The Aurvana Live! is rather diminutive for a pair of headphones that are supposed to wrap around your ears. Of interest is the construction, which deviates from that of conventional ear muffs or painful trepanation jigs. Studying the Aurvana family, it becomes apparent that the Live! is the most mobile model; one that will fit alongside an iPod or a Zune. Maybe a Zen.

Cabling exits on both sides of the capsules, forming a Y lead that terminates into a gold plated 3.5mm audio minijack. Creative has been considerate in shaping the jack, such that it is small enough to go into most, if not all headphone jacks; even those that are recessed into the equipment panel.

Passive noise isolation is achieved with the sealed back (closed) circumaural design. Fit will vary from person to person, depending on the design of the pinna, its size, and shape of the head. The narrow headband is adjustable, cushioned, and finished in faux leather.

Ear pad is detachable, and hence replaceable. Acoustically transparent grille-cloth adds to comfort.

Taking off the pad reveals the capsule construction. The "bio-cellulose" driver diaphragm is protected with an aluminum grille. The recessed driver has sonic reflections taken care of by the foam ring around the edges. A little digging reveals that the driver unit is custom-made by Foster (Culver). Litz wiring forms the music conducting medium.

Reproduced sound is affected by a lot of factors, some of them scientific, some are immeasurable. Using the Xonar U1, foobar2000 was employed for playback duties. When you run any headphone off a different device, expect things to sound different. Damping factor, impedance matching from one stage of amplification to the next, IMD from radio frequency noise, or even that cool blue LED can lead to a drastically different experience.

Initial listening was positive, with the Aurvana Live! sounding lively and confident. On "Take Five" in "Jazz At the Pawnshop", the double bass sounded well controlled, setting the pace for the track with great involvement. Snares and kick drums took on a snappy, punchy feel. High hats sounded sufficiently convincing, if a little splashy. Between each strike the brassy resonance dissolves naturally, with the drums taking on a physicality within the aural image. Trumpets exist within their own space, sounding a little recessed at times. A little more dynamism and air would have contributed to the realism of this track, something which the Aurvana Live! could possibly improve upon.

Dropping the breathtaking rhythms of "Take Five" for Susan Wong's "First of May", I was greeted with a delicate approach towards guitars and vocals. A simple recording like this one benefited from the sonic signature of the Aurvana. Instruments, backed up by a strong lower-mids, sounded lush and "present." As the mix got a little more complex, the Aurvana did not glare over the minor details, instead keeping the overall feel of the song in shape. The Aurvana Live! presented acoustic instruments with a slight smudge of a veil, but remained tonally accurate to a reasonable extent.

On Dire Strait's "Brothers In Arms," the opening basslines were a little lost-in-transit. Mark Knopfler's voice took on an ethereal quality, guitar riffs cutting through the drum beats and electric bass. It was apparent that whatever clarity in the mids and highs offered by the Aurvana were purely limited by the abilities of the Xonar U1.

To add a little Asian zest to the session, Faye Wong's FLAC rip was brought in. "Shadow" from her "Sky" album is a good test for midbass slam and separation. With the Aurvana, strings sounded somewhat stale, Faye Wong's voice droning into boredom. Drums sounded a little one-notey, with apparent lack of air around the instruments. If hi-fidelity was the key to the Aurvana, I'm sure it joined the shadows on this track.

With Shirley's "Red" album, "My Heart Only Has You" set me toe-tapping over the Mandopop evergreen. Instruments were well placed, with the electric bass brimming with tone and texture. Drums sounded particularly realistic, where harmonics of the vibrating drum skin were presented with much aplomb. The Aurvana successfully placed the instruments beyond the boundaries of the head. No crossfeed was employed, and yet I was getting a good representation of depth. Impressive.

Hotel California sounded a little congested with the Aurvana. It was not able to present the magic of the atmosphere, the electric feel of the crowd as they cooed over Hell Freezes Over. Guitars lacked bite, being overwhelmed by the bass.

Creative has been rather adventurous with the Aurvana series of headphones. To infiltrate a market dominated by the likes of Sennheiser, Koss and AKG, is no mean feat. Closed-back headphones have seldom made it to the top of the headphone hierarchy, and the Aurvana wouldn't change that just yet.

The Live! does work pretty well, however, on-the-move. It won't replace your AKG K1000 or Sennheiser HD650 back at home, but it will pretty damned well take care of a fair few portable headphones in its own right. I can only imagine things get better with a better headphone output than that provided by the lean Xonar.

Construction of the Aurvana Live! isn't the most impressive around, but it does its job well without contributing to extra bulk. The independent wiring leaving the capsules are a little irritating. At least Creative supplied the leads short enough for mobile use.

The tonal balance of the Aurvana Live! would easily cater for popular music listeners. Whilst not the most neutral, the Aurvana still remains musically enjoyable. At USD$149.99/SGD$249.00, the Aurvana Live is selling at a premium price for the performance, which drives down value in my books.

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