Premium ANC Headphones Deliver in Nearly Every Area

The Aonic 50 Gen 2 design hasn’t deviated much from the original, but it has received upgrades to the battery life, better hybrid ANC, Snapdragon Sound, and several spatial audio modes.

Shure is a name synonymous with audio quality, and its original Aonic 50 headphones were well-received and frequently talked about as a true competitor to Sony’s WH-1000XM4. That’s a lofty comparison, given how the XM4s effectively swept everything aside. Now, the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 active noise canceling headphones are here, bringing a decent range of upgrades to an already top-notch package.

But given the Aonic 50 Gen 2 price bracket, which puts these cans competing with Sony, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, and other heavy-hitters, does the price reflect the audio quality?

Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2

Shure’s Aonic 50 Gen 2 ANC headphones deliver exceptional build quality in a sleek black design. With a battery leap from 20 to 45 hours, they support a wide array of Bluetooth codecs, including Snapdragon Sound. While the headphones sound good out of the box, the ShurePlus PLAY app’s customizable EQ is a welcome addition.

Battery Life

Up to 45 hours

Microphones

6

Brand

Shure

Transducer Size

50mm

Weight

334g /11.8oz

Noise Cancellation

Yes

Foldable

No

Connectivity

Bluetooth, 3.5mm

IP rating

N/A

Supported codecs

SBC, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, Snapdragon Sound

Pros

• Stylish and comfortable design
• Great build quality
• Good sound quality, ANC works well
• Extensive customization options through companion app
• Good battery life

Cons

• Default EQ needs some tweaking
• Can feel heavy during long listening sessions

Style and Construction

Shure announced the new Aonic 50 Gen 2 headphones at IFA 2023, which immediately set audio tongues wagging. Its first generation Aonic 50s looked great, sounded excellent, and represented a great first set of Bluetooth ANC headphones for the company. But a great first-generation can make it difficult for the follow-up, second-generation; how do you improve on something so well received to begin with?

Shure appears to have started with the Aonic 50 Gen 2’s overall style, with the new generation only available in black. The result is a sleek yet workmanlike appearance devoid of color and flash, designed to show that these cans mean business. They’re extremely well-built, too, consisting of a metal frame with sturdy hinges, along with cushioned earpads and a similarly cushioned adjustable headband.

There is very little pressure on my head during usage, and even after a couple of weeks of extensive usage, the Aonic 50 Gen 2 remains comfortable. The earcups enclose most of my ears, which is perfect for wearability and passive noise cancelation, and overall, these are a comfortable set of headphones.

Shure has eschewed touch controls, which I’m a fan of, preferring physical controls that cannot be accidentally activated. Buttons are found around the right earcup, including the power and volume buttons, plus a customizable three-position slider that controls your ANC options by default. Some may find this configuration a little busy, but honestly, once the headphones are on and you’re listening to music with your ANC switched on, you won’t give the buttons a second thought.

Shure includes a hard-shell travel case with the Aonic 50 Gen 2, which is handy for when you’re traveling, and features a neat inside pocket to carry a USB-C charging cable and 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack cable.

Connectivity and Battery Life

The massively increased battery life was one of the biggest talking points when Shure announced the second generation Aonic 50. The original model featured 20 hours of playback, but the Aonic 50 Gen 2 more than doubles this, delivering up to 45 hours. It’s an accurate statement, with the Aonic 50 Gen 2 lasting a few days at my desk before requiring charging.

The Aonic 50 Gen 2 also features a handy fast charge function, with a rapid 15-minute charge delivering up to five hours of playback. It’s a great feature that most headphones now include, which makes it incredibly frustrating when it isn’t present.

Now, the Aonic 50 Gen 2 supports an enormous range of Bluetooth codecs. It’s one of the biggest codec ranges you’ll find on a set of headphones and includes support for some high-resolution streaming, as you’d expect. The Aonic 50 Gen 2 supports Sony’s LDAC, along with AAC and SBC. Then there is also support for Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Voice.

But it doesn’t stop there. The Aonic 50 Gen 2 also supports Snapdragon Sound, which requires a smartphone or other device running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Unfortunately, I don’t have one of those to hand, so I cannot test this feature myself. However, Snapdragon Sound is designed to deliver better spatial audio, lossless audio and high resolution, and generally improved audio transmission.

However, despite all of the Aonic 50 Gen 2’s codec support and the excellent audio quality once connected, at times, connecting to the headphones is a pain. It took me a solid 10-15 minutes to connect the Aonic 50 Gen 2 to my laptop, attempting the process multiple times during the period. I had a similar situation with an Android tablet, though it connected to an Android smartphone (a Tecno Phantom V Flip and a Nothing Phone 2) almost immediately.

Still, the connection quality is great and stable once you manage to pair, and the enormous range of Bluetooth codecs cannot be overlooked.

Of course, a wired connection is also an option, using the supplied 3.5mm cable.

Sound Quality and ANC

I’ve enjoyed the Aonic 50 Gen 2. The 50mm custom drivers sound good out of the box, and their default tuning will appeal to most folks. However, there are times when the top end is a little overstated and becomes harsh, while at others, the low end seems like it could use a little more oomph. At other moments, the high-end overwhelms the mid-range, and clarity of voice and instruments is lost. It forces the soundstage to become a little narrow at times, and you might find yourself reaching for the ShurePlus PLAY app, which features a really handy parametric equalizer—more on this in a moment.

The Aonic 50 Gen 2 aren’t reference headphones. They sound like they have almost a V-shaped tuning, with greater emphasis on the high-end frequencies over the low. For the most part, the music sounds good, but there are tracks I wasn’t entirely happy about. For example, Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s Helplessly Hoping didn’t have quite the same hair-tingling melodic harmonics as usual, as the mid-range was somewhat out of balance. Another track I’ve had on repeat recently, Anish Kumar’s Little Miss Dynamite, sounds a bit sharp, the high-end producing some spiky moments.

Spatial mode does make some useful changes, adding some more depth to the overall soundstage and delivering some quality in the mid-range. However, spatial mode isn’t the default mode most folks opt for when listening to music, and the changes it makes elsewhere to the low-end (that classic boomy spatial sound) probably mean you won’t use it all the time. It’s pretty fun for live music, though, that’s for sure.

ANC

ANC is another area Shure upgraded on the Aonic 50 Gen 2, bringing improvements to its Max setting, along with the introduction of a new MaxAware setting. I’m pleased with the Aonic 50 Gen 2 ANC. It blocks out a really good chunk of external volume on its Max setting, helping you concentrate on what you’re doing without interruption.

As with most ANC headphones, certain high-pitched and low-pitched sounds are more difficult to block out, but so long as the bulk of the noise is removed, I’m a happy customer. For example, the low-end rumble of a bus on the way into town is still evident, but the sense of isolation as soon as you pop the headphones on is more than a little noticeable.

The new MaxAware setting is interesting, combining ANC with a transparency mode in an effort to both block and allow the right noises to pass through. I rarely use transparency modes because I wear headphones to listen to things, not the outside world, but MaxAware at least attempts to reduce some of the regular external noises

Adjusting the Aonic 50 Gen 2 EQ

As mentioned above, the ShurePlus PLAY app has a comprehensive EQ option. It’s one of the best customizable EQs you’ll find in a companion app and, in many ways, is a game-changer for Bluetooth headphones. Certainly, other audio companies should be taking note of what Shure offers in comparison to the limited EQs found elsewhere.

The default EQ presets aren’t particularly useful, all focusing on adjusting a single frequency area—think, bass boost, treble boost, etc. But the customizable parametric EQ is where the app becomes really useful, allowing you to play around and adjust the Aonic 50 Gen 2 audio quality exactly how you want. It’s a little fiddly to get used to, and you’ll probably end up moving a band accidentally, but its extensive customization options give the Aonic 50 Gen 2 some genuine versatility when it comes to audio.

Now, you could (and probably should) argue that for the price of the headphones, you shouldn’t have to go and muck around with the EQ settings to find a reasonable audio output. I would contend that for most folks, the default audio profile of the Aonic 50 Gen 2 is fine enough, but having the extra options is very much welcome, especially given the competition in this premium headphone price point.

Are the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 Worth the Money?

The Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 costs $350, which, as said, is a very competitive price point filled with some of the best headphones on the market. For 50 bucks more, you can grab Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e or Sony’s WH-1000XM5—both multiple award-winning sets of wireless ANC headphones. Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 cans are around 60 dollars less and boast excellent ANC.

Shure got many things right with the Aonic 50 Gen 2. The build quality is exceptional, and it’s clear the Aonic 50 Gen 2 is built to last. Then you have the enormous boost to battery life, propelling its playtime from 20 to 45 hours, along with the introduction of fast charging. Although the audio quality won’t suit some discerning audiophile types, it’s a good overall listen, improved massively with the also-excellent ShurePlus PLAY app.

I really like the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2. I’ve worn them everywhere for weeks, taken them on journeys, listened to music indoors and outdoors, and everything in between. But the nagging feeling is that despite how good these headphones are, there might just be something a little better out there that costs about the same, and that’s a super tricky area to be in.

Either way, I doubt you’ll be disappointed if you pick up a pair of the Aonic 50 Gen 2.

Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2

Shure’s Aonic 50 Gen 2 ANC headphones deliver exceptional build quality in a sleek black design. With a battery leap from 20 to 45 hours, they support a wide array of Bluetooth codecs, including Snapdragon Sound. While the headphones sound good out of the box, the ShurePlus PLAY app’s customizable EQ is a welcome addition.