Shure’s Aonic 50 Headphones Boast Spatial Audio and Extended Battery Life
Shure has made significant improvements to the internal features of its Aonic 50 headphones in the second-generation model, while keeping the design largely unchanged. The company unveiled the upgraded version today, which is a high-end wireless headphone priced at $349. The new model boasts enhanced performance in various aspects, including spatial audio, improved active noise cancellation (ANC), and double the battery life compared to its predecessor.
As for sound quality, Shure says the new Aonic 50 features spatial sound technology that utilizes an “acoustic modeling and critical listening” algorithm that provides immersion without compromising the original sound. There are three modes here – Music, Cinema and Podcast – which the company explains are tailored to each use case. Music mode provides a listening experience with “high-end speakers”, while Cinema mode adds low-end tone that gives the impression of being in a theater, maintains clarity and provides “natural-sounding” dialogue. Podcast mode places the host’s voice closer to the user’s ears. All of this is equipped with 50mm dynamic drivers and Snapdragon Sound with aptX Adaptive, which allows streaming music with AAC, SBC and LDAC codecs.
Instead of keeping the ANC settings from the previous version, which the technology describes simply as “adjustable,” Shure opted for a new hybrid active noise cancellation system. Like hybrid ANC in other headphones, the company uses microphones inside and outside the ear cup to monitor ambient noise. Shure also lets you control the amount of noise cancellation and ambient sound in four modes: Light, Moderate, Max, and MaxAware. The last of these is a new option that the company describes as “the perfect balance between blocking unwanted noise and maintaining environmental awareness.” There’s also an Enhanced Environment mode that lets you adjust these levels with a slider instead of relying on presets.
Shure has more than doubled the battery life of the second generation Aonic 50. It now offers up to 45 hours of listening time on a single charge instead of the previous version’s 20 hours. The new model also has a quick charge feature that gives you five hours of use in 15 minutes. The company also touts “superior” call quality thanks to a beamforming microphone with automatic gain control. Shure says the six built-in microphones automatically adjust to cancel out ambient noise, which it claims provides “unparalleled” clarity. Companies make lofty promises about speech performance all the time, and since mileage varies widely with them, we’ll have to reserve judgment on this one until we can conduct our own testing.
The Aonic 50 (2nd generation) will be available in September.
