Creative Aurvana Live!

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by ultrabike, Aug 25, 2017.

  1. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    I got these from @Bill-P quite a bit ago. I've been distracted lately. Sorry @Bill-P, will finish soon and send them back to you.

    Here are some previous thoughts about these, copy and pasted from Changstar:

    Got these while attending briefly Cash-Jam (2 day multipass OC edition). The packaging is not much to write home about. No endangered three species wood. No diabolical signs. Oh Well. I think they look alright tho ...

    Creative.jpg

    Box says "Bio Cellulose Drivers", just like the R10s! The cups say "Creative" and daz dat. Unlike the boobs-like R10s, the CAL! cups feel sort of cheap. But the build of these headphones is not bad at all. The cushions seem resistant (unlike the HD202s which over time peel), and the plastic materials (other than the cups) feel sturdy. Box also claims there are light weight. This is not BS, they are featherly. I do wished the headband was a bit wider for comfort, but not bad as it is. I have no problems fitting my ears inside the cups.

    So wattabout the sound? Awesome. These provide quite a bit of impact and more than reasonable treble extension. Mids might be a little wonky relative to good open cans, but less so than many other much higher priced closed cans. Very open sounding, and don't seem to leak too much sound. There is warmth to these cans and definitively provide generous amounts of bass. IMO this does not get in the way. Liking "Gangsta's Paradise" by Robyn Adele Anderson on these:



    Piano and wind instruments sound pretty clear and open to me. Original Gangsta's song sounds decent to me as well on these:

    Colio's Gangsta's Linky

    (within watever youboobs limitations of course)

    Given it's characteristics IMO these are great for movies as well. One of my fav tracks is "A Dark Knight" by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, and these cans deliver.

    "A Dark Knight" Linky

    If you are into the Jazz-y side of things, I think "Old Love" below sounds a bit edgy and forward, but it could be more a function of the recording itself than the cans. For example, Nirvana's "Come as You Are" sounded K to me with these so that's that.

    "Old Love" Linky

    So measurements...

    Frequency Response

    cal_fr.png

    Distortion Right

    cal_distortion_right.png

    Distortion Left

    cal_distortion_left.png

    CSD Right

    cal_csd_right.png

    CSD Left

    cal_csd_left.png

    VS (HD600 & M50s)

    cal_hd600_m50.png
     
  2. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    My current impressions haven't changed much. These are fun cans that do justice to movies and music. These maybe tuned a little bit more lively than before, but I still find them very enjoyable.

    Here are some further measurements (previous ones where done 2 years ago):

    Frequency Response

    CAL_fr.png

    Distortion Right (more averages were done than before to get more resolution)

    CAL_dist_right.png

    Distortion Left

    CAL_dist_left.png

    CSD Right

    CAL_csd_right.png

    CSD Left

    CAL_csd_left.png

    Here is a comparison with the previous 2015 measurements:

    Comparo_2015.png
     
  3. Zed Bopp

    Zed Bopp Friend

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    I'm surprised this hasn't gotten any replies - maybe it's because we're talking cheapo gear?

    These have lots in common with my Denon D2000. The tuning is very similar. The Denons have heftier bass that hits hard, but it does get in the way sometimes. I'd take CAL! before the quite disappointing TH-X00 Purplehearts any day - much less boom and bloom in the lower regions and some more liveliness & natural timbre in the highs too. If only this kind of sound could be found in a well isolating pair.

    For 50 bucks these are a no-brainer. A great gateway into the hobby.
     
  4. riker1384

    riker1384 Acquaintance

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  5. Zed Bopp

    Zed Bopp Friend

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    You don't get similar slamming bass. And I haven't heard open pairs this good for the money.
     
  6. Hekeli

    Hekeli Facebook Friend

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    Bought 2 more pairs since they are (still) 45€ + free ship at Creative. These definitely play louder and more lively than my 2013 pair, would be interesting to measure..
     
  7. Sasha

    Sasha New

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    I can confirm it too, I have 3 pairs of CAL!, they sounds very different. I like only first CAL! from 2014, she produce powerful bass at 20-70hz, sounds lively and deep. Revisions from 2016 and 2019 with less bass and more brightness in treble, it brings so much pain in loud tracks which have many instruments, everything sounds flat due to low bass, i tried to EQ them, but still can't make them sound lively as 2014 do.

    My personal EQ for goddess 2014

    [​IMG]
     

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