Creative Labs Aurvana Live!

The headphone market has recently been jumped upon by a slue of vendors eager to capitalise on the iPod-generation's new-found love of portable audio. Creative is one such manufacturer, bringing to market an impressive line-up of headphones to complement its Zen range of multimedia players. The Aurvana Live! headphones are towards the top of this range which provide a good solution for all-purpose listening at a relatively affordable cost.

At this price point the Aurvana Live! headphones sit comfortably towards the top of the range of units you'll find in many standard stores, although they in no way compare to some higher end products from companies like Beyer, Sennheiser or Shure. They produce fairly impressive audio that will satisfy all but the most discerning consumer.

The overall sound is fairly balanced. The mid-range is prominent with a slightly forwards presentation but it isn't strong enough to dominate the rest of the range. It is a little gritty but quite revealing, meaning that your heavily compressed music will likely sound a little distorted at times.

Meanwhile, the bass doesn't extend as deeply as on some other units we've listened to, but it is adequate for most musical styles. You may notice a slight lack of punch if you're a heavy dance listener for example, but otherwise it shouldn't be an issue. The overall sound is very slow, meaning notes take a while to decay. This lends a very rich sound, particularly to the bass and mid ranges.

Treble notes are the least remarkable of the bunch although they still sound fine and have some of the same rich tone of the others. Overall detail and clarity is quite impressive and the soundstage, while not incredible, is adequately encompassing.

Design wise the Aurvana Live! headphones are fairly standard. They have pleather cups that are small but still fully shroud the ears. The headband is similarly padded and while it is still a little flimsy it is sturdier than some competing units, and offers the ability to extend and retract the cups to fit different head sizes. Sporting a simple black and silver colour scheme they are relatively stylish but quite simple looking headphones.

Despite not being defined as noise-cancelling, the Aurvana Live! does a pretty good job of blocking out external sound. Their enclosed cups kept things nice and quiet in a basic office environment and sound leakage to those around was fairly minimal. They are also quite comfortable, meaning long listening sessions aren't a problem.