Shure AONIC 215 and MiniBook X onboard Realtek ALC269VC audio

AONIC 215

Way back in 2007 or so, I finally splurged on a pair of good headphones (i.e., not bundled with a music player, or the $19.99 ones from Best Buy, I'd been using since I was a teenager. I picked up a pair of Shure SE210s at Fry's and was blown away - they were the first headphones that ever made me go "wow."

As time went on, though, they disintegrated, and were set aside.

These days I mostly use over the ear stuff, but I wanted a portable set with noise isolation with foam plugs without having to go aftermarket, and an integrated microphone. I decided to see what Shure was up to these days (er, well, 13 years ago(!)). Had the opportunity to pick up a pair of the AONIC 215s (which are the SE215s repackaged, apparently) for $65.

They’re ... Fine. Competent. They don’t blow me away like the 210s used to, but I've upgraded my cans and my expectations several times along the way, so that's to be expected. They're a notch or so down from the $23 ChiFi in-ears I picked up recently (Linsoul TANGZU Wan’er S.G, which I got without a mic) (but I kinda wanted to get away from ChiFi stuff). Anyway.

I've used them with my iPod mini and with the Apple Lightning dongle so I know what they should sound like. Which is, again, pretty good.

Until I hooked them up to my cheap carry-everywhere Chuwi MiniBook X (the newer revision, built around the N100). The MiniBook uses a Realtek ALC269VC audio chipset, and just as I was starting to maybe give some credence to the "you don't need an external DAC or amp with modern integrated audio" folks, I encountered this.

Close your eyes and imagine: It's 1994. You're about to mow the lawn. You've got a shiny new Panasonic "walkman," with automatic reverse. It came with the new style earbuds, not the old cheap over-the-ear ones that used to be ubiquitous.

Loaded in the player: That copy of Metallica's Master of Puppets you copied from your friend, using high speed dubbing on a 1980s Fisher boombox, onto whatever name brand blank tape was the cheapest in bulk at Best Buy.

You've got the lawnmower running, the earbuds inserted, and you've got that tape deck cranked up as loud as it'll go. That roughly approximates what it's like listening to music off the MiniBook. The sound is flat and lifeless, details aren't so much revealed as indistinguishable. Bass? Nonexistent. (Move the 3.5 mm over to the iPod and, whomp, there it is.)

So, um, yeah, there's still a need for external DACs and amplifiers, although I'm sure there are integrated audio setups (Apple's MacBook Pro line?) where this is less a requirement and more of a want. (Wonder how the Apple USB C dongle would work in this setup...)

And Shure? Well, they were great once, and the build quality still seems to be there. I like having factory foam tips in the package, vs. having to plunk down another $20 or so to get Comply tips (and hope the tuning works with them). But damn, over a decade since the last refresh? I'd be interested to see what they could make today in the ~$100-200 range.