On cold winter mornings, I am more than tempted to pull a soft, cushy pair of headphones over my head to keep them from freezing over. And if they are a pair that can keep out the whirring noise of the room heater then I can, of course, enjoy my daily dose of music discovery even better. The Shure Aonic 40 is perfect for the Noida winters in that sense. It also takes the music to a whole new level as you would expect from anything that has Shure emblazoned on it. The Shure Aonic 40 takes the rich legacy of the Aonic 50, which I reviewed a couple of years back, to a new audience who might not have the ability to spend that much for top of the line audio experiences. The design is on the same lines with soft ear cups emerging from hook-like metallic-finish arms at the ends of the headband. The headband is not as plush as the Aonic 50, but is still comfortable to wear for long hours. The volume controls are on the right side and the power/pair button is on the left. On the right, another button lets you control the noise cancellation. The centre button in the volume controls brings up the voice assistant with a long press — for me it worked for Siri without any configuration. The Shure Play app lets you customise a lot of these. The Shure Play app also offers the best equaliser around. It has a good set of presets that should take care of most of your needs. But there is also a full manual mode that lets you get to the exact audio profile you want, high shelf or low. And this is exactly the kind of precision you need to enjoy a number from a maestro like Philip Glass, even if it is rediscovering the Ragas in Minor Scale he composed with Ravi Shankar. These are tunes we have heard and enjoyed a hundred times, but with the Shure Aonic 40 and the exact settings you want, it will be like a revelation all over again. These are the kind of headphones that can make really appreciate the depth of Sunidhi Chauhan’s voice or the pathos Yesudas can bring to his numbers. But those are just a walk in the park for the Shure Aonic 40. This one is made to take your Classicals and Classics to the next level. For instance, sinking into early morning editing work with Iambic’s clear skies, the noise-cancelling and music hit a sweet spot where I am left to focus on the work at hand, even though my kitchen ensemble is on a full workout of its own with cooker, chimney and faucet trying to outdo each other. And the cello that comes every now and then in Masollan by Balmorhea will remind you about the good investment you have made by buying this pair from Shure. The battery can last you a full Sunday of binging on your favourite numbers or just scouring Apple Music to discover compositions and artists you never knew existed. Also, the call quality is great, so if someone pulls you into a Zoom call despite the weekend you need not take the pair off. At Rs 19,999, Shure has also gone very aggressive with the pricing for headphones that are clearly a level above many others in this price range. A great option for those who are really finicky about their audio, the Shure Aonic 40 has the potential to make the Chicago brand popular among Indian music lovers. Now, let me go back to Philip Glass.
