Creative Zen Air SXFI: the review of the earbuds for all tastes!

Creative Zen Air SXFI conquer our ears!

If you're looking for a pair of earbuds capable of giving you quality in every situation, you absolutely must stay on this page and read the review of the Creative Zen Air SXFI (here on Amazon), with which I've spent a great number of hours and which have become an integral part of my days between music, movies, phone calls, and gaming. Right from the first impression, the Creative Zen Air SXFI show all the attention poured into them by the Singaporean company, starting from the solid packaging that contains, in addition to the two earbuds, the gray charging case, a USB-C cable, three pairs of ear tips (sizes S, M, and L), and a convenient fabric pouch to carry everything without risking scratches, perhaps from a pair of keys you keep in the same pocket as the Zen Air SXFI. The case measures 64.0 x 43.9 x 29.0 mm for a weight of 52 grams (fully loaded), while a single earbud weighs 5.4 grams, numbers that provide comfort and lightness. The construction materials are solid, and the plastics used are all of high quality, giving the sensation of holding a product that comes very close to top-of-the-range models.

The Creative Zen Air SXFI have a list price of 79.99 euros, placing them in a mid-to-high range, where users are looking for good performance while making some compromises for the sake of budget, and it's interesting to understand if the performance is adequate for the requested outlay. Let's look at the cold numbers, starting with the IPX5 rating which ensures protection from water jets, making the Zen Air SXFI suitable for use even in the rain. The 10mm Neodymium drivers with a frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz allow for excellent sound reproduction with Bluetooth 5.3 and AAC audio codecs. The result is a quick connection to your devices (even two at the same time), the ability to use low-latency transmission, and wireless streaming without quality drops. There are three omnidirectional MEMS microphones for each earbud that allow for calls, ambient mode management, and the use of voice assistants like SIRI and Google Assistant. Not to forget the battery: up to 12 hours per single earbud charge and a maximum of 39 hours using the case, although the use of various modes may slightly lower these values.

Creative Zen Air SXFI: two apps to rule them all!

The tools at our disposal to make the most of the Creative Zen Air SXFI are two: the Creative app, which allows you to manage all the company's hardware, and the SXFI app, which more specifically manages equipment that can use the eponymous technology. For those who don't know, SXFI was created specifically by Creative to recreate a sound capable of making the user feel at the center of any situation, be it music, cinema, or gaming. The SXFI app, with a quick procedure, maps the user's head and then calculates the settings that "transform" the sound to give a "spatial surround" effect. The result is truly interesting, and while it doesn't always perform at its best in all situations, it often proves to be a significant plus, especially if you have the patience to work in conjunction with the Creative app. This is a true command center where we can manage practically every element of our Creative Zen Air SXFI.

I'll start with a note: there is a selector to decide whether or not to use SXFI, but every time we restart the earbuds, it will reactivate, meaning users who prefer not to use it will have to turn it off every time: the option to choose a default setting would have been appreciated. The equalizer allows for almost complete control over all frequencies and offers a large number of presets dedicated to cinema, many types of music (from classical to rock, passing through pop), and specific video games. This last category is very extensive, once again demonstrating Creative's great attention to us gamers. The list includes settings for standard types like real-time strategies or FPS, but also dedicates settings to specific series like Call of Duty or Resident Evil, not forgetting single titles of the caliber of Baldur's Gate 3, Helldivers 2, and many more. The result is almost always satisfactory, and even when personal taste requires some corrections, the equalizer comes to our aid and allows us to create new custom presets. The focal point is that highs and lows can be adjusted at will, and the drivers allow for excellent reproduction of both deep and ringing sounds. In short, without resorting to top-of-the-range models that can cost up to three times as much as the Creative Zen Air SXFI, the performance is fully satisfying and reaches the levels of much more renowned earbuds.

Creative Zen Air SXFI: final thoughts!

We can also fine-tune the touch controls, although I would have preferred a few more choices in the various options. Single long press, double, and triple tap are the usable inputs, provided you don't overdo the execution speed: being too fast risks not registering the command, but on average, the response is good. Finally, we must talk about ANC and Ambient modes. The first is noise suppression, selectable at various levels, where the quality is decent, but even when set to maximum, it doesn't reach very high levels. There is a general reduction of external disturbances, but some remain audible, especially in outdoor situations with heavy traffic. The Ambient mode is less precise; it serves to perceive noises like car engines and voices while listening to your favorite song. The microphones allow these frequencies to be clearly perceived, but the sound's directionality is not precise, with the result that more than once I understood a car approaching, but not from which side. There is also adaptive ANC that increases its effect in particularly noisy situations and limits itself in quieter environments.

Calls also meet expectations: we hear our interlocutor clearly, and only in rare cases was I told that my voice sounded a bit "distant." The Creative Zen Air SXFi are undoubtedly a well-rounded and balanced product that boasts truly high reproduction quality, provided you're willing to "tinker" a bit with the equalizer, with the added peaks that can be reached with SXFI technology (but it would be nice not to have to deactivate it every time you turn them on). Highs, mids, and lows can be managed completely independently, and every frequency manages to perform at its best, to the delight of every ear, excluding only users accustomed to top-of-the-range models with prices three times higher than the Creative Zen Air SXFI. The ANC is decent, though not perfect, while the ambient mode is not particularly calibrated, making it difficult to perceive the direction of external noises. Large battery, refined design, and lightness are the other advantages that make you forget some minor flaws. The Creative Zen Air SXFI compete with much more expensive models and take a prominent place in Creative's extensive catalog.