Shure Aonic 50

With its first pair of wireless, noisecancelling headphones, Shure is aiming to take on the class-leaders

Audio specialist Shure is embarking on an ambitious journey to break into two new markets at once. The Aonic 50s offer both Bluetooth wireless connectivity and have noise-cancelling built-in, the first time either technology has featured in a pair of Shure over-ear headphones. There’s no doubting the brand’s pedigree in traditional wired designs, but there is the risk of stepping into the unknown.

The Shure Aonic 50s feel well put together. The plastic used on the earcups is robust and doesn’t give the impression it will scratch easily. The smooth metal arms that attach to each earcup feel especially solid. They twist just above the earcups, which allows them to fold flat, but there’s also enough freedom to twist in the other direction to angle the earpads over your ears properly.

The Aonic 50s are pretty comfortable. The grip pressure is nicely judged – the headphones don’t squeeze the size of your head too tightly, nor do they feel too loose. The headband sits on top without digging into your skull.

Weighing in at 334g, the Shures are heavier than the Sony WH-1000XM3S (255g) and the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wirelesses (303g), but they don’t feel too uncomfortable over long listening sessions, apart from a slight rise in the temperature around your ears.

Crossing wires

Charging is done via the USB-C socket at the bottom of the right earcup, though the supplied cable is long enough to plug the headphones directly into a USB Type-a socket on your laptop. They can be used as a wired pair of headphones using the DAC inside. You can also stick with the traditional headphone cable and 3.5mm jack, also included in the box.

There is a standard assortment of controls around the edge of the right earcup, for playback, volume and power/ pairing. There’s also a slider for switching between noise-cancelling, a neutral mode for when ANC isn’t required, and what Shure calls its ‘Environment Mode’, which allows more outside noise in.

A small LED signals pairing and battery life, while a quick double-press of the power button will summon a voice to tell you how much battery life is left. The Aonic 50s support Bluetooth 5.0, while Shure has also included full aptx and aptx HD support – the latter meaning these headphones will support wireless hi-res audio up to 32-bit/48khz.

Shure claims a battery life of around 20 hours with noise-cancelling and Bluetooth both enabled. This isn’t quite as high as some of the class-leaders, but should be enough for most trips.

The Shure’s noise-cancelling has two different levels to choose from: ‘normal’ and ‘max’, while you can also adjust the intensity of the Environment mode. This is all done through Shure’s Shureplus Play app for Android and IOS devices. You can use the app as a media player, which allows you to search for music stored locally in a folder on your device. It can even work with Apple Music to access playlists and tracks on your phone.

The app has five EQ presets to choose from and you can also create your own. The adjustments are pretty in-depth, with frequency, gain and bandwidth all at your fingertips, but they only work with music played through the app.

The Shures get off to a strong start, thanks to their clean and transparent presentation. They are nicely balanced with crisp highs and pinpoint, precise lows either side of a solid midrange. Switch noise-cancelling to ‘normal’ and the effect is subtle. Frequencies are cancelled out and there isn't the vacuum effect from the noise-cancelling tech.

We play Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy in hi-res (24-bit/44.1khz) through Amazon Music HD and the Aonic 50s deliver a lesson in bass precision. The headphones trim off any excess fat, leaving you with tight bass thwacks and precise, snappy clicks. However, shift to ‘max’ noise-cancelling setting and things take a turn for the worse. The difference between this and the normal setting is stark. The noise cancelling increases in strength, but you can hear a hiss as it does its thing.

It also shifts the sonic balance of the headphones and the whole soundscape sounds more claustrophobic. There’s an extra layer of weight and solidity, but you sacrifice much of the clarity.

The Aonic 50s are a solid first attempt at a pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones, but elements of design and sonic execution need tweaking before we could consider full marks.