The first positive impression generated by the Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 headphones results from the elegant design, meticulously crafted with premium materials. The second lasting impression comes from the sound quality of the custom-engineered 50mm dynamic drivers, now taken to a new level with the additional built-in processing and the addition of aptX Adaptive Bluetooth streamin.
The AONIC 50 Gen 2 headphones have been designed by leveraging Shure’s experience in the studio, meeting the requirements of professionals with long hours of use in mind, while at the same time adjusting the design to meet the modern lifestyle needs of consumers and enthusiasts, who carry these headphones always with them. With customizable EQ features and the new hybrid active noise cancellation technology, users can tailor their unique preferences using the free ShurePlus Play App for a personalized audio experience.
Completely for these headphones is Shure’s new spatialized audio technology, powered by a proprietary algorithm, designed using a combination of acoustical modeling and critical listening to delicately enhance the spaciousness without compromising the original audio. This feature provides three distinct modes — Music, Cinema, and Podcast. In Music Mode users get the experience of listening to high-end speakers in a well controlled room. It is is the most subtle mode, maintaining the original source material. Cinema Mode, emulates the low frequency excitement that users experience in a theater that employs subwoofers for an immersive, larger-than-life sound through clarity, presence, and natural sounding dialogue. And finally in Podcast Mode, the voice is enhanced for intelligibility.
"The AONIC 50 Gen 2 is designed to deliver an exceptional listening experience that is built on the heritage of the previous generation. We incorporated the latest innovations, including spatialized audio options and Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound technology, taking the audio to the next level," says Sean Sullivan, Associate Director of Global Product Management, at Shure. "For passionate audiophiles and music lovers, the magic lies even in the tiniest details. The AONIC 50 Gen 2 provides a pure, high-resolution listening experience paired with our latest digital signal processing (DSP) options, so listeners can customize to their preferences and immerse themselves in their own private concert."
This second-generation headphone ushers in new hybrid active noise cancellation technology, improving on the performance of the earlier generation and more effectively eliminating external distractions, enabling a truly immersive and natural listening experience. By using microphones inside and outside the earcups, the AONIC 50 Gen 2 offers users the ability to fine-tune their auditory environment, effortlessly controlling the level of ambient noise, featuring four selectable modes — Light, Moderate, Max, and MaxAware. The MaxAware setting strikes a balance between blocking unwanted noise and maintaining awareness of the surroundings, making it ideal for on-the-go conversations.
But Shure also leveraged the power of the Snapdragon Sound processing to create an Enhanced Environment Mode, that immerses the user in the outside world with a simple switch, create a higher level of transparency, directly to augmentation mode. The adjustable slider on the ShurePlus PLAY app lets users refine the ambience settings to their liking.
The customizable EQ options through the app, allow users to choose from a variety of presets or create their own personalized sound profile. Those can be saved directly to the headphones' settings enabling a seamless and personalized audio experience across different apps and devices.
And for communications, users will also experience superior call quality with beamforming microphone technology and proprietary automatic gain control (AGC) settings. Leveraging six microphones, the precision-engineered system adjusts automatically to minimize surrounding noises, providing unmatched clarity for video calls and phone conversations.
Snapdragon Sound Technology
By optimizing a suite of technologies by Qualcomm Technologies across connected devices, the Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 headphones offers an extra level of performance. Bluetooth 5 implementation is Class 1, enabling a range of up to 100 meters, and the Snapdragon Sound platform comes with Qualcomm aptX Adaptive technology for high-res music streaming, aside from AAC,and LDAC codecs.
"Qualcomm Technologies is excited to work with Shure, a premier brand known and loved by audiophiles, on their new AOINIC 50 Gen 2 headphones," says Mike Canevaro, Director, Marketing, Snapdragon Sound, Qualcomm Technologies. "By incorporating Snapdragon Sound into these headphones, Shure is ensuring their customers hear every detail of their music exactly as the artist intended, with robust and reliable connectivity."
The Shure AONIC 50 Gen 2 headphones deliver up to 45 hours of battery life with quick charging capabilities, more than doubling runtime from the earlier generation. The quick charge feature provides up to five hours of use with only 15 minutes of charge.
The headphones will be available in Black in September 2023 at Shure.com and select retailers starting at $349 USD. Purchase includes a two-year warranty, protective zippered carrying case, 3.5mm audio cable, and a USB-C charging/audio cable.
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