The Aurvana Ace 2 marks a milestone for its parent company, Creative, in more ways than one. Not only are these one of the first pair of earbuds for the Singapore-based company, it is also one of the first pair of earbuds to be assembled using xMEMs solid-state drivers.
On that note, the Aurvana Ace 2 mark the first pair of xMEMs-driven TWS earbuds to enter our labs and the results are a mixed bag.
What Am I Looking At?
I’ll start by answering the question that is most likely o n your mind: what the exact heck is xMEMs? Technically, xMEMs is the name of the lab that developed the solid-state audio driver technology known as the micro-eletrical-mechanical systems, or MEMs. Here’s a quickie video about the technology:
To describe it here, it’s a technology that eschews the traditional coils and magnets that are usually found in audio products, depending instead on the use of the piezoelectric effect to drive sound through a membrane. The closest equivalent but not entirely accurate example that I can give you on piezoelectric technology at this point, is the Xiaomi Mi MIX, a smartphone that was all-screen and launched back in 2016.
But it’s not all xMEMs membrane drivers. If you take an exploded view of the Aurvana Ace 2, the xMEMs membrane is supported by a 10mm dynamic driver that has the task of driving the low pitches, and does a pretty decent job at that. More on that in the following section.
As for its design, it’s clear where Creative drew inspiration when it made the Aurvana Ace 2. If it weren’t for its choice of the reflective copper motif, you’d think it was a special edition of the Apple Airpods Pro 2.
In terms of codec support, the Aurvana Ace 2 supports AAC, AptX, AptX Adaptive, AptX Lossless, LC3, and SBC. Lastly, there is a dedicated Creative app to use with the earbuds but as of this review’s publication, the functions are still limited to an equaliser and the choice of tap functions.
What’s Good About It?
A lot of the Aurvana Ace 2’s focus is concentrated around the highs, mids, and vocals, and that is to be expected. This isn’t an absolute statement but the nature of the xMEMs membrane is precisely that; to bring those pitches and the vocal element all the way to the front. This results in a very bright listening experience. This makes the earbuds perfect for those “We Are the World”, All-Star ensemble kind of songs, such as Mother from the Carole and Tuesday OST, or even jazz tracks such as Stacey Kent’s La Venus de Milo.
That isn’t to say that the Aurvana Ace 2 has poor bass performance or drive. As I said, lows are still handled by traditional coils and drivers that sit right at the back of the xMEMs membrane. Lows are moderately strong and I can feel it rattling the back of my skull to an equally moderate degree, even when I’m listening to Digging My Potato by Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts, Stephen Sanchez’s Evangeline, and even the Lullaby of Woe from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
The only caveat I can tell you about the Aurvana Ace 2 earbuds is that the sound staging isn’t quite as accurate as other earbuds I’ve tested. Just to be clear, it is there, but it’s just not one of its strong points.
What’s The Catch?
Sadly, the aural buck stops there for Creative and the Aurvana Ace 2. While xMEMs deliver a relatively solid audio performance, these earbuds are unfortunately severely lacking in other departments. For a start, the contact area of the earbuds’ touch sensors is tiny. Worst, they’re not even marked or isolated, which makes trying to find them akin to striking the jackpot at times. It’s not a joke: when I tap the sides of each earbud, I sometimes miss the mark and am clued into this because the function I initially thought I had activated simply doesn’t.
And then there are the command presets on Aurvana Ace 2. Before I get into this, I want to be absolutely clear: as with the majority of audio brands and their earbuds, Creative has its own dedicated, self-named app that you can download, log into, and then customise said command presets. What is incredibly annoying and has me asking the question “why?” is Creative’s decision to not assign the “Previous Track” option on the earbuds, and thinks it’s better to assign the Voice Assistant to it as the default instead.
Moving on, I also believe that Creative could have made the ANC function on the Aurvana Ace 2 better. Honestly, it’s not the best, nor the strongest that I have experienced: even when active, I can still hear chatter and voices leaking in. Noises that the function should be blocking out.
Then there’s this weird judder that seems to occur at random and quite frequently and always with the right earbud, specifically. What I mean by this is that, at any given time, my right earbud will suddenly begin to pulsate at a rapid tempo; it feels as if it’s sending Morse code to the voices in my head.
Should I Buy It?
At US$150 (~RM714) a pop, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 very clearly falls within the premium bracket of TWS earbuds but it is also clear that the brand has some iterations to go before I would consider its offering as wholesome or a complete experience.
Is the Aurvana Ace 2 an un-worthwhile purchase? Not necessarily. For any audiophile worth their salt, these earbuds are your chance to experience xMEMs technology directly into your ear canals, and only if you’re able to overlook the minor, aural flaws. Once again, it’s far from the perfect pair of earbuds but these are Creative’s first time in this particular audio ecosphere, I reckon that future generations of earbuds made by the brand will showcase improvements, assuming that this isn’t just a “one and done” scenario.
Photography by John Law.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Telegram for more updates and breaking news.
