This video needs an update: The Shure Aonic 50 received an update. They no longer need to have audiofiles downloaded on the app to apply the Equalizer to them. Now, you can use the eq for any audio you decide to play pretty much (even Spotify). The sound quality is way way way superior on the A50.

Missing Jim’s review... we have a new entry. Great video.

Hello from France, I discovered your channel few days ago, you're making a great job!! Keep going bro 👍👍👍😊

I am watching with the SHURE 50's! Depends on the sound you want! Wider soundstage, more vocal and mid presence then the Sony's. XM4's are bassier for sure. I bought these for at home wireless listening. Don't care about the other stuff, just wanted a good wireless set of cans for at home and the classy look of these over the Sony's I went with them and am so glad I did as the sound is exceptional listening to MQA files and HR files with Qualcomm Apt X HD through my Bluesound Node 2i. Go with the ones you personally like to look at better and the sound signature you think will suit you as either way you will not be disappointed. Ony other ones to consider in this range would be the Dali i0-4 no ANC or the i0-6 with ANC.

I must say you are at the best, really good review one of the best KZfaqr for headphones if not the best keep up the great work, not biased at all, great review and comparison

This is a great review! The side by side audio comparisons were awesome!

The Shure Aonic 50 wins hands down. They have all the Bluetooth Codecs that you need and they are better built. To make the Sony's even come close to the sound of the Aonic 50...you need to play around with the EQ in the app. With the Aonic 50's you don't need to do that. As far as the ANC...they are both on par. The Son'y are only popular because of the ANC. I care more about NICE quality sound than ANC. And since the Aonic 50's have BOTH..it's a no brainer.

Man this is a very levelled, straight to the point video. Whenever I felt like "will he address this or that" you are doing that. Pretty nice, kudos to you!

Hey man I remember subbing when you only had a few hundred subs - you’re doing a great job, keep up the hard work you’re gona blow 🙏

Have had both for over a week now and used both indoors and outdoors with cables and with only Bluetooth. Can safely say that aside from the fact that the Xm4s are lighter and more compact, the A50s are on a whole other level. The sound isn’t even comparable tbh, and I listen to every type of music imaginable and I find myself craving the sound of the A50s at half volume whereas the XM4s are just meh. If eq is a problem for you, if you have Amazon HD sub the android app has eq and it works great. Only really bumped the bass up slightly as I find everything else about the A50 sound is perfect. Like honestly I don’t get the xm4 hype, for me it’s not even close...

Greatings from the UK thanks for another great review you really know your tech arron

Brilliant, comprehensive review. As usual. 👏

One of the few review channels I subscribe to. Thanks for the reviews.

Good Review!! Following your XM4 reviews from day one and got one!!

Great video! So much detail and great comparison. Subscribed.

Ngl when he did stretch test my heart was pounding out of my chest 😂

This video literally give me an answer which to choose. Thank u so much and now I finally know ❤️👍🏾

I found you a couple days ago and im loving your content man, the reviews are great and I love the ANC tests. If I could make one recommendation? Try presenting from that desk behind you whilst standing, I think it would really make your content feel as professional as it is. It's no longer, man sitting at pc with a webcam, you are a presenter with a dedicated space :). Thanks for the terrific review

Honestly, the fact that you can charge AND listen at the same time on the Aonics makes these an autopurchase for anyone who mostly sits at their desk (so they're literally always fully charged when you take them with you out the door)

Fantastic review. Keep up the nice work!!!

I bought a pair of the ACONIC's and the only problem for me was the ear pads. So, I love them enough to order a pair of angled brainwave and a pair of regular. The operation was a success! The change brought more bass to me( not a lot, but fine with me) if you decide to do that, there is no going back. Copy?

For a non-audiophile, does dsee extreme have any noticeable effect on HD or Ultra HD streaming (e.g. Amazon Music HD)?

Another excellent review, Aaron. Keep up the good work!

I have both the Shure and the Sony, I received them as a birthday and Christmas gift and love them both. I prefer the Shure as they are better in their construction however the Sony are great to travel with as the case is a lot smaller. If I had to choose the Shure is the one I’d pick.

i agree but after july update shure improve a lot in his ANC and mic performance

Aaron, to be honest I literally wait every week just to see a Noise Cancellation comparison by you with different headphone pairs. I just come to get a better knowledge of sound comparison, but I more feel pleasurable to see the NC comparison. One suggestion Aaron, please include airplane noise clips (or some more kind of specimens if you can) for testing, and everything else's top notch. Thank You!! I hope you'd react upon my suggestion in the next videos!! Thank you once again!!

XM4 for me. Thanks for your testing methods and analysis!

thanks for the video. wonder how does the wh-1000xm4 compares to the Bose QC35II in terms of sound quality and noise cancelling?

Good Review! Did you burn in the Shure for a few hours? I most of the time notice an increase in Sound quality after a few hours compared to fresh out of the Box headphones.

Good work comparing them both! Keep at it!

I have the Shure Aonic 50 and love them.

Did you level match the playback level of the voice recordings? I know that you know that whatever sounds louder will typically be picked as what sounds best. Also, what setting of noise cancellation were the Shure phones set to? Maximum? Finally, are the joints on the Shure headphones made of metal? Or just plastic that looks like metal? Thanks for your thorough review.

Hey Aaron, could you please share the names of the tracks you use to evaluate headphones? Based solely on your review, I picked up a pair of xm3’s years ago and I am now looking into the xm4 as an incremental upgrade. Thank you!

Battle of the heavyweights. Keep up the excellent work, Aaron.

Keep going mate your vides only get better and better!

Hi, I bought the new XM4 because your videos and some of others convinced me. But In your tests and some of the others (like Marques for exemple) the microphone is cancelling the background noises while mine is literraly not even cancelling a thing. Every sound the 5 mics hears are sent back when I use the mic (like on a call or a rec). Is my device broken or am I doing something wrong ? Thank you

Do you think that getting the XM4 and then using the EQ to tune it to sound better is a better overall choice than choosing something like say, the Sennheiser PXC 550 iis or the Momentum 3s? I'm worried about the sound stage and the instrument separation since I play the guitar and would more enjoy if these attributes were better, but I don't know how much better the competition really is.

Just wanted to say your comparison of voice quality via the mics is fantastic. I use headphones like this for work and being heard and understood is incredibly important. It is surprising how bad some premium brands are with microphones. Your review has been very useful!

Being one who listens primarily to classical, jazz, and acoustic music in general, I've been convinced by your review and others that the Shure are probably my best choice for audio quality. Availability of hi res streaming sources is another factor. This being music for quiet room or air travel listening, the frequency range of air conditioning and jet engine noise would be preferred for noise cancelling demonstration .. Good review.

Are the ear cushions of the xm4’s replaceable?

Hi Aaron, i recently bumped into your reviews and they are really really good. Can you also do a review of the Shure IEM's either SE535 or SE846?

Good review, Aaron. Can you try the Shure and Sony headphones wired to a good headphone amp and let us know how you think they compare. Would be interesting to see if the "everything on the Shure sounds a little better except perhaps the bass" conclusion is the same or tips more toward Shure or Sony. My use case is 80% stationary.

First let me say that this review has been a tremendous help for me in coming to a decision. I am looking for a good pair of headsets to use with the Avantree Oasis Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter Receiver . The Aventree supports the aptx Low Latency codec which is why after viewing this video I'm leaning to the Shure for all their codec support. I, however, love the features of the Sony and was hoping the lack of aptx really wouldn't lead to audio-visual lags. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Love your content man! Love from NTU:D

How do you think the Shure Aonic 50 should be listened? With LDAC enabled and noise canceling at max level model? Or with LDAC enabled and noise canceling in normal mode? Or with LDAC enabled and noise canceling turned off?

Great noise cancelling comparison, so useful, thank you

What do you recommend for only the Bluetooth sound quality?

Hi May I ask which Bluetooth headphones would you recommend in case of high volume and neutral sound. I have tried sony wh1000xm4 I was very happy with ANC but they sounded too bassy and muddy. I have shure srh 440 at home and I love the details of the sound . Now I’m looking to replace them with a wireless Bluetooth ones. Please let me know if you have any recommendations.

These are great reviews! I like hearing them myself through your reviews. Sure, it would be great to try them on, but where? I agree with you, the Sony MX4 is the king of quiet. Also, I feel it is not only quieter than the competition, but on maximum NR the audio quality is indistinguishable from no NR. And, it truly is very light. I would suggest weighing the headphones to see if they match spec.

I am wanting to buy these headphones from Adorama, but I can considering if I should buy extra protection for them. Is buying extra protection worth it for these headphones? Do you buy extra protection or extended warranty on the headphones?

Can the XM4 be equalized on pc? i see the app being used on the phone only.

Whats the call quality like in a quiet room (not outside) on the Shure

good review of both

Hi Aaron, im planning to get shure aonic 50. Its still verdic? If compare sound with sony XM4 which is yr advice

Would you like compare of two these models with Anker Soundcore Life Q30? Thanks a lot

Did you test the EQ adjustments in the Shure app or outside of the app? The headphones don’t do the EQ, the app does. Also, the frequency response of the Shure is quite flat (as it should be), with only an emphasis just below 3kHz and de-amphasis just above 3kHz. The Shure’s still sound great when wired (power off), how do the Sony’s compare in that scenario?

How does it compare to b&w px7?

Your reviews are the best

How good are the Shure for Classical Music?

What would yo recommend me to get out of the wf m3 wh m3s and the galaxy buds + Im on the bus for over two hours a day and can get quite loud and when I study at School I like to listen to music and when I'm walking to work on quite roads. Also I go on plane about twice a year And I travel on

Hi Aaron, am buying new headphone,, wonder if you can help me made the final decision, and personally all I care about is sound quality.. alright so do you think I should go for for the Sony earbuds WF-1000XM4 or the WH-1000XM4? also what do you think about the galaxy buds pro since their price drop to 80$

Well done, recently discovered your channel. Cheers

This is truly a well done presentation with a fine articulated balance between both headphones especially when it comes to sound performance. Too many other reviews focus on gadgetry and niceties omitting the sound production aspect in its entirety. In owning Sony's for many years, I have found their bass is overly saturated whereas higher end Sennheiser and Shure offer a more natural reproduction and present more precisely what the studio producer and engineer intended you to hear. I use a pair of Sennheiser HD600 which align with this statement.

I would like to see the comparison of the XM4 with B&W PX7 if possible.

I feel like this guy should have millions of subs.

I have both of these. I'm on my third A50s from the warranty replacement. Sony's have held up fine. The pleather on the ear pads and headband keep coming off on the A50 in about 8 months. Anybody else have this problem?

How do they compare to the THX pandas?

Wow nice review!

Excellent video. Thanks

As a Trucker who mixs music on my xm2,s when im not driving .... I need a strong noise canceling headphone to kill the APU sound while mixing during the work week ... If Shure improves this Id buy .. Or if Sony improves the eq into a parametric eq like the shure I will upgrade .... I have my xm2 near flat in response but a full 10 band parametric would be great ... Just a little subtractive eq out the peaks here and there in a few more spots with a Q option and they would be golden .

So I just purchased the Sony headphones and haven’t got them yet. Everyone says they are amazing quality except audiophiles. So in your opinion what noise canceling Bluetooth headphone has the best sound quality? Also what would you say is the best headphone for just sound quality under 500?

I don’t normally watch KZfaq reviews/instructions/etc (to me videos take too long to relay information, I prefer reading over watching), but I wanted to get a better sense of how the Shure’s look (when not photographed) & get a better idea as to how it’s controls/features are operated/work. 1st based on the samples you provide (very neat btw - I like how you managed to incorporate actual recordings of noise cancelation performance! As an FYI I would note that the method you use and (or?) the background track used doesn’t relay bass performance well/doesn’t seem to simulate much lower-end background noise - I think it would be helpful to call this out with some text on the screen, etc so that viewers understand where you’re opinion is coming from) your opinions/impressions seem to be right on the money. Better overall background noise attenuation on calls w/ the Shure’s, but they also muffle/fuzz your voice while the Sony’s let a small amount of ambient noise through, but your voice sounded better/probably makes voices easier to understand on calls (honestly sounds like the Sony’s first attenuate the signal and then build your voice back up. I wonder if any other sensors are used for this or if it’s just standard cQc from Qualcomm). And ditto with the noise cancelation, but I felt like the sample didn’t really have or couldn’t reproduce much/any low end noise; but I’ve heard that the low end ANC is indeed better on the Shure’s. Some things I would like to see in the future though: 1. (Only applies to the Aonic 50) An update regarding changes from the firmware. Apparently some significant changes have been made since the original version to sound/mic/anc performance. 2. Some detail about the transparency mode (I believe there are different ‘levels’ to it?), it’s usability in real life (good enough to hear a car approaching when walking, make out what people are saying around you, good enough to be able to have a conversation with someone?). 3. Are there any auto-pause features or quick ways to exchange brief words in person? To me this is one of the most important features with modern headphones, especially those with high level of noise suppression. I know the Sony’s have a plethora of features in this area & from the review it seems like the Shure’s have none, but believe this is important enough to be explicitly called out (as almost all headphones at the very least pause when you take them off) 4. Bluetooth multipoint! The Shure’s have these & it would definitely be of interest to many people to let them know that they can connect to 2 devices at once. 5. Wired use: the Shure’s can be used with a cord & no power, but it must be manually shut off. Also when the cable is inserted it disconnects any Bluetooth connections (and does the opposite when removed). The ANC can be used with the cord as mentioned, but I have read that there is some change to the sound signature? 6. The app: the EQ only works with music that is played via the app itself. This is definitely worth calling out as it severely limits the usefulness of the eq (I’m sure you played music using the app when you tested the eq, but there is a chance that you didn’t which would, you know, result in the eq not being very effective ha). 7. Battery life & charging. Would be nice to get some feedback re: battery life, effect of ANC on battery life, time to charge/any quick charge ability, etc 8. And lastly one that swings back to #2: I found it interesting that the Shure’s have a total of 6 mics. My understanding is that for calls a beam forming array of only 2 of them is used, both on the same side. The remaining 4 used for ANC in some capacity or another… Anyway, great job!

Have you tried the Bose QC 45's? I listened to them in a Best Buy and they sounded way better than the Sony's to my ear. A lot of headphones on heavy discount and I'm having trouble picking a pair before the deals expire.

So, after comparing the XM4's to other headphones, which one do you feel more confortable to wear?

Aonic 50 paired with Ibasso DX170 dap - Absolutely brilliant Sound! ❤️ Aonic 50 supports different codecs like Qualcomm® aptX™, aptX™ HD, aptX™ Low Latency audio, Sony LDAC, AAC and SBC ensuring a seamless, lossless wireless CD-quality audio. Just amazing!

I went with the Shure because of buttons. Touch controls are notoriously annoying on headphones. I'm glad there are still models out there with real buttons.

Shure AONIC 50 vs Arctis Pro Wireless from Steelseries for gaming?

How many db of noise isolation?

Hi I've watched a lot of your headphone reviews, I've noticed you never talk about, headphone noise leakage. I bought my headphones after a long research of things I need from a headphone and Sony xm4 won. But I found the noise leakage is terrible, to a point my partner is annoyed when I have them on in bed. Recently I went on a trip to Mexico, and to my dismay, the passenger next to me, asked if I could turn my headphones down, I was so surprised by how much it disturbed them, as my phone was at half volume. Have you noticed this with the Sony's??And what from your experience are the best non-noise leakage headphones. Thank you

The Hifiman Ananda BT is the audiophile's bluetooth choice by a long shot but it does cost 1000

ANC on XM4 is killer! Sold on that!

Which one should i buy ? Shure aonic 40 ( they are available in my zone for 150€) or should i decide to buy a more affordable option ? Like jbl live 660nc ( 90€), in reading some reviews about the jbl and i concluded that they have one of the best sound qualities of their category ...

But say anything, Aaron is really loud and wireless!

Hi, would like to know if ldac is available on Shuren when connected to multiple devices(multipoint) Glad to know DSEE Extreme helps and is not snake.oil!

Thanks for the review Aaron. This is audiophile material without a doubt! Definitely not disappointed with the aonic 50 for shure! ☺😇 Just found out the eq only works if you link your audio files to the headphones. (It has it's on music player which is a downer for me. Wish it worked with the audio players I use from the app store) I don't need this then.

Great video, really enjoyed this! I went with the XM4s, but it was a tough call for me. Overall I just felt the Sonys had the edge, but I believe the Shures definitely would cater to someone who might be looking for an at-home, wireless, pseudo-audiophile experience... they definitely fill a gap, and I think they look great :)

Thx for the great review! I was expecting this comparison for a while ;-) Did you update the Shure to the latest firmware? Also, regarding comfort, which one is better according to you?

Aaron, you should definitely have more subscribers that you have! I'm 65 and I love this video. Subscribing.

So basically sony for iphone and shure for those that can go beyond whatever the iphone pushes?

Really want to see you review the AONIC 215

I want great quality sound and dont care about more bass or NC unless I'm at an extremely loud place which is rare. Also I dont trust being out in public without hearing the people around me. Additionally I dont care about looks as long as its not completely ugly lol. In the end I chose to get the more durable Shure 50 headphones. Thanks, amazing work Aaron!

Xm4 for me, Cheaper and they got more features, voice quality in phone calls is excellent. Keep the great Work! Greetings from Ecuador.

The EQ works fine I’m so happy with Shure A50

Aaron !! BIG question for you !! I am really hesitating between the sony's xm3 and the Shure aonic ! Main concerns are: Music quality and connectability ! Thats why I've choose the xm3 over the xm4. I want to most latency free headphones for my PC/videos/streaming/youtube etc... While having the best musci quality possible. The shure have Bluethoot 5 and all the codecs. While the sony's are bluethoot 4,2. I love all the sony's device sounds byt Shure seems really good and better. Where I am, Both are the same price ! Your thoughts will really help me since all your videos have been I good influence on my choices so far ! Thx man !!

Please do a review of B&O h95???

Woww this guy really do a great job!!

How about the Dali IO6 versus XM4 ?

I've read on other reviews that Shure update the firmware to improve mic quality

The eq for the shure aonic 50s actually only applies for audio files played through the shure app, it doesn't load the eq onto the headphones. Luckily for me this isn't a problem since i like their soundprofile as is

Are you Shure you want a Sony WH-1000XM4. Yes I'm Shure.