Mediocre tunes make me mopey

Not every pair of ANC earbuds can be as good as the AirPods Pro or Sennheiser Momentum 4. Still, I expected more from the $80 Creative Zen Air SXFI, a pair of earbuds with commendable noise cancellation but unsatisfactory sound quality.

Creative Zen Air SXFI

$50 $80 Save $30

Enter a world of unfettered audio quality, presented in a sleek case that fits in the palm of your hand. With SXFI Spatial Holography, up to 39 hours of total playtime, noise control modes, an IPX5 rating and more, the Creative Zen Air SXFI is the ideal compact audio companion.

Advantages

• Comfortable and secure fit
• Solid ANC
• Decent call quality
• Feature-rich companion app
• Wired and wireless charging

Disadvantages

• Very narrow soundstage
• The default sound profile leaves a lot to be desired
• The spatial sound is simply bad
• No Hi-Res support

Price and availability

The Creative Zen Air SXFI earbuds retail for $80 and are available on both Amazon and the Creative Labs web store. They are only sold in the gray colorway you see in this review.

Status quo for design, fit and controls

The Zen Air earbuds come in a subtle gray colorway with metallic accents in the charging case. They’re similar to leading ANC products like the Apple AirPods Pro and Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, although they’re a bit bulkier overall (particularly the charging case). And while other brands rely on glossy surfaces, the Zen Air uses matte plastic. I’m not knocking Creative for this choice. it is merely an observation.

Creative offers three sizes of ear tips for these earbuds, but I found that the pre-assembled medium size gave me a comfortable and secure fit. I had no issues with the earbuds bouncing around in my ears, which is something I can’t say about my AirPods. Conveniently, the charging case has front-facing status LEDs that let you know how much charge is left in the case. There is also a manual pairing button directly below these LEDs, and below that is the USB-C charging port.

Like many other wireless earbuds, the touch controls are mapped to the flat exterior portion of both Zen Air headphones. While the default gestures might be fine for most people, I reassigned a few commands directly in the Creative app to better suit my earbud habits.

In addition to the earphones and the charging case, the scope of delivery also includes additional earplugs, a USB charging cable and operating instructions.

Audio that just doesn’t cut it

The Zen Air buds use 10mm neodymium drivers and support Bluetooth 5.3 profile. SBC and AAC support are standard here, but unfortunately there’s nothing in the way of aptX or other Hi-Res compatibility. There is not even a hint of support for these codecs through firmware updates.

Here’s the absolute most honest (and borderline positive) thing I can say about the Zen Air’s sound quality: It is fine. But in my book, “good” means “I was given this as a gift and I have to make the best of it.” Even after lots of EQ tweaks and genre changes, there wasn’t much I could do. These buds aren’t exactly cheap, but they sound cheap. Regardless of the tune, film or podcast, the soundstage presented was always highly compressed. At no point did I feel like I was listening to anything other than an MP3 while actually streaming high-quality tracks via Apple Music.

For reference, I ended up using a custom EQ with bumps in the bass and treble. You can also choose from a range of creative presets that include sound profiles created specifically for specific video games. I also wasn’t a fan of the SXFI mode, which is enabled by default. I’m a slow adopter to spatial audio to begin with, and when this feature was enabled on the Zen Air, the low frequencies of whatever I was listening to were immediately annihilated. After deactivating it the sound was always better. So there is that.

Green day Vacation is supposed to be a pop-punk anthem, but the Zen Air struggled to convey that vibe. Initially there was too much snare, which I corrected in the EQ only to find that the vocals didn’t get enough shine. After increasing the treble, the sound became too distorted, and cymbal hits made listening to the track painful. So I increased the bass, which made the low end far too dominant in the mix. But I haven’t given up yet.

On a recent trip to Florida, I was on a Tears for Fears kick (thanks Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind), so I decided to test out one of the world’s biggest songs with the Zen Air. Everyone wants to rule the world. This track played well, although it lacked the shimmering highs that are so inherent to the TFF sound.

On the same Florida trip I was also able to visit Christopher Nolans Interstellar. Remember the scene where the 200-foot tidal waves crashed down on Cooper and the crew? Yes, it sounded quite good through the Zen Air. Here too, the guys did a pretty good job of conveying the gravity of the scene, but not without compressing the mix.

A win for noise cancellation

The Zen Air In-Ears feature an adaptive ANC system with three omnidirectional MEMS microphones per earbud. As a tech enthusiast, I appreciate when headphone and earbud manufacturers offer in-app sliders and switches for ANC and Transparency, a feature that Creative has integrated into the Zen Air. This not only allows you to choose between ANC, Adaptive ANC, Ambient Mode or Off, but also allows you to fine-tune the ANC value or transparency in your presets.

The buds really shine in their ability to cancel out outside noise. They effectively muffled the roar of the 2014 Camry my girlfriend and I drove from Orlando to Miami, as well as the hum of an annoying air conditioner in one of our hotel rooms. However, I didn’t notice any significant difference between the Ambient and Off presets, which may be a minor point for some.

Taking calls wasn’t so bad

Given the experience I’ve had listening to music and watching movies, you can imagine that my surprise when answering a call was one of the best parts of using the Zen Air SXFI headphones. While I would have liked a true sidetone option (the ability to hear your voice clearly during a call), my test caller’s voice was clear, distinct, and quite loud. I also had ANC enabled and it did a great job of removing background noise around me.

My own speaking voice was reported to be clear, if tinny, which is pretty normal with most tiny earbud microphones.

Better battery life than some leading brands

Creative says the Zen Air headphones should last up to 12 hours on a full charge with ANC disabled, with the charging case offering an additional 27 hours. However, most people (including me) will leave ANC enabled, which will likely result in the 12 hours turning into 8 or 9 hours of playback. Still, this is pretty good.

The case itself also supports USB-C wired charging and Qi wireless. When testing the Zen Air, I never needed to fully charge the case, and even after several hours of use, the case still had about 70% of its battery remaining. Unfortunately, the only way to keep an eye on the case’s battery is through the status LEDs on the front (there’s no dashboard display in the Creative app).

Features and customizations in the Creative app

There are two companion apps for the Zen Air headphones: the Creative app (for iPhone and Android devices) and the SXFI app (iPhone and Android). You use the latter to create a custom head tracking profile when you enable SXFI playback. The former is your one-stop shop for controls, settings and customizations.

I tested the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones not long ago, so I already had experience with the Creative app. But even if it’s your first time using the app, you won’t have any trouble figuring out where things are and how to make adjustments. A handy battery life indicator (without charging case) is located at the top of the home page. Noise cancellation controls and gesture customization tabs are also front and center.

In addition to the intuitive layout, the app also runs well and smoothly. The only minor gripe I have is that the Zen Air headphones always had to be discovered in the app, even though they were already paired with my phone. (I reported the same complaint with the Creative Zen Hybrid headphones).

Should you buy the Creative Zen Air SXFI?

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the Creative Zen Air SXFI. While I appreciate what Creative was going for – a great-sounding pair of ANC earbuds with spatial audio and cool customizations – these in-ears don’t come out on top at all in the most important category: sound quality.

If you’re looking for a reasonably affordable pair of wireless earbuds, I recommend taking a look at the Skullcandy Sesh ANC Active or OnePlus Nord Buds 3 Pro. You may also want to check out our roundup of the best noise-canceling headphones.

Creative Zen Air SXFI

$50 $80 Save $30

Enter a world of unfettered audio quality, presented in a sleek case that fits in the palm of your hand. With SXFI Spatial Holography, up to 39 hours of total playtime, noise control modes, an IPX5 rating and more, the Creative Zen Air SXFI is the ideal compact audio companion.