We have spent over a month now testing these earbuds out and trying to wrap our minds around the final score we have now given them. With as many models of headphones and buds we get in every month, we tend to find ourselves setting our standards a bit high when rating something. You really have to apply this kind pressure when there are so many options to choose from coming from all around the world. Thankfully, doing so also increases the excitement level when we come across something that has a positive impression.
Looking back at CES 2019, we spent some time with Creative discussing and demoing their new Super X-Fi Amp and some of their latest headphones. We walked away with a wealth of knowledge, and Creative eventually walked away with Best of CES for their amp. Another thing we walked away with was these earbuds. We have had more than enough time since then to bring things to a conclusion, and our happy to say that we found something that made it into our top picks.
Creative’s Aurvana Trio earbuds wound up coming close to completely bumping one of our favorites (within their price range) from their pedestal, the 1MORE Triple Driver earbuds. They came close but seem to have shared the pedestal in the end. In fact, these came so very close to taking Editors’ Choice from us, missing only by a single category point. So far, they are doing quite well.
These aren’t one of their latest since they were originally introduced in 2017, but they are one of their best. They kick a lot of dust up within the $100-$200 price range, making their presence well and join (as mentioned) 1MORE’s Triple Driver buds as our favorite models to recommend within this price range.
They feature a gray (gun metal gray) and black theme with a twisted cable running down to the 3.5mm connector. This cable is great and doesn’t seem to snag with your clothes or transfer a lot of noise into your ears when using larger tips. It is a MMCX cable that can detach from the buds, which allows you to easily replace the cable if it gets damaged, or swap it out with an alternative–including another brand or even a Bluetooth cable, which can be found from many brands, including everything from random 3rd party names to brands like Shure, FiiO and more.
There is an in-line controller with a small microphone with a single button that can pause/play the track you are listening to, as well as answer incoming phone calls. Oddly, there aren’t any additional buttons for track control, but the one button still comes in use.
Taking phone calls with these headphones appears to work just fine, allowing for both parties to hear each other clearly without any noticeable distortions. They fall within an average range within this category, like most wired buds typically do.
Where these headphones truly shine is their range. Their highs are incredibly crisp and detailed. The mid-highs are also very detailed with a balanced mid presence and balanced lows that fill things in just right, while adding warmth to what you are listening to. The audio is also incredibly clean. Especially if you are feeding it good content, such as lossless/lossy or better sources.
These seem to be a great all around pair of earbuds, but best when you are in a quiet environment, looking to really dive into the music you are listening to. Their range includes enough detail to warranty the idea of calling them borderline audiophile or even just crossing that line into this category. Even better when paired with an AMP. Especially the above mentioned Creative Super X-Fi amp.
Albums like “World’s Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings” sound fantastic with these. These albums work great for testing out both high-end speakers and headphones. We have stacks of content including everything from SACD to Mofi, and files that cover everything from lossless to completely uncompressed. All waiting for some of the highest quality items that come our way. Perfect for testing multi-thousand dollar speakers just as much as a $150 pair of buds like these. You’ll be surprised with what some of these headphones can accomplish, and the Aurvana Trio is no joke.
This is where they nearly took Editors’ Choice this round. More than deserving of this when it comes to sound, they just barely missed it when it comes to comfort. After long hours of use or repeated inserts into your ear, there is some discomfort than can be experienced. The tips don’t seem to blend in and disappear. Instead, you find yourself wanting to move down a size, sacrificing some of your range (the lows) in exchange for comfort. It isn’t terrible, but it was noticed by everyone here. The tips just seem to cause a little more pressure than needed as well as some abrasion when inserting them multiple times within a certain period of time. It is difficult to say if it is just the tips or partly due to the angle or width of the stems, but thus far we have leaned towards the tips since moving down a size does make a difference.
The package includes three silicone tip sizes (small, medium and large), as well as a single pair of foam tips. It comes with a small soft/semi-hard case to store them in as well as an airplane adapter for when you travel on a plane that requires such. Outside of some documentation, that is it. We did find that the case was a bit small for our tastes. It would have been nice to have around 20% more space to work with, but this didn’t of course affect the score any (just a mentionable thought),
Our Conclusion
These headphones can easily be considered an entry-level option for the audiophile community of buyers. Their range is fantastic, covering everything from crisp detailed highs to their warm balanced lows. A product like this competes well, not only with similar options within the $100-$200 range, but models that can sometimes approach the $300 mark. This makes a $149.99 price tag seem reasonable. They compete well against our top pick and have taken their place next to it within our lists (nearly defeating it). The only thing that prevented them from making it as far as this (as well as Editors’ Choice) was comfort, since this can be improved on. Beyond that, the Aurvana Trio earbuds are an brow-raising experience.
| Buy from Amazon | Buy from Creative | |
Our Rating | Average Price* $149.99 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
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Specifications:
- Product Type: Wired Headphones
- Weight: 19 g
- Color: Gun metal gray/black
- Frequency Response: Hz – 40 kHz
- Cable Length: .2 m / 3.9 ft
- Cable Style: Detachable Cable with Inline Mic and 1-Button Control
- Driver: 10 mm Bio-Cellulose Dynamic Driver, Dual Balanced Armature Drivers
- Inline Microphone with Controls: 1 button for music playback and calls, Supports iOS and Android phones
- Wearing Style: In-ear
- Microphone:
- Type: MEMS Microphone
- Frequency Response: 100 Hz ~ 10 kHz
- Sensitivity: – 42 dBV / Pa
PACKAGE CONTENTS
- Aurvana Trio
- 3.5mm Audio Cable with Inline Microphone (1.2m)
- Airplane Travel Adapter
- Hard Travel Case
- Leaflet
- 1 x Silicone Earbud S (in pair)
- 1 x Silicone Earbud M (in pair)
- 1 x Silicone Earbud L (in pair)
- 1 x Foam Earbud (in pair)
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