I just got the Creative Labs Aurvana Ace2 today and had a few hours to compare to other IEM's. Recently I've had the Sennheiser Momentum 2, 3 and Jabra Elite 85t to compare. Here's a quick summary since most of the information out there is press releases or a couple of people who had brief access to pre-production units. I bought these with my own money, so no conflict of interest if you buy them or not. Tested with a Bluetooth 5.3 adapter and FLAC files, and Destiny 2 for gaming. For phones it was a Google Pixel 2 and Moto G Power.
The Creative lab phone app wouldn't connect with the 2 phones I tried. Not a big deal since all the functions work from button taps anyway. I'm sure they'll update the app in the future. The only unknown is when the Creative app gets updated, seeing if there's EQ profiles to see if there's a flat one to set as default. The nozzle size is oval, 4mm x 5mm so tips like the Jabra should fit. The stock tips are really nice, and should fit just about anyone. The ear buds are light and smooth, no hard edges.
When I first got them I tried without any noise cancelling to get a baseline of the sound. The bass was too boosted and boomy at loud volume and vocals sounded thinner but not recessed. Then I broke out the manual and turned on the adaptive noise cancelling, and the improvement was night and day. These sound more like the Truthear Zero Blue with ANC turned on. The bass is much more controlled, vocals sound lush and natural. If you get them, it's going to be with ANC on or you probably won't want to use them much. They cancel sound really well too. I tested with speakers playing at a pretty good clip, and couldn't hear anything right in front of them. The xMEMS drivers for mids and treble are really fast, heavy metal fans will love the speed. No congestion except the low bass at high volumes, and songs where it's just thumping the whole time. It doesn't bleed into the mids as much as loses detail during busy bass heavy tracks.
Comparison: The Sennheiser Momentum 3 I just had a couple of days ago outclasses it in the bass department with detail and accuracy. When it comes to mids and highs, they're pretty equal except during really fast tracks where the Ace 2 excels. Also when ANC is on, with the Ace 2 it's really silent, on the Sennheiser I remember that faint white noise during silent time between tracks. These beat the Jabra 85t in every category. If you factor in price, then it's a competitor to the Sennheiser Momentum 2, but not really fair to compare it to the 3rd version.
If you do a shelf filter to lower the bass -3db then they become fun for gaming. Explosions with stock settings are just too much. I couldn't detect any lag when going into busy areas in Destiny 2, and for video on the FireTV Cube everything syncs fine. Soundstage and imaging is really good. Instruments sound separated, just not as much front to back depth as width which is very good. I got about five hours of use on the battery at near max volume since I did a preamp reduction to tinker with an equalizer. The case supports wireless charging, and on the bottom there's a reset hole, and a button for pairing them while in the case. For sports they'd be really good, but haven't looked up the IPX rating yet. They fit well and don't feel like I could shake them off even when running.
In summary, these are really enjoyable with adaptive noise cancelling on, most similar to the Truthear Zero Blue (I have a pair of them here too). With ANC off you won't like them that much, ambient mode was ok, but I wouldn't use it (distracting). You can game with them if you EQ the bass down or explosions are too much. One edge over the Sennheiser is the microphone works great in Windows without a fuss. I remember having fits trying to get the Momentum 2 microphone setup in Windows. The mic is just 16 bit 16000hz quality though, playback is 16 bit 48000khz in Windows settings. Range is as good through a 2 story townhouse on both floors and even a little outside. If you get a pair at MSRP it's a good deal, but if you're really demanding, the Sennheiser Momentum 3 is just better (and more expensive). If you're into heavy metal it's able to keep up with the fastest guitar solo or cymbals/high hats, but hiphop or EDM it'll get congested sometimes. At this price point these are worth the money, but they aren't going to dethrone Sennheiser. Momentum 3 is still king if you have the money for them (or willing to buy used at the same price).
Pros:
Comfortable, secure fit.
5 hours battery life at high volume
Adaptive noise cancelling is excellent
Soundstage is wide
Imaging and seperation of instruments very good (for mids and highs)
Cons:
Creative app sees them but couldn't connect
Unknown if there's a default EQ that can be changed to something less bassy
Bass driver is much slower than the lightning fast solid state drivers
Must keep ANC on for best sound quality
