Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 review: A pro-quality in-ear headphone

Some on-the-go music listeners need earbuds that simply work out of the field, the type you pair and neglect about till the batteries want charging. Others are pissed off by restricted choices or the concept the buds change into ineffective the moment the batteries die for good.

The superb Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 wi-fi earphones have a modular design that splits the audio system that sit in your ear from the unit housing the batteries and wi-fi circuitry, making it potential to swap earbuds or use them with a cable plugged into the supply. The Shure Play app additionally permits for exact EQ changes, permitting listeners to create and save their very own most well-liked settings.

It’s the everlasting tradeoff with audio merchandise. The extra choices the producer supplies, the extra difficult it turns into to grasp the product’s capabilities. Ease of use, in the meantime, normally means a listener is caught with choices made by the design engineers.

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The Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 are only one possibility in a household of earphones that may be combined and matched based mostly in your wants and preferences. They’re the entry-level possibility within the collection, however they’re an excellent alternative for many listeners.

This overview is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of one of the best headphones.

How the Shure system works.

The Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 touts its “Sound Isolating” design, claiming to dam as much as 37dB of noise with out utilizing energetic noise cancellation. The earphones have a decent match with the included silicone or foam suggestions, with the end result being glorious noise discount with no audio processing.

Even the perfect ANC alters the sound of the music, so any in-ear headphone that may scale back noise with out resorting to ANC can sound a complete lot higher. Shure has included an Setting Mode that lets outdoors noise in when it is advisable hear what’s occurring round you.

The naming conference right here is complicated. The Shure Aonic 215 is the title of the wired model of the earphone and the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 is the model that comes with the wi-fi unit however not the cable.

If you wish to use the Shure Aonic 215 as a wired earphone, you should purchase the non-compulsory RMCE-UNI distant mic common cable for $31. If you wish to begin with the wired Shure Aonic 215 ($89), you may later improve to wi-fi with the True Wi-fi Safe Match Adapter Gen 2 ($189).

There are 5 earphones within the Shure Aonic line. The 215 is the introductory mannequin at $229, however there’s additionally the Aonic 3 Gen 2 ($349), Aonic 4 Gen 2 ($449), Aonic 5 Gen 2 ($649), and the SE846 Gen 2 ($999). Each earphone within the line makes use of the identical True Wi-fi Safe Match Adapter Gen 2, so you may combine and match the in-ear displays or improve them later with no need to re-purchase the wi-fi component of the system.

What comes with the Aonic 215 Gen 2?

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You get a RMCE-TW2 Wi-fi Adapter Set, the 215 sound-isolating earphones, a micro-USB to USB-C charging cable, three pairs of silicone ear suggestions (S, M, L), and three pairs of froth ear suggestions (S, M, L). There’s additionally a charging case.

The Shure Aonic case is monumental—it’s greater than an inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. It received’t slot in your denims pocket and even in most of my jacket facet pockets. On the upside, the case is strong, with a inflexible plastic body inside its clean exterior. There’s a battery stage meter on the underside and a cloth loop that may connect to a carabiner.

For the reason that case is so massive, there’s a temptation to depart it behind if you’re going out. I did depart it behind after I was working errands and, over the course of the 2 hours I used to be gone, the earphones misplaced their reference to my telephone. As soon as I bought again to the case and put them inside, the issue corrected itself.

This is a matter with Bluetooth expertise, not a Shure downside. Each wi-fi Bluetooth earbud I’ve ever used has gotten confused and wanted a go to to the case for reconnection at one time or one other. The case could also be a ache to hold with you, however you’ll have to have it alongside simply to ensure.

The Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 bought about 6.5 hours of battery life off a cost, and Shure guarantees three extra full prices can be found from the case’s built-in battery. They’ve a weatherization ranking of IPX4 ranking, so they need to be sweatproof for any journeys to the health club, however shouldn’t be used round a pool or wherever else they may get submerged in water. You’ll study every thing it is advisable find out about IP codes on the previous hyperlink.

Controls on the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2

The Aonic 215 Gen 2 supply two settings: Sound Isolating and Setting Mode, which permits outdoors sounds to move by way of the noise discount. Setting mode may be adjusted with a slider within the Shure Play app, with ranges that modify from virtually no passthrough to virtually zero isolation. I discovered the midpoint setting to have the suitable stability.

James Barber/Foundry

There’s additionally a Pause Plus setting that engages Setting Mode everytime you press pause whereas listening in isolation mode. That is an A+ function that I haven’t encountered earlier than. If you happen to’re rocking out listening to music, it’s probably that you simply’re pausing as a result of it is advisable focus your consideration on one thing round you. If you happen to don’t need this function, you may depart the setting off.

The app additionally has a Busy Gentle setting that prompts a crimson mild on every of the earpiece adapters everytime you’re on a telephone name. I can’t depend the variety of occasions that I’ve interrupted my companion on a name or vice versa since we’ve been working from residence. It’s a minor however significantly irritating downside, and Shure provides a intelligent answer.

James Barber/Foundry

The contact controls are positioned within the circle on the backside fringe of the wi-fi receivers, they usually work with a satisfying click on. With the default setting, one click on performs or pauses the music, two clicks switches between sound isolation and surroundings, and three prompts your telephone’s voice assistant. You’ll be able to change up these controls within the Shure Play app, or set it to cycle by way of EQ settings, skip to the subsequent observe or return to the earlier one.

Customers may management the quantity with a click on adopted by an extended press. The left unit lowers the quantity, and the suitable one raises it. This has change into my favourite method to management quantity from a wi-fi earphone; it’s a lot simpler to make use of than the sliders on the Apple AirPods Professional 2.

Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 audio efficiency

The wi-fi receivers join by way of Bluetooth 5.0 and assist the AAC and aptX codecs. They’re connected to audiophile-quality earphones, and whereas they don’t ship the identical efficiency you’d get from a cable and a DAC plugged into the supply, they sound much better than most wi-fi earphones on this value vary.

I principally used the Aonic 215 Gen 2 with the app’s EQ settings turned off. In a quiet surroundings, the audio copy was correct with a large soundstage and exceptionally good readability within the midrange.

In a noisier surroundings, I most well-liked the Bass Increase equalizer setting, activated by way of the Shure Play app. There are additionally presets for Bass Lower, Treble Increase, Treble Lower, Vocal Increase, De-ess, and Loudness.

There’s additionally a guide 4-band equalization panel that makes use of any of the presets as a place to begin. Shure shows its professional audio roots right here, with actual frequency, acquire, and bandwidth knowledge displayed for the Excessive Shelf, Low Shelf, and two Parametric bands. Audio professionals can interpret that knowledge to tweak their settings, and everybody else can simply use their ears to fine-tune the audio earlier than saving their customized settings.

Telephone-call high quality on the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2

Shure is among the world’s most well-known professional audio microphone corporations, they usually’ve used their experience to ship a superior telephone name expertise. Everybody I known as when utilizing the Aonic 215 commented on how significantly better than traditional I sounded. My traditional is Apple AirPods Professional 2, one of many higher telephone name earphones I’ve tried.

The ear hooks are nice, besides with eyeglasses

James Barber/Foundry

Ear hooks are an important function, since they maintain earbuds in place in your ear canal. Anybody who has nice eyesight or wears contact lenses will probably discover them the very best in-ear headphone configuration for train or different strenuous exercise.

Sadly, the identical isn’t essentially true for eyeglass wearers. The ear hooks of the Aonic 215 wi-fi system and the temple arms on a pair of eyeglasses need to occupy the identical area over across the prime of your ear.

I used the Aonic 215 for hours with out eyeglasses. I couldn’t see a lot, however they had been comfy and I’m certain I may have worn all of them day. It’s a unique story with eyeglasses. After about an hour, what began as gentle discomfort grew to become an actual ache level for me.

Is the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 worth?

Shure has developed a versatile wi-fi earphone system that enables customers to mix wired and wi-fi listening, with the bonus possibility of having the ability to improve the in-ear displays at a later date. The Shure 215 earphone sounds nice by itself, however there are 4 extra higher-priced choices if a person ever desires an improve. Options like Pause Plus, the telephone name indicator mild, and the intelligent quantity controls on the earphones separate the Shure Aonic Gen 2 collection from opponents. If you happen to’re okay with the big charging case, the Shure Aonic 215 Gen 2 is a great-sounding wi-fi earphone designed to remain in your ears it doesn’t matter what.