Creative Aurvana Ace 2 – Golden Universe Of Melody
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is a $149 USD pair of TWS Bluetooth IEMS with aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, Adaptive ANC, and xMEMS Drivers that we are going to review today. They come in a beautiful translucent case and cover, and they are the first pair of IEMS we are officially reviewing with the new xMEMS Driver.
Introduction
Creative is one of the most popular PC Gaming Sound Card producers worldwide, and they are actually the producer behind the first soundcard that I ever owned, which put me on the road to become a music lover and reviewer. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. I thank Creative for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Superb design, good comfort, lightweight build, excellent resolution and clarity for the price, effective ANC, good battery life, and IPX Rating for those hitting the gym. The special DSP processing apps do work and can enhance the user experience, while Bluetooth LE works well with my S23 Ultra. There’s a good sense of space and distance in music, with an engaging and enjoyable tonality in the midrange. Treble is strong, while the bass is warm and full.
Cons – At this price point there are no real cons, only con would be that if you don’t want a warm and thick sound, it may be not be for you.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3WlYP08
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
Physically, Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is likely the most beautiful pair of TWS IEMS I have seen to date, having black – semi transparent bodies, with golden accents, which are visible through the plastics. With a total playtime of 24 hours, and up to 6 hours per charge, they offer a strong battery life, and during my tests, I was able to get around 4-5 hours of play time with the volume set to maximum and the case has 3 extra charges.
While I typically avoid installing the extra software needed to run products, I had to install two apps for Creative Aurvana Ace 2. The Creative app is actually pretty useful as it allows you to set the current volume and update the firmware, and if you’re not a reviewer who has to explore hundreds of TWS IEMs, having one app for the IEMS that you are using is acceptable. The SXFI Music app is an EQ that allows you to scan your ears and creates a personalized EQ Profile for you, which actually sounds good, but you have to play music using the app for it to work.
Aurvana Ace 2 can use Bluetooth LE Audio, which is instantly visible for my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and which works pretty well. I had to figure out how to use every button, but once you do, the ANC is quite effective. I was surprised by the quality of the passthrough mode too, both work really well. The technology inside relies on a larger dynamic driver and an xMEMS driver, which is a unique driver. I was tempted to say xMEMS is like a planar magnetic that’s a bit of a BA, but it is a unique tech that uses their own tech to produce music. From what I can gather, Aurvana Ace 2 uses a Cowell driver from xMEMS, and this is a much smaller than BA driver, but which produces a higher amplitude of sound and should theoretically have a lower THD, and consume less power.
For those hitting the gym, Creative got you covered with IPX5 Water resistance, and the case is also Wireless Charging compatible. To use aptX Lossless you need a phone compatible with it, but my S23 Ultra does not have aptX lossless, but it does have LE and LDAC. Using LE provides a cleaner, more detailed sound, which is also quite a bit louder.
The comfort of the Aurvana Ace 2 is excellent, this is an IEM with a smooth body, lightweight construction, and they come with multiple silicone eartips to fit all ears out there. The microphone quality is also quite good, with the person on the other end telling me that I sound crisper and more realistic than usual. Each earbud is really light at 4.7 grams, while the case is also fairly light at 37.2 grams. Although we have ANC or Active Noise Canceling, Aurvana Ace 2 has a fair passive noise isolation, around 15 dB, and most background noise is drowned out if you’re listening to music.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – Regardless of the technology found inside of a product, they all produce sound, music and melody, and Creative Aurvana Ace 2 produces a really sweet, warm, and crisp sound with a lot of bass, a slow and fulfilling impact, and a punchy midrange, full of color and detail. The maximum volume is really loud, while the soundstage is wide, and the whole sound is fairly enjoyable with all music styles, but works best for Rap, EDM, and Pop, commercial music. The sound is generally louder and more defined if using the LE protocol compared to SBC or AAC, but aptX Lossless should be better.
Bass – The bass presented by Aurvana Ace 2 is always a warm, heavy, full bass with a strong presence starting with 40 Hz, and most of the energy spread across the entire bass, from 40 Hz all the way to 100 Hz. This creates a warm feeling to all music, it adds bloom and weight to all instruments, giving them a realistic presence and body, along with a heavy timbre. The bass slightly bleeds in the midrange, giving guitars weight and substance, and male voices strength and depth.
Midrange – The midrange has character inherited from both the bass driver and the xMEMS driver, the lower midrange having a slower, fuller sound, while the upper midrange sounds crisp, quick and has a higher resolution. The entire sound of the Aurvana Ace 2 is well defined and clear, with very little distortion regardless of the volume, each instrument being presented as much as a separate entity as it is part of the whole song. Tenor male voices as well as most female voices are played by the xMEMS driver, and they feel quicker, more defined, as well as sounding juicier. Guitar solos are vivid and forward, while most instruments are presented on the foreground layer, with drums in general filling in the background layer. The midrange is not far behind the bass in amount, only slightly.
Treble – Starting with the extension, we have treble reaching up to 14 kHz, after which it rolls off, but the treble energy is natural, with a good balance relative to the bold bass and the midrange. Cymbal crashes are always played on the background layer, with a strong energy, giving music width, spatiality and energy.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – The two drivers have a very different speed and texture, with the woofer driver being slow, not necessarily sloppy, but large and moving a lot of air slowly. This creates a thick bass, slow and which gives body to all instruments. The xMEMS driver is quick, snappy and gives music resolution, clarity, but it stays within natural bounds when it comes to the texture, not being overly fatiguing or unnaturally sharp.
Volume Control – Although the sound changes slightly with volume, I would consider Aurvana Ace 2 to be almost perfect when it comes to volume control, as they stay controlled, clean and detailed across all volumes, and while the sound is a bit warmer, and thicker at lower volumes, it becomes a bit more balanced and defined at higher volumes, this all is a minor change, and the sound is very consistent for the price point and tuning.
Soundstage – Creative generally plays a lot with the soundstage, having multiple designs in multiple products for creating a wider, more holographic sound, via DSP, so it is interesting to see that Aurvana Ace 2 has actually just a natural soundstage, with clean and well defined instrument separation, or rather, guitars are always well defined and separated, voices too, drums always play in the background filling the stage, while the synths are in a middle layer all the time. All in all, the sound feels natural, never narrow or congested, with a good separation and definition.
Value and Conclusion
Entry-Level TWS Earphones with ANC are always welcome in our world, and they are right now the most popular people listen to music, so I am happy to say that Creative designed one of the revolutionary models, not being afraid to implement new driver technology, and succeeding at offering a good user experience, a lightweight earphone, and a beautiful design, all in one package.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a warm, full, smooth and fun sounding pair of TWS Bluetooth Earphones with exceptionally good microphones, bluetooth signal reliability, and with a crisp sound that has a big bass, Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is a fully recommended model and an earphone you’re bound to have lots of fun with if you’ll end up purchasing.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3WlYP08
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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