The Shure Aonic 40 has a lot going for it. This pair of over-ear wireless headphones has great balanced sound, is comfortable to wear for the whole day, and has excellent battery life. They also have active noise-cancelling (ANC) to let you listen in peace. You'd be hard-pressed not to like it, but the Aonic 40 will set you back for just under S$400.
Quick specs
- 40mm neodymium magnet drivers
- 313g
- Up to 25 hours of battery life
- Supports aptX, aptX HD, SBC, and AAC Bluetooth codecs
Sound-wise, the headphones don't disappoint. The mids and highs are very clear. There's very clear separation that makes your music sound crisp. I loved how much detail I could hear from the 40mm drivers. Bass is good, but slightly lighter than I expected. It doesn't sound too heavy and thumpy even on bass-heavy tracks such as Jessi's What Type of X. I do prefer this setting of bass, so your mileage may vary. Thankfully, you can adjust the EQ via the ShurePlus PLAY app to your liking.
Because it's over-ear, the soundstage is wide. There's no spatial audio though, unlike say, the Creative SXFI Gamer. The ANC feels a bit weak, I could still hear background noise such as road traffic. However, it does fine cancelling fan noise in my room. The ANC pressure can feel a little thick with no audio playing, but it's not so obvious when you are playing music or videos. You can also use a 3.5mm cable or USB-C for wired audio.
Battery life is rated at 25 hours with ANC on, and 15 minutes of charge should provide five hours of use. After two days of use while working, the Aonic 40 still had 65% charge left. It will easily last a full day with no issues. The button controls are pretty simple, the power button also controls pairing and reports on the battery life with a double press. There's a button to quickly turn on Environment Mode, so you can monitor your surroundings. It's pretty easy to use. I also liked that I could connect to two devices at once, and the headphones would automatically switch to my phone if I had a call.
At S$399 officially, the Shure Aonic 40 may feel a little pricey, but its feature set easily makes up for it. It's also comfortable to wear for long periods of time. ANC could be stronger, though. Get it from Shopee or Lazada.
Note: Review unit provided by Shure.
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