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Creative Zen Aurvana
Reviewed by
James Kim
on 06/26/2006

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Price range:

$82.95 - $129.99

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Add to my list 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.

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CNET editors' review

  • Reviewed by:
    James Kim
  • 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.

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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

  • alaTest.com

    Editors' rating: 83

    Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 176 reviews of Creative Zen Aurvana from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 77/100 and users 76/100. Comparing these reviews to 131772 other Headphones reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 83/100 = Very Good.

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  • 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 ...

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  • avreview.co.uk

    Editors' rating: 80

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  • 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

Creative Zen Aurvana

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