At first we would like to thank Creative for offering us a sample of their SXFI AMP + Aurvana Trio LS Bundle for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Creative:

 

“Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative started with the vision that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs.

 

Famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services enable consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

 

Since launching the phenomenally successful Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been able to leverage on its leading-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million, and strong brand name to expand into the exciting lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market.

 

Creative is now well recognized as a global leader for product innovation in the audio and PDE segments, offering consumers a complete, high quality digital entertainment experience through Creative's hardware, software applications and services. Finding the perfect balance between form and function, Creative strives for every product to be a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

 

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

 

These products and solutions are marketed to consumers and system integrators through a worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the Internet.

 

Moving forward, Creative's mission is to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment. With strong focus on user-friendly interface, multiple features and cool industrial designs, the Creative brand is synonymous with lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment.

 

Creative's global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. It has regional business units in the US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore).

 

Creative is a public listed company on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.”

 

PRISTINE AUDIO WITH INNOVATIVE LSR TECHNOLOGY

We have brought the audio performance of analog in-ears up a notch with the introduction of all-new innovative Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) technology in Creative Aurvana Trio LS, which drastically reduces distortions that commonly exist in traditional drivers. The LSR technique ensures more uniform and consistent vibrations throughout the entire driver, which translates to overall improved sound reproductions as well as cleaner, pristine audio with minimal distortions even at higher volumes. Further refined by our in-house acoustic experts, Aurvana Trio LS offers you a premium listening experience at a bargain.

 

NO MORE DISTURBANCES

Say hello to our fresh, new look with redesigned sawtooth sheath cable! Creative Aurvana Trio LS has been given a refined facelift to not only complement the boost in performance, but also to reduce irksome microphonic noises caused by friction when we move about, and when the cable involuntarily comes in contact with other surfaces.

In addition, the headphones also come with our exclusive in-ear noise isolation design, which forms an optimal seal when worn to block out unwanted environmental noises. Now, you can enjoy undisturbed audio entertainment and stay focused without missing a beat to your music! We have also included extra ear tips so you can find the ideal fit to ensure a perfect seal.

 

SUPER X-FI CERTIFIED HEADPHONES

Aurvana Trio LS is Super X-Fi certified! Super X-Fi processing with certified headphones accounts and compensates for changes in audio output caused by the headphones to ensure audio reaches your ears as intended.

Any headphones that feature our Super X-Fi Certified badge has been optimized for use with Super X-Fi products, like the Creative SXFI AMP, Sound Blaster GC7, and Sound Blaster X4. Pair these products with the Aurvana Trio LS to get the best possible headphone holography experience!

 

HOLOGRAPHIC AUDIO — UNIQUE TO YOU, PERSONALIZED FOR YOU.

Super X-Fi captures the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system in a professional studio and recreates the same expansive experience — with the same original depth, detail, realism, and immersiveness — in your headphones.

Each of us hears the world differently — our unique head and ear shapes affects how we perceive sound. Super X-Fi personalizes the headphone audio experience based on how you hear sound to give you the most optimized and realistic listening experience.

This is done by simply taking three photos of your face and ears with your phone.

 

SXFI AMP — MINIATURIZED TO NO LARGER THAN A FINGER

SXFI AMP delivers superior audio clarity and sound performance and is crafted with a single aluminum unibody with a fine-textured, anodized black finish.

It weighs just 15 g (0.5 oz), making it ultra-portable.

 

USAGE & CONNECTIVITY

MUSIC

Experience music on your headphones as if you're listening to the recording artist in a studio! Enjoy Super X-Fi on your local hi-res FLAC files or stream your favorite songs over Spotify app on mobile or PC with SXFI AMP. Try out some old mono tracks from the golden age and you'll be amazed how Super X-Fi transforms the music.

MOVIES

Immerse yourself in a holographic audio experience whenever you are with your headphones. Whether you are watching movies on your laptop or travelling on an airplane with your Android phone, just plug in the SXFI AMP and enjoy! Super X-Fi is capable of transforming videos into full-fledged, cinematic audio experience.

GAMES

Enjoy games with the full cinematic capabilities of Super X-Fi! Simply plug in the SXFI AMP with your headphones into your PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, or on PC — the soundstage of the game opens up and you feel as if you were actually transported into the game environment itself. Your games will never sound the same anymore!

 

ANDROID PHONES

Set up your personalized listening profile using your Android phone. Simply plug in the SXFI AMP and your preferred headphones with your phone, select your headphone type and you're all set up!

TIP: When switching headphones, make sure to reconnect the new headphones and your Android phone to SXFI AMP to select the new headphone profile for the best Super X-Fi experience.

 

DESKTOPS, PCS, LAPTOPS

Users can switch between profiles simply by logging in their Super X-Fi account via their PC.

No hassle of having to reconnect the SXFI AMP with your Android phone!

 

GAMING CONSOLES

After setting up your listening profile, just unplug your phone and connect the SXFI AMP to your console with the same headphones.

Now, enjoy full cinematic capabilities of your game with Super X-Fi!

 

AUDIOPHILE DAC

SXFI AMP is a premium high-performance headphone amplifier that is capable of driving even studio-grade headphones — easily beating some of the most expensive headphone amps on the market today.

 

3X AMPLIFICATION POWER

SXFI AMP delivers 3X amplification gain for exceptionally powerful audio performance. It supports headphones with high impedances of up to 600 ohms, powering even studio grade headphones with your mobile devices. Using the AMP, you can now enjoy the full specs of your top-grade headphones wherever you are.

 

HEAR EVERY DETAIL

SXFI AMP uses a separate 128dB high-end high-precision AKM 32-bit DAC. This provides maximum audio fidelity and pristine quality yielding up to 120dB SNR, and 0.0003% THD.

The AKM DAC is known in its field to offer outstanding fidelity, especially for original sound reproductions. This supports and ensures high-resolution audio playback so you can hear every detail in your audio.

 

Creative does now have an interesting bundle available, containing the SXFI AMP along with the Aurvana Trio LS in-ear wired analog headphones. These can be currently had for a promotional price of about 70 Euros from the manufacturers’ website!

SXFI AMP is one of the first products from Creative which enables holographic audio by using a special profile via the dedicated mobile application, which scans your head and ears shape. Once uploaded to the SXFI AMP, you will be able to hear the equivalent of a high-end multi-speaker audio system via the dedicated headphones.

 

The Aurvana Trio LS arrived in a compact cardboard enclosure, which highlights the most important product features in the frontal area:

 

 

 

On the side, we will note the frequency response, the impedance, but also the frequency response of the microphone, along with its sensitivity:

 

 

 

Besides the Aurvana Trio LS and extra ear tips, we will also receive in the box a carry pouch and some documentation:

 

 

 

The supplied carry pouch is handy when travelling, so the headphones will not be damaged:

 

 

 

The documentation instructs the user regarding the main product interfaces, but also regarding the full technical specifications, product registration info and links to some more resources:

 

 

 

As a hardware bundle, we will also receive the small and large sets of ear tips:

 

 

 

The Creative Aurvana Trio LS does come with multiple advantages such as the Liquid Silicon Rubber technology integrated with the driver design, Super X-Fi certification, sawtooth sheath cables and more!

 

 

 

On the back of each earbud, we will note a small magnet with the product logo in the middle:

 

 

 

Each Stereo channel is noted on the chassis:

 

 

 

On the side of each earbud body, we will note a small port:

 

 

 

The left earbud has the same design, the Stereo channel being noted on it:

 

 

 

After removing the ear tip, we will note the grill which covers the driver; we do have here 9.3mm LSR drivers with a frequency response between 20 and 20kHz, an impedance of 32 Ohm and a sensitivity of 110dBA at 1mW:

 

 

 

On the right earbud cable, we do have a small assembly which comes with the multifunctional button (play/pause or take call/end call) but also the microphone. The Aurvana Trio LS includes a single MEMS microphone, with a frequency response between 100 and 10kHz and a sensitivity of -42 dBV / Pa:

 

 

 

 

The photo with the close-up at the cable splitter does show the refined sawtooth sheath cable, for eliminating the microphone noise while the cable is touching the nearby surfaces:

 

 

 

The 3.5mm jack plug (CTIA 4-pole) is gold-plated to get optimal contact:

 

 

 

The earbuds will stay close together when not in use, thanks to the included magnets:

 

 

 

The second part of the bundle is the amplifier, named by Creative SXFI AMP; this was one of the first devices presented with the headphone holography technology and features a separate 128dB high-end, high-precision AKM 32-bit DAC. This component provides great audio quality up to 120dB SNR and 0.0003% THD:

 

 

 

On the side of the box, we will note a photo of the amplifier, showing its actual size:

 

 

 

The back side does inform the user on the Super X-Fi technology, but also regarding the important technical specifications:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will note the internal box made from recyclable materials, with the product logo on the cover:

 

 

 

On the back, we will note multiple serial numbers, along with the product code name:

 

 

 

After lifting the top cover, we will get to see the main product sitting in a sponge-like material:

 

 

 

Besides the SXFI AMP, we will receive additional hardware bundle, but also some documentation:

 

 

 

The manual does allow the user to understand how to connect the amplifier to an Android smartphone, but also which are the main interfaces:

 

 

 

The manual does also show information regarding the apps we need to install (SXFI App is needed for mapping our head and ears to produce a workable profile):

 

 

 

A Micro-B to USB-C adapter is supplied in the box for being to connect to older smartphones:

 

 

 

 

 

The USB-C to USB-C cable will go between the amplifier and our smartphone:

 

 

 

The SXFI amplifier does come with a professional look, sporting a machined aluminum enclosure, while the top buttons are made of plastic. The top circular button does help with enabling or disabling the Super X-Fi effects, while the +/- buttons do help with modifying the volume levels (separate from the volume control from the smartphone). The other small button in the middle does help with Play/Pause/Take Call/End Call actions:

 

 

 

On the back, Creative has included the brand name, but also the product name:

 

 

 

On the bottom, we will note the USB-C port:

 

 

 

The top houses the 3.5mm jack port, for connecting suitable headphones:

 

 

 

Here is how the completed setup should look, while connected to our Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone:

 

 

 

Between the circular button and the top product logo, we will note a very small LED, signaling the status of the amplifier; green means Super X-Fi effects are active:

 

 

 

When the LED is orange, the Super X-Fi effects are deactivated:

 

 

 

There is also a third state, when a Super X-Fi profile is loaded to the amplifier and in that case, it will blink red.

 

SXFI App is the application to download to load a profile and take advantage of all the product features:

 

 

 

The connected SXFI AMP has been detected right away but some permissions need to be granted:

 

 

The users must log in with the dedicated account, so preloaded Super X-Fi profiles can be brought back from the cloud:

 

 

The SXFI App also includes a built-in music player for files on the device:

 

 

Inside the Manage My Devices area, the SXFI AMP has been successfully detected as well:

 

 

By clicking on the menu, we will be able to perform necessary firmware updates:

 

 

The detected profiles can be preloaded to the amplifier, but we can always create new ones:

 

 

An EQ is available for configuration purposes:

 

 

Besides custom EQ, we can select one of the available presets as well:

 

 

Profiles are available for the used headphones as well:

 

 

We will select the one we are using for optimal quality:

 

 

SXFI Control is the Windows application in case we decide to use the amplifier as a dedicated sound card. We do need to log in first to access the Super X-Fi personalization profiles:

 

 

 

EQ options are ready for configuration as well:

 

 

 

 

From the Headphones tab, we can choose the model of headphones we are currently using:

 

 

 

There are a ton of presets for headphones from other manufacturers as well!

 

 

 

 

The Setup tab does allow playback in Stereo, but we can also choose from emulated 5.1 or 7.1:

 

 

 

Volume levels can be customized via Mixer tab:

 

 

 

The main application has a Settings area with multiple options:

 

 

 

Firmware updates are possible to be done via this application as well:

 

 

 

By using the SXFI AMP, we can benefit from the Super X-Fi effects in any application, be it Android or on PC/consoles, unlike a Super X-Fi Enabled device, which works only with the offline audio player. The Aurvana Trio LS are aimed towards cost efficiency and offer good quality audio thanks to the LSR driver technology; the headphones do not use triple drivers as you would think from the name (older versions did) but compensates with other technology such as the sawtooth sheath cabling or the good quality in-line microphone.

 

Given the non-wireless aspect of the whole setup, and user can enjoy high quality audio in all cases, without any bandwidth restrictions; the most noticeable difference is when using the microphone, which was clearly heard on the other side, while in a Skype/Discord call.

 

With the sound spatialization turned off, the Aurvana Trio LS did sound great, with well-rendered bass, mids and clear highs. We did listen to multiple video clips on YouTube, vlogs and we were quite pleased with the overall result; however, when turning on the spatialization, we have had a different experience versus the larger headphones we have tested from Creative. To be more exact, the spatialization works well, but the bass is nearly eliminated on tracks which are not low-frequency intensive (we find the spatialization more suitable for genres such as EDM, trap, house).

 

Given the universal use standard for the SXFI AMP, it can be paired with many devices via USB, to use it as a dedicated sound card for your favorite analog headphones. Applications are available for PC and Android, which also help with switching the recorded Super X-Fi profile.

 

The current promotion is surely worth it for about 70 Euros and we won’t hesitate to recommend it!

 

Creative SXFI AMP + Aurvana Trio LS Bundle is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Creative for making this review possible!