The Aurvana Trio Wireless is a wireless in-ear headphone with a battery life of 20 hours, Super X-Fi technology and integrated microphone.
So-called neckband headphones combine the advantages of wireless transmission and the associated higher wearing comfort, with a, compared to in-ears without neckband, significantly longer battery life.
By the way, the Aurvana’s lack of active noise cancellation (ANC) is hardly noticeable.
We will now report in detail on how the Aurvana Trio Wireless performed in the test.
Technical data
| Interface | Micro-USB (charging) |
| Weight | 40 g |
| Color | Black |
| Frequency range | 5-20,000 Hz |
| Driver size | Double balance armature driver, 11 mm bio-cellulose dynamic driver |
| Battery type and runtime | Battery in neckband: 1 x rechargeable lithium polymer battery 130 mAh |
| Plug type | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Bluetooth profiles | HFP (hands-free profile), A2DP (wireless stereo via Bluetooth), AVRCP (remote control via Bluetooth), Supports multipoint connections for 2 devices |
| Bluetooth Operating Frequency | 2.4 GHz |
| Audio codec | AAC, SBC, aptX HD, aptX LL |
| Range | Up to 10 m |
| Carrying style | In-ear |
| Operating temperature | 0 ℃ to 45 ℃ |
| Built-in microphone | Yes |
| Playback and call control | Yes |
| Price | € 7.99 * |
Scope of delivery
Included in the package, according to the manufacturer Creative, are the following items:
- 1x Aurvana Trio Wireless
- 1x micro USB charging cable
- 3x pair of silicone ear tips
- 3x pair of foam ear tips
- 1x carrying case
- 1x Quick Start Guide
- 1x Compliance Leaflet
- 1x Warranty Leaflet
Design, workmanship & wearing comfort
The main components of the product box, which include the carrying case and charging cable in addition to the actual headphones, have an overall very good to good build quality. Nevertheless, we noticed a few unpleasant details that could possibly be annoying for one or the other person.
The neckband is largely made of supple silicone, so it’s already very comfortable to wear. Its two ends are each encased in metal and house the controls on the right in the form of three multifunction buttons.
These three controls unfortunately feel both a bit sharp-edged and extremely loose, which unfortunately doesn’t reflect the rest of the quality and is therefore quite a shame.
The charging port for the included micro-USB cable is right next to it and is covered by a thin flap, which sits a bit loose in the port on the review sample, which could theoretically and under certain circumstances open it unintentionally. However, this did not happen during our test.
The earpieces of the headphones seem well designed. For more convenient handling when not in use, both sides can be held together by built-in magnets. Changing the earbuds with one of the 6 included pairs is easy and can be done in a few simple steps, which also makes regular cleaning easier.
When worn, the earplugs close the ear canal tightly and thus also have a relatively good fit, which ultimately probably also leads to the fairly good noise isolation. However, after several hours of wear at the latest, the earplugs become noticeably uncomfortable to slightly painful. A break or loosening of the seat then provides relief.
At first, the included carrying case didn’t seem large enough to stow the headphones in. However, with a bit of patient and careful bending and pressing of the neck strap, it finally works out and is definitely better than stuffing the partly delicate cables of the headphones into a bag without protection. Besides that, the charging cable also fits into the case.
The case feels smooth on the outside, otherwise consists of plastic fabric and makes a well processed impression.
Features
Bluetooth 5.0
The connection via Bluetooth worked on both test devices, Android smartphone (Bluetooth 4.2 LE) and Windows 10 PC via Hama Bluetooth USB adapter (Bluetooth 4.0 C2), right away. The Aurvana Trio Wireless can then be used for both audio content playback and sound recording, so also for phone calls or voice chat. The microphone of the Aurvana can be selected as an audio source in corresponding programs on the PC.
Super X-Fi Ready
As with a number of other Creative products, the Aurvana headphones also support Super X-Fi technology, which is capable of personalizing audio playback.
However, there are some requirements and limitations. Both the smartphone and the PC must have software installed that supports the respective playback device, in this case the Aurvana Trio WL. You also have to set up an account, which you log into before each use of the app, and create a personal head map.
On our test smartphone, the SXFI app enabled us to play local (not streamed) audio files in a customized sound quality, whereas streams played in other apps, such as Spotify, did not benefit from this, which is explicitly stated by Creative.
On the Windows 10 test PC, the automatic detection of the Aurvana headphones by the SXFI app already failed. It was only listed as “Unknown In-Ear” there. The attempt to select it manually led to the app crashing again and again without comment. Thus, we unfortunately could not enjoy Super X-Fi on the PC.
Addendum: Creative’s customer service confirmed that Super X-Fi with the Aurvana Trio WL can only be used with the mobile version of Windows 10. Thus, those who want to use SXFI on a Windows 10 desktop system as well should go for a product that explicitly supports it. This includes, for example, the comparable but wired SXFI Trio.
Delay-free audio transmission
In order to keep the delay between picture and sound caused by the wireless transmission as low as possible, the Aurvana works with the Qualcomm aptX Low Latency Codec.
This was tested with a simple comparison between three playback devices, one of them the Aurvana, which were connected to a PC and each played the sound to a test video. This process was then recorded via external camera in each case. When looking at the three resulting recordings at reduced speed, it was finally possible to see approximately how big the delay of the respective playback device between picture and sound had been.
And indeed, the Aurvana was on par with a wired speaker here, while a cheap Bluetooth headphone from the 20 euro range showed a significant latency.
This test was rather inaccurate, but sufficient to say:
In this point, the Aurvana delivers what it promises.
Connect with 2 devices simultaneously
The Aurvana can be connected to 2 devices at the same time, but then can only play sound from one at a time. It worked right off the bat with a Windows 10 PC and a Samsung smartphone. It does feel a bit pointless due to the listening functionality being limited to one device, but in principle this can of course still save a lot of time if you want or need to switch back and forth between 2 devices more often.
Good noise isolation even without ANC
According to Creative, the Aurvana has excellent noise isolation, which can be confirmed after just a short time of wearing it. An active solution would perhaps have an even greater effect, but even without ANC, the noise isolation is already very good, making the headphones suitable for louder environments.
Three multifunction buttons
With the three buttons present on the neckband, various actions can be performed, distinguishing between playback and call mode. For example, the volume buttons can also be used to skip to the next or previous track, and, in the case of a call, to accept or mute a call.
The center button is not only used for turning on, off, pausing, answering and ending calls and pairing the device, but also calls an assistance app like Siri or Google Assistant when music is not played.
Which action is performed depends on the length or frequency of the button press in each case.
Audio quality
Thanks to a hybrid triple-driver system, the Aurvana claims to provide pristine audio reproduction, as well as clear mids and highs and precise and powerful bass. In fact, the Aurvana already sounds very good even without SXFI, and in a simple and not entirely fair comparison test, it appears to be almost on par with Creative’s SXFI Gamer Headset, which in turn still comes across as a lot fuller even with Super X-Fi turned off.
If you create a personal profile in the form of a head map via the SXFI app and play local audio files via the app, you get more control over the highs and lows of the playback and possibly, but not automatically, a better sound image.
The quality of the built-in microphone was compared with that of an Android smartphone in tests. The Aurvana is advertised with crystal-clear speech thanks to Qualcomm cVc 8.0 technology. It can be said that its recording quality surpasses that of the smartphone’s built-in microphone in terms of clarity.
However, a clear difference is logically perceptible compared with the original soundtrack; the recordings sound somewhat muffled and tinny compared with it. However, this is completely acceptable for a built-in microphone of this small size and more than covers the main purpose for VoIP calls on mobile devices.
What is irritating is that you perceive your own voice to be muffled and boomy during a call.
Conclusion
At a price of about 80 euros at the time of testing (currently € 7.99 *), the Aurvana Trio Wireless offers very good and, above all, delay-free sound quality in playback and good recording quality for conversations. During a test call, however, we perceived our own voice to be unpleasantly boomy.
Super X-Fi is basically a good addition to the already good sound picture, but it cannot be used without restrictions. It could not be used at all on a Windows 10 system in our test.
The very generous battery life and good noise isolation without ANC make it the perfect travel companion, but the wearing comfort unfortunately decreases a bit during longer uninterrupted use, so occasional breaks are recommended.
The connection with other devices also worked right away in the test and was mostly reliable. The build quality is high, with a few minor exceptions that can be tolerated.
Overall, the Aurvana Trio Wireless is a reliable device with good workmanship, adequate features and very good playback quality. For everyday use, most of the weaknesses that we noticed are therefore not that much of an issue.
We recommend it especially for music lovers who like to be on the road for longer periods of time.
Creative Aurvana Trio Wireless
Workmanship
Comfort
Sound quality
Recording quality
Features
Value for money
87/100
Overall, the Aurvana Trio Wireless is a reliable device with good workmanship, adequate features and very good playback quality. For everyday use, most of the weaknesses that we noticed do not really matter. We recommend it especially for music lovers who like to be on the road for longer periods of time.
