[bronco1015]

Hmm. I might have to hold off on the Yamaha then. They look kinda bulky too. How was the fit/comfort for you? heard the pads inner opening is quite small and the headband unnecessarily wide.

judging from your signature, I see you're all in on the wireless minus your Senn and the Oppo. I'm slowly making my transition to wireless at the moment. Not getting rid of my wired headphones, but I will put more emphasis on wireless headsets and TWS moving forward. Besides the convenience factor, they're far easier on the wallet and not needing to worry about AMPs and DACs is another plus. Hope we see manufacturers put some added care into wireless products in the future.

The headband on the E700A is definitely to wide. The Inner opening of the pads is pretty small; smaller than i thought it would be based on how bulky they are. Yes they definitely are bulky.
yeah for a while i was looking at getting at least a tube amp, but with wireless being where it is, i decided to keep my 2 favorite wired headphones which also work quite well with my amp and DAC and get rid of the rest.
There is so much that hasn't been done yet in wireless, i'd like to see more acoustic tuning like what drop did with the panda, combined with ANC, more openback Bluetooth, but i want to see changes made based on what's coming down the pipeline for Bluetooth and not trying to squeze more out of current tech. i think we've largely hit the ceiling with available bluetooth codecs and tech.

 

[KPzypher]

The headband on the E700A is definitely to wide. The Inner opening of the pads is pretty small; smaller than i thought it would be based on how bulky they are. Yes they definitely are bulky.
yeah for a while i was looking at getting at least a tube amp, but with wireless being where it is, i decided to keep my 2 favorite wired headphones which also work quite well with my amp and DAC and get rid of the rest.
There is so much that hasn't been done yet in wireless, i'd like to see more acoustic tuning like what drop did with the panda, combined with ANC, more openback Bluetooth, but i want to see changes made based on what's coming down the pipeline for Bluetooth and not trying to squeze more out of current tech. i think we've largely hit the ceiling with available bluetooth codecs and tech.

Yeah, beside the codec/BT limitations, the DSP on current BT headphones are pretty crappy for the most part IMO. Like you, I would also like to see some openback wireless cans. In terms of wireless, Aonic 50 is definitely a step in the right direction. I'm ok and somewhat satisfied with the supported bitrate of latest available codecs, but I would like to see some significant improvements with latency and distortion.

 

[bronco1015]

Yeah, beside the codec/BT limitations, the DSP on current BT headphones are pretty crappy for the most part IMO. Like you, I would also like to see some openback wireless cans. In terms of wireless, Aonic 50 is definitely a step in the right direction. I'm ok and somewhat satisfied with the supported bitrate of latest available codecs, but I would like to see some significant improvements with latency and distortion.

Good points. Regarding codecs, they aren't necessarily bad, but there are some efficiency gains to be made in maximizing battery life so that TWEs for example could have APTX HD or LDAC at 990 KBPS. Then improving Bluetooth range on 990 KBPS LDAC on products that support it, standardizing latency regardless of codec, and improving distortion and DSP would really be huge steps. That would go a long way towards illiminating things like AAC being better on IOS or no LDAC on iPhones

 

[tiagopinto]

These are on sale at Amazon Germany for 240€, fantastic deal. MSRP got reduced from 399€/$ to 299€/$ and Amazon reduced it further. Sad to seem them being thrown out like this but it's a fantastic headphone for that money.

Amazing price for these (I got them for 322€) but 240€ is a steal. Still using these daily and absolutely loving them.

 

[ishmaelk]

I just got mine too for 238€ from Amazon Spain. I'll receive them tomorrow.

 

[bizkid]

When i went through this thread some time ago i noticed that nobody mentioned how great these are at portraying depth in soundstage (for a headphone, especially a bluetooth one). My other wireless headphone the Sennheiser M3 can't do this and you'd have to pay alot more and probably go open to improve on that.

 

[ishmaelk]

When i went through this thread some time ago i noticed that nobody mentioned how great these are at portraying depth in soundstage (for a headphone, especially a bluetooth one). My other wireless headphone the Sennheiser M3 can't do this and you'd have to pay alot more and probably go open to improve on that.

That's great news, because the other headphone I had been considering were the M3 (I love the Momentum over ear design) and I had read somewhere that its soundstage depth was above average for a noise cancelling headphone.

 

[bizkid]

That's great news, because the other headphone I had been considering were the M3 (I love the Momentum over ear design) and I had read somewhere that its soundstage depth was above average for a noise cancelling headphone.

The M3 depth never stood out to me as it does on the Shure. When that is your priority i'd go for the Aonic 50. However i do find the M3 overall more involving even with the lack of depth and bass turned down to similar levels than the Aonics. The improved EQ that Sennheiser introduced to the app some time ago works really well for that. The Sennheiser just has that special sauce that the Shure lacks. Imaging has a slightly holographic touch on the M3 similar to higher end headphones but on a lower level overall. Very nice but i like variety I also use the Shure for studio work (with a cable) because i need a headphone that i know really well and listen alot casually as well so i know how things will translate when i can't use my speakers at night.

 

[ishmaelk]

The M3 depth never stood out to me as it does on the Shure. When that is your priority i'd go for the Aonic 50. However i do find the M3 overall more involving even with the lack of depth and bass turned down to similar levels than the Aonics. The improved EQ that Sennheiser introduced to the app some time ago works really well for that. The Sennheiser just has that special sauce that the Shure lacks. Imaging has a slightly holographic touch on the M3 similar to higher end headphones but on a lower level overall. Very nice but i like variety I also use the Shure for studio work (with a cable) because i need a headphone that i know really well and listen alot casually as well so i know how things will translate when i can't use my speakers at night.

Truth is... I don't expect a lot from the sound of ANC headphones at the moment.
I guess my trustworthy and wired Onkyo ES FC300, which I use a lot on the go, will run circles around the Shure. Or maybe I'm wrong. I'll find out in a few hours.

 

[ishmaelk]

After a few hours listeniing to it, I have to say the Aonic 50, even in the max noise cancelling mode sounds better than I expected.
Which may not mean much, since I already claimed I didn't expect much at all. But they sound better in all aspects than the ES FC300, which I consider a terrific wired headphone under 200€.
Noise cancelling seems fine, but I haven't used it commuting yet. And it will be a few months before I get on a plane (hopefully).
The eq settings in the Shure app work well, and I find specially useful the low volume eq setting, since I usually listen to music quite low, at least while I'm working.
So far, quite good: good soundstage for a closed hedphone, quite neutral tuning (which I prefer), detailed enough and with more depth than I thought I'd find.

 

[viruslib]

Hi, wondering anyone using tidal with android phone? Currently using the headphone and connect with usb-c, it works great and love the sound. As subscribing the hifi plan, I'm thinking of buying DAC for decoding the MQA file or simply purchase a player. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[ishmaelk]

It's been discussed before in this thread, but the wind noises when ANC is on is ridiculous. Just walking the hallway at home makes that noise quite loud!

 

[tiagopinto]

Hi, wondering anyone using tidal with android phone? Currently using the headphone and connect with usb-c, it works great and love the sound. As subscribing the hifi plan, I'm thinking of buying DAC for decoding the MQA file or simply purchase a player. Any advice? Thanks.

Hi, I’m using an iPhone XS with my Aonic 50, but I guess for DAC the solutions it will be the same. I just bought the adapter for the iPhone so the DAC will be next. I’m listening from Spotify or Tidal Hi-Fi. Tidal will unfold MQA, so that the DAC can render it.

I’ve been seriously considering the Dragonfly Cobalt (300€) but recently I’ve come across the Helm Bolt (100€, which is the same price as the entry level Dragonfly Black but supposedly much better).

If you’re looking for a desktop DAC I would go for the Chord Mojo as a (very nice) starter. I’ve heard it’s a little better than the Cobalt and has more connections, obviously. It depends on what setup you want.

I want a mobile solution but I could also use one of the Dragonflies when at home. Now I’m just torn with how does the Helm Bolt compare to the Black, Red and Cobalt.

Loving my Aonic’s and I want to love them even more with even higher quality audio...

(Sorry about the slight off-topic, but if I can try to help, I will)

EDIT: just found this additional useful info “MQA support is one of the great things about HELM BOLT, and it supports MQA played directly from the TIDAL app in Windows or iOS, while you have to install the additional program USB Audio Player Pro to stream MQA from TIDAL on an Android mobile. On the other hand, you do not need an adapter from an Android mobile, while you from an iPhone must use Apple's Lightning to USB (-A) converter + the included USB-A to USB-C adapter.”

So also look at connections before you decide. If you find more info on this, please let me know.

 

[Ettepet]

It's been discussed before in this thread, but the wind noises when ANC is on is ridiculous. Just walking the hallway at home makes that noise quite loud!

This is Shure’s first attempt at ANC. You’ll get better results just disabling the ANC in windy situations. If you also tape the “grills” on both earpieces you can listen to music while traversing a gale 10 storm in open field. I tried this a few weeks ago while biking.

 

[shofilm]

Anyone know if these are better than the massdrop Panda?

Just regarding sound quality.