IFA 07 If you like to listen to your music - and we mean really listen - then Creative claims its new Aurvana X-Fi cans offer superior sound quality to standard 'phones. They can also be used as an expensive pair of earplugs.

Creative's Aurvana X-Fi: rather like a pair of Bose 'phones

The Aurvana X-Fi headphones also incorporate Creative's technology that, it claims, restores the details and vibrancy that can be lost when music is compressed - like when you rip a CD to MP3.

Creative also said that the headphones position vocals and instruments around the listener to create what it reckons is a more natural and immersive experience, much like the effect of surround-sound speakers, but in a pair of headphones.

Active noise cancellation is built-in to help block out background noises of up to 20dB - pretty much standard fare for this kind of thing. For example, Sony's MDR-NC6 noise-cancelling headphones perform the same effect, but only up to 10dB, while Etymotic's ER-6i earphones reduce background noise by up to 35dB.

A handy feature though is that this feature can be enabled when not listening to any music, so the Creative headphones can be used to, say, block out the kids' play or the husband/wife's nagging. A switch for the noise-cancellation function, as well as volume controls, are built into side of each headphone – making them look very similar to Bose's QuietComfort 2 headphones.

Creative's Aurvana: handily placed controls

The cable connecting the cans to your music source is also an oxygen-free copper cable, and the connector plugs are gold-plated, to "deliver a pristine sound quality without interference".

A release date or retail price for the Creative Aurvana X-Fi headphones has not yet been announced.