Bose AE2 vs Creative Aurvana Live!
Jun 5, 2012 at 10:27 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 22

OliverBB

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Hi everyone
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,  Total newbie here of course.
 
Anyways-Recently after much research and thought, I had pretty much made up my mind that I was going to purchase a pair of Bose AE 2 headphones. My reasoning was that I know that they aren't considered the best headphone for the money but they are EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE and do still sound pretty good. These days comfort is huge for me as I don't care if the sound is good-they won't be inspiring to me for listening if I know there will be a point where I have to rip them off because of discomfort. They will be mainly for listening to music on my iPod (320MP3-lossless). I also was looking for something that fit around the ear to block out some noise and not something that presses on ear (again that comfort thing)
But-
I happened to stumble upon the Creative Aurvana Live!'s. IT seems they are really the only can in that price range that fulfills pretty much all of the criteria that the Bose AE2 does. I have tried out the AE'2's in store but not the Creative Aurvana's.
 
My question is the CAL's in the same ballpark comfort wise as the Bose and do they seal out noise as effectively (some reviews online said they the CAL's weren't necessarily great at that)?
 
I also wonder about the bass response for both. I've read the Bose can be a bit lacking in bass and the CAL's could almost be too much. (for reference I don't like the big "thump" of the Dr Dre Beats or Klipsch Image One's)  
 
If people who have tried the 2 headphones and could answer according to some of the things I've mentioned earlier (and of course anything else they would like to offer) I really would appreciate it!
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Jun 5, 2012 at 11:51 AM Post #3 of 22
I like good bass-just not necessarily that sub range thump.
 
The Bose AE2 I heard in the Best Buy store seemed to have decent bass but it was hooked up to their demo music playing unit-I have no idea how processed the music in those things are to make it sound "better".
 
Jun 5, 2012 at 5:08 PM Post #5 of 22
I would not get the CAL!s for isolation. But they do sound better, very balanced (I don't find the bass to be too much at all), are very light and comfortable IMO.
 
Here are some other options:
 
V-MODA LP/LP2. Nice bassy headphones, stylish with good isolation. Very portable. Definitely worth a look IMO. Much better build quality than either the CAL! or the Bose. 
 
The KRK KNS-8400. The most comfortable of the cans I'm mentioning with memory foam ear pads and plenty of wiggle room for your ears. Not bassy I think its younger sibling the KRK KNS-6400 is bassier (you can do some research on those). But personally I do not find the KRK KNS-8400 lacking in the bass deparment. The headphones are comfortable, a steal at the price ($150 approximately although I would always look for a cheaper price if I were you just for the heck of saving money) due to their immense detail and balance across the frequency. My only caveat is that they look dorky on the head. The headband is pretty wide, I wish they were more conforming. Still a viable option though.   
 
Another headphone to look into is the Phiaton MS400 (currently I just saw one for sale in the FS forum here on Head-Fi for $120). They sound great and isolate, although if you have bigger ears they are pretty snug as the ear cups are shallow. But you can always do a cotton mod inside the ear cups for comfort (putting cotton inside right under the pads). Anyway, it's just another option I thought I'd throw out there.
 
If you want something much cheaper, isolating, a with relatively good sound, another alternative is the $30 Panasonic RP-HTX7.
 
You should check out Joker's portable shoot-out while you are at it. He's reviewed both the Pannies and the Phiatons. He also reviewed the AE1, although I know your question was about the AE2. Still I think it'll be worth it to read about other options before you make a final decision. Hope this helps! 
 
Jun 7, 2012 at 11:10 AM Post #6 of 22
Quote:
I would not get the CAL!s for isolation. But they do sound better, very balanced (I don't find the bass to be too much at all), are very light and comfortable IMO.
 
Here are some other options:
 
V-MODA LP/LP2. Nice bassy headphones, stylish with good isolation. Very portable. Definitely worth a look IMO. Much better build quality than either the CAL! or the Bose. 
 
The KRK KNS-8400. The most comfortable of the cans I'm mentioning with memory foam ear pads and plenty of wiggle room for your ears. Not bassy I think its younger sibling the KRK KNS-6400 is bassier (you can do some research on those). But personally I do not find the KRK KNS-8400 lacking in the bass deparment. The headphones are comfortable, a steal at the price ($150 approximately although I would always look for a cheaper price if I were you just for the heck of saving money) due to their immense detail and balance across the frequency. My only caveat is that they look dorky on the head. The headband is pretty wide, I wish they were more conforming. Still a viable option though.   
 
Another headphone to look into is the Phiaton MS400 (currently I just saw one for sale in the FS forum here on Head-Fi for $120). They sound great and isolate, although if you have bigger ears they are pretty snug as the ear cups are shallow. But you can always do a cotton mod inside the ear cups for comfort (putting cotton inside right under the pads). Anyway, it's just another option I thought I'd throw out there.
 
If you want something much cheaper, isolating, a with relatively good sound, another alternative is the $30 Panasonic RP-HTX7.
 
You should check out Joker's portable shoot-out while you are at it. He's reviewed both the Pannies and the Phiatons. He also reviewed the AE1, although I know your question was about the AE2. Still I think it'll be worth it to read about other options before you make a final decision. Hope this helps! 


Thanks for your thoughtful input! Funny I've never even heard of KRK (then again I'm pretty new as far as headphone research goes). Will look at those. I have checked out Joker's shootout and it is extremely helpful.
 
Jun 18, 2012 at 11:35 AM Post #8 of 22
I ended up going with the Bose AE 2. I just ordered it. In trying out a lot of headphones (and obsessed over Jokers Portable shootout) , what I've found is that I am overly picky with headphones and how they fit. I always kept going back to the Bose. I know they are overpriced but for me I put a premium on comfort. Considering I'm going to be mostly listening to my iPod (granted high bitrate and lossless) with no amp, I'm not exactly an audiophile. 
 
I'll know better when I get them and really try them out if it was worth it.
 
 
Jun 18, 2012 at 12:48 PM Post #9 of 22
i know its too late and all but the CAL's are very comfortable as well although AE2 still triumph in this area and they sound better than the AE2 with more bass. also the CAL! are easy to drive so an amp is not needed. not sure about the AE2
 
Jun 18, 2012 at 2:09 PM Post #10 of 22
Well if when I play around with the AE 2 and the sound is not up to par for me then the CAL's will be the next obvious choice. I like that the CAL's seem to have plenty of bass but these days after playing out in bands my ears are sensitive to any real stretches of too much bass heavy music.
 
By the way are the CAL's totally "around ear" or "on ear" headphones. After reading many reviews about them more seem to say around the ear but there seem to be quite a few who refer to them as on ear. I guess if you have big ears?    
 
 
Jun 18, 2012 at 5:07 PM Post #11 of 22
I've heard the Denon D1000 that the CAL is based on (or cloned from, or whatever - they're all from FOSTEX) - they're fairly comfy for their size and whatnot, and certainly around-ear, about like the Bose are around-ear. They aren't huge.

FWIW:
http://en.goldenears.net/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&document_srl=11751
http://en.goldenears.net/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&document_srl=4446

They have picture sets for each as well. Between the two, I'd say it's a pretty fair toss-up. The AE2 cost a bit more (if you grabbed them with the current sale, that's good), but they're fairly competitive imho in terms of sound quality. Both are decidedly not-bad. :)
 
Jun 18, 2012 at 8:09 PM Post #12 of 22
For isolation I think you should look into Koss Pro DJ100 I had them before I got my D2000's and they're really sealed. I brought them to a 10 day trip and I didn't miss my headphones one bit haha. Get the Audio Technica M50 pads when you buy it and if you want a detachable cable, look for the Tony Bennett Signature Edition. They're the same headphones but w/ a detachable cable. If you can though, get a Fiio E6 along with it for optimal performance.
 
Jun 19, 2012 at 1:41 AM Post #14 of 22
Quote:
I ended up going with the Bose AE 2. I just ordered it. In trying out a lot of headphones (and obsessed over Jokers Portable shootout) , what I've found is that I am overly picky with headphones and how they fit. I always kept going back to the Bose. I know they are overpriced but for me I put a premium on comfort. Considering I'm going to be mostly listening to my iPod (granted high bitrate and lossless) with no amp, I'm not exactly an audiophile. 
 
I'll know better when I get them and really try them out if it was worth it.
 


I will be waiting for your feedback. Please let me know what you think after you try it out. Thanks.
 
I was 100% sure on getting the Ae2 but after reading stuff here in head-fi, i am now very skeptical. What i really like about the Ae2 is that a lot of people say it is very comfortable and that the parts are replaceable. like the detachable cable. Also durability and customer support, i hear bose is good on that department. Or are they?
 
I will look for that denon 1100 (or 1001 i dont remember now) and hopefully be able to try it out, but again, i really liked that ae2 has a detachable cable. My past headphones all had wire problems after more or less a year of use.
 

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