Design and features:The headphones work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on. You can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. They have medium high sensitivity when powered with or without the noise cancelation feature turned on and when unpowered so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and lower-powered portable audio devices. They can also be connected to a computer via a USB cable to play audio files stored on the computer. The AONIC 50 has built-in microphones and integrated volume and music player function Bluetooth and USB computer controls, call connect/disconnect Bluetooth controls, and an ambient sound monitoring control. Additional features include two noise reduction levels and 10 ambient sound monitoring levels, support for unspecified digital voice assistants when used with Bluetooth devices that have those features, and earcups that swivel to flat for ease of carrying and storage. This model comes with a detachable 59-inch long standard audio cable, a USB charging cable, and a carrying case. The free ShurePlus Play app download for Apple or Android mobile devices can be used to change the sound of the headphones, switch between noise canceling levels and adjust ambient sound monitoring levels, act as a music player, and update the earphone's firmware.
Sound quality: In Bluetooth noise cancelling mode we found the AONIC 50 delivers Excellent active noise reduction and Excellent overall sound quality - while no headphone is perfect, the shortcomings of this model are minor. With the ShurePlus Play app set with EQ off (the as received state of the headphone) the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes fairly deep, but the resonance of the bass notes sounds a bit choked off. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is a bit thin and etched (a bit more sharply outlined then it should be) and the upper midrange is a touch grainy. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended, but somewhat prominent and sizzly (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer have a sound reminiscent of bacon frying). The sound also has a good sense of liveliness and is open--sound-wise it seems like you don't have anything plugging up your ears. This model and does a decent job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded) from the mid-midrange up, but is lacking below that. The overall sound can be summarized as crisp and a bit lean. The tone settings of the app do have a noticeable effect on the sound of these earphones, but only when program material is played using the player built into the app. When cord connected may produce an occasional slight clicking noise; when cord connected to AC powered devices may produce a noticeable humming and/or hissing noise. This model provides Excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range; while low frequencies reduced the most, very low frequencies are not reduced as much as other low frequencies. Orientation changes the noise reduction characteristic - more low frequency noise is reduced when noise is coming directly from the front, sides, or back then when it is coming from diagonal directions. When the noise cancelling feature is engaged a very faint hiss can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears. As typical of over-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. Users with larger ears might find that the over-the-ear fit of the ear pads feel a bit cramped, or that the ear pads sit on, rather than around their ears; in that case the less-than-ideal fit around the ears might interfere with the earpad seal and reduce the noise reduction capabilities of the headphone. Users with larger heads might find that the headband does not have enough adjustment range to allow the earcups rest properly over the ears and/or that the headband presses uncomfortably on the top of the head. Users with smaller heads may find they can't get a good earpad seal and that the bass becomes a bit subdued. Some users may find that when they lean far forward the headphones feel unstable and shift forward, but not to the point of falling off. When wearing this model while walking the muffled vibrations from each foot step can be heard through the headphones. When the audio cord is used the sound of it rubbing on clothing may be faintly heard through the earphones.
