Creative has legendary status in the world of audio, and its Zen Air SXFI TWS earbuds are the first TWS earbuds to natively support the brand’s Super X-Fi spatial audio technology. They do this while also delivering adaptive noise cancellation, dual device pairing, wireless charging, and a combined 39 hours of battery life.
Those features are packed into a compact form factor with a sub-$100 price tag. After using the Zen Air SXFI for a week, we can confirm that they’re a worthy choice thanks to their rich feature set and pleasing sound reproduction. While spatial audio wasn’t our main focus, we enjoyed our time watching movies and TV shows on supported platforms like Netflix using Creative’s SFXI surround sound technology.
Design
Zen Air SXFI is made entirely of plastic and has a matte finish. The earbuds are in-ear type with interchangeable silicone tips and short steps. The upper halves contain remappable touch sensors and each earbud is equipped with a trio of microphones.
The earbuds and their case weigh 51 grams, with each earbud contributing 5.4 grams. The in-ear fit is great, though we had to swap the stock eartips for the smaller size to get a good seal. The case dimensions are 64 x 43.85 x 29mm, which is slightly larger than most competitors.
You can get the Creative Zen Air SXFI in any color, as long as it’s gray. The matte finish on the case and earbuds helps repel fingerprints. There’s a shiny silver finish on the inside of the case, which reminds us of the copper color on the Creative Aurvana Ace 2 which we discussed earlier this year.
The case has a four-LED battery indicator and 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 accessories with a short USB-C cable, spare silicone tips, and something we don’t see often: a fabric pouch that fits inside the carrying case and protects it from scratches.
Features and associated app
The 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 earbuds also support Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation with a dedicated Ambient Mode and four-stage manual controls in the Creative app. Each earbud houses three microphones for optimal voice pickup.
The main selling point is the SXFI spatial audio system, which uses Creative’s computational audio to create a surround sound experience that’s tailored to the shape of your ear and head. You’ll need to download an additional SXFI app to your phone that asks it to scan your face and ears.
After the SXFI setup, the earbuds should deliver a more immersive audio experience with a wider soundstage and a multi-speaker-like experience. Creative has been developing this spatial audio technology for a few years, and the Zen Air SXFI are the first TWS earbuds to launch with hardware-ready SFXI.
The big breakthrough with hardware-based SXFI on this version of the Zen Air is that once you’ve performed the initial head mapping, it works with any media on the device – local or streaming.
The Creative app includes all the basic features you’d expect from a companion app. You can switch between noise-cancelling modes with ANC, Adaptive ANC, and Ambient Mode. The ANC and Ambient Modes have four-level phase control, so you can fine-tune how much ambient noise is canceled or let in.
The app also lets you 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 includes a host of EQ presets with 17 media-based and another 25(!) for gaming titles, including fan favorites like the Call of Duty series, DOTA 2, and CS:GO. You can also customize your own EQ profile using the slider.
Rounding out the features is low latency mode and the IPX5 rating, which only applies to the earbuds and not the case.
The only feature we missed was a sensor that detects listening to the earbuds. This sensor pauses listening to media when you take the earbuds out of your ears and resumes listening when you put them back in.
Performance and sound quality
Out of the box, the Creative Zen Air SXFI offers a noticeable bass presence and clear mids. We found the instrument separation to be excellent, better than most earbuds in the sub-$100 category. The overall sound profile is pleasant, offering a decent amount of detail as far as Bluetooth audio streaming goes. Just note that you’re limited to the AAC and SBC codecs here.
In terms of the SXFI’s performance, we wouldn’t use it when listening to music. It tends to push sounds towards the front of your face, for lack of better terminology, resulting in a less detailed sound with muffled mids, weak bass, and a flat soundstage. That’s also the case when watching videos and movies where the SXFI didn’t help make for a more engaging experience. The lack of head tracking is another missed opportunity.
As expected, the default equalizer leans more towards the bass side, but you have more than enough built-in EQ presets to choose from. Classic stood out as the best option in our experience, but you’re also free to customize your own EQ profile.
Noise canceling is better than most budget earbuds we’ve tested recently, delivering a noticeable reduction in ambient noise without distorting your audio too much. The great in-ear fit certainly 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 didn’t experience any connection issues during our testing period, and the touch controls worked flawlessly, registering all of our taps without issue.
Battery life
Creative claims you’ll 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 use from the buds with ANC on and volume set to 50%. The case holds five full charges, and you can charge wirelessly on any Qi charger, which is a nice bonus.
Pronunciation
The Creative Zen Air SXFI’s focus is primarily on spatial audio, but we didn’t feel a significant benefit when listening to music or watching movies in SXFI mode. The soundstage felt flat and the lack of head tracking made for a less-than-ideal spatial audio experience.
It was in the regular SXFI-less mode that the buds delivered a vibrant soundstage, albeit with a more bass-heavy signature. The custom EQ options helped refine the sound output, which when combined with the buds’ ergonomic design and powerful ANC made for an enjoyable listening experience.
Battery life is great, and when we consider the $80/€80 retail price (currently discounted) and all the built-in features, the Creative Zen Air SXFI gets our seal of approval.
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