The Creative Aurvana Ace 2 is unique in the sense that it’s the world’s first TWS to use silicon based xMEMs driver modules instead of the usual voice coil speakers which rely on magnets and diaphragms.

xMEMS uses electric pulses to cause its silicon membrane to expand and contract, moving air and thus creating sound. They’re claiming that this type of driver sounds better because it’s got more spatial accuracy, better separation, clarity and fidelity, and according to xMEMS website, the world’s fastest transient response.

Transient response is the ability to start and stop the sound precisely where it should, and this affects whether your earbuds sound sluggish, or impactful.

We’ll be getting into how these earbuds actually sound, the pros and cons, aside from its performance in terms of ANC, mic pickup, and transparency. Even though this brand is from my country Singapore, it doesn’t mean I’m going to go easy on it.

Before we get to the sound, just a brief overview about its features and codecs. The Ace 2 also supports Snapdragon sound, so when paired to Android devices that are Snapdragon Sound Certified like the Xperia 5 V, you can stream over aptX Adaptive which is capable of streaming audio at high bandwidths or a low latency mode depending on the content. Apart from aptX Adaptive it does support aptX Lossless.

LE Audio is also supported, but if you choose it, you won’t have access to the standard AAC or all the aptX codecs. But it does allow you to “receive shared audio”. Most probably referring to this new tech called Auracast which is, in my opinion, the future of wireless audio. If you want to know more about it, watch me demo it in this video.

It does do multipoint pairing as well, which I’ve found to work seamlessly. Except that you do have to pause on one device to play on another. It is supported by the Creative app which has some settings like custom touch controls and ANC toggle to transparency. It’s even got a graphic EQ and a very generous selection of EQ presets to try. Overall I consider the app quite basic in terms of features, but bells and whistles aren’t really what the Ace 2’s about. It’s really about xMEMS and the sound quality Creative claims it delivers.

Sound Quality

According to my frequency sweeps, they’ve got a pretty flat curve, and are much less v-shaped than other earbuds. In fact it is tuned very closely to the Jabra Elite 10s which in my opinion, is one of the best sounding earbuds at this range. But as you can see, unlike the Jabras they do sound darker, beginning in the upper mids above 1.5khz all the way to the high treble where it peaks higher. So you’ll notice that compared to the Elite 10, vocals will sound more dark, but at the same time, there’s a bit more airiness in the soundstage.

That being said, from actually listening to the buds I did notice that they are super versatile to various genres of music, revealing transient details in the background that I’ve barely noticed from other earbuds. Possibly due to the xMEMS rapid responsiveness, they sound smooth and effortless, attacks are tight, and even bass drops sound more punchy. The soundstaging’s also more on point but a little more on the spacious side, and tracks and instruments are placed exactly where I know they should be. Have a listen to the samples.

Microphone Test

I am a little surprised at how good it is at noise reduction. In noisy conditions, background noise was barely a whisper, and my voice sounded more or less like in quiet conditions. Overall its mic pickup is not bad at all. Have a listen.

Note that it doesn’t activate transparency when taking calls, some people might prefer that because it makes it easier to hear the other side in noisy places, but others do prefer to have a bit of voice passthrough, so their own voice sounds more natural during a call.

(Tested its mic pickup in both quiet and noisy conditions using some really loud cafe style background noise, and some wind noise coming from this fan.)

Active Noise Canceling

The Ace 2’s active noise canceling does work. You can feel a general reduction in noise. But comparing it side by side to some popular buds in this price range quickly reveals that it’s a little more on the weak side. The only one it beats in this comparison is the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, which I feel cancels less low frequency rumble than the Ace 2. Have a listen to the samples recorded in the same noisy conditions as before.

If you’d like to compare their ANC and call quality to other earbuds, do become a member for $1 per month or more. This gives you full access to my personal comparison tool which you can use to compare earbuds A to B at your own time, and at your own pace. Many people have joined up, especially people who can’t just simply visit a store to compare earbuds. They know it’s going to save them so much time being able to just cut through all the marketing, and compare these products remotely without visiting a store. So become a member like them, click on the link to find out more.

Transparency

In terms of transparency, it’s quite usable for quick awareness of your surroundings, or ordering food over the counter, but it’s definitely not the most transparent. You can still hear a bit of muffling, especially of your own voice. In my opinion, the buds with the best transparency are still the AirPods Pro Gen 2. It’s so transparent it’s like not wearing earbuds at all. Another thing worth mentioning is that it doesn’t filter out sudden peaks, like the beep of barcode scanners, unlike most premium earbuds.

Areas of improvement

There’s a lot going for the Ace 2, but as a product, there are some areas Creative could improve upon. When toggling to transparency mode, it toggles first into ANC off, then transparency. It’s slow. Would be better if there was a way to disable the ANC off option so we could toggle straight into transparency from the buds directly.

The onboard controls don’t have the single press gesture. While this could be good for preventing accidental taps, it also makes it harder to map all the controls we need onto a single earbud, in case we ever need to use just one side.

That being said, the Creative Aurvana Ace 2’s worth checking out if need decent mic pickup for phone calls, and if you’re curious about how xMEMS sounds like compared to traditional drivers. Even if they’re not hi-res certified, these are going to be a treat to listen to because I find them quite laid back in the vocals, yet precise in the attack and revealing in the soundstage. But what do you think? Comment below.

And by the way, click here 2024 Best Premium Earbuds to find out which are the best premium earbuds right now.

If you’d like to check the latest prices of these earbuds, click on the Amazon links below.

Creative Aurvana Ace 2 - https://amzn.to/4aV204E
Bose QC Ultra - https://amzn.to/3rVHBeZ
Jabra Elite 10 - https://amzn.to/3EHIp9J
Sony WF-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/3qiamkS
Bose QuietComfort II - https://amzn.to/3gHBWmq
AirPods Pro 2 - https://amzn.to/3VbAmsW
Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro here - https://amzn.to/3piWy5v

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