It’s always interesting to see new developments in earbuds. In this case, it’s MEMS drivers, which could make for major steps forward in sound quality at relatively affordable prices. TheCreative Aurvana Ace 2headphones use this new type of driver to great effect, though the whole doesn’t add up to much more than the sum of its parts.
Creative Aurvana Ace 2
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 offer fantastic sound quality at a mid-range price thanks to a new type of driver. The ANC is less-than-perfect, but they are certainly worth a look.
Price and Availability
Despite their premium look, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 retail for $149. That’s not cheap, but it’s also a far cry from the roughly $350 most brands' flagship earbuds start around. They only come in one color variant, a black and copper combination, but it’s a striking enough look that it’s easy to see why Creative stuck with the single option.
Competition is tough to talk about with these earbuds, for reasons I’ll touch on later in the review, but it’s important to note that it comes down to what matters to you. If you’re looking for earbuds with ANC that cost under $150, one alternative is theSoundpeats Air 4 Pro. These may not have the same quality, but they sell for less, and they may win when it comes to features.
Specifications
Striking Design and a Solid but Lightweight Build
The first thing you notice when you open up the box is the unique look of the case. It has a semi-transparent black outside, giving you the barest glimpse of the electronics inside. This is just the beginning, as opening up the case reveals the brilliant copper interior.
This look carries over the earbuds as well. While they use matte black plastic instead of transparent, they have the same copper accents as the case. Both the case and the earbuds are fairly light, so there is no pretending this copper is any sort of metal, but it’s still a look that serves the earbuds well.
As is usually the case, the supplied medium ear tips fit me the best, but if you have smaller or larger ears, there are large and small silicone tips supplied as well. The overall shape of the earbuds is similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro, so if you’ve ever worn those with any semblance of success, these should work for you as well.
While these aren’t the most rugged earbuds out there, they do feature an IPX5 rating, meaning they’re moderately water-resistant. You certainly don’t want to drop them in the sink, but if you get caught out wearing them in the rain, there should be no reason to worry.
Unintuitive Controls, but Sleek Software
The Aurvana Ace 2 earbuds make some unusual decisions for controls, such as touching and holding the right earbud to raise volume or the left one to lower it. This can make for unexpected volume changes when adjusting the earbuds in your ears, but in general, the touch controls are fine, if a little unresponsive.
The biggest issue with these earbuds is the complete lack of wear detection. These days, any earbuds retailing for over $100 should have some sort of in-ear detection to automatically pause and resume playback. It’s one thing if budget earbuds forgo this feature, but these absolutely should have this feature.
Whether you want to customize the controls or adjust the sound, you’ll want the Creative app, available foriPhoneorAndroid. This lets you easily swap between listening modes, adjust EQ, and more.
There are plenty of built-in EQ presets, ranging from music genres to more generic terms like “Movie” or even “Footstep Enhancer.” You can also draw your own custom EQ curves, which takes a little getting used to, but is a handy feature.
The app also handles firmware updates. I know because I received one during my time testing the Aurvana Ace 2 earbuds. But more on that later.
Superb Sound Quality for the Price
While the MEMS drivers are the big deal here—although Creative refers to them as xMEMS—these are hybrid earbuds. The MEMS driver takes care of the higher frequencies, while a more traditional 10mm dynamic driver handles lower frequencies. While a balanced armature driver typically takes the place that the xMEMS driver does here, this is still a relatively standard approach for earbuds.
One difference is that Creative seems to have tuned these so that the dynamic driver is contributing much more to the low end than is typically the case. Combine this with the wide variety of Bluetooth codecs supported—SBC, AAC, LC3, aptX, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless—and you’ve got a recipe for higher fidelity than you can typically expect from wireless earbuds.
Listening to Jeff the Brotherhood’s “In My Dreams,” the Aurvana Ace 2 revealed details in the fuzzed-out guitar that opens the song that I rarely hear on earbuds. I was also surprised by how much detail there was in the bass line without it coming across as overpowering. I wouldn’t say this is a reference-style listening experience—it’s too much fun for that—but it is revealing.
Herbie Hancock’s “Hidden Shadows” was a bigger surprise in some ways. Roughly halfway through the song, I had literally forgotten I wasn’t wearing over-ear headphones. The soundstage on certain tracks with these earbuds is good enough that I almost just referred to them as in-ear monitors as I’m writing this.
It’s rare that this happens, but as I was testing the Creative Aurvana Ace 2, there was a point when I stopped listening critically and started simply listening to music for the sheer joy of it. Whenever this happens, I feel it’s a good sign about the headphones (or in this case earbuds) in question.
Simply Functional ANC and Voice
As I mentioned above, the firmware update I received while testing these was supposed to, at least in part, alleviate certain issues with the earbuds' noise canceling. As this had been a complaint I’d seen in some early reviews, I hoped it would improve the feature and make these earbuds an easier recommendation.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The ANC does work, especially on lower frequencies, but it does a poor job of blocking voices. These earbuds may effectively block out the sound of a jet engine, but it won’t block out the crying baby a few seats behind you.
The Ambient Aware mode—Creative’s take on the transparent mode—is on the strange side as well. On the plus side, it’s effective in that you definitely get a better idea of what’s happening around you. On the negative side, there’s a slight delay in what you hear, which can quickly become slightly disorienting.
The built-in microphone sounded fine for calls both indoors and outdoors. I’ve seen complaints about this, and I’m not sure if a firmware update addressed this issue, but the mic sounded fine in my tests. The background noise canceling outdoors wasn’t the best, but it’s certainly fine for occasional calls.
Solid Battery Life With Wireless Charging
Creative estimates the Aurvana Ace 2 earbuds last roughly six hours on a charge, assuming you’re listening with ANC enabled. The case holds another 18 hours of battery life, for a total of 24 hours of battery life in ideal conditions. Of course, cranking the volume or using other features could affect how quickly the earbuds use the battery.
Without ANC, the earbuds last up to seven hours, and with the additional charges, you could get a major increase in battery life. Again, this is highly dependent on volume and other factors. Still, while this is far from the most battery life I’ve seen in wireless earbuds, it certainly falls within the expected range.
Charging up the case should only take around an hour and a half, assuming you plug a USB-C cable into the port on the bottom. If you have a little extra time, the case also supports wireless Qi charging, which is always useful.
Should You Buy the Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
As I’ve already mentioned, theCreative Aurvana Ace 2sound impressive, and with the EQ on hand in the app, you can customize the sound to fit your ears like some sort of futuristic ear-glove. The look isn’t to be discounted either—while the earbuds and case don’t feel quite as luxurious as they look, it’s a striking aesthetic.
The controls, unfortunately, have more in common with lower-end earbuds than high-end flagships, and while you’re able to customize them, they never feel great. While the firmware update may have improved the ANC, it still misses out, even compared to some earbuds that sell for far less that I’ve tested recently. The biggest miss for me is ear detection, which has become a must-have for earbuds.
Even with those downsides, the Aurvana Ace 2 are, quite simply, some of the best sounding earbuds I’ve ever heard in this price range. This is what should be the deciding factor for many people. If features or ANC are your priority, look elsewhere. If sound quality alone is what makes or breaks earbuds for you, you’ll likely love the Aurvana Ace 2.
