• On TV.com: Sexy summer bodies photo gallery
advertisement

Creative Zen Aurvana

Product summary

The good: Lightweight, durable, and low profile; comfortable fit; good noise-blocking capability and balanced clean sound.

The bad: Should come with foam earbud option and 1/4" adapter jack

The bottom line: If you need lightweight and quality in-ear earphones for under $100, check out the Creative Aurvanas, which match up quite well against the Shure E2cs.

Specifications: Product type: Headphones ; Design: In-ear canalphone ; Weight: 0.5 oz ; See full specs

CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed on: 06/26/2006
  • Released on: 06/20/2006
With in-ear headphones all the rage now, it didn't surprise us when audio-centric Creative Labs joined the fun with the launch of its own Zen Aurvana in-ear earphones. Already available in Asia a few weeks before their U.S. launch, the $99 "anti-iPod black" pair are extremely lightweight (0.46 ounces) and low profile, and they sound quite good--if they fit in your ears properly (Jasmine's earholes are too small for the Aurvana).

For me, that's not a problem. You get two pairs of three different-size silicon earbuds, the rubbery kind. Though I prefer foam tips, the medium size fit quite well, passively blocking ambient noise (by 90 percent, according to Creative) and delivering clean, balanced sound. Indeed, the high-end sounds come through crystal clear. The Aurvanas have a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz and a sensitivity of 115dB and 20dB at noise blocking. Bass is surprisingly solid (for this listener anyway), and overall performance is good, or as good as a pair of $110 Shure E2Cs, which are bulkier than the Aurvanas. While we prefer the sound of the Shure E3cs, the Aurvanas cost half as much.

It all comes down to comfort and sound, and the Aurvanas rock if you don't mind spending a C-note for your headphones. The 4-foot cable doesn't easily get tangled and the earbuds are so light that you can let one hang out of your ear if you need to monitor the outside world. They match up quite nicely with the Zen Vision:M or Zen V Plus. In this price range, we also like the Ultimate Ears Super fi 3 Studio, which stay securely attached to your ears.

The Aurvanas include a Y-junction slider for optimal cable management, and they ship with the mentioned earbuds, an airplane adapter, an ear-gunk cleaning tool, and a travel case.

See more CNET content tagged:
Shure,
Creative Labs Inc.,
earphone,
earbud,
headphones

User reviews

Submit your review

Log in or create an account to submit your review for:

Creative Zen Aurvana

ORLog in with your Facebook account
1. Rate this product:
(Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.)
0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.)
0 of 5000 characters

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks are prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit

Where to buy

Creative Zen Aurvana: $70.95 - $115.99
storepricein stock?rating
Dell Home & Home Office
$89.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
TheNerds.net
$95.99 Yes 5.0 star rating
Amazon.com
$76.42 Yes 5.0 star rating
Amazon.com Marketplace
$70.95 Yes 5.0 star rating
CDW Corporation
$115.99 Yes 5.0 star rating

see prices from 6 stores

Similar products

Where to buy Creative Zen Aurvana

Price range: $70.95 - $115.99

Special sponsor stores

advertisement
advertisement

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 84

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 143 reviews of Creative Zen Aurvana from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 77/100 and users 73/100. Comparing these reviews to 92776 other Headphones reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 84/100 = Very Good.

  • maximumpc.com

    Summary: And we heard many acoustic elements that we'd previously missed in Beck's "Nicotine & Gravy;" but when that song's bass becomes one of its defining elements, it reveals one of the Aurvana's few weaknesses: The bass tends toward muddiness when it gets ...

    Read full review

  • avreview.co.uk

    Editors' rating: 80

    Read full review

  • pcmag.com

    Editors' rating: 80

    Summary: These ultracompact Zen Aurvana earphones block noise better than most. They sound very good, but the cable thump and wind noise make them better for commuting than for walking around town.

    Read full review

Portable Audio Devices
MP3 player finder
Editors' top MP3 players
Editors' top headphones
iPod accessories and software
MP3 player buying guide
See all MP3 player accessories
See all MP3 player reviews
sponsored
Related resources
Find discontinued Creative headphones