The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 True Wireless are among the first widely available designs with breakthrough xMEMS drivers. One of their defining features is the xMEMS Cowell driver, a tiny driver that's paired with a second 10mm dynamic driver in each bud. In addition to their hybrid driver design, the buds stand out with support for LC3 and aptX Lossless Bluetooth codecs. Having active noise cancelling (ANC) adds to their attractiveness as well. We'll see if these earbuds can truly upset the basic driver design people have used for the last century.
Our Verdict
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are alright for neutral sound. Their default tuning is bassy and bright, but you can use their app's comprehensive EQ to tame the tuning. Our unit has audibly present distortion, which impacts how clean your music sounds, although distortion varies between units. They support a suite of high bit rate and bit depth Bluetooth codecs like aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive (High Quality) for less compressed playback.
- Comprehensive EQ.
- High quality codec selection.
- Short battery life.
- ANC performance is just okay, with barebones on/off functionality.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are decent for traveling and commuting because they're portable and comfortable with noise cancelling. You won't be fully isolated from your environment, but they still reduce noise. Their just over four hours of battery life will last through your work commute, but they might not make it through a flight without a recharge.
- Comprehensive EQ.
- Leak almost no audio.
- Short battery life.
- ANC performance is just okay, with barebones on/off functionality.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are very good for sports and fitness. Their IPX5 rating reduces the chances of water damage for those runs in the rain, while their fit is relatively stable for earbuds without additional wings. They feel lightweight and comfortable, while the thumpy bass response can help motivate your workout. Still, the fit is highly dependent on the individual's ears.
- IPX5 rating.
- Comfortable fit.
- No stabilizers or over-ear hooks.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are okay for office use. They feel comfortable and light in your ears. On the other hand, their battery can't make it through a full workday with noise cancelling on or off. While the active noise cancelling system does just an alright job overall of reducing environmental sound, it still provides some isolation regarding coworker chatter.
- Comfortable fit.
- Leak almost no audio.
- Short battery life.
- ANC performance is just okay, with barebones on/off functionality.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 aren't suitable for wireless gaming. They don't have a wireless dongle to connect with consoles. You can use them with devices over Bluetooth only. The latency is pretty high unless you use aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) to reduce the lag between audio and video.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are wireless only, so you can't use them for wired gaming.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 aren't ideal for phone calls, but they're okay. Their mic system doesn't sound very natural, but it's useable in quiet spaces. If you call from noisy spaces, it can struggle to separate speech from loud background sounds. The headphones won't let you switch your listening mode with the touch controls once you're on the call. Their noise cancelling can help isolate you from your environment so you can hear the caller, but with ANC on, the buds also introduce a noticeable noise floor to your audio.
- Comfortable fit.
- Mic struggles with noise.
Changelog
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Updated Mar 25, 2025:
We've updated the review with our measured LC3 (GMAP) latency in Bluetooth Connection.
- Updated Aug 08, 2024: The review has been updated to give information about the Virtual Soundstage.
- Updated Aug 01, 2024: The following test groups have been updated following Test Bench 1.7: Noise Isolation - Full Range, Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios, and ANC Wind Handling. There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages and product comparisons to match these results.
- Updated Jul 30, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 1.7, which updates our Noise Isolation test. We've also expanded the scope of this test to include Common Scenarios in addition to Voice Handling and Wind Handling.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 are available in one color variant, 'Translucent Black & Copper.' You check to see our unit's label. Please let us know in the forums if you know of another variant.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
While the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 distinguish themselves from the crowd by using a combination of xMEMS drivers and conventional dynamic drivers, there's nothing wrong with tried-and-true dynamic drivers on their own. Support for high-quality Bluetooth codecs also makes a difference to your audio experience, and the earbuds support LC3 and aptX Lossless. At this tier, the buds are uniquely positioned with this feature set.
There's a more upscale option, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Truly Wireless, that support aptX Adaptive. Under ideal conditions, this can supply lossless audio, but functionally, the codec adjusts audio quality based on your connection. Unlike the Creative earbuds, you can prioritize low latency in gaming mode. The Bose buds also offer better noise cancelling to hear more of your music than your environment. However, their app doesn't have as comprehensive an equalizer, and technically, aptX Adaptive doesn't always prioritize lossless audio.
Check out some of the best sounding wireless earbuds for comparison if what interests you about these buds is the advertised sound quality. If you want a set of buds within this price bracket, there are the best wireless earbuds with different price tiers. Lastly, jump to the best noise cancelling earbuds if that's your priority.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 True Wireless aren't as good overall as the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3. The Sennheiser's sound quality is cleaner and more neutral sounding, which some may prefer. Noise cancelling and isolation perform much better as well. While the Creative Aurvana are packed with the latest xMEMS tech, they don't sound better than the Sennheiser earbuds. Their sound is more bass-heavy with some imaging issues, and the noise cancelling simply isn't as effective, while the battery life is shorter.
The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 True Wireless and Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Truly Wireless both support the aptX codecs for high-quality audio. The Bose additionally have a more effective active noise cancelling (ANC) system and a significantly longer battery life to a single charge. If surround sound is on your list, these include that as well. They use aptX Adaptive which adjusts audio quality based on your connection, with a gaming mode. The Creative buds have ANC, but it's not as effective. Their app has an EQ that gives you more control over the tuning. You also get aptX Lossless, which, unlike aptX Adaptive, consistently outputs lossless audio. However, you don't get surround sound with these.
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