Creative Aurvana Live Around-Ear Stereo Headphone review

[dalethorn]

Here's a headphone I had on my wishlist for ages, but if I knew how it really sounded, I could have skipped it. Anyway, here it is, for better or worse:

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/community/threads/creative-aurvana-live-around-ear-stereo-headphone-review.4347/

 

[drummerman]

Thanks for the review.

I have had a pair of these for a long time.

I actually found the mids to be very clear, well ordered but with a muddy lower bass which could intrude on upper bass with a strange smearing and sometimes resonant effect and a recessed though reasonably clear treble. Very low bass is there.

I did subsequently drill the ear cup housings, they now assemble a swiss cheese and surprise ... bass is nice'n tight if less exhaggerated than before and the end result was that higher frequencies are now much more integrated with the rest.

Some damping has been added to the housing internals.

Oddly enough, I think they are now brilliant for movies and other tv/youtube etc material because of their very precise soundstaging and although I am not a gamer I could well imagine them doing great service for that too.

All of the above in modified form though I can't imagine many taking a drill to ear cups but I couldn't live with the original, stock sound.

They use unusual bio-cellulose diaphragms, very similar to the top line Denon ones. I believe the company also supplies Denon.

Even though I use Grados for music because of their musicality and dynamics, these are still my go to for films, documentaries etc.

As you said, very comfortable to wear for a long time too.

You have far more experience with HP's so my impressions are limited to a few phones I tried.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for the review.

I have had a pair of these for a long time.

I actually found the mids to be very clear, well ordered but with a muddy lower bass which could intrude on upper bass with a strange smearing and sometimes resonant effect and a recessed though reasonably clear treble. Very low bass is there.

I did subsequently drill the ear cup housings, they now assemble a swiss cheese and surprise ... bass is nice'n tight if less exhaggerated than before and the end result was that higher frequencies are now much more integrated with the rest.

Some damping has been added to the housing internals.

Oddly enough, I think they are now brilliant for movies and other tv/youtube etc material because of their very precise soundstaging and although I am not a gamer I could well imagine them doing great service for that too.

All of the above in modified form though I can't imagine many taking a drill to ear cups but I couldn't live with the original, stock sound.

They use unusual bio-cellulose diaphragms, very similar to the top line Denon ones. I believe the company also supplies Denon.

Even though I use Grados for music because of their musicality and dynamics, these are still my go to for films, documentaries etc.

As you said, very comfortable to wear for a long time too.

You have far more experience with HP's so my impressions are limited to a few phones I tried.

That's a great review you just did! DIY is pretty well known in the headphone community, so your information is good stuff for some of the Aurvana users who read here. I haven't done mods that are non-reversible, but then again, the price I paid is low enough to justify experimenting.