Mid-range headphones are usually an train in compromise. In order to scale back costs, corporations normally omit a couple of premium options or go for cheaper supplies. Sometimes there are sacrifices to sound high quality or energetic noise cancellation (ANC) efficiency. Enter Shure’s Aonic 40: a extra inexpensive wi-fi mannequin within the firm’s noise-canceling lineup and an alternative choice to the pricier Aonic 50.

At $249, the Aonic 40 is on the prime finish of what I’d take into account mid-range. Thankfully, Shure didn’t minimize too many corners relating to the function set. There’s a level of customization and loads of instruments to price with. However, the Aonic 40 fails to make an impression in key areas, and desires a bit extra polish if it’s going to face out from the group.

Pros

• Better than anticipated battery life
• Full EQ customization
• Adjustable ANC
• Well-designed app
• Solid name high quality

Cons

• Inconsistent audio efficiency
• Tight match for folks with huge heads
• No computerized pausing

Hardware

Like the Aonic 50 that got here earlier than it, the Aonic 40 is usually black, aside from some silver accents the place the headscarf connects to the earcups. There’s additionally a white model that retains the silver parts however provides tan padding to the earcups and the underside of the headscarf. Like many different wi-fi headphones, the folding design of the Aonic 40 permits them to be a compact journey companion. The earcups rotate and fold in in the direction of the headscarf, so though the case will take up some house in your bag, it’s a minimum of comparatively flat.

The Aonic 40 seems to be a wholly plastic design, however that’s not really the case. The silver areas are product of aluminum alloy, however they’ve a flat end that makes them look much less like metallic. Shure says the black areas are glass-filled nylon, regardless of the looks of plastic. Other headphone corporations have pulled this trick, together with Bose with its in style QuietComfort line. Shure explains that this materials makes the Aonic 40 extra sturdy, nevertheless it actually doesn’t add a premium aesthetic. What’s extra, after a pair weeks of what I’d take into account gentle use (barely shifting them away from my desk), I’m already seeing gentle scratches.

Shure did make one design change from the Aonic 50 that enables us to inform the older mannequin other than its newer sibling. Where the 50 had a visual rotating arm with an elbow, the portion of the 40 that spins is hidden up close to the headscarf. The arms themselves on the Aonic 40 are additionally curved, twisted to attach the headscarf to the earcups by working alongside the sting of the earcup.

In phrases of consolation, these headphones are simply common. I’ve an enormous head and the match is tight. Not oppressively so, however after a number of minutes I can really feel the rings of the earcups urgent into my head. It doesn’t turn into overbearing, nevertheless it’s not precisely pleasurable both. Headphones must type a good seal for efficient ANC efficiency. They additionally should be comfy once you put on them for lengthy durations of time.

Like the Aonic 50, Shure went with bodily buttons for the on-board controls quite than touch-friendly panels. As such, the Aonic 40 presents a full suite of performance proper on the headphones themselves. The lone button on the left facet is for energy and Bluetooth pairing. Unlike quite a lot of the competitors, Shure provides you the choice to get a battery stage test with out glancing at its app by double tapping the facility button. On the appropriate, there’s a standard multi-button array with quantity controls flanking a centered multi-use key.

The center button handles play/pause (single press), skipping tracks ahead (double press), returning to the earlier music (triple press) and summoning a digital assistant (press and maintain). A separate, fourth button on the appropriate earcup toggles between ANC and Environment Mode (ambient sound). Each time you press it, the headphones return to your earlier setting for each of these choices, which is chosen in Shure’s app. You may bypass them each with an extended press on the noise management button.

Software

The Shure Play app is among the higher items of headphone companion software program I’ve used. There’s rather a lot accessible right here, and it’s all simple to seek out. Right up prime you get a battery proportion and entry to noise management (ANC, Environment Mode and None), together with noise canceling presets and a slider for ambient sound stage. While you’ll be able to’t dial within the ANC exactly, Shure does supply Light, Normal and Max settings. It’s adjustable, albeit not absolutely customizable. Directly beneath is a information for button controls, choices to tweak prompts/tones, the flexibility to configure USB connectivity for listening or “conferencing,” battery saver settings and an elective busy gentle once you’re on a name. That final function flashes a pink gentle so anybody you’ve notified about it beforehand is aware of to not disturb you.

The software program additionally homes a extra strong equalizer than most headphone apps. Per common, there’s a smattering of presets, however Shure goes past the everyday three to 5 with seven choices (Bass Boost, Bass Cut, Treble Boost, Treble Cut, De-ess and Loudness). The firm provides you the flexibility to make your individual presets as nicely, saving them within the record after you construct them with the handbook EQ instruments. You can begin from scratch or from one among Shure’s presets, adjusting frequency, acquire and bandwidth along with shifting and plotting factors on a sonic curve. For my functions, Loudness was one of the best total setting because it elevated readability for listening at decrease volumes. It additionally made the inventory tuning sound higher always.

Sound high quality

With that preset enabled, the Aonic 40 is able to blasting punchy bass that drones or thumps when a music calls for it. There’s additionally extra element with this preset, because the readability will increase irrespective of the quantity stage. Overall, the soundstage isn’t as extensive open and songs don’t have the immersive depth that pricer units supply – particularly on heavier music types. The chaotic metallic of Underoath’s Voyeurist and Gojira’s Fortitude are subdued and sound barely flat until you’re at full quantity. On the opposite hand, with the fragile acoustic strums on Punch Brothers’ bluegrass masterpiece Hell on Church Street, these headphones actually shine. Layered devices correctly convey the airyness of being within the room the place 5 aficionados are completely shredding. Similarly, the Aonic 40 highlights the finer particulars of Navy Blue’s J Dilla-esque hip-hop album Songs of Sage: Post Panic! with out sounding overly compressed..

When it involves noise cancellation, the Aonic 40 does an honest job of blocking out background noise. It’s not on the extent of Bose or Sony, however for $250 headphones it will get the job executed. The three settings supply choices for various eventualities, however I largely saved it locked on Max. As for Environment Mode, the ambient sound operate permits outdoors noise simply positive. It’s serviceable, nevertheless it’s nowhere close to as pure sounding because the AirPods Max. Honestly, no different firm comes near what Apple presents in that regard.

Battery life

Shure guarantees as much as 25 hours of battery life with ANC turned on. I used to be pleasantly stunned when the headphones hit the 30-hour mark and the app was nonetheless displaying 19 % within the tank. This battery check was executed over the course of some days, so the headphones had been powered off a number of occasions whereas I used to be making an attempt to empty them utterly. Around 30 hours is about one of the best you’ll be able to count on from noise-canceling headphones, together with Sony’s best-in-class WH-1000XM4. What the Aonic 40 doesn’t have that a lot of the competitors does is computerized pausing. As I discussed, you’ll be able to set the headphones to robotically energy off at sure intervals in the event that they’re sitting idle, however in case you take them off and step away in a rush, the music continues. However, if you end up in a pinch because of this, a 15-minute quick-charge function gives you 5 hours of use.

Call high quality is one other space the place the Aonic 40 holds its personal – as long as you’re in a quiet place. The headphones received’t make it sound such as you’re on speakerphone like quite a lot of earbuds or headphones are likely to do. To me, it’s fairly near what you get once you maintain the telephone as much as your face. If you enter a loud plac,e although, issues change rapidly. The Aonic 40 picks up environmental rumbles too nicely, just like the roar of a white noise machine. On the flip facet, the ambient sound mode lets you hear your individual voice whilst you’re on a name, maintaining you from changing into too shouty as a result of you’ll be able to’t monitor your quantity.

The competitors

At $249, I take into account the Aonic 40 to be on the prime finish of mid-range headphones. They’re not tremendous inexpensive, however they’re additionally not as expensive as Shure’s personal flagship mannequin or extra premium choices from the likes of Apple, Bose, Master & Dynamic or Sony. The Razer Opus is a extra apt competitor, debuting at $200 within the spring of 2020. Great THX-certified audio, strong ANC efficiency and a snug match left an impression throughout my overview. Plus, Razer is presently promoting them for $140, which makes them much more compelling.

If you’ll be able to reside with out energetic noise cancellation, I actually like Audio-Technica’s M50x collection. The most up-to-date mannequin, the ATH-M50xBT2, arrived with updates like multi-point Bluetooth pairing, Alexa inbuilt and wider audio codec assist – all whereas maintaining the trademark design. And at $199, these may also prevent some cash over the Aonic 40.

That being mentioned, the WH-1000XM4 stays the gold commonplace for noise-canceling headphones. Sony’s mixture of audio high quality, ANC efficiency and nifty options like Speak-to-Chat stays one of the best you will get, though the likes of Bose and others are catching up. Still, they’re $100 greater than the Aonic 40 at full worth, however we’ve seen them on sale for $248. If you’ll be able to catch them on the similar worth as Shure’s newest mannequin, decide to the 1000XM4.

Wrap-up

Shure’s Aonic 40 is a extra inexpensive possibility within the firm’s noise-canceling lineup, providing a bunch of options and doing a few of them nicely. Impressive battery life, serviceable ANC and a level of customization are offset by inconsistent audio efficiency and an total lack of polish relating to finer particulars like match and comfort. For these causes, the Aonic 40 tends to mix into the group quite than stand aside.