Shure AONIC 50 -

[jetpacksam]

Oh. My.
These are real and they are spectacular.

In the Box:
Shure Aonic 50 - Available in Black and Brown {The pictures really do not do justice to how great these are in person}.
Carrying case 10.5 " across closed, 20" in length when open. There is an elastic band to hold the headphones in the case, while the opposite side has a velcro{tm} closing net.
Yes, It is large but it has to be, these are not collapsible. they fold flat. That's it. {Maybe Shure is banking on no one taking them off}
{1}.One Approx 63" Audio cable for use in wired configuration. The device end is a standard stereo 3.5 with the headphone terminating in a 2.5" TRRS male.
{1} One USB to USB 'C' cable approx 44" long
{2} Pieces standard paper work.

Caveat about the following, I am a Shure fan boi:. "They had me at the E2C's".

1st impressions?
Pairing via the App was smooth.
Ear cups are roomy and deep, I felt no hot spot on top of my head, as the band is plush pleather.
The Sony and the Bose 700 both are vastly superior in terms of noise cancelling properties with a rather large caveat:
These blow both of those out of the water, like swatting a mosquito with a sledge hammer, in terms of the quality of the audio delivered.
It's laughable how much better these are. These definitely will not be for everyone, as the stow factor when not in use puts them at a distinct disadvantage
In that regard. That said, if that is not a deal breaker, your quest for audiophile ANC has probably just ended.
I have not real world'd them yet, but will shortly.

That's it for now, more as it warrants it.


Eye Candy:

 

[jetpacksam]

It's the little things, isn't it? Something was bothering me, and not in a bad way.
I couldn't figure out why these were so quiet mechanically, then i looked closer:
Shure added a contour cut med density foam pad so the arms wouldn't clack on the ear cups.

 

[PhoenixClaw]

Does it sound the same with and without ANC?

 

[Roberk]

Other people and reviews are saying they are almost on par in ANC terms with the Sonys. And everybody is crazy with their sound.
I hope to enjoy them soon.

 

[jetpacksam]

Does it sound the same with and without ANC?

Not that I have been able to tell, though as I said, they haven't been outside yet, have things to do tomorrow, that will be a good test.
Interestingly,I found the wired configuration much less dynamic, where as the bluetooth was sensational.

Other people and reviews are saying they are almost on par in ANC terms with the Sonys. And everybody is crazy with their sound.
I hope to enjoy them soon.

I was quite stunned. Simply wonderful.

 

[llysender]

As someone using the msr7 with the shanling up4 as my daily portable. I have only one quesion are the bass and vocals both accurate and dynamic.

If its tuned to be similar to a portable srh1440 it would be a dream come true.

Btw are these pre release review copies or are they out in the wild already?

 

[jetpacksam]

As someone using the msr7 with the shanling up4 as my daily portable. I have only one quesion are the bass and vocals both accurate and dynamic.

If its tuned to be similar to a portable srh1440 it would be a dream come true.

Define dynamic, in your world.
To my ears these have the classic Shure sound If your files are quality, the bass in my Flacs are well represented.
If you are looking for skull crushers, these aren't the cans you're listening for. I have never auditioned the 1440's,
But these.....my s10+ is my portable and it drives the hell out of these.

OK, Time for The WYWH test.. Back in a bit.

 

[llysender]

Define dynamic, in your world.
To my ears these have the classic Shure sound If your files are quality, the bass in my Flacs are well represented.
If you are looking for skull crushers, these aren't the cans you're listening for. I have never auditioned the 1440's,
But these.....my s10+ is my portable and it drives the hell out of these.

OK, Time for The WYWH test.. Back in a bit.

Ah im afraid i dont know how classic shure sounds.like. the only shure ive heard is the srh1440 and srh1450.

Well im more of less looking for a vocal forward with full sounding instrunents with proper decay. Bass should be present but not the focus. If i would say dynamic in my own words it would be the decay of instruments and the pitch shifting and grain of vocals sounds correct and not sharp and hollow.

 

[jetpacksam]

They just past my WYWH test with flying colors.Switching between max anc, environment mode and no anc, I noticed virtually no difference in sound signature or in quality.
I did not notice any type of a "cabin pressure" effect when anc or environment mode was engaged.

@llysender :
While these have a mostly flat neutral sound signature, imo there may be a bit of veil on the low end in ANC mode, less in environment mode and none I could tell with anc off.
Vocals are nicely rendered, the treble and the mids are balanced, the mids may be a little recessed if I am looking for a reason to nitpick.
I am stunned at how good these are. I was expecting wonderful, but not this level of sound quality.

Other observations:
Going on hour 3 and no ear sweats, nor headband hot spot. Battery level just hit 91% on a full charge.
Gave them the Oakley test, no problem wearing these with eyeglasses or sunglasses.


Bose, Sony and any others in this segment?
There's a new a new sheriff in ANC town.
It's name is Shure AONIC 50.

 

[Kalli]

Btw are these pre release review copies or are they out in the wild already?

not 100% sure but i would suggest they're not pre-release. as far as i know they're selling in the US alrdy.

Im still waiting for my pair here in germany. amazon postponed the release date from 30.04. to 20.06.
If anyone sees them in germany, pls tell me. i really want to compare them to the Dali IO-6.

 

[jetpacksam]

Btw are these pre release review copies or are they out in the wild already?

No, these are retail. Purchased mine at Sweetwater, got the last pair in the brown they had.
Amazon US has them.

 

[Roberk]

not 100% sure but i would suggest they're not pre-release. as far as i know they're selling in the US alrdy.

Im still waiting for my pair here in germany. amazon postponed the release date from 30.04. to 20.06.
If anyone sees them in germany, pls tell me. i really want to compare them to the Dali IO-6.

+1
Waiting for a direct comparison in "musicality" and ANC performance.

 

[jetpacksam]

Could you define musicality to your ears? Because, and this will sound silly, but these are near reference quality compared to the Bose and the Sony.
Yes I am aware that may be placebo, but these have the same signature as the 846. No, not the clarity, but IMO they aren't that far off.

I will let report on ANC performance later today.

 

[llysender]

Hmmm...if its the 846 sound sig in a portable headphone form factor sign me up. I can only hope it sounds similar to the r70x and e70 and will the at same level of resolution.

Pitty Ill have to wait for the covid 19 lockdown to end before goods will start flowing in. Thanks btw for confirming its in the wild and with the correct type of tuning.

Absolutely hyped for it.

 

[Roberk]

Could you define musicality to your ears? Because, and this will sound silly, but these are near reference quality compared to the Bose and the Sony.
Yes I am aware that may be placebo, but these have the same signature as the 846. No, not the clarity, but IMO they aren't that far off.

I will let report on ANC performance later today.

A mix of precision, clarity, and wow factor, id est, not tiny sound, powerful, enjoyable.

I posted my headphones search history in the AONIC 50 and 215 thread. I tried to love the Momentum 3 because of their sound. But I couldn't stand with ergonomics. Not having tried the io6, as I have read they could lack a little of loudness and maybe bass, and they seem to be in the down side in ANC performance.

So I'm praying the AONIC 50 to be The Headphones.