Creative Aurvana Trio Wireless

It is laudable that these Bluetooth in-ears come with six different ear tips, three silicone and three foam versions, each in sizes S, M and L, allowing the fit to be individually adjusted. This provides pleasant and secure wearing comfort, which is also contributed to by the supple silicone neckband, which does not tend to slip and distributes the 40-gram weight of the earphones well. However, the cable noise that occurs as soon as the connecting elements between the neckband and the housings come into contact with clothing or skin is a negative point, especially at low volume levels. On the other hand, one particularly practical feature is that these in-ears can be worn around the neck like a necklace thanks to an integrated magnetic closure so they do not necessarily have to be stowed away during a listening break. These earphones also fit under a cap if it is not too tight, as the housings do not protrude too far.

The Aurvana Trio Wireless proved to be a strong performer in our battery test, achieving a listening time of 20 hours and 30 minutes at high volume levels. However, for the last 80 minutes, an alarm tone can be heard about every 50 seconds to draw attention to the low battery level, which severely diminishes the listening experience. A modern USB-C port and a fast-charging function have been omitted, which means that these headphones are charged via a micro-USB socket, which takes just under two hours using the supplied USB charging cable.

Device control

Pairing these in-ears, which support Bluetooth standard 5.0 and multi-pairing with two devices simultaneously, is done by holding down the central remote button. This switches the system on and then puts it into pairing mode. If a wireless connection is established, the multifunction button controls playback with one touch, and it is also used to answer and end telephone calls, which can be made with impressive intelligibility despite perceptible background noise. Voice assistants such as Siri or Google Assistant can also be called up by pressing twice when playback is paused, while separate buttons are available for volume control. These can also be used to select tracks by pressing and holding the plus button to skip forward and the minus button to skip back, which overall works flawlessly. The Bluetooth connection also seemed stable, did not break off across several rooms and offered a range of a good ten metres inside a built-up area.

Sound

It is certainly not an easy task to fit a hybrid 3-way system into an in-ear housing since a dynamic bio-cellulose woofer, and two BA drivers for the mid-range and treble range have to be accommodated in a very small space on each side. It is obvious that with all this effort, high-resolution audio codecs such as aptX HD, aptX LL and the AAC format are used. Especially since aptX can also be used if the paired device does not support a higher-quality variant, as the aptX codec family is backwards compatible. AptX Low Latency also ensures improved synchronicity between picture and sound so that no offset is perceptible.

Despite an excellent codec selection for the price range, sound compromises have to be made in comparison with the Aurvana Trio, especially since these wireless headphones have an underlying noise. The bass reproduction, for example, does not reach the precision and impulsive dynamics of its wired sibling, nor does it reach as low. What remains is a powerful low-frequency reproduction that reproduces modern, bass-orientated productions richly without seeming bulky, but rounded rather than tight. A basic warmth in the low and mid-frequency range is also present, and the midrange reproduction shows itself to be detailed and playful, depicting voices and solo instruments extremely clearly, but without being overly focussed. There is no immediate or intimate impression. Instead, there is a more sedate but thoroughly airy concert setting for an in-ear system. The lively, clear high frequencies are present and don’t fall off at all, but they can feel a bit harsh at higher room volumes. There is no lack of volume reserves, as the three drivers provide a high output.

SXFI App

Creative’s Super X-FI technology is said to enable spatial listening via headphones, like with a multi-speaker system. However, in order to use the audio holography, a personal profile is required, this involves taking photos of the face and both ears with the help of a tutorial. The benefit of this appears to be rather limited, as the function on the Aurvana Trio Wireless only works with local music files and not with streamed content via Spotify, YouTube or Netflix. To play music stored on your device, the free app provides a player that is equipped with an EQ to make sound adjustments. Here, your own settings or ready-made pre-sets can be used, and the sound changes are not permanent, but only active when the app is in use. The SXFI effect can also only be switched on and off via the player, but this enables a direct A/B comparison. Using the Super X-Fi audio technology, the virtual stage is shifted deeper into the room, which strongly influences the lower frequency range in particular, as it seems to more or less dissolved. In this respect, beat-oriented music sounds quite alienating, while ambient sounds can gain in spaciousness. However, this sound effect has a negative impact on the playback quality, as treble components are also lost.