Creative Aurvana Live! Headphones

Intro
To preface this review, I'll provide any reader looking for a budget headphone with this TL;DR.



What this headphone is:
The Creative Aurvana Live! is my sub-100 dollar recommendation for anyone looking for a cheap, usable headphone with good-enough sound quality.
And nothing more. No amp, no DAC, no fancy balanced cable. Nada. Not even a mic. This thing is a great, bare-bones headphone. And you shouldn't go lower than this standard because frankly, you deserve better. Anything below this can often be a frustrating exercise in wasted money.

It is also the headphone to pick instead of the Aurvana Live 2. The version 2 comes with a terrible flat cable, slightly larger earpads and a higher cost. All this for a slightly bassier tuning that throws off the balance that the original CAL! brought to the table for 50 bucks.

What this headphone is not:
This is not some sort of budget-redefining headphone. It's not a budget HD600. It's not even that great if you compare it to the sea of affordable-ish headphones that are meant to scale nicely with a good amp and DAC. It's also not particularly different from a gaming headset like the Astro A40s.

---

Sound Quality
Before I lay into this thing, the CAL is by no means a bad sounding headphone. The sound is genuinely great for it's price. But there are some caveats to consider:


Soundstage:

• The narrow soundstage does kill the enjoyment for some genres. Instrument separation is not there, and can sound squeezed together. Instruments are not quite allowed to "breathe".
• Can feel somewhat "compressed". This was very obvious when coming from the Audio Technica R70x, where vocals from singers such as Alexander 23 / Juke Ross / James Smith. / Bruno Major. Perfectly listenable but the sense of space felt like going from a bar concert to everyone squeezing into a bedroom.

Poor isolation:

• This is probably the biggest caveat here. As the poor isolation makes the CAL unsuitable for being a commute headphone. Even as a at-home headphone, the "whirr" of a fan can be loud enough to break the seal. The immersion you might want in a sealed, closed-back gets sacrificed and you end up having to turn up the headphone to drown out the background.

Attractive bassy tuning and the flipside of having it:

• One thing the CAL does well, is in bass quality. On the right tracks, the headphone digs down deeply. Especially for modern pop music with digital elements, or rap music with a deep bassline.
• The tuning is musical and avoids the artificial sound that some v-shaped headphones can have.
• There are some instances where this bass-ier tuning can interfere with vocals. Some smear.
• Example track: Tai Verdes - Drugs

Some general feelings towards genres (don't take this as gospel. It's just a scale of what I think this headphone would be better for):

• For pop: 7/10 - the bassy tuning works well for this genre
• For acoustic music: 5/10 - sense of separation is just not good enough to help guitars or violins shine
• For movies: 4/10 - sense of space is back here again, where dialogue in larger rooms doesn't feel much different from dialogue in smaller spaces. Bassy enough for gunfire, poor for anything that requires a sense of scale or larger environments.
• For games: 6/10 - suprisingly, sometimes a smaller soundstage is useful for some games. I play Overwatch and CS:GO. The CAL fails here with average imaging and poor soundstage. Can't really pinpoint footsteps as clearly as other headphones. Sound is only average, with no punch to gunshots or large explosions. Neither enjoyable for single-player stuff nor performance focused in competitive shooters.

---

Build & Fit
Fit is very important for a headphone, a little less so than an IEM, but chances are you are going to be wearing a headphone for hours on end. Be it for a work-from-home arrangement, for a 2 hour movie or for a gaming session.

The CAL is subjectively a comfortable headphone. Some of the things it does well are:

• the low clamping force
• comfortable earpads
• light weight.
• fits well even with glasses
• non-microphonic cable

It's built well, and my unit has survived since 2017. The all plastic build has not shown any cracks, and the clicky adjustment headband has not loosened or been unable to hold it's adjustment. The only damage is the protein leather having cracked in some areas. Pictured below.



The first thing you will notice from the picture however, is how small the earpads are. I come in a size smol at barely 170cm tall. I also have a fairly small head and ears. The pads are just enough to cover my ears and not much more.

Thankfully the pads themselves are plush enough to not feel like an on-ear. The leather also does not flake like some of the poorer built Audio Technicas (M50X, M40, MSR7) or V-Moda (XS, M100) or NAD VISO HP50. All of which I do not recommend at any price point because of the poor choice of materials. It is extremely unhygienic when headphone leather flakes either from humidity or sweat.

I will not hesistate to point out if a headphone uses poor materials and I will point out if a company has not made a commitment to improve or rethink their choice of materials. For that reason, I often approach Audio Technicas with some caution (and some anger) as they often gimp their lower end headphones with terrible materials or poor winged designs.

But on that note, I have big smiles for the Sennheiser stuff. As my HD600 and HD6XX have survived wonderfully. These are two headphones I recommend for build and good sound quality for their price points.

The CAL, thankfully, is also built very well for it's price. The plastic does not show scratches, the band does not break, even the cable does not degrade or signs of wear.

---

Quick Closing Thoughts [ a 5.0 out of 10 headphone]
"Wow you must really hate this headphone!"

Absolutely not. Don't get me wrong. This headphone is good for some use cases, but it's important to note that $50 isn't quite $50 anymore. The value of this amount has changed with how much new gear we've been lucky enough to see release since 2016.

$50 still won't get you a better headphone, true, but it can definitely go into supplementing your next upgrade instead of getting something mediocre.

The CAL, especially against competitively price headphones, is not that worth it. In fact, I would argue that most headphones in the $50-$150 range are placeholders for better gear. I highly recommend saving up for something else and putting down around $300-$400 for a good headphone.

If you are tight on cash however, and don't intend to become an audio hobbyist, the CAL is a great option for:

• someone who wants to lounge in bed with a headphone
• does not want to invest any further money in a portable amp/dac
• wants something cheap while on holiday in a dorm, or in an office
• does not want a headset with an unsightly mic arm sticking out the side during zoom calls
• wants a beater headphone that can be tossed around without being babied too much
• needs a cheap gift option for a teen

I have actually handed mine off to my dad who uses it daily for hours on end to watch soccer reruns on his PC, and to tune in to rerun sermons from church due to COVID restrictions.

If I had to rate this thing on a scale that doesn't really matter, I would give the CAL an overall rating of 5/10.

It can be hard to rate things like headphones because you need to consider if its good on its own, good against a sea of competitor, provides good value among a great many other factors. I cannot recommend the CAL as a good headphone, because so many other good things exist. It just gets the job done at a dirt cheap price, and I am not willing to give it a pass just because of said price.

Alternatives:
If you are a gamer, I would recommend the Astro A40, which can be found for around $120. It improves upon the CAL's sound quality, but also features a removable cable and a mic. The mic is good enough for Discord calls and interviews, while not picking up much background sound. An all-around more useful headset for gaming, better built and with removable pads to prolong it's longevity.

If you are into music, I am ok with recommending the CAL. I would however, recommend saving up for the much more expensive Audio Technica R70x ($300) or the Sennheiser HD600 ($450). A side recommendation that I am ok with recommending would also be the HifiMan 400SE ($220).

Understandably, you might be annoyed at receiving a recommendation that is so far outside of the CAL's price bracket. But the recommended models all have support for replacable earpads, cables and provide a much more noticable jump in sound quality compared to CAL's and headsets such as the Hyper X Cloud II's or Arctics 5's or Astro A40's. In the long run, I would much rather recommend something that you can do some basic maintenance for. I have also used all the all-forementioned gear for a few years. I can comfortably recommend them as long-lasting pieces that can make it for a decade if you care for your gear.

I find little point in jumping from headphone to headphone if the sound and comfort isn't something that immediately captures your attention. Jumping from CAL to Takstar or some other flavor of the month cheap deal, really isn't worth it, from personal experience.

If you just want something for the bus ride, I would recommend IEMs with a nice snug fit. I don't recommend headphones for commutes as the earpads can get rather icky and sweaty. Also, some commuting headphones do not have options for replacement earpads, which is just all around really unhygenic. Just skip the incovenience of charging a battery or fiddling with a large carrying case and go IEM.

Some recommended IEMs with a comfortable fit are the Final Audio E4000, E5000 and A4000. I would also put the Dunu DK-2001 or the iBasso iT01x. These are very small and will fit a wide variety of ears. They are also tuned well and come in below $200.

The great thing about IEMs is the portability. You also get the option to change the cables to add a mic if you want an all-rounder that also works for your workplace Zoom/Skype calls. If you are in broadcast or appearing in a video interview, I recommend a earphone to keep the focus on you instead of what gear you are wearing.

Small downside: Not very suitable for gaming, very narrow soundstage compared to any headphone, not very good for movies. Suitable for music and commute due to great isolation.

I don't get it.
I really don't get it.
Why is CAL! so popular?
It's even on Tyll's "Wall of Fame" - for "Over-Ear Sealed" (!?). How can it possibly be "Over-Ear"? The pads are very small, how can Tyll file them under "Over-Ear"?
He has a large head with man-sized ears - these pads are definitely not built to surround an adult man's ears.

Comfort is definitely an issue, but isolation is an even bigger one - according to Tyll's measurements, there is no isolation whatsoever under 1kHz.
CAL! can't even handle A/C noise in the office.
Small pads will do that to you...

As you can see, the entire CAL! pad is only slightly larger than Takstar Pro 82 pad's opening
Difference in material quality is obvious too.


HM5 pads are even larger, and much thicker than Pro 82


Headband padding is very thin and narrow, doesn't cover much of it

Pro 82 on the left, CAL! on the right.

Sound:
CAL! has an L-shaped FR, but it sounds U/V-shaped, not dark at all.
It doesn't really excel at any range of FR, but the sound is very well balanced all over the FR, and this creates an illusion of a very good headphone.
This illusion disappears very quickly when you start A/B-ing them with better headphones.

Here is a comparison with Takstar Pro 82:

Bass - Pro 82 is extended down to 15Hz, CAL! stops at 20Hz, and has a lot less energy there than Pro 82 at 15Hz.
Quality of CAL!'s bass is mediocre at best - its pads don't seal.
Pro 82's much larger pads play a big role in its amazing bass quality - it has a much greater impact and better decay.

Mids - CAL! has a slightly warm veil. It's not as thick as HD600's, but it's there.
Pro 82 removes this veil, and adds A LOT of detail.

Treble - CAL! has a very polite treble. It doesn't go very far, but it's still not "dark" - it's just missing some detail and energy.
Pro 82 adds the missing parts, while not getting "hot".

Overall CAL! sounds quite small and congested.
I can't help but think that using larger pads from a better material could improve CAL!'s SQ, but this comparison is stock.

CAL! doesn't scale up well - it doesn't sound any better through Oppo HA-2 than through a Rockboxed Sansa Clip+

Current price of CAL! on Amazon is 62$, and it has spent most of the past 6 months between 60$ and 70$, even though last December it was under 45$.


Takstar Pro 82 is currently 67$ on Aliexpress - only a 5$ difference.
And this difference disappears when you add the sales tax.

I bought CAL! last year for 50$, and still I'm disappointed from its value proposition.
At 62$, it's moving in the wrong direction - It belongs in the 30$-40$ area.

These are hard to review especially at the 50 dollar price point. At that price it's probably going to be one of the best headphones you can get in terms of pure sound detail. 
 
But I would be remiss to not mention that it is very very V-shaped. I miss the mids. I would even trade some of that clarity for semi-decent mids. Only thing worse than a headphone with bloated bass is a headphone with buried mids. 
 
The pads are very comfortable at first but like any around ear they tend to get hot over time. 
 
In general ATH-M50 is better(although also suffering from recessed mids) with better detail through the spectrum where the CAL! has greatly detailed highs but the bass isn't on par. 

Creative Aurvana Live

Cost: $60 US
Recommended: YES

Compared against my Audio Technica ATH-M50's

Looks: Simply designed with no extra flair sans some reflective ear cups. Each ear cup is clearly labeled for left and right. Leather ear pads, a slim headband, and 3ft rubber insulated cord finish off the Aurvana Live

Construction:
The cord is nice and durable and the stereo connector is small enough to fit into my ipod ( with plastic cover ). The cord is Y-terminated into the ear cups and is not removable. Both ear cups swivel using two small screws per side which is nice, but I would still use some Loctite to ensure not losing the screws. The headband is slim and not uncomfortable.

Isolation:
For being circumaural they really could isolate better. I can hear the fan on my computer 2 ft away whereas on my M50's dampened the fan sound much better.

Comfort:
I have relatively small ears and the ear cups did touch the sides of my ears a tad making the Aurvana Live a bit uncomfortable. The headband is also minutely uncomfortable from being very slim, but it was not as bad as most Grado headphones or those evil bumps on the Q701 headband. After a little adjusting the Auvana Live remained quite comfortable.

---

Sound

Bass: Tested using Weird Al's "Pancreas", Yoshida Brothers' "Oh My Love", and Collective Soul's "Forgiveness"

The bass on the Aurvana Live is really impressive. It goes quite deep and has some kick to it. It was a bit more up front that the M50 and went a bit deeper. It was not out of place boomy and sounded good for a closed can.

Mids: Tested using Yoshida Brothers' " Tsugaru Junku" and "Aiya" as well as Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something"

The mids were well represented. Due to a clear lack in imaging the mids were not spectacular, but they were not amiss. In Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" everything sounded nice and even from the bass through the mids. Vocals were not washed out as with other cans of this type. Things started to taper off toward the treble compared to the M50 which was bright using the Michael Jackson test track.

Treble: Tested using Coleman Hawkins & Duke Ellington's "Wanderlust"

There treble is where the Aurvana Live starts to roll off. It is not terribly bad, just a tad colored on the high end. Where the trumpet should have been a tad piercing was a smoothness and perhaps kindness. I did like it, but noticed it being a tad rolled off for my tastes. Due to this roll off music typically lacked a kind of airiness that is found in more spacious and bright headphones. The high hat was almost completely diminished with the Aurvana Live.

Imaging: Tested using Juno Reactor's " Conga Fury" and Great Big Sea's "Little Beggarman"

The Aurvana Live did not image tremendously well. The bongo drums in "Conga Fury" were somewhat level sounding with the rest of the image and lacked the space that the M50 provides. It was not too far behind the M50, but certainly lacked the sort of airiness you can find in tracks like this with higher end headphones like the DT990.

Amping: Tested using an m903 fed via USB uncompressed audio at volume level 58

The Aurvana Live amped became a little tinny sounding to my ears. I only heard this on some tracks with my iPod, but amped I certainly hear more often.

Amped Bass: The bass tightened up and was a tad loud to my ears compared to the rest of the spectrum. It was not super boomy and out of place, just high pressure.

Amped Mids: The mids become super clear and crisp. They were more serious and real.

Amped Treble: Amped the treble nearly matched the M50's. The high hat was more present

Amped Imaging: The image certainly improved a bunch, and tracked with the improvement heard in the M50's. In fact it gained a little on the M50 once the Aurvana Live was amped. Ani DiFranco' "Cradle & All" sounded much wider. Buddy Miller & Julie Miller's "Long Time" remained too single plane for my taste, but it did with the M50 as well.

Drums and the entire mid range to treble were so much quicker out of the m903 than the iPod. "Wanderlust" was just amazing. The snare was quick and a little in your face. The imaging on the sax gave a tad bit of air not found through the iPod.

Amped Jazz: I tested Patricia Barber "Postmodern Blues" through the Aurvana Live because jazz is hard for some cans to do. Grado SR-80's for example lack the vocal clarity and separation for really fine sounding jazz. The test track sounded nice and the vocals were clear and pleasant. I could hear the bass all the way up to the chimes.

Amped Electronic: I ran with Karsh Kales "Home" because I am very familiar with the track as well as it lacking boomy and out of place bass. The Aurvana Live lacked a little quickness in the mid range that my D2000 and DT990 have, but it was certainly not bad. Again the bass pressure was a bit much for my ears, but to some it may be just fine.

Amped Hard Rock: I decided to listen to Trantric's "I'll Stay Down" for this test. It is a nice quick song full of bass, mids, vocals, and treble. Other than a slight lack of air the test track sounded really nice from the Aurvana Live.

Conclusion:
At $60 the Aurvana Live! is an amazing headphone. It is designed well and sounds great. Other than the lack of excellent imaging and crisp and well extended highs they are an amazing headphone. They sound a bit more fun amped than my M50's.

The Creative Aurvana Live! solved a major problem for me—how to listen to good audio while walking the dog at night. I live near a commercial and bar district in Center City, Philadelphia and I'm not interested in attracting attention with my headphones. Enter the CALs. Nothing about them says "hey, here's $300 on this guy's head." And yet, that's what they feel like, and that's what they sound like. OK, they are not as good as a great pair of $300 headphones—but I can think of a few models that cost that much that are bested by the CALs.
 
The comfort factor is huge, and Creative hits a home-run for an over-the-ear, sub $75 headphone. The faux leather earpads are genuinely soft and as a result these cans are uncommonly comfortable. They are an absolute necessity for standing in line at the bank. Noise isolation is not world-class, and they can leak a bit of sound but overall they behave well. There's nothing cheap about the CALs performance.
 
Clamping pressure is relatively light for the seal the headphones achieve. Since they are closed cans, there is a sense of confinement to the sound, but by no means is the sound field restricted to an "inside the head" experience. If the recording sounds expansive, the Aurvana's deliver—it's just that I also have a pair of AKG K-701s that I keep comparing them to, and of course they are no match in that department. The only category where the CALs beat the K701s was bass (of course). But that's the thing, the bass on the CALs is "just right," it really is. They can't dig as deep as a Sennheiser HD380, but they can hang with considerably pricier headphones in terms of precision and dynamics.
 
The key the the Aurvana is its price. Any flaws disappear with the mental knowledge that they are practically disposable, and that new ear pads for the AKG K701 cost as much as the entire Creative headset. They perform way about their price point, in more ways than one. The CAL is the headphone that ruined—as in replaced—the Grado SR60 and SR80, in terms of an everyday walk-around headphone. The relative comfort factor seals the deal. Since the CALs are sealed cans, I'm sure the folks at the bank are quite thankful as well.

i can only compare these to my sony mdr cd 770 and my dad's beyerdynamic dt 990 premium as well as some koss porta pros.
 
i haven't had them for that long yet but i like the construction and that they're light. they clamp pretty tight on the head and are comfortable enough to wear for longer periods. i will try running/working out with these and i think they'll do the job.
 
about the sound: the bass is slightly boomy but goes pretty deep, the treble is slightly more detailed and emphasized i feel than the dt 990 since the sound signature of these cans is flatter and less v-shaped, the highs are decent. overall the sound is very good and there's not much to complain about except the details in the deepest bass, but i think that's a physical limit due to the size of the driver. the soundstage is good enough for my liking and the separation between the channels is very good. they sound somewhere between the cd 770 that are very flat and extremely detailed and the dt 990 (that i totally adore) that have a more v-shaped sound signature and less detail in the treble. i feel that these cans are best for electronic music (not drum and bass) and aren't very picky about the quality of the source. i expect them to get a little better after burning in so i might update this review but so far i'm content with them.
 
i think that the dt 990 premium are better in every way especially for rock, metal and dnb but they cost 4-5 times more and aren't nearly as portable.

The Creative Aurvana Live! is a closed headphone that I recently had the opportunity to try and I believe that it is definitely one of the best ” value for money” purchase as well as an excellent headphone at the sub 100 cost.The Creative Aurvana Live! is an offering from the Aurvana range of products that Creative offers (as we’ll have it for my typing comfort sake!) is a deceptively simple looking pair of headphones. The glossy earcups are the first thing that will strike you out of the box, that also means that it is going to be a fingerprint magnet. The headphone does not boast a great build but my “guess” is that it actually is tough enough to survive as a carry-around portable or travel headphone for everyday use. The whole frame is made of plastic with a metal band bringing up the clamping area of the headphone. The box comes with a carrying bag, 6.3mm stereo adapter and a 1.5m extension cable. A special mention to Creative’s frustration free packaging, I still remember how I had to fight with the Sennheiser HD448 blister packaging! The Creative Aurvana Live! feels really light in the hands and has this ” aura of coziness” about it. The 40mm “bio-cellulose” diaphragm is held in plastic earcups covered with soft leatherette material (great for winter days). As a headphone designed for use with portable music players the CAL! has an impedance of 32 Ohms and is driven well by all almost all portable music players.
 
The CAL! reaches a level of comfort that I have not experienced even from headphone models costing 5 to 6 times its cost. The clamping force is almost non-existent and is very  similar to the HD448. I even wonder how Creative manages to keep the little isolation that it provides with such paltry clamping force (guess the leatherette earpads do that job!). The headphones disappear once the music starts playing and that’s how I like it. The upper part that sits on the head has little foam cover, but that does not deviate from the overall comfort the CAL! provides. The 1.2 meter cable is fine for my 5’10 stature but if you’re taller than the provided extension cable is a nice touch. The CAL! is really light (210 grams) and just disappears once I hang it around my neck like any portable headphone should. The earcups envelop my ears (circumaural) but I can easily see that they might not for users with larger ears (becoming supraural) resulting in even less noise isolation.
 
Lovely, warm and very musical. Driven straight out of my iPod Classic the CAL! does a beautiful job of most types of music that I throw at it. The vocals are slightly recessed (or it’s just the highs creating the feeling!), clear sharp treble with decent extension, lovely midbass – bass is present, not so much sub bass and rumble, but clear tight lows. The soundstage  feels as good as the HD448s and the musicality of this headphone definitely bests both the Superlux HD661 and the Sennheiser HD448. I’m a proponent of uncompressed music and prefer using lossless files whenever possible and would recommend that music lovers need to experiment with the same. My personal experience is that the headphone or IEM that one uses can greatly affect the clarity or resolution of these lossless files and believe is one of the reasons that people often don’t notice the difference compared to an mp3 file. The Creative Aurvana Live is a headphone that will definitely help appreciate lossless and higher resolution music be it on a computer or a portable music player.
 
The Creative Aurvana Live! is a crowd-pleaser with its warm and mid-bass bumped detailed presentation. The sub 100 buck headphone market is one of the hottest and the Aurvana Live is a capable entry, though not a popular one. Newer arrivals like the Sennheiser HD449 face some stiff competition from the CAL! considering the price and quality delivered, lets not forget the Superlux HD661 as well with its unbelievable price point.
 
Read the full review on my blog.

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY
Finally I can send my Superlux 668B where they belong - into the trashcan. Due to a discount at the german Creative store website, I was able to order the Aurvana Live for 49€ (equals ~62$).

Optics/Haptics
Lots of plastic, but seems durable and well crafted, also nice to look at. Dueto the little weight and the well adjustable headband, they're superbly comfortable, even for guys with bull shaped skulls (like me^^).

Sound : The good
The Aurvana Live! has no real weakness. The sound is very nicely detailed and staged, it can reach quite low and has no breakaways -up or down- anywhere the frequency range. Voices are soft and detailed as well, very slightly taken back though, "S" and "F" sounds stay where they belong, no mentionworthy sizzling or hissing, even with harshly mastered stuff like George Michael's "Precious Box".

Sound: The bad
The deep bass section is slightly washy, but in a close limit. Listening to several classical test songs, I recognised that with some situations, the sound stage became rather "promiscous", I wasn't able to tell apart the different instruments anymore, it all sounded squishy - but that happened very selectively, so I can't tell if it was the particular recorded material or the headphones - but it should be mentioned anyway.

Value for money - Outstanding.
Yes, lots of plastic is involved, but that's not really a surprise in the below-50€ market here in Europe, is it? The sound makes up for it. Detailed, laid back, no real weaknesses. Very well done, but the same of course goes for it's older brother, the Denon 1001.

My Advice - If you're unhappy with budget "tips" like the Superluxes, go for the Aurvana! They are WAY MORE FUN!

Sound quality
 
These are the headphones that showed me the difference of the sound of headphones driven by an integrated audio card and the ones driven by a dedicated one (in my case, Asus Xonar D1). Needless to say, it was absolutely massive. CAL! have fantastic mids, which make every uplifting trance track SHINE (try e.g. Phillip Alpha - Sudden Changes or Andy Blueman - Neverland). But in order to experience that, a dedicated audio card is a must. I'm pretty sure that they'll satisfy anyone that listens to ambient or orchestral music, at least as long as you're looking for fun-sounding headphones (they're V-shaped, but only slightly - at least to a basshead like myself).
 
They have rather decent midbass but little subbass which, I guess, is a price that needs to be paid if you want great mids. If you listen to dubstep, well... stay away from those, lol.
 
Comfort and isolation
 
They're decently comfortable. The cups are too small to cover my ears completely, which worsens the isolation, and probably the comfort as well.
 
Build quality, cord and looks
 
The build quality is bad. CAL! are made of plastic that has questionable quality, and after a couple of months I had to tape one of the headphones to the headband (where they join). The cord is also of questionable quality and is way too short for my taste (forget about using these with a PC that has the audio card inside the case). I think it'd also be better if CAL! had one cord that comes out of one of the headphones, rather than two cords that join below (in my case, a bit too close to my chin).
 
To me, CAL! look decent.
 
Conclusion
 
As I said, if you're looking for reasonably cheap and fun-sounding headphones for uplifting trance (possibly also ambient/orchestral music), these are the ones.

 
A legendary value performer
 
The Creative Aurvana Live! (CAL! for short) has a strong reputation for being an excellent choice for beginning headphone hobbyists and an amazingly good sounding headphone for under $100. I found myself with some spare cash, and was after some new headphones after selling my Denon D2000, and thought it would be fun to try the CALs, since they are a reincarnation of the Denon D1000. People have described them as a little brother of the D2000, and I think they are to some extent. Certainly for the better in the sound department, for the worse in other areas. So, I bought a pair directly from Creative, and 4 days later they arrived (Quick shipping seeing as it came from Singapore). Here was my experience:
 
Well you guys are certainly right about one thing
 
And that is that these headphones sound excellent, especially for under $100. I really want to talk about this first, because it's where the CAL! is just amazing. Honestly, these headphones are an audiophile's wet-dream to use in arguments against Beats users when you want examples of headphones at less than half the price that blow the doctor away. This is the area where they really do sound like a smaller, cheaper Denon D2000. It's definitely less refined all around, but it does a very similar thing, and at a stupendous level of quality for under a big green note. 
 
The bass on the CAL! is less pronounced than the Denon, placing it very slightly north of neutral, but close enough that I think you could call it well balanced, but slightly warm. The roll off begins much earlier than on the D2000, but the extension is very respectable, but again, not as much. It's certainly controlled well, staying in it's place with very minimal encroachment on the midrange. Definitely a mud-free presentation. Definition is good, and authority isn't lacking when called upon. The bass is a great reason it's great sounding for beginners, it will teach them that you don't need grossly overblown, bloated, unnatural bass for music (including 'bass culture' music) to be enjoyable and properly represented. Neutral-to-warm is where the real cool kids are at! I've read about the bass being a tad loose, but it sounds fairly tight to me. Overall, a commendable bass response from the CAL!, definitely a sign of it's Denon lineage. 
 
Much as with the D2000, the CAL! doesn't put you in a chokehold and demand you swear allegiance to either bass or midrange, you get both! I must say, that vocals struck me very quickly as being very, very good on the CAL!. I think this is a result of not only placement and separation (They seem very distinctly separated from everything else) but just how realistically three dimensional they sound. If you've ever experienced a headphone that seems to swallow vocals up in the sound, and you want something better, then these will do it. I find the midrange to be well detailed and resolving, bringing out the texture of the sound more than you might expect
 
The treble on the CAL! really fits the part for these cans. To my tastes I couldn't quite call it dark or bright, it's fairly neutral sounding to me, which I think is beneficial for a slightly warm headphone. If you have warmth (or an outright bassy response) coupled with bright treble then you get a V shaped signature, which I don't have high levels of tolerance for (depending on extreme the V is). A left out midrange is no fun. These headphones definitely avoid harshness and sibilance, but I would say they're actually quite energetic and "active" sounding in the treble, but without any sense of being artificially boosted or forward. I really think they sound very surprisingly clean up high for a cheap, sealed can like this. 
 
Imaging is also really good (for a headphone of it's type and class)! Much like the big sister D2000, the CAL! seems to benefit most noticeably from it's poor isolation with the trait the open headphones are best known for: soundstaging. To compare these to the HFI-580 (a sealed circumaural that can go for twice the price of the CAL!), I'd say these knocked their socks off in the imaging department (Well, I find the CAL! much more enjoyable as a whole, too). The Ultrasone is supposed to have S-Logic to help it out, but it sounds downright unnatural and cramped compared to the CAL!. Layering is great on this headphone, with pretty respectable instrument separation. It is, of course, bested by the D2000 but I'd say the imagine was about 80% as good. Really impressive!
 
In short, the worst thing I can say about the sound of the CAL! is that it will be outdone by headphones in the $200+ range, but I think not only do they kick ass and take names under $100, but they continue to be super competitive up around $150 and approaching the $200 mark. These are some of the best value for performance out there!
 
Looks & Build
 
I think that for the money, the CAL! are decent in their presentation and their build, though I wouldn't say that they were outstanding in any way.
 
Compared to the Denon D1000, the CAL! wins my preference in aesthetics due to it's colour scheme. I quite like the dark, black finish on the headband arms, as well as the contrast between the chrome and reflective black finish of the the cups. The creative logo is in raised plastic with chrome finish, which I really like. I also appreciate the size of the logo, it's not too uncommon for logos to be placed and designed to be as attention seeking as possible. It's good to see visual design that appreciates subtlety. 
 
In the build department, I find that the CAL! could be a bit better, though I want to make it clear that these headphones are not poorly built. I would say they are overall superior to the Sennheiser HD448 which lacked metal in it's internal structure. The CAL! uses prominently plastic in it's build, from the cups through to the headband shell. I think the cups feel pretty solid, but I think the arms of the headband are a bit less convincing of that solid feeling you want from a headphone. The gimbals are slightly cheap looking in their plastic design, and if you apply pressure to the inner plastic of the arms, there's a little bit of give and a small creaking sound. Compare that to the Sennheiser PX100ii, and no such feeling or noise is present, they feel solid as a rock. That headphone also has more visible metal in it's construction, and just feels better finished and re-enforced than the CAL!. This is one of the big reasons I think the CAL! could be more impressive in the build department. Both headphones are the same price, and despite the PX100ii being much smaller and seemingly flimsier in physical size, it's just more solid feeling and I wouldn't hesitate to put more faith in it standing up to abuse than the CAL!, or at the very least it feels a little more premium. 
 
One thing I must say the CAL! does possess that impresses me is good quality pleather. Most headphones under $100 have quite poor imitation leather indeed, though the CAL! went all out and opted for the good stuff. The earpads are extremely soft, more-so than any other headphone I've personally experienced. I was genuinely surprised when I first felt them, and I think this property really contributes to the comfort factor of these headphones. 
 
With everything taken into account, I would say that the CAL! is a decently build headphone which you shouldn't worry about it falling apart on you, though don't expect it last through the ages or give you any sense of getting more than what you paid for.
 
Comfort
 
This is an area that the headphones seem to be almost equally famous for along side their sound, and I have to be honest, I don't think that's really justified. I do not think these are uncomfortable headphones, but a number of people seem to find their comfort more impressive than their sound quality, which is a mildly baffling idea to me. I've also seen one reviewer here on Head-Fi describe the comfort as being 'unbeatable'. Whilst I would normally say that comfort (much like sound) is a very subjective element of the headphone hobby, I can only think that if you consider the CAL! to possess the best comfort out there, you probably haven't experienced a great deal of headphones. They're comfy enough, but they simply are not a headphone that you can wear all day without irritation, and they're no where near the best.
 
When I first got the CAL! I found them quite uncomfortable. Luckily this changed, but I still do have some remaining bones to pick with the comfort. My first issue was that the headband padding felt quite stiff, to the point of being an under-padded feeling headband. This isn't a big problem now, the CAL! is very light so the headband doesn't need to provide a high level of support in the first place, but I found that the padding of the headband softened up noticeably after a day or two of use. I have noticed that I have to wear it quite forward on my head for it to feel right, and I'm not sure why. Normally it's the opposite for me. I like the headband of this headphone, though I would say that optimally, a wider and even softer headband would be preferable. 
 
The real issue of the CAL!'s comfort is the ear-pads. As mentioned, the ear-pads are very soft. However, considering it's a supposedly circumaural headphone, the amount of space given for your ear is rather conservative. There is just over 2 inches of height, and about 1.75 inches of width (at the widest point). My ears are fairly average, so I imagine those with large ears will note rather quickly that there is an insufficient amount of space. I don't find that the depth is a problem for me, but these are also not the deepest earpads around. This lack of space will irritate some people's ears due to the touch alone, but the other issue is that such a confined space that is encased in non-breathing pleather leads to a bit of extra heat. This is pretty unbearable for me if it's a hot day, it just feels disgusting. 
 
As a rule of thumb, I would say that if you don't have large ears and don't live in a hot area, you should be OK. Don't expect game changing comfort, but it should be cosy. The fit is quite secure and lightweight, though, which goes a long way in my books.
 
Not bad, but I think it gets way more credit than it deserves. 
 
Conclusion
 
I must say, despite having issues with it at first, I've really grown to love this headphone! For under $100, this is a must-have for beginners, it's such a good introduction as to what good sound is. Some people are going to take issue with it's comfort, but I'd say for a lot of people this will indeed be comfy. Just don't expect DT880 levels or anything. 
 
Great for home use for anyone looking to get into quality headphones!

As we always remember the last words the longest, let's begin with the complaints:
 
 My main beef with these are that they don't have a removable cord, and that the cord exits from both ears - these head phones are way too good to waste on a bad cord that glitches after just 6 months of use. Also, the headband is rather hard and presses uncomfortably on your head if you keep them on for a few hours in a row.
 
So! With that out of the way - the good stuff:
These are simply amazing. I love them. They close comfortably and perfectly around the ear, the sound is perfect and practically none of it slips out even if you put them on loud. These babies should last you a lifetime if you recable them once in a while, and they should definitely be worth it.
 
They also have a design that is very easy to customise, with the closed, plain black plastic. The silver band around the black frames your personal design very effectively.

When you do hours of research and actually go and spend your money on something that cost more than you wanted to spend, you aren't exactly "thrilled" about taking it everywhere with you on daily commutes. Which is why after dishing out $100+ on a pair of Shure Headphones I decided to search for a pair of headphones that sounded great, and I didn't mind taking everywhere. They arrived on December 29th meaning I have had about 2 1/2 weeks with them and so far I have do not have many negative things to say about these headphones. 
 
Starting off I bought these new for $65 on Amazon, although they normally retail anywhere around $70-$100. When I started looking for my "Daily" headphone I knew after seeing these get a decent amount of excellent reviews, that this was the direction I wanted to go. They come with a small bag, a 1/4th in. non-threaded adapter, and a 5ft extension cord to plug into the end of the 4ft long cable on the headphones.  My first impression of these cans was that the earpads and the headband were so soft. Out of a long line of different headphones I have tested (i.e Beats Solo/Studio/Pro, Soul SL150, Klipsch Image One, Shure SRH-750DJ, etc.) I can easily say these are the softest most comfortable headphones I have tried on. The design of these was also a plus with an all black headband, and a shiny black earcup with a chrome trim around it. The CAL!'s also feature a tangle free cord, which I have found to have worked exceptionally I have never been able to even make a tangle on my own. The only real problems some may have with the overall design is the fact that it has a Y shaped cable instead of one coming out of only one ear, the size of the earcups compared to the headband is kind of awkward, and these headphones have no folding capabilities for easy portability. Needless to say the design of the headphone is exactly the same as the Denon D1001, and thats not all it also "borrows" the same Foster driver as them which would mean you should get the exact same listening experience right? Not quite. 
 
The technical  specifications, and sound of the Creative Aurvana Live!'s are exceptional considering the price that one would pay for them. Weighing in at around 7.4 oz. these headphones certainly are not heavy at all, and are not noticeable while on your head. The impedance in these are only 32 ohms meaning that they can be easily driven by any phone, or mp3 player without the need of any amplification. Creative claims the frequency response on these is 10hz-30khz making the bass on these pretty good. Sound-Wise the bass on these headphones is phenomenal, yet not overwhelming. Some of the other competitions headphones seem to only focus on bass, bass, bass. But these seem to do everything well easily putting higher end/priced headphones to shame. I tested out a pair of Sennheiser HD 205's (which I also did a review on) against these and I wasn't even able to entertain the HD 205 anymore as even a bit of competition. I found it a bit funny that the Creative's can be used as a nice earmuff in the cold too! Compared to the Denon D1001 the Creative Aurvana Live should have nearly identical soundstage, but because the CAL! has thicker earpads it creates more bass, thus making the Creative Aurvana Live a more bassy headphone than the Denon D1001.
 
In conclusion if you dont mind having a two sided cable, and the fact that it cannot be folded into any smaller form, the Creative Aurvana Live is easily one of the best headphones under $100, maybe even under $200. 
 
 
Sound Quality: 9

Comfort: 10

Design : 7

Value for Money : 10

Ease Of Use: 9 
 
 
 
 

Overall: Best sounding headphones that you can currently get on amazon for $39.99 if you don't care for isolation. 
 
Build: I wouldn't say it's very durable looking and it is mostly made up of plastic. C rating
 
Comfort: The cups are large enough to cover my ears and the pleather earpads feel very soft and comfortable. A

Isolation: Isolation is very poor for a closed headphone. D
 
Sound: These sound pretty amazing for what they are worth. These sound very clear. A+
 
Value: I have no idea how durable these are and don't plan on breaking these to find out. If you don't care for isolation, A++, if you do, I would suggest looking somewhere else.

Sound Signature.
 
If I were to describe this cans, the V shape would be fitting, but it is just a moderate V shape, nothing overly pronounced but not flat by any means.

Bass.

This is where the cans excel at. The bass is pronounced and continues with a mid bass emphasis. I'm more of a sub-bass craver rather than the mid bass hump because I feel it steals clarity to the mids, so this left something to be desired, though nothing that made me regret my purchase. I find myself enjoying pop, edm, rock with this pair to the point of losing sight of the background, I see the average joe digging this set for this, but truth be told, the sub bass is a notch below the mid bass. If I they could reverse this, they'd be perfect for me.

Mids.

Withdrawn, but not by much, the mids are clear but again the mid bass steals the show. Male voices sound powerful with depth. Guitar cords sound beautiful. Overall very enjoyable mids.

Highs.

This cans do have a boost around the 10k. I tend to like my headphones with a little less highs, nevertheless, they never sound fatiguing or excrutiating, on the contrary, they give the cymbals a spot in music that you can easily distinguish without being overbearing. This is what gives the headphones the somewhat clear feel.
 
Isoaltion

Mediocre, just as good as the average closed cans.
 
Comfort
 
Clamp pressure is almost non existent, but they won't fall off your head, so this are really confortable, you can use them literally for hours without pain. The ear space could be bigger. They fit mine, but just barely, and I'm 6 ft tall with average sized ears. Bigger heads should stay away they won't fit. 
 
Value
 
I paid 70 dlls, but they do give a lot more than what they offer. They are not meant for bassheads nor audiophiles, but will appeal to everyone looking for a "jack of all trades". Enjoying music is what they are meant for, and these, well, they just deliver that in the sub $100 range.

I've owned quite a few cans and ended up really digging the sound of Denon headphones. With a pair of AHD-2000's at home, I wanted something just as fun at work. I've auditioned the Audio-Technica M50, Koss DJ-100, AKG 240S, AKG 44, and Triple.Fi Pro's connected to a uDAC for work. The DJ-100's were good, albeit a bit dark. The sibilance in the AKG's were too fatiguing and the AKG 44, though incredibly inexpensive with the Guitar Center deal under $20, lacked body. The M50's, though excellent at their price point, weren't as detailed as I liked. Triple.Fi's are great but I realized I wanted a pair of cans at work. Ultimately I wanted a fun, detailed pair of headphones under $100. 
 
I looked at picking up a pair of the 1100's, but after some research I decided that I wanted try the CAL! since they shared the same drivers as the Denon 1001's. They are just what I was looking for: sub $100 cans that were as fun as my D2000's. Next step: pair it with a Fiio E6. 

Bear in mind these are my first quality headphones so it is a world of difference from anything I have had previously.  I did a load of research before grabbing these and I am very pleased.
 
Out of the box...
    I think these are a good-looking piece of gear.  Aside from the headphones you get the 2.5 to 3.5 mm adapter, a cord extension, and a carrying case (soft, velvety bag).
 
Sound...
    Again, never having any high quality headphones before, I was blown away by my CAL!'s.  I expected a big difference but these sound close to some several-hundred-dollar headphones I have tried.  I can hear new details in songs I've heard a hundred times.  I find the sound very clear and the bass is awesome.  You can feel the bass fully and it seems to adapt well with the sound (or source in general).  For example, in a bass heavy rap/hip-hop song the bass hits fully but you don't lose out on the rest of the details.  On the other hand, in a song with little bass (a piano piece, say), there isn't any unnecessary or added bass noise.
    I have used these watching video and they perform here as well.  Watching action is particularly rewarding (just hearing talking sounds high-quality/clear, but really not super special).  Action sounds full and almost seems like surround sound.  I've caught myself looking over my shoulder after hearing a background sound, thinking it came from the room in which I was sitting.
 
Comfort...
I can wear these bad boys all day.
 
Design...
    Again, I think these look nice.  Functionally, I would've liked if they had the cord exiting from only one side, but it really not a big deal.  I like how the cord is only about 3 feet (I don't want a huge spool of wire like a lot of "DJ" headphones have).  Plus they do offer an extension cord.  
    I think the biggest design downside for a lot of people is that these don't fold.  It doesn't really bother me because folding headphones really don't get much smaller.  Plus I think this knocks the price down a little and it has nothing to do with sound, so it's almost a plus for me. 
 
In summary...
I think these are outstanding.  At only $60 you can't go wrong if you want a solid, affordable pair of headphones.

Excellent

for 50$ (i payed so much for it) this pair of haidphones is uitstanding , amazing sound quality that sounds like it is really played life . strong bass with amazing lows, the only problem i had with the bass is that it took over the mid tones a little bit, but with a equalizer you're fine . Also these are super comfy, i can sit with them for like hours without any headache.

After reading reviews here and learning about the Denon drivers, i went for a pair of these for the office. They are surprisingly comfortable to wear, the soft pleather pads perfectly covering the ears, with the only discomfort issue being that your ears warm up a bit after a while. Great sound isolation from outside. Short cord length makes them portable - I quite often wash the car wearing these cans, and the short cord means no snagging etc.
 
The headband plastic looks a little fragile, i'm not sure these could live in and out of a bag, also the cable is a little thin and the jack surround is poorly glued in place (although that flaw allows me to plug it into my iphone4 bumper case!).
 
Bass is full and defined, mids are smooth, highs are there, but perhaps that high end sparkle could be better, they sound kinda warm - they say a recable can improve the highs though.
 
I got these at a reduced rate on Amazon and am very happy with them. Great sounding cans for the money. Here's a couple pics i took:
 

These are wonderful hidden gems of headphone world. Using the same guts as the renowned D1001k they produce a bass driven warm sound without any bass bleed to midrange. Midrange is also well-done, male vocals especially. Treble is nice and has the occasional spark when needed. Presentation is adequate for closed headphones. Overall, the sound signature is quite fun for most genres, the only problem I had with them is the extra messy and fast metal pieces. The reason is that bass is not well controlled. I sense that -though I am no expert-, these are not technically most proficient headphones even in their price range.
 
Comfort is probably unbeatable. Build is decent but a bit flimsy. And lastly look elsewhere for isolation.
 
I can't believe that  someone can get them for 70 bucks new and much less second hand. Such a great value!