Comfort
The headphones are conveniently adjustable to fit any head shape. At the ends of each bracket there is a swivel joint with a stop on each side, which allows the bracket to be laid down neatly. However, here I miss the function that the headphones automatically switch to a standby mode. This function regulates the Aonic 50 differently, because after 10 minutes it switches off at least independently, should it no longer receive an acoustic signal.
The pads on the left and right are made of memory foam and covered with high-quality imitation leather. Memory foam increases comfort many times over, as such a pad adapts ideally to the geometry of the head and does not cause uncomfortable pressure. The foam has a sufficient thickness and thus provides a suitable depth, so that also larger ears find good place in it. However, the pads cannot be removed and thus make cleaning somewhat difficult. Even if the leatherette is worn out, you can’t replace the pads yourself and the complete unit has to be sent back to Shure for replacement. Considering the price, this is actually incomprehensible.
The headband is finished with the same materials: memory foam enclosed in faux leather. After hours of wearing them, I still felt comfortable.The weight of 334 grams has been noticed after a few hours, but this was not unpleasant for me at any time. That’s where the comfort of memory foam comes into its own, even during sports. Of course, you can also just sit there relaxed and chilled with the headset. It can do that.
Functionality and connections
On the right rear of the Aonic 50 we find the various buttons and connectors. There you will find the switch for noise cancelling or the environment mode, the on/off button, the button for Bluetooth, the volume/call button and the USB type C port.
On the left side there is still the 3.5mm jack connector. On the front side on both sides one has placed the integrated microphones. Let’s move on to the most interesting features, these should be the noise cancelling as well as the environment mode. By the way, we have 3 modes, the first of which is of course the switched off switched off DSP and there is no technical support active. The noise cancelling feature suppresses ambient noise to a minimum and as such works relatively well. When noise cancelling is turned on, however, you can hear a slight buzzing sound that disappears when listening to music or making phone calls.
The Environment Mode amplifies the ambient sounds, which is rare to find. However, this function is very practical in everyday life, because you can listen to your music loudly while travelling or playing sports or at work, but you can still actively hear your surroundings. This means we don’t have to take off our headphones just to have a conversation, as we usually do. Holding the on/off button for 2 seconds each for power on and power off is intuitive and a double press also tells us our battery level through a female voice.
Bluetooth pairing is done by holding down the Bluetooth button for 6 seconds and again a female voice confirms successful pairing. Visually, blue flashing on the button itself again indicates that we are now connected. The range is the usual 10 meters and the electronics support a wide variety of codecs including Qualcomm® aptX™, aptX™ HD, aptX™ Low Latency Audio, Sony LDAC, AAC and SBC.
The volume control is +/- like most headphones, and in the middle is the usual button to answer or hang up calls, pause playback, or go to the next or previous audio track by double or triple pressing the button. The USB Type C port is used to charge the Aonic 50 or connect it to digital audio sources, so it can also be used wired. The battery life is a whopping 20 hours and should thus be enough for longer trips. With the 3.5mm jack connection, we can also use the Aonic 50 on purely analog devices.
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