[ryanmatic]

So, any idea where to start when looking for a "small form factor" A50?
Welcome to answer private or tell me a better thread to ask that question.

You might want to check out the Master & Dynamic MW65. Its sound is somewhat similar to the Aonic 50 despite being warmer overall, and while I didn’t find it as resolving as the Shures, it is indeed substantially smaller and lighter and has excellent build quality.

 

[Kalli]

You might want to check out the Master & Dynamic MW65. Its sound is somewhat similar to the Aonic 50 despite being warmer overall, and while I didn’t find it as resolving as the Shures, it is indeed substantially smaller and lighter and has excellent build quality.

They're another 100€, which is out of my price range. The A50 are already at the max.

 

[WDitters]

Any you’d recommend? My experience with aftermarket cables is pretty much limited to materials and build quality (woven fabric just feels so nice), but if there’s any additional benefit to how they sound passively... even better.

Yes. I definitely do. There is more hidden quality in de SA50 than what the stock cable brings out. Although I would not go for really expensive cables. I am about to order a Forza Audioworks Claire HPC and will ask Matt to custom build it for me to fit the Shure AONIC 50

 

[ryanmatic]

Awesome. Please do share impressions when it arrives!

 

[LoryWiv]

Yes. I definitely do. There is more hidden quality in de SA50 than what the stock cable brings out. Although I would not go for really expensive cables. I am about to order a Forza Audioworks Claire HPC and will ask Matt to custom build it for me to fit the Shure AONIC 50

Matt at Forza does great work at affordable prices. let us know how it synergizes with the SA50!

 

[starfly]

For those of you who have the SA50 as well as the Bose 700 and/or Sony XM3/XM4, how does the depth and inner size of the earcups of the SA50 compare to the Bose 700 and/or Sony XM3/XM4?

I've owned the Sony XM4 for a short while before I got rid of it, as I found the earcups to be too shallow. My ears stick out a bit and would rub against the drivers on the Sony. The Bose 700 however had the perfect amount of depth and space in the earcup, I could wear that for hours. I ended up giving those away to my brother as he was blown away by the ANC on the Bose. I'd get Bose again if they released a new model that supported LDAC and/or AptX HD. Between the Sony and the Bose, the Bose had the best ANC in my experience. For example on an airplane, it almost completely removed any engine noise. The Sony wasn't as good, you could still hear it faintly.

The SA50 seems to tick a lot of boxes and I did get to try them on for a few minutes at one of those airport shops but wasn't sure about the long-term comfort. So how do does hold-up in terms of long-term comfort with those of you who like me have ears that stick out? And how good is the ANC on airplanes (which would be my main purpose for headphones like these, for use on flights to have some peace and quiet and listen to some music or watch a movie)?

 

[WDitters]

The SA50 seems to tick a lot of boxes and I did get to try them on for a few minutes at one of those airport shops but wasn't sure about the long-term comfort. So how do does hold-up in terms of long-term comfort with those of you who like me have ears that stick out? And how good is the ANC on airplanes (which would be my main purpose for headphones like these, for use on flights to have some peace and quiet and listen to some music or watch a movie)?

As far as ANC in airplanes is concerned, I found them to be more effective in the lower registers (engine rumble etc) than the Sony XM3, and less effective in the higher registers (like voices) .. Which for me is exactly what I wanted.. In that sense I actually find them to outperform the Sony XM3... But that's my personal impression.. YMMV

 

[Kalli]

As far as ANC in airplanes is concerned, I found them to be more effective in the lower registers (engine rumble etc) than the Sony XM3, and less effective in the higher registers (like voices) .. Which for me is exactly what I wanted.. In that sense I actually find them to outperform the Sony XM3... But that's my personal impression.. YMMV

Exactly my opinion. Better low frequency noise reduction, less higher freq reduction, but WAY better sound quality.

 

[angelom]

You might want to check out the Master & Dynamic MW65. Its sound is somewhat similar to the Aonic 50 despite being warmer overall, and while I didn’t find it as resolving as the Shures, it is indeed substantially smaller and lighter and has excellent build quality.

Yes, the mw65 is having similar sound than sa50 and the design and construction quality for me is many better than sa50. BUT the big problem with mw65 is the max volume is very low, and for many classical music albums, and some 60s-80s pop and rock albums (not loudness wars albums), the volume isn't sufficient good.

 

[mugbot]

Picked these up recently and I am very impressed. Battery life seems really long, and the sound (using APTX HD) is really nice and balanced. I tried out the Sony XM3 and XM4 and the sound is much more to my liking on the SA50.

ANC was better on the Sonys but the ANC on the SA50 works well enough that I'm not bothered at all - it's not bad, just not at the same level as Sony.

Call quality is excellent, far better than the Sony offerings which is really important as I use these at work and need to take calls at times.

Comfort is good for my head, they aren't too heavy and the padding is nice and cushy.

 

[tiagopinto]

Yep, as others have said these work great when used passively/powered off, so you do get the full benefit of whatever DAC you use. I also quite like the Dragonfly Cobalt, even though it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it thing with some folks around here (largely due to its price). I think its form factor is pretty much perfect, it improves spaciousness and bass extension compared to BT/AAC, and it pulls very little power from my iPhone even after hours of usage. Surely it won’t compare to a full-sized DAC/amp setup but it is a very nice minimal package and it drives both the Aonic 50 and the SE846 extremely well (never even noticed any hiss with the SE846 which is saying something given how sensitive they are).

Also I’m guessing the soft foam removal stickers were really only there to prevent damage during shipping. I’ve gone back to using the stock carrying case for these headphones and generally keep them in there when they’re not in use, and they still look new. I guess the real durability test won’t really start until I’ve got a normal commute again and they follow me around in my backpack, but so far they they’ve held up great.

Thanks. Now I really want the Cobalt again.

 

[tiagopinto]

Yes. I definitely do. There is more hidden quality in de SA50 than what the stock cable brings out. Although I would not go for really expensive cables. I am about to order a Forza Audioworks Claire HPC and will ask Matt to custom build it for me to fit the Shure AONIC 50

How long are you getting it? Please give me specs on connectors. How much are they gonna cost? Are they coming from the US to Europe? If so, what about customs? Any other options if these are too expensive? Give us the details, please.

 

[tiagopinto]

For those of you who have the SA50 as well as the Bose 700 and/or Sony XM3/XM4, how does the depth and inner size of the earcups of the SA50 compare to the Bose 700 and/or Sony XM3/XM4?

I've owned the Sony XM4 for a short while before I got rid of it, as I found the earcups to be too shallow. My ears stick out a bit and would rub against the drivers on the Sony. The Bose 700 however had the perfect amount of depth and space in the earcup, I could wear that for hours. I ended up giving those away to my brother as he was blown away by the ANC on the Bose. I'd get Bose again if they released a new model that supported LDAC and/or AptX HD. Between the Sony and the Bose, the Bose had the best ANC in my experience. For example on an airplane, it almost completely removed any engine noise. The Sony wasn't as good, you could still hear it faintly.

The SA50 seems to tick a lot of boxes and I did get to try them on for a few minutes at one of those airport shops but wasn't sure about the long-term comfort. So how do does hold-up in terms of long-term comfort with those of you who like me have ears that stick out? And how good is the ANC on airplanes (which would be my main purpose for headphones like these, for use on flights to have some peace and quiet and listen to some music or watch a movie)?

I haven’t owned the others but I’ve tried them a few times.

NC700 are tame in sound quality, compared to the A50’s. Comfort, call quality and ANC are very good but the A50’s don’t fall short.

XM3/XM4 are way behind in sound quality just because their bloated bass just hinders all the rest. If you’re a kid who just listens to reggaeton I could try to understand, but no. ANC is good but not much better (well described by others). I guess if we were flying the A50’s would even be better.

I also have big ears and they fit the A50’s. They might touch but not rub the sides. Correction: they only slightly touch my left ear which had exostosis surgery, but it’s forgettable. So quite deep, I guess. NC700’s are plush but, again, these don’t fall short. XM3/XM4 do rattle a bit sometimes. I couldn’t tell you about cup depth comparatively. I’ve rocked the A50’s daily, for hours, for the past month or more. They are heavier but still comfier. They do warm up a little but I do run hot all the time.

But SERIOUSLY, the A50’s are a better headphone for music lovers. The soundstage, the separation, the musicality, the detail... much above the other two (or any in this niche). I can’t rave enough about these. Amazing is a word.

Massive Attack shines, Led Zeppelin shines, Tame Impala shines, Lupe Fiasco shines, Biohazard shines, Pat Metheny shines. They all already do shine and when played through these...

 

[themacster]

Ok, my first Head-fi post. Back into hi-fi after a 10 year hiatus (young children and expensive hi-fi don't mix!). Now looking to go the computer based route, will store all my music on a NAS and use a DDC, quite probably a Denafrips Iris. I'll use the optical out to feed a Bluetooth transmitter for when I can't use the speakers. I'm looking for wireless headphones to use with both the transmitter and my phone (LG G6). I'll probably subscribe to Qobuz for hi-res streaming. I've got a pair of Mpow earphones which I use both at home and at the gym but want something better for use at home.

Having researched, I'm leaning heavily toward the Aonic 50s. What I would like to know is how they rank relative to wired phones. I started with Beyer DT990s (still have them 30 years on), then through Stax Lambda and on to Stax Omega 2s (SR-007 / SRM-007t) which are currently in their box in the attic.

Where would the Aonics rank compared to the Beyer and Stax? Probably a bit unfair to compare to the Stax combo but how close do they get?

 

[Nebucatnetzer]

So I had my Aonics now for three weeks and can give my real usage impressions.

Comfort
They get a bit uncomfortable with my piercings after a few hours of listening.
However I managed to improve this by finding a better position for the headband.
Overall this isn't a problem for people without piercings and I would expect them to be very comfortable for those.
About the sweaty ears, yes I get those as well but it's still +25°C here. In the evening or in a climate controlled room they are fine.
I like that the ear cups are so far apart in the resting position, this way I can wear them around my neck without strangling myself.
This wasn't possible with the PXC550.

Battery life
I haven't heard the low battery warning yet and charge them about every two/three days.
I think they are my first pair of headphones which actually report the battery level correctly to the phone.
So when I see that they show about 20% in the evening I put them on the charger.

Misc
You can drive them passively which would have been great a few years ago.
Since I fully switched to Bluetooth for listening music on the go this is a feature which I don't really need anymore because my phone doesn't have a 3.5mm port and I don't know where my adapter is.
Cool to see that it works anyway.

Noise Cancelling
Works okay for my needs, it works really well for deep sounds like the rumbling of a truck or buss engine.
Less so with higher sounds like clicking, car wheels on the street or people talking.
The passive isolation works well enough so that you can switch off the ANC when it is windy.

The ANC works IMO much better when you're listening to music than when you're listening to podcasts.
Especially when someone is talking next to you. The PXC550 worked better with podcasts while commuting.

Speaking of commuting, I found that on trains the Max ANC setting would be the best, however that messes with the volume which is really annoying (@Shure please fix this).
It would be nice if one could replace the hear through setting with the Max ANC setting on the slider.
E.g. "slider top" = Max ANC, "slider middle" = ANC off, "slider bottom" = ANC normal.

BTW, ANC definitely changes the sound, on normal not that much but on Max it's clearly hearable.
It doesn't make them bad, they just don't sound that great anymore.

Sound
I really, really like them.
They are basically what I have been looking for in a wireless headphone for a long time.
Clear sound and nice details, sometimes they are maybe a bit too detailed for certain people.
They are one of those headphones which can make a song unhearable when the recording is crap.
But that is actually what I want, on some songs I heard the musicians breath and the clicking of flaps on the instruments which I haven't noticed before.
IMO they go really well with music with a female singer e.g. Amanda Jenssen.
I don't really know how else I should describe them.

Verdict
When Shure fixes the problems with the ANC they are a 4.5/5 for me.
For a 5/5 they need to have ear cups which a slightly bigger diameter and a better material.
That said I still think they are the best Bluetooth ANC over-ear headphones on the market.
Maybe even the best Bluetooth over-headphones overall once I've heard the Pandas.