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Creative Aurvana Ace 2
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are one of the world’s first earbuds with a dual-driver system featuring xMEMS speakers. They promise enhanced sound quality and the latest and greatest in Bluetooth connectivity. This caught our attention, and we subjected them to our intensive test protocol. Read on to find out if the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 deliver on all they promise.
Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are for audiophiles that want high audio quality from their wireless earbuds.
What’s it like to use Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
The first thing you’ll notice about the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is its stunning design. The charging case is a semi-translucent black plastic. Popping it open reveals the highly reflective copper-colored interior that will catch a few eyes. As of writing, this is the only color option available, so if you want something a little more subtle, you’re out of luck. While the plastic build doesn’t feel overly luxurious, it is durable. The earbuds are IPX5 water-resistant, which means they can handle sweat and splashes of water in the rain.
At only 4.7g each, the earbuds are lightweight. You only get three sizes of ear tips in the box, but I had no issues with comfort while using the Aurvana Ace 2. The earbuds’ shape, fit, and weight are all very similar to the Apple AirPods Pro 2. If you’ve ever tried those and liked how they feel, you’ll get a good fit from the Aurvana Ace 2.
How do you control the Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
You can control the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 by tapping on the outside of either earbud. The earbuds don’t have a sensor to detect when they are in your ear, so unlike most premium earbuds, they won’t automatically pause when you take them out of your ears. Below, we’ve outlined the default controls, but you can fully customize each control from within the Creative app.
| Left earbud | Right earbud | |
|---|---|---|
Double tap | Left earbud Ambient control | Right earbud Play/pause |
Triple tap | Left earbud Voice assistant | Right earbud Next track |
Long tap | Left earbud Volume down | Right earbud Volume up |
Should you use the Creative app for the Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
As far as headphone companion apps go, the Creative app for the Aurvana Ace 2 is pretty basic. However, it’s still important to use the app to install the latest firmware updates to the earbuds. The other main benefit of the app is its parametric equalizer, which lets you customize the frequency response of the Aurvana Ace 2.
You can switch between active noise canceling (ANC) or ambient mode from within the app, but you can also do that from the touch controls on the earbuds. When you dig into the settings on the app, you’ll find a toggle to enable low latency mode. This reduces the latency between the device and earbuds (at the expense of quality) and helps synchronize audio with video content.
How do the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 connect?
With some of the latest and greatest Bluetooth tech, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 can stream audio at a higher quality than most earbuds. The earbuds have Bluetooth 5.3 with support for LC3 and LE. With Snapdragon Sound, the earbuds support aptX Lossless. In addition to supporting higher data transfer rates today, including all these codecs helps future-proof the Aurvana Ace 2. Rounding out the Aurvana Ace 2 Bluetooth codec list are the more standard aptX Adaptive, AAC, and SBC. Bluetooth multipoint support lets you pair the earbuds to your phone and laptop simultaneously and quickly switch between listening to audio on the two devices.
When you first open the charging case on a new set of Creative Aurvana Ace 2, the earbuds will automatically enter pairing mode.
To manually pair the earbuds to a new device, follow these steps:
- Place the earbuds inside the charging case and open the lid.
- Press and hold the button on the bottom of the charging case for 3 seconds.
- The LED light will now blink red and blue; this indicates you are in pairing mode.
- You can now go into Bluetooth settings on your phone and select the Aurvana Ace 2.
How long does the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 battery last?
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 lasted 6 hours and 13 minutes on a single charge in our battery testing. This exceeds the six hours the product claims to last but is still not great compared to other premium wireless earbuds. On the positive side, the charging case provides three additional full charges for a total battery life of over 24 hours.
From empty, 10 minutes of fast charging will provide 60 minutes of listening time on the Aurvana Ace 2. This isn’t as fast as most wireless earbuds. However, with 24 hours of total battery life, you’ll only need to remember to plug them in about once a week.
How well do the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 cancel noise?
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These are by no means the best noise canceling earbuds, but they still do a decent job of controlling environmental noise as long as you get a good seal from the ear tips. High-frequency noise is reduced through passive isolation, and the Aurvana Ace 2 uses Qualcomm Adaptive ANC for additional noise reduction. The “adaptive” part means that it will increase or decrease the amount of noise canceling depending on the environmental noise level.
As you can see in the chart above, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 provides 30dB of ANC attenuation at 100 Hz. Most low-frequency noise will sound 1/4 to 1/8 as loud when you have ANC enabled compared to without. On an airplane, I found the ANC significantly reduced the rumble noise caused by the engines. The ANC is also effective at attenuating mid-range frequencies between 1-2kHz, which helps to reduce the sound of people talking around you.
How do the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 sound?
Objective Measurements
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While the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 frequency response closely follows our preference curve in the mids and highs, it strays in the low frequencies. From 300Hz and lower, there is a significant bass boost, as shown in the chart. In reality, the magnitude of this bass boost will vary significantly depending on the fit of the earbuds in your ears. If the earbuds sound too bassy for you out of the box, you can easily tone down the low-frequencies using the in-app equalizer.
Can you use the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 for phone calls?
With six microphones and Qualcomm cVc noise cancelation technology, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 can take calls on the go. In our microphone demos below, it is easy to distinguish what each voice is saying, even with the talker surrounded by background noise. While the audio quality isn’t exceptional, you can have confidence that the earbuds aren’t at fault if the person on the other end of the line doesn’t understand you.
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):
How does the microphone sound to you?
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 microphone demo (Office conditions):
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 microphone demo (Street conditions):
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 microphone demo (Windy conditions):
Creative Aurvana Ace 2 microphone demo (Reverberant space):
While the microphone system doesn’t suppress all the background noise, you can still understand what the voices say, which is better than many other wireless earbuds.
Should you buy the Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
With the latest and greatest driver and connectivity technology, you might expect the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 to cost hundreds of dollars. However, these earbuds only cost $150, about half the price of most flagship wireless earbuds; therefore, they are a great value. That said, many of those flagship earbuds have features the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 skips on, such as integrated spatial audio features, extreme durability, and more comprehensive companion apps. If you don’t care about those bells and whistles and just want earbuds that perform well and sound great, you should get the Creative Aurvana Ace 2.
How do Creative Aurvana Ace 2 compare to the original Creative Aurvana Ace?
Despite the naming choice by Creative Labs, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 was released at the same time as the Creative Aurvana Ace. There are very few differences between the two models. First, you’ll notice the Aurvana Ace has a more basic, subdued design than the Aurvana Ace 2. Rather than the translucent case with copper accents, the Aurvana Ace has a simple, solid black aesthetic. Regarding performance, the Aurvana Ace only supports aptX Adaptive rather than the aptX Lossless support of the Creative Aurvana Ace 2. You’ll likely only hear a performance difference using lossless audio files from a supported streaming platform.
What should you get instead of the Creative Aurvana Ace 2?
You’ll have to wait for more xMEMS wireless earbuds to enter the market, but if you need a new set of earbuds today, there are lots of options out there.
If you care about sound quality and not about your budget, the Master & Dynamic MW09 are worth checking out, $399 at Manufacturer site. These earbuds feature a luxurious design with aptX Lossless, 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, and great noise canceling.
iPhone users should, of course, consider the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation), $239 at Amazon. On the flip side, Samsung device owners will enjoy great sound quality from the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, $179 at Amazon.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are IPX5 water-resistant, which means they can handle sweat and splashes of water.
Yes, you can use Creative Aurvana Ace 2 with either Apple or Android devices. That said, you can only use aptX Lossless on Android devices, as Apple devices utilize the AAC codec.
Yes, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 has active noise canceling (ANC).
Yes, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 charging case supports Qi wireless charging.
While not specifically designed for working out, you can use the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 at the gym. An IPX5 rating means the earbuds are sweat-proof and very lightweight, so they stayed in my ears fine while exercising.