[hifi80sman]

Agreed on the sleeper hit. By far the best sounding headphone I have tried in a while. It's hard to tell they are on BT or ANC for that matter.

It will be interesting to see what the XM4 does differently. If they keep the same signature as the XM3 then I won't even bother giving them a listen. Hell even if they do change the signature I am not sure I will bother...

Hopefully they'll transfer the new driver design to the XM4. Maybe a larger, more rigid dome design. As you touched on, the mids come through much better than many of Sony's prior offerings. Very natural. Today, I've been listening to some Eddie Money and these are amazing for 80s era pop/rock.

 

[dweaver]

I listen to a lot of 70s and 80s music which may explain why I like these so much. But I also love how jazz and classical music sound with them as well.

 

[dweaver]

The more I listen to these the more I like them. I ended up disabling the automatic feature because the beeps was distracting and it messed up a few times. But the wind setting helped reduce wind noise and so far these seem to handle wind better than the XM3.

I gave my wife back the 1000XM3 and said they were hers forever LOL.

I have enough ANC headphone I should do a comparison review of them all .

 

[hifi80sman]

The more I listen to these the more I like them. I ended up disabling the automatic feature because the beeps was distracting and it messed up a few times. But the wind setting helped reduce wind noise and so far these seem to handle wind better than the XM3.

I gave my wife back the 1000XM3 and said they were hers forever LOL.

I have enough ANC headphone I should do a comparison review of them all .

Ahh, I didn't even know there was a wind setting. Shows how much I tried that feature out! LOL! I primarily use them in the office (home office or work office) and wind was not an issue for me. Surprisingly, the ANC is very good and better than I remember the H900N being (which was just OK).

I also like the sleeker look of these. They actually look quite nice and not embarrassing to wear. I remember feeling like a fool wearing the H900N at the gym, but not these, especially with the nice matte & slightly rubberized feel.

It definitely says a lot if these unseat the XM3! They do for me as well. I haven't touched mine since the A/B test!

 

[bronco1015]

so i went and grabbed these on Tuesday. As far as build, the only thing i didn't like was the silicone on the underside of the band. These were really comfortable and light. The ANC also really great. Also best sounding BT Sony headphone i've tried. No question. It came down to do i like the sound of these mor than the HP70 and shure Aonic 50? no. if i didn't still have my qc35 then i'd be keeping these. but i'm still kinda on the fence. Should i have kept them anyway? in default sound setting, they sound soo much better than the xm3. i was pleasantly surprised. i'd also throw in a nomination for sleeper hit of the year. At this current price a little harder for me to do at $300, but one could do much worse. I'd put these ahead of the jabra elite 85H which a lot of people like for $2-300.

 

[hifi80sman]

so i went and grabbed these on Tuesday. As far as build, the only thing i didn't like was the silicone on the underside of the band. These were really comfortable and light. The ANC also really great. Also best sounding BT Sony headphone i've tried. No question. It came down to do i like the sound of these mor than the HP70 and shure Aonic 50? no. if i didn't still have my qc35 then i'd be keeping these. but i'm still kinda on the fence. Should i have kept them anyway? in default sound setting, they sound soo much better than the xm3. i was pleasantly surprised. i'd also throw in a nomination for sleeper hit of the year. At this current price a little harder for me to do at $300, but one could do much worse. I'd put these ahead of the jabra elite 85H which a lot of people like for $2-300.

How do you like the Aonic 50? What are the pros/cons? Worth $400?

For $200, honestly, I can't really think of a wireless pair of headphones that tick off as many boxes as the H910N, H.ear On 3, or whatever it's called. Come on Sony, call it the Decimator 5000 so you can sell more. H910N? Wha?

 

[bronco1015]

How do you like the Aonic 50? What are the pros/cons? Worth $400?

For $200, honestly, I can't really think of a wireless pair of headphones that tick off as many boxes as the H910N, H.ear On 3, or whatever it's called. Come on Sony, call it the Decimator 5000 so you can sell more. H910N? Wha?

With all these 'upgrades' to the site, you think we would have gotten a haha button. Lol. i'm all for a name change. At Sony if you change the name of the wh h910N to the Decimator 5000, i will pick up another pair lol.
i like the Aonic a lot. Worth $400? ANC is better than i figured it would be, but for sure not on Bose NC 700 level or the H910N. I'd say not far from the 910n though.
Build quality is superb. Really deep earcups, comfy and plenty of padding on the headband.
Supports all the codecs, theres an issue with LDAC at 96KHZ w 32 BPS, which both my phones default to. in notes above middleC you can hear these intermittent buzzes here and there. and Talkback, the screen reader on my phones , has this weird sound like it's talking through it's teeth with water in it's mouth. That was the best way i could describe it. I've reported it to shure and they have been mor responsive than i anticipated. I switch to aptx HD anyway, because i feel LDAC playback issues aside, they still sound best in APTXHD. The mids on them are pretty fantastic after a firmware update. Before they were a bit thin. The Headphones are super revealing. If your music is recorded poorly, these will reveal it. They're bright for sure. i'd tame the highs just a bit in some cases, but not enough that it's forced me to do it right away. Doesn't always bother me. They don't have the bass quantity that the Momentum over ears are known for. from what i've gathered from your posts i've seen, i wouldn't recomend them to you tbh. The app has a really nice parametric EQ, but to really be picky, the headphones don't quite have the depth i'd want for times i need a bump in the bass. Also the stupid EQ only works in Shure's app with local files. I definitely have raised issue with that multiple times. no response on that from them however. They are great on calls, and have a nice transparent hearing feature. I'm willing to live with their quirks because over all they are a pretty solid product. i've never liked over ears from shure, but i went with my gut on these, and the mor neutral side of me likes them.

 

[hifi80sman]

With all these 'upgrades' to the site, you think we would have gotten a haha button. Lol. i'm all for a name change. At Sony if you change the name of the wh h910N to the Decimator 5000, i will pick up another pair lol.
i like the Aonic a lot. Worth $400? ANC is better than i figured it would be, but for sure not on Bose NC 700 level or the H910N. I'd say not far from the 910n though.
Build quality is superb. Really deep earcups, comfy and plenty of padding on the headband.
Supports all the codecs, theres an issue with LDAC at 96KHZ w 32 BPS, which both my phones default to. in notes above middleC you can hear these intermittent buzzes here and there. and Talkback, the screen reader on my phones , has this weird sound like it's talking through it's teeth with water in it's mouth. That was the best way i could describe it. I've reported it to shure and they have been mor responsive than i anticipated. I switch to aptx HD anyway, because i feel LDAC playback issues aside, they still sound best in APTXHD. The mids on them are pretty fantastic after a firmware update. Before they were a bit thin. The Headphones are super revealing. If your music is recorded poorly, these will reveal it. They're bright for sure. i'd tame the highs just a bit in some cases, but not enough that it's forced me to do it right away. Doesn't always bother me. They don't have the bass quantity that the Momentum over ears are known for. from what i've gathered from your posts i've seen, i wouldn't recomend them to you tbh. The app has a really nice parametric EQ, but to really be picky, the headphones don't quite have the depth i'd want for times i need a bump in the bass. Also the stupid EQ only works in Shure's app with local files. I definitely have raised issue with that multiple times. no response on that from them however. They are great on calls, and have a nice transparent hearing feature. I'm willing to live with their quirks because over all they are a pretty solid product. i've never liked over ears from shure, but i went with my gut on these, and the mor neutral side of me likes them.

Thanks! Yeah, you’re right, the signature is not my cup of tea. If the EQ were global and saved in the headphones, I’d probably jump in. Not like I need a new pair of headphones!

Interesting you mentioned LDAC defaulting to 32 bit, it does that on my device as well. Funny thing, specs for LDAC are 24 bit/96 kHz. I also notice it doesn’t sound quite right, so I flip it back to 24 bit in Developer Options and it sounds great. Not sure why Android is doing that...

 

[dweaver]

I realized earlier today I was actually listening on AAC so switched to LDAC and noticed it sounded a bit off. Just looked in developer mode and my phone was also using 32bit mode so switched to 24 bit and it sounds much better for me too.

I like Shure but can't afford to even think about them. But I struggle with bright headphones being to fatiguing so its probably just as well.

 

[bronco1015]

Thanks! Yeah, you’re right, the signature is not my cup of tea. If the EQ were global and saved in the headphones, I’d probably jump in. Not like I need a new pair of headphones!

Interesting you mentioned LDAC defaulting to 32 bit, it does that on my device as well. Funny thing, specs for LDAC are 24 bit/96 kHz. I also notice it doesn’t sound quite right, so I flip it back to 24 bit in Developer Options and it sounds great. Not sure why Android is doing that...

I didn't know that about LDAC. So many issues i've had with LDAC devs h910N aside make sense now. or at least i might have mor of an explanation as to why certain things were happening. E.G. weird echo/reverb on a pair of Clear audio headphones, the weirdness with the Shure's. The HP70 i would only recomend if you have a dap or do you still have an LG phone? APTXHD is killer with these imo. They do need some burn in time. mine have opened up slightly after 25ish hours of burn in. i know you were just saying you didn't need another pair of headphones, but you said these had been on your radar so figured i'd share initial impressions if you do decide you need another pair haha.

 

[dweaver]

Interesting article about LDAC, https://www.soundguys.com/ldac-ultimate-bluetooth-guide-20026/

My phone automatically defaults to adaptive bitrate which according to the article means it will usually default to it lowest setting. It also defaults to 32 bit and 96, so I have played around with setting to 16 and 24 bit and adjusting to 48 and have also adjusted from adaptive to either highest quality of the 660 quality setting.

Bottom line is ensuring the stream is not left on adaptive as it will often switch to the lowest setting which is supposed to actually be worse than just SBC.

Sucks to have to adjust everytime I use the headphone. Funnily enough I dont mind AAC as it sounds not bad. But is not as good as highest settings for LDAC.

 

[hifi80sman]

Interesting article about LDAC, https://www.soundguys.com/ldac-ultimate-bluetooth-guide-20026/

My phone automatically defaults to adaptive bitrate which according to the article means it will usually default to it lowest setting. It also defaults to 32 bit and 96, so I have played around with setting to 16 and 24 bit and adjusting to 48 and have also adjusted from adaptive to either highest quality of the 660 quality setting.

Bottom line is ensuring the stream is not left on adaptive as it will often switch to the lowest setting which is supposed to actually be worse than just SBC.

Sucks to have to adjust everytime I use the headphone. Funnily enough I dont mind AAC as it sounds not bad. But is not as good as highest settings for LDAC.

AAC over iPhone sounds better, so when I need to be able to take calls, I hook them up to my iPhone. It's a little warmer signature vs. LDAC & aptX HD via the same source, but it's still very good and musically enjoyable. I don't have service any longer on my Android devices (G6 Quad DAC, Galaxy s8), but I primarily stream from those due to LDAC/aptX/aptX HD (LG) functionality. This is what makes multipoint so nice, but unfortunately, the H910N doesn't have it.

 

[hifi80sman]

I didn't know that about LDAC. So many issues i've had with LDAC devs h910N aside make sense now. or at least i might have mor of an explanation as to why certain things were happening. E.G. weird echo/reverb on a pair of Clear audio headphones, the weirdness with the Shure's. The HP70 i would only recomend if you have a dap or do you still have an LG phone? APTXHD is killer with these imo. They do need some burn in time. mine have opened up slightly after 25ish hours of burn in. i know you were just saying you didn't need another pair of headphones, but you said these had been on your radar so figured i'd share initial impressions if you do decide you need another pair haha.

Well, shoot. I'm bored, at home, no gym, and thought, gee, I'll give the Shure Aonic 50 a try because @bronco1015 and Adam Levine like it. Gah! Well, at least now I can A/B. I do need a set of neutral-ish cans anyway, as I sold my HD600...

Wife hasn't said anything lately, so that's a good sign! LOL!

 

[bronco1015]

Well, shoot. I'm bored, at home, no gym, and thought, gee, I'll give the Shure Aonic 50 a try because @bronco1015 and Adam Levine like it. Gah! Well, at least now I can A/B. I do need a set of neutral-ish cans anyway, as I sold my HD600...

Wife hasn't said anything lately, so that's a good sign! LOL!

Lol awesome. I hope you like them. But if you don't, at least returns are easy..
i was listening to some pink Floyd on them earlier.
Once they arrive, i'd download the ShurePlus play app and make sure you have firmware 0.4.1. across the board, the SQ is improved imo. A refinement of the original tuning.
only took a few mins to download and install. once it's downloaded, it will send the update to the headphones, then they'll power cycle and you're good to go.

 

[dweaver]

One thing I find annoying about Head-fi these days is that only Chi-fi / discovery threads seem to get regular discussions these days. So threads like this only have small groups of people who ever find out about good midrange products like this from Sony.

There was a day when a really good headphone like this would have gained solid traction on head-fi but now the typical member here just doesn't care anymore.