Skip Bose QC Ultra, Buy THIS? Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI Review 🤔
What is SXFI?
These budget headphones, the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI , may look like the Bose QC Ultra and like the Bose, you can get Spatial Audio from them playing audio from any source, any app, at just a fraction of the price. They use what’s called Super-XFI, which is all about delivering spatial audio that sounds like it’s coming from speakers outside the headphones, which improves immersion for music, movies and games. There’s even a dedicated button on the right earcup that turns it on or off whenever you want.
But what we do want to know is does SXFI really sound better than the default setting on these headphones? How do they perform overall, and do I hate anything about it? Let’s find out!
What great and not so great?
Before jumping into the mic quality test, here’s a quick overview. Creative does state that it’s got up to 70 hours of battery life, although from my regular usage of them, that could be in the best case scenario with all the extra features like active noise cancelling and SXFI upscaling turned off.
Its build quality is sturdy for the price, and I do like the fact that they fold inwards making them a more compact travel companion.
However, it is lacking in 3 key areas. It’s not Hi-Res certified nor does it support streaming over anything more than the standard AAC codec. There’s no wear detection to auto pauses music when you take the headphones off, and instead of a hard carrying case, they come with a soft pouch that provides minimal protection.
In terms of comfort, the cushions are plush, and its clamping pressure is also not too firm for comfort. However, its earcups are quite shallow, causes my ears are pressing against the driver component which traps heat. Overall, it’s comfortable enough to wear throughout the day if you take intermittent breaks.
All the controls are on the right earcup, which makes it easier to learn. However, the location of the power and noise cancelling buttons should be swapped. Because I use the ANC button more often, but it’s in an awkward position where I have to reach it with my ring finger. So it would have been better for it to be in a more convenient location, which is where the Power button is right now.
Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI Microphone Test
In terms of mic pickup, as usual with such headphones, you’re not going to face an issue with voice pickup in quiet conditions. In noisy conditions, they have decent noise gating, but my voice also sounds very soft and recessed.
(Microphone pickup in both quiet and noisy conditions using really loud cafe noise and wind noise from a fan.)
👉 Have a listen to the mic pickup samples.
Active Noise Canceling
In terms of active noise cancelling, they’re okay. Not the most impressive noise cancellers even at this price. It’s serviceable, since it does dumb down the low frequencies at its max noise cancelling setting that doesn’t require me to jack up the volume. The Adaptive Noise Canceling mode, however, doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. While it does adapt the intensity of noise cancelling depending on noise levels, but it’s too subtle to tell if there are any changes.
👉 Have a listen to the ANC samples.
Transparency Mode
The transparency mode is serviceable. It IS passing through and amplifiying the mids and highs, but not much of the lower mids, which leaves my voice sounds pretty muffled when I speak. Its transparency is good for awareness, but not good for verbal exchanges.
Sound Quality Better with SXFI?
When it comes to sound quality, the Zen Hybrid SXFI are meant to be listened with SXFI, at least for my personal taste in sound. With SXFI turned off and the EQ settings set to flat, there’s a big overemphasis on bass and lower mids. Vocals sound okay, but track separation is not so clean, making overall audio sounds bloated, not the kind of sound I’m a fan of. But with SXFI, the bass sounds more clean, vocals sound crisper, clearer, track separation is cleaner, and of course, soundstaging just opens up into a wide, spacious and airy panorama.
👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples.
You really do get that Spatial Audio effect so movies and games feel more immersive. At the same time, reverb is kept under control so that the discrete channels and objects in the sound are still well localised. The frequency sweeps of their default tuning show that the SXFI actually brings up the lower bass, tames the upper bass, bumps up the upper mids and highs, and even that sink in the 4kHz region gets a boost.
Even without SXFI, they can potentially sound good with a bit of tweaking. For example, the ‘Pop’ preset in the Creative app adds liveliness and reduces bloat, while the Jazz setting brings up vocals even more. Or you can do your own tweaking with the Manual EQ. But I highly recommend just leaving SXFI on, then deciding what EQ you prefer. It sounds much better that way.
Would I recommend them for the price they’re going for? If you’re curious about SXFI and you do want great Spatial Audio that works across any device and app, definitely try the Zen Hybrid SXFI. It is all-around decent. However, if Spatial Audio’s not a factor, and you are a more demanding listener who wants better noise cancelling, Hi-Res support, more features and options, there are plenty of other choices available from the usual suspects like Soundcore, Edifier and Earfun.
That’s my take. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments, and if you want to check its latest price on Amazon, link as below.
Check latest price:
Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI - https://amzn.to/4fZq48h
By the way, Creative does make great TWS. The Creative Aurvana Ace Mimi is a great example.
(Affiliate Links Disclosure)
When you make a purchase through the Affiliate Links on this site, the site earns a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!
