Shure AONIC 3 Wired Sound Isolating Earbuds, Clear Sound, Single Driver with BassPort, Secure in-Ear Fit, Detachable Cable, Durable Quality, Compatible with Apple & Android Devices - White

Many years ago as a college student, back in the early days of the iPod, I bought some very high end earphones from a company who's professional products were starting to find themselves plugged into iPods, they were the Shure E4c. Shure had been making in ear monitors for a long time, but they were not sold to consumers, only to professionals. Of course their intended use made little difference, they plugged into headphone jacks just as easy as anything else, and after what seemed like forever Shure FINALLY released a line of consumer earphones, E2c, E3c, E4c, and E500 circa 2005.Some time ago the E series was replaced by the SE series, but the E4c was not revamped as part of that line. And so here we are about 15 years later, long after my beloved E4c's several years of service came to an end due to an unfortunate encounter with a rowing machine. Lo and behold, SE has given way to AONIC series, and despite a demotion from "4" to "3" the single driver design has reappeared and it looks shockingly familiar. Shure has come out with the AONIC 3, billed as "the smallest design from Shure". They seemed to be a not so subtle reissue of the E4c. And just as incredible as they were then, they are now. While they clearly aren't a direct reissue, they retain the soul of that old model and the sonic character is exactly as I remember them, which is truly outstanding. Why reinvent the wheel, right?I will not bore the reader with the details of theory about multiple drivers vs. a single, but one should be aware that this argument is not new nor has it waned in recent years. These use a single driver in each earphone (the $1000 SE846, which I also own and is their top model, uses four). What results is a very clean and detailed sound. As is the hallmark of Shure, the portion of our hearing where our ears are most sensitive (which includes all human vocals and most instruments) is handled with a sort of finesse and engineering skill that make these sound "expensive". Detail and spaciousness are among the best money can buy. You'll also get very low distortion and no coloration of the sound in any way. If you aren't the type who regularly runs in audiophile circles and your eyes glazed over, let me apologize and translate. The sound on these will be very clear, with each individual sound being very distinct, almost as if you had a separate earphone for each sound. No one sound overpowers another or interferes with the overall coherence of the music as a whole. The sound will be a honest and faithful reproduction of what is recorded. These will not add anything that the artist and engineers didn't put there, and if they did put it there these will make the same sound they did in the booth when your favorite song was made. They have honest bass and treble. They will not wow you with bass (sorry, you need the 846 for that) but are more than capable of producing all but the very lowest frequencies easily. They have a natural and smooth roll off in the first octave without a hint of the heavy handedness, exaggeration, or boominess that seem to be a design requirement of Beats, Bose, et al. The sound isn't showy or flashy in any way. The best way to describe the sound of the Shure line and these in particular is "classy" or "refined". Your weird uncle who is super into audio? He loves these.The E4c were a bargain in 2005 at $349. A modernized shell and modular cables for $199 in 2021? Sold. That means you can get the TW1 adapter and have an audiophile experience with true wireless for something close to my original E4c's price. Are the top of the line 846 better? Of course, but you may not want to or care to spend $1000 on earphones. I don't blame you. This is the sweet spot folks. If you want reference quality sound these are the pair to have and this is how much that sort of thing costs.A bit on noise cancellation since it is enough to have it's own star rating- you don't need or want active noise cancellation in an earphone. This is reserved for headphones that have other challenges that in ear phones do not face. These fit like earplugs and block outside sound about as well. This is suitable for use in all but the most extreme conditions such as a flight deck or using a jackhammer.Full offense, if you have any complaints on how these sound... it's not the earphones...it's you.

Sound quality is decent but only marginally better than some much cheaper options. More importantly, they've mysteriously broke twice in less than a year. No sound whatsoever on one side. Not even the cord, as you'd expect, but the earpieces themselves are faulty. Low quality product, especially for the price. Would never buy Shure again.

The Shure Aonic 3 Sound Isolating Earphones are the ground floor for the new Aonic series of earphones but don’t let that fool you. These are well made, upgradable, beautiful-sounding earphones and with a huge swath of included eartips, the Aonic 3’s are squarely in premium territory. The Aonic 3’s are notable for being Shure’s smallest earphone design, and with the MMCX connector system, you can swap the cable for either the Shure True Wireless Secure Fit Adapter or the High-Resolution Bluetooth 5.0 Communication Cable. Despite all of the references to Bluetooth in the instructions, out of the box, this specific kit is 3.5mm wired only and can be configured to work with either iOS or Android phones with the flick of a switch on the in-line remote. These earphones have a sensitivity rating of 108 dB SPL @ 1mW and a modest 26Ω impedance which basically means your phone (and most other portable electronics) will be able to produce loud and clear sound without the need for a separate headphone amp.My primary issue with the Aonic 3 is that it takes a lot of fiddling to put them in. The combination of the pill-shaped body and freely rotating MMCX connector results in an earphone without a clearly defined structure. If you look at the pictures, the earphone body is not really supported by anything other than the foam eartip in your ear canal and the cable, and the MMCX connector allows for free rotation, so although you can bend the over-ear hooks to your desired shape, nothing prevents the earphone body from getting out of alignment. Therefore, wearing the Aonic 3 becomes a two-step process where you first get the ear hook in place and then insert the earphone, and even after a few weeks of ownership, that process still requires conscious effort. The Aonic 4 and 5 use a more traditional shape that sits in the ear so they shouldn’t have this issue.I was initially skeptical of the Aonic 3’s promise of providing striking full-range sound using a single balanced armature, but I was pleasantly surprised. From my experience, many single balanced armature earphones are able to render mids and highs with nuance and clarity, but the bass tends to be thin and relatively weak, especially when compared to even cheap dynamic earphones. With the Aonic 3, Shure used a vented design for the balanced armature which extends the bass response, and in my opinion, the results are surprisingly good. These earphones are pretty well-rounded, with clear and precise highs and mids that just aren’t possible from most dynamic earphones, and there’s enough oomph on the low-end to make most genres of music sound good, as long as they don’t lean too heavily on the bass.It’s worth mentioning that Shure’s emphasis on sound isolation means that with proper eartips, these earphones are able to block outside sounds nearly as effectively as earplugs so you don’t need high volume levels to enjoy to your music, even when it’s noisy outside or you’re on the bus, etc. The caveat, of course, is that you need to pay extra attention if you’re walking around with these in your ears. If you’ve never used foam tips before, please note that they need time to fit themselves into your ear canal. You should compress them by rolling them with your fingertips before inserting, and then hold the earphone in place for about 5-10 seconds to let the foam expand.Overall, I like how the Aonic 3’s sound but the process of wearing them is somewhat annoying. I’m not fully convinced that they’re really worth the full $199 MSRP, since at the same price, the Shure SE425 features dual balanced armatures and comes with both the 3.5mm cable and the BT2 wireless communication cable. This is my first set of Shure earphones, so I will definitely be paying attention to their other product offerings down the road.Notes:1) These have a 2-year warranty.2) Accessories in the box include a 1/4" adapter, soft flex sleeves (S,M,L), foam sleeves (comply-like) (S,M,L), yellow foam sleeves (one-size), triple flange sleeves (one-size), and a zippered carry case.

Audiophile level, just the right amount of bass , I used the foam tips , the yellow ones . I played Tidal to IFI Hip 3 DAC to these beauties. . I use at the gym to maximize my endorphins. And now I enjoy every minute of my workout of lifting weights.

I bought this as a replacement for my Bose in-ear wired earbuds (which broke, and Bose no longer sells in-ear wired earbuds). Compared to the older Bose earbuds, these have a crisper sound, but seem weak on the low end. With some music, it sounds almost tinny. Using an iPhone equalizer app helps, but I still prefer the Bose earbuds I can no longer get.My wireless Apple Airpods deliver a much fuller base sound than the Shure AONIC 3 wired earbuds. I just don't like to wear them biking, because I don't want one falling out while I'm on the road.For $200, I expected a much better sound. I've experimented with different earbud sleeves (they provide a lot of options) to see if it made a difference, but none that I can tell.

These had decent sound at first, but the right side broke completely within 5 listens