Musical Bliss: Creative Aurvana Trio IEM Review

Until this past CES, I didn’t realize that I could be completely satisfied with a pair of earbuds. Creative was the company to turn my perspective around, after sending along a pair of its Aurvana Trio to check out. While I’m not an “audiophile”, the fact that these were touted as audiophile quality grabbed me a bit – as did the $149.99 price tag.

As someone who’s never spent more than $50 on a pair of earbuds, or even IEMs, I was a little skeptical at first. But at the time Creative first told me about the Trios, I had been yearning for a better solution for airplane travel, as that’s been ramping up considerably lately.

Over the past decade, I’ve traveled with closed-back Ultrasone, Beyerdynamic, and most recently, Audio-Technica, and none of them have satisfied me to the level these IEMs have on the size front, which should surprise no one. And while those full-sized headphones did a good job of keeping sound out, these buds do a better one.

Before I harp more about how much I love these earbuds for airplane travel, let’s first dive into a look at the specs and features – what makes these so great? And worth the price, for that matter?

As much as I demand a good audio option for the plane, I also demand a good option that energizes me when I listen to my music. I especially love a solution that blocks out outside sound so well, it gives me the feeling of having a concert right inside my own ears. For those who like it loud, these IEMs have quite a high sensitivity of 103dB/mW, and a low input impedance of 16 Ohms. Fortunately, they are easy to drive, regardless of source, so even a bad laptop or phone can still makes these sound good.

Tying into that, one of the reasons they can get so loud and block out a lot of noise, is because they’re In-Ear Monitors and fit right in the ear canal. I used to wear my earbuds around the house doing errands in the past, but with the Trios, I find myself doing it a lot more. I love music that’s really in your face – a feeling I don’t get with speakers (at least at the volume I’m able to play music at).

Creative says 98% of ambient noise is reduced with the Trios, so while there isn’t active noise-canceling, this is the next-best thing (and I feel hard-pressed to believe it can get much better). Ultimately, that means you don’t need to listen to music at full volume if you want to drown out loud noise around you. You’re still going to hear some noises, because your head cunducts sound too, but you won’t hear things like vacuum cleaners right beside you – if you are listening at a healthy volume. I use vacuums as an example as I accidentally left one running until a song ended and I could hear it again.

Sound is just one part of the Aurvana Trio equation. These buds also include MMCX detachable cables, so if your cat ever decides to eat through the ones that come with these, you can order a replacement online. I’m not sure if Creative itself offers replacements for sale, but Amazon has many alternatives available.

As a non-audiophile who appreciates crisp music with some punch, I’ve really come to love the sound out of these IEMs. The default sound isn’t enough to suit my tastes for all genres, but that’s something equalizers can help out with. Inside each of these buds is three drivers, two of which are in a module that combines a super tweeter with another mid-range one for more natural vocals. The third is a dynamic driver with a bio-cellulose fiber woofer that delivers really satisfying bass. This makes the Aurvana Trio a Hybrid-IEM, since it has both armatures, and a driver.

A go-to track for me when testing out bass is a DJ Tiesto mix of Cygnus X’s Orange Theme, because it has room-shaking bass from the get-go. If I don’t like how this track sounds on a pair of headphones, chances are they’re not for me, and I can honestly say, I love the track on these earbuds. The bass isn’t so strong that your ear canal gets shaken – you definitely hear it, but no bass I’ve ever heard with these have led to an annoying feeling in my ear.

Beyond bass, if you listen at a nice volume without lots of background noise, you can really appreciate intricacies in the music, some of which you might not have caught with other headphones. It doesn’t matter what I throw at these earbuds – I am completely happy with the sound from this tiny little solution. It doesn’t matter the genre; whether it’s a techno track or one with a vocal focus – it all comes through crisp and clear. If you don’t love bass, these are probably not for you, but if you do, I would say that they are definitely for you.

Tying into that, Creative includes three different silicone earbud sizes with the Aurvana Trio. If you want even more noise-blockage or those silcone pieces don’t suit you, there’s also a foam option included. I couldn’t personally get much comfort out of those ones; they simply felt too big for my ears. Nonetheless, with four options in the box, one is bound to suit you. And speaking of what’s in the box, Creative also includes a handy traveling case with these buds, as well as an airplane adapter.

One thing I should also mention is that even the braided cable has turned out to be a thoughtful design. It’s a simple one, but what the braid does is make it easier to untangle the earbuds after they come out of your pocket (or the carrying case). Where regular earbuds may feel like a literal rope has been tied with them, the braided cable has allowed me to untangle it each time with much greater ease. I feel like all earbuds should have this kind of cable.

Before wrapping-up, I’ll quickly cover two other key features included here. High up on the cable for your right ear is a single button that allows you to answer or hang-up a call, and of course pause, play, or skip your music. The mic is attached to the same piece as this button, and I’ll admit I didn’t even realize it was there at first. I don’t generally talk on the phone while using earbuds, but I did some tests while calling myself on Skype, and I really couldn’t believe how good the sound was coming out of this itty bitty mic. The lack of ambient noise surely helped, but based on even modest testing, I’d have to say this solution will suit you very well. It might be an incredibly small mic, but it works extremely well for what it is.

Ultimately, I am very pleased with the Aurvana Trio as you’ve probably been able to tell. For me, they’ve become a no-brainer to bring with me while traveling, and it’s not only because they fit so much nicer into a bag than full headphones. If the Trio didn’t deliver sound quality I wasn’t happy with, I simply wouldn’t be able to use them. Noise-blocking is just one thing I care about; music quality is on top. Fortunately, the Aurvan Trio delivers what great sound quality across every genre and song I’ve tested (fun fact: I listened to music with the Aurvana Trio the entire time this was being written).

While I’ve touted the noise-blocking on these, you should not expect a miracle. On airplanes for example, you’re still going to hear the super-loud engine, but it will likely be far subdued compared to what you’re used to. I flew with full headphones many times as mentioned before, and I feel these do a much better job of keeping noise out. Traveling aside, the best possible sound from these will be heard when you are at home and there is no loud noise around to interrupted your listening experience. It’s obvious, but with no noise around, and only your music, you can really hear things you probably didn’t before. They’re good enough to make me find excuses to wear them at home, even though it’s more convenient to use the headphones plugged into the PC.

As before, you can grab a pair for about $150. If I’ve skipped over something you’d like to know about, please feel free to leave a comment!