Shure is back again with the AONIC 40, an over the ear, Wireless Noise Canceling Headphone. It is the younger sibling of the AONIC 50 that we reviewed a short time ago.
We have the White/Tan AONIC 40s here for review, let’s jump in.
Design
The Shure AONIC 40 is extremely beautiful to look at. From the unboxing, to the case down to the headphones. The colors are gorgeous. While white is not my personal preference, I can still admire and appreciate the design aesthetic.
The AONIC 40 have a slightly more portable design when compared to the 50s. In that the provided case is significantly smaller and the headphones fold in slightly. We found that the travel footprint is roughly 40% smaller.
These are all great but there were some compromises that Shure had to make, which are actually quite standard for other brands as well.
The cups have a swivel and fold hinge that fold the cups inwards. So that it can take up the empty space.
The headphone cup sizes are decent. Not as big as the 50s, but big enough for them to fit quite comfortably.
One element I wished they had brought in from the 50s was the side of the head rest cushion, In the 40s they are much smaller and not as plush. They are still extremely comfortable and only are an issue when you have used the 50s. For mostly anyone else, this wouldn’t even be a factor.
The rest of the design is beautiful, from the colour choice, to the R and L in the ear cups, to the general design, curves etc. Belisimo.
There are a couple of issues with the build, but that is for the next section.
Features & Build
Let’s start with Build, sadly one of the first things I noticed was the squeaking of the swivel mechanism. The two parts rub against each other and make an awful noise. The unit we got was brand new and it already had some scuff marks on the inside, right out of the box.
This is not a design flaw, but more an issue with the materials and coating. Still it’s not a deal breaker, because you get a beautiful design and relatively portable.
The rest of the build feels solid, even the headrest has good elasticity yet feels sturdy. THe headphones overall fit comfortably for hours on end.
In terms of features, you get everything you would expect here. The headphones have 5 buttons, and none of that gesture nonsense.
Three buttons come in a set, to feature as volume up, down, and the play/pause button. These along with a fourth button are on the right ear cup. This 4th button is for cycling between noise canceling and pass through modes.
The last button, power on and pairing, is on the left ear cup.
I do miss the slider from the AONIC 50, but the toggle button does a fine job of it. It might even be more intuitive, but toggling is just not as nice as choosing the direct state you want the headphones to be in.
You can customise the functionality of all the buttons via the ShurePlus Play mobile app. Get it on your iOS or Android device and go to town customising these headphones. From what the buttons do, to the sound profile etc. The app also includes the isolation and awareness levels/sensitivity along with the other features you would expect like updating the firmware. This is Shure’s universal app for all their headphones.
On the right headphone cup is also the 2.5mm headphone jack port. They give a 2.5 to 3.5 wire in the box. You also have the USB-C port for charging.
When it comes to ANC, I felt like the headphones didn’t do a very good job. Maybe it’s something to do with the design of the headphones, with the earcups being smaller. The outside sound is clear, just distant. Not very isolating, just a bit disorienting.
Sound
The Shure Aoinic 40s are actually a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to sound.
The 40s have a very wide soundstage. You are able to hear each individual instrument. This was a big complaint of mine from my previous review.
The overall sound is also very well balanced, this time it seems to be a bit heavier on the bass, but that’s acceptable to me since I can modify that with the App.
Another thing they have fixed from the AIONIC 50s, is that the equaliser really does modify the sound well this time around. You can truly feel the difference between the different presets, and the manual preset really does what you want it to. Overall great points.
Here is where the good stop, sadly the sound quality overall isn’t all that great. The sound is not clear and feels like it’s being over compressed. For those in the Lo-Fi community this might be great, but for us Hi-Fi people, it is not the best sound.
This issue gets even more obvious when watching movies or listening to anything that has an emphasis on voice or vocals. The sound isn’t actually great.
There is also major variation between ANC being on and off. I personally prefer the sound when ANC is off.
The good thing is, the device we got had almost no hiss when ANC was on, something we noticed with the AOINIC 50. Glad that is not the case here. However overall the ANC on the 40 is not as good or as noice canceling.
I feel like this is something that should be fixed with a firmware update, but this is not something I can guarantee. Though since I got the headphones, there were 2 updates. It still feels like the sound is distorted. Which is so strange, because my expectations are very high. Their sound quality is usually stellar.
While testing the headphones the latest firmware version was 1.0.7.0
Battery and Connectivity
Shure says the AONIC 40 should last you 25 hours. This time I was prepared. The headphones did not disappoint. Shure really does know how to build a headphone that lasts for days.
While not 25 hours, I did get more than 20 hours without any issues. All this while constantly connecting and disconnecting from various devices. Phones, Computers, TVs etc.
Overall the battery life is brilliant.
The AONIC 40s come with Bluetooth 5.0, and thanks to that the headphones work really well with everything. You can even connect to multiple devices at once, and it works quite seamlessly.
You can pair it with a myriad of devices and it will try to do it’s best to connect to the right device. It doesn’t get it right all the time, but that’s a non-issue.
I feel like the connectivity was better this time around compared to the AONIC 40s.
Price
The Shure AONIC 40 is priced at AED 999. Given that the headphones I got had the sound issue, I’m not sure the price is justified. It’s a lot to pay for good looking but average sound-quality headphones. Again I don’t think the headphones sound bad overall, it’s an issue with clarity.
Verdict
The Shure AONIC 40 is beautiful, with some improvements from the older AONIC 50s. But due to two major issues, it is hard for me to recommend. While the ANC can be overlooked for someone who doesn’t work in noisy environments (turn up the volume), the sound quality can’t be overlooked. Especially at this price point.
If however you test this and like the sound, then this is a great pair of headphones to get for all the other aspects. Design, build and app features.
I want to give Shure the benefit of doubt, because their headphones have been stellar so far. Do listen to them before you buy.
