitely bass-heavy. At first, I was impressed by the huge driver size on these–50mm compared to 40mm on Apple’s flagship Apple AirPod Max and 30mm on Sony’s XM5s. But it sounds like the bass is overpowering the other elements of the orchestra. The mids and treble don’t have enough space to shine, and it feels like the bass flows onto all other parts of the soundstage. Overall, the music ended up sounding thick and lacked that high-end crispness and clarity.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Battery and Mic
Huge 50-hour battery life and a crystal-clear mic.
While we’re comparing these to Sony’s and Apple’s flagship headphones, it’s worth noting that the WH-1000XM5 offers a 30-hour battery life while Apple gives you 20 hours. Both of these pale in comparison to Aonic’s massive 45-hour battery life. I wish their portability were a bit better; their battery life would have made them perfect for being taken on the go.
I took dozens of calls with these headphones and specifically asked for comments on how crisp my voice sounded and how well the city behind me was getting silenced. I received excellent feedback in both areas. Reportedly, my voice sounded pretty clear, sharp, and crisp, and the very loud 5th Avenue behind me was muted so well that my friend couldn’t even tell I was outside.
Aonic 50 Gen 2: Should You Buy It?
Yes, if you’re looking for powerful ANC and a long battery life.
Shure’s Aonic 50 shines in multiple areas. They offer intuitive controls, a clear mic, excellent ANC, and a huge battery life. But Sony’s flagship headphones, at $330, provide great ANC, too. The considerable difference in battery life is where you can say Shure’s headphones truly shine. It’s also more than double what Apple’s over-ear headphones offer. You should go for these if you’re confident you can work around the heavy bass or care more about the ANC and battery life than the sound.