Creative Zen Air SXFI review

01 September 2024

Creative holds a legendary status in the world of audio and its Zen Air SXFI TWS earbuds are the first TWS earbuds to support the brand’s Super X-Fi spatial audio tech natively. They do so while also delivering adaptive noise canceling, dual device pairing, wireless charging, and a combined battery life of 39 hours.

Those features are wrapped in a compact form factor with a sub-$100 price tag. Having used the Zen Air SXFI for a week we can confirm that they are a worthy pick thanks to their rich feature set and pleasant sound reproduction. While spatial audio was not our main focus, we did enjoy our time watching movies and TV shows on supported platforms like Netflix with Creative’s SFXI surround sound tech.

Design

Zen Air SXFI feature an all-plastic build with a matte finish. The buds are of the in-ear variety with interchangeable silicone tips and short steps. The top halves house remapable touch sensors and each earbud is outfitted with a trio of microphones.

The earbuds and their case come in at 51 grams with each earbud contributing 5.4 grams. The in-ear fit is great though we had to switch up the default ear tips to the smaller size to get a proper seal. The dimensions of the case come in at 64 x 43.85 x 29 mm which is a bit larger than most competitors.

You can get the Creative Zen Air SXFI in any color as long as it’s grey. The matte finish on the case and buds helps fend off fingerprints. There’s a shiny silver finish on the inside of the case which reminds us of the copper hue on the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 we reviewed earlier this year.

The case features a four LED battery indicator and a pairing button on the front and a USB-C cable on the bottom for charging. The good news is that they also support wireless charging and should work with any Qi-compatible pad.

The retail package includes the standard array of accessories with a short USB-C cable, spare silicone tips, and something that we don’t see that often - a fabric pouch that fits the carrying case and protects it from scratches.

Features and companion app

Creative Zen Air SXFI are equipped with 10mm Neodymium drivers. They pair over Bluetooth 5.3 with support for multipoint pairing but are limited to the legacy AAC and SBC codecs, so you won’t be streaming high-bitrate audio here. The buds also support Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with a dedicated Ambient Mode and a four-stage manual control inside the Creative app. Each earbud houses triple microphones for optimal voice pickup.

The key selling point is the SXFI spatial audio system which utilizes Creative’s computational audio to create a surround sound experience tailored to your ear and head shape. You have to download an additional SXFI app on your phone which prompts you to scan your face and ears.

After the SXFI setup, the earbuds should deliver a more immersive audio experience with a wider sound stage and a multi-speaker-like experience. Creative has been developing this spatial audio tech for a few years now and the Zen Air SXFI are the first TWS earbuds to launch with hardware-ready SFXI.

The major breakthrough with hardware-based SXFI on this iteration of the Zen Air is that once you’ve done the initial head mapping it works with any media on the device - local or streaming.

The Creative app brings all of the basic functions you’d expect from a companion app. You get to toggle between the noise cancelation modes with ANC, Adaptive ANC, and Ambient Mode. The ANC and Ambient Modes feature four-level stage control so you can fine-tune how much outside noise is canceled or let in.

The app also allows you to customize the touch controls with single, double, and long taps. The long press is used for volume control which is always a welcome addition to any TWS product.

Creative also delivers a myriad of EQ presets with 17 media-based ones and an additional 25(!) for gaming titles including popular fan favorites like the Call of Duty series, DOTA 2, and CS: GO. You can also tweak your own EQ profile with the slider.

Rounding out the features section are the low latency mode and IPX5 rating which is just for the buds and not the case.

The only feature we were missing here was a wear detection sensor which pauses media when you remove the buds from your ears and resumes it when you re-insert them.

Performance and Sound quality

By default, Creative Zen Air SXFI offers a notable bass presence and clear mids. We enjoyed the instrument separation which is superior to most earbuds in the sub-$100 category. The overall sound profile is pleasing and offers enough detail as far as Bluetooth audio streaming goes. Keep in mind that you are limited to the AAC and SBC codecs here.

As for the SXFI performance, we’d steer clear from using it while listening to music. It tends to shift sounds to the front of your face, for lack of better terminology, and results in less detailed sound with muffled mids, weak bass, and a flat-sounding sound stage. That’s also the case when watching videos and movies where the SXFI did not contribute to a more engaging experience. The lack of head tracking is another missed opportunity.

As expected, the default equalizer leans on the bass side but you have more than enough built-in EQ presets to choose from. Classical stood out as the best option in our experience but you are also free to customize your own EQ profile.

Noise cancelation is better than most of the budget earbuds we’ve tested recently and delivers a noticeable reduction in surrounding noises without distorting your audio too much. The great in-ear fit surely contributed to the solid ANC performance.

The six built-in microphones (three on each earbud) deliver good call quality in quieter environments but struggle to pick up your voice in louder areas. We did not experience any connectivity problems during our review period. The touch controls worked flawlessly and registered all of our taps without any issues.

Battery life

Creative claims you can get up to 39 hours of total listening time from the buds and their case with the buds alone lasting up to 12 hours (with ANC off). In our usage, we got 7.5 hours of usage from the buds with ANC on and volume set to 50%. The case offers five full recharges and you can top up wirelessly on any Qi charger which is a nice bonus.

Verdict

Creative Zen Air SXFI’s main focus is spatial audio but we did not feel a significant benefit when listening to music or watching movies in the SXFI mode. The sound stage felt flat and the absence of head tracking delivered a less than ideal spatial audio experience.

It was in the normal SXFI-less mode that the buds delivered a lively sound stage albeit with a more bass-heavy signature. The custom EQ options helped fine-tune the sound output which combined with the buds ergonomic design and potent ANC delivered an enjoyable listening experience.

Battery life is great and when we factor in the $80/€80 retail price (currently discounted) and all of the onboard features, Creative Zen Air SXFI gets our approval.

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