The Aurvana Ace 3 is the latest entry in Creative’s flagship true-wireless line, building on the venerable Aurvana Ace 2 with across-the-board quality-of-life upgrades to battery life, controls, codec support, and connectivity. They also bring Mimi Sound Personalization—previously limited to the more affordable Aurvana Ace Mimi—up to the premium tier.
Creative has always been a safe bet for quality earbuds, but has been on another level since introducing the xMEMS driver-based Aurvana line. The Aurvana Ace 3 isn’t as groundbreaking as its predecessors, but its updated feature set, reasonable price, and hyper crisp audio make it one of the most compelling options on the market.
I’m lucky enough to have access to a variety of top-of-the-line earbuds, and if I’m being honest, it’s made me a bit of a snob. But even with a drawer full of exceptional headphones to choose from, the Aurvana Ace 3 have remained my daily drivers.
xMEMS and Audio Quality
What makes the Aurvana Ace line special is Creative’s adoption of xMEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) solid-state drivers. Unlike traditional dynamic drivers that rely on magnets, coils, and diaphragms, xMEMS use a silicon membrane actuated by electric current. They’re more like microchips than conventional speakers. Their low mass and fast reset time allow them to produce cleaner, more accurate sound. They’re a bit like planar drivers but pushed to the extreme.
“The Aurvana Ace 3 isn’t as groundbreaking as its predecessors, but its updated feature set, reasonable price, and hyper crisp audio make it one of the most compelling options on the market.”
The problem with planar drivers, though, is that less mass usually means less bass—a limitation that’s even more noticeable with xMEMS. To compensate, Creative pairs the xMEMS units with 10mm dynamic drivers.
The result is a dynamic, highly detailed sound profile that stays crisp across the frequency range. The clarity is excellent—noticeably better than my previous detail champs, the Edifier NeoBuds Planar. Bass performance doesn’t reach the over-boosted levels of Beats, Bose, or Shokz, leaning more toward cleanliness than raw bone-shakery, but it still sounds vibrant and uncompromised by the increased clarity.
Mimi Sound Personalization
New to Creative’s Aurvana line is Mimi Sound Personalization. The feature works by conducting an in-app hearing test in which users respond to a series of beeps. The Creative app then creates a custom EQ profile tailored to your hearing.
I’ll admit, I expected this to be a gimmick. Surprisingly, I was only half right. After taking the test, I received a graph of my hearing acuity and a custom EQ that boosted the highs—fitting, given the permanent high-pitched ringing in my ears from years of concerts and headphone abuse.
It put a smile on my face. With the profile enabled, I could hear nuances in familiar songs that had faded with the ever-dwindling acuity of my aging skull. But after a brief “neat!” moment, I switched back to the generic music profile. The high-frequency boost improved clarity, but it washed out everything below it. The audio was more detailed, but not necessarily more enjoyable. Still, it’s an intriguing feature.
ANC
Active noise cancellation has long been a weak point for the Aurvana Ace line. The Ace 3 doesn’t fix that entirely—it’s not class-leading ANC—but it’s far from the worst. In my highly scientific clapping test and windy-walk benchmark, the Aurvana Ace 3 lands comfortably in mid territory. It doesn’t match my Sony XM5s, but it easily outperforms the Edifier NeoBuds Planars. Both of those earbuds, it’s worth noting, cost almost $100 more than the Aurvana Ace 3.
“Active noise cancellation has long been a weak point for the Aurvana Ace line.”
One issue, however, is a head-scratcher and reason enough to avoid the ANC entirely: the occasional squelching fit. In quiet spaces, usually in ambient mode, the ANC would suddenly erupt with static, sending out harsh feedback. I’ve never experienced anything like it—but after browsing forums, it seems this problem isn’t unheard of.
Design
The weak link in the Aurvana Ace 3 is the design—it feels like a step back. The Ace 2 came in a sharp matte-black-and-copper colorway, with stems rounded at the base and terminating halfway up the driver, leaving a flat, semi-exposed microphone grille. It was striking, characterful, and distinctly premium.
That design has now moved to the mid-tier Aurvana Ace Mimi, while the Ace 3 adopts a more streamlined stem that runs all the way to the top. They’re still handsome earbuds, just not quite as memorable.
The new blue colorway follows the same trend. The black-and-copper Ace 2 had a Cyberpunk 2077-esque flair, while the Ace 3’s semi-transparent blue and chrome evokes the Game Boy Color. I enjoy retro tech, but here it belies the premium character of these earbuds.
Battery life, Connectivity, and Controls
Battery life is about on par with other flagship earbuds: each bud gets around 6–7 hours per charge, and the case adds another 26 hours. With ANC on, playtime drops, but not out of all-day battery life territory. Plus, the battery can be periodically topped up throughout the day, with 10-minute charges providing enough power for one hour of playtime.
“The weak link in the Aurvana Ace 3 is the design—it feels like a step back.”
Connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 5.4 with voice assistant integration. The codec package remains the same as before—AAC, SBC, LC3, AptX™ Adaptive, and AptX™ Lossless—but now adds LDAC, Sony’s high-definition Bluetooth codec.
Tap controls are fine—maybe a touch too sensitive, but usable. They also support wear detection that auto-pauses when you remove a bud. That feature was surprisingly absent from both the Ace 2 and the Aurvana Mimi, and its arrival here—along with the improved battery life—helps move the Aurvana line from interesting to undeniable.
Verdict
Creative has been in the personal digital-audio game for as long as there’s been one—why, I remember buying a Zen to replace my Zune (don’t judge me). Products like the Aurvana Ace 3 are a good reminder of why they’ve had such staying power. These are some of the best earbuds I’ve tested in this price range all year, and when you factor in performance, they punch well above their weight. The crisp, punchy audio, rich feature set, and innovative sound personalization deliver the kind of quality I’d expect from earbuds costing fifty dollars more. Battery life isn’t class-leading, but it’s still enough to get you through a full workday.
If you’re an audiophile on a budget—or just want a high-quality pair of earbuds without paying a premium for the brand name—the Aurvana Ace 3 are a phenomenal choice…so long as you don’t need ANC. Aesthetically, they’re a bit flat, but acoustically, they hit all the right notes.
