Funny really. A less ‘creative’-looking pair of headphones would be hard to imagine: dull, plastic-looking and silver has been the headphone design staple for years. The Aurvana, however, does hide a secret weapon in that bland exterior: X-Fi circuitry!
“What the hell is X-Fi?” we hear you cry in unison. Well, it’s some clever digital jiggery-pokery that Creative have kitted the Aurvanas with that process digital tunes and add a “virtualised 3D surround effect. What you need to know is they’re as brilliant-sounding as they are bland-looking. That said, the X-Fi treatment won’t appeal to everyone. Luckily you can turn it off if it’s doing your head in. These still supply some winningly warm, bassy sounds though. With a low-end that extends down to the Earth’s core and treble that floats up to heaven, whether you rock agner or Wu Tang.
While the noise-canncelling tech isn’t bad it can’t quite stand up to say, the BOSE QuietComfort 3s and Sennheiser PXC-450s of this world. Still, if you just want to shut out your girlfriend’s constant chatter or a whining baby on the tube, these will do a job.
These canned goods from Creative aren’t the BOSE and Sennheiser rivals we were hoping for, but they’re a decent alternative if you want exceptional sonics.
