I bought the Sony WH-1000XM3, Sennheiser Momentum 3, and these Shure headphones to compare and will return 2 of them. By far, the Shure AONIC 50 headphones sound the best (except for noise cancelling). I've been working from home while testing these out and there's a 2 year old running around, so the environment is not quiet. I'm judging the sound quality over all over aspects. Listened to Tidal Hi-Fi and Spotify wirelessly on my iPhone.
Sorry, this ended up being longer than I expected.
Sony WH-1000XM3:
- Bass thumps nicely, you feel it in your body but it's a little unbalanced (Not everyone will want this much bass, but you can use the EQ in the app to reduce it to a tasteful amount)
- BEST noise cancelling (I was surprised how well the noise cancelling worked, best I've ever heard and there are a few customizable options in the app)
- Overall sound quality is good/great depending on the song.
- Comfortable for short uses, but least comfortable in the group. After a full workday, the band on top made my head hurt and I had a mild headache.
- Having the touch controls on the outside of the right earpiece is a fun feature. After an hour or so, I got the hang of it.
- Earpieces fold up into the headband and can twist to lay flat. Firm case for storage will protect them well and is compact for traveling.
- Third Place
Sennheiser Momentum 3 (~$60 more than the Sonys):
- More balanced sound quality that I preferred over the Sonys, but there's less distinction between instruments. Occasionally, some songs sounded muddier than I preferred but overall it sounded great. The EQ in the app sucks though.
- Noise cancelling was fine, did not come close to how well the Sony worked.
- More comfortable than the Sonys. Didn't have a headache at the end of the day and I had to reposition the band on top fewer times.
- No touch controls, there's physical buttons along the rim of the right earpiece. Easy to use.
- Earpieces fold up into the headband but cannot twist to lay flat.
- Feels higher quality than the Sonys and the leather smells fantastic.
- A really nice feature is when you take an earpiece off your ear to talk to someone, the music pauses automatically and plays when it goes back on your ear. Even putting the headphones on your head but not on your ear doesn't cause this to misfire. It was perfect.
- Case is softer and not rigid, so least amount of protection in the group.
- Second Place
Shure AONIC 50 (~$110 more than the Sonys):
- Very balanced sound quality with the most detail from the group. I enjoyed listening to these more than the other headphones. In most songs, I can pick out an instrument and follow it throughout the song. Bass-heavy songs or songs with a lot of treble, it doesn't matter, these headphones sound the best. I haven't listened to a song yet where the highs squeal in a way that makes you feel like a knife is being stabbed in your neck, which I did encounter on the other headphones. (I've been listening to my regular music but also various Headphone Test playlists that help you get a feel for all aspects of your headphones. I recommend the What Hi-Fi? playlist on Spotify and Tidal. The song "You've Got to Have Freedom" by Pharoah Sanders gave me the neck-stabbing feeling on the other headphones, FYI.) One frustrating thing about the EQ, it can't be used unless you're listening to your personal music stored on your phone. The EQ will not work with Spotify or Tidal. However after a week of use, I wouldn't adjust the EQ anyways so it's not an issue for me.
- Noise-cancelling is mediocre. There isn't much of a difference with it on or off. However, having my volume between 50-75% drowned out most noise so it's negligible in my situation. Some reviews from audio websites have said these have great noise cancelling, but that was not my experience. Keep in mind, your milage may very.
- Most comfortable in the group. No headache and rarely adjust the band on top, even after a full workday.
- Earpieces do not fold up (not good for commuters), but they do twist for a thinner profile. Largest case, but is rigid, so great protection.
- Quality feels on-par with the Sennheisers. Both have more metal than the Sonys. Leather is also high quality and smells great.
- First Place
All 3 headphones are good enough to be bought and will be thoroughly enjoyed, especially considering the price difference. I will keep the Shures because they sound the best to my ear.
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