Note: This review was first published on 9 December 2024.
The Creative Zen Air Hybrid in Light Gray. Photo: HWZ
When Creative launched the Zen Air SXFI earbuds, they also launched a set of noise-cancelling headphones called the Zen Hybrid SXFI. This fourth generation of SXFI-enabled devices improve on their predecessors in one key way: they enable direct implementation of SXFI so that you can enjoy Creative's flagship headphone technology with any content.
The TL;DR version:
If you’re looking for a good basic set of headphones that won’t break the bank, the Zen Hybrid SXFI offers a unique blend of features and performance that punch well above their weight class.
Note: You can find the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI from Shopee, Lazada, and the official Creative online store.
If you're unfamiliar with SXFI, it is a headphone technology that aims to let you enjoy a far wider soundstage on in-ear monitors and headphones. Essentially, it seeks to replicate the experience of listening to a multi-speaker setup through your headphones using the principles of head-related transfer function. It might sound incredulous, but it works.
This new generation of SXFI-enabled devices allows users to enable SXFI with any content. This means you could use it with services like Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV+, and more. This was something older SXFI-enabled devices couldn't do – they could only apply SXFI effects to locally-saved content. Here are my thoughts after using these headphones for a couple of weeks.
Design and build quality
The earcups are rather shallow which may lead to a poor seal if you have big ears. Photo: HWZ
Coming in Black or Light Gray, there's no getting around the fact that the Zen Hybrid SXFI heavily resembles Sony's WH-1000XM4, in both design and construction. That's not a bad thing because it means the headphones are compact and light, and therefore comfortable to wear.
Crucially, the Zen Hybrid SXFI is foldable, which makes it portable. Creative includes a soft grey cloth carrying case, which is a nice touch and offers some protection when carrying it around. Along with the carrying case is USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable for wired listening.
One gripe we have with its design is that the earcups are rather shallow. This can be a problem for users with larger ears. Also, because of the shallowness of the earcups, passive noise isolation is not the best. I had to adjust it carefully to ensure a good seal.
Built-in controls are on the right ear cup, including the media controls, ANC, and the SXFI button. While convenient, the similar feel of these buttons can make them a bit tricky to differentiate by touch alone.
Features and connectivity
The app is brief, but it works. Photo: HWZ
As with the other Creative products, the Zen Hybrid SXFI is supported by the Creative app which unlocks several features. The app is rather simple and allows you to change the EQ preset, turn on and off SXFI mode, and change between the various noise-cancelling modes. Additionally, you can also toggle on and off low-latency mode, and connect simultaneously to two devices thanks to multipoint support.
Quite confusingly, besides the Creative App, the Zen Hybrid SXFI also needs the SXFI app in order to personalise your SXFI experience. Setting up is relatively simple and can be done in under 5 minutes. All that is required is just a couple of photos of your face and ears to build your SXFI profile. You might also need to update the headphones' firmware to ensure support for the latest version of SXFI.
For those new to the SXFI feature, it essentially creates a personalised audio experience by mapping an individual’s head and ear shape. It then processes the audio using its algorithms to tailor it specifically to the listener’s unique head and ear profile and characteristics. The end result of all this is that audio should sound like it's coming from speakers as opposed to the headphones themselves.
Though I had SXFI turned on most of the time, I didn’t notice a large hit on the battery life. Creative claims up to 70 hours of playback without ANC activated and up to 40 hours with ANC enabled. In my experience, I found that the Zen Hybrid SXFI could last about 36 hours on a single charge. Even if you listen to it about 5 hours a day, it'll quite easily last a week.
The Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity is stable and I experienced no cutouts even when travelling through packed crowds. The only supported codecs are SBC and AAC. Like most wireless headphones, the Zen Hybrid SXFI has a 3.5mm jack for wired listening, which can be handy if you forget to charge it, want to conserve its battery, or simply because the source device you want to listen to doesn't support Bluetooth.
Stereo headphones until you turn on SXFI
SXFI undoubtedly is the main selling point of the headphones. Photo: HWZ
At the heart of the headphones are 40mm neodymium drivers and they deliver decent overall sound. There’s a particular emphasis on mid-range frequencies, with high and low frequencies seeming somewhat lacking lucklustre when compared to more premium headphones. Of course, if you don’t find the default tuning of the Zen Hybrid SXFI to your liking, there is an EQ feature for you to tweak the sound to your liking.
As for SXFI, once it's properly set up and enabled, the mode has the potential to create a more immersive and three-dimensional audio experience. Overall, similar to my experience with SXFI in the Zen Air SXFI earbuds, I thought SXFI worked better with movies than music.
With music, SXFI has the propensity to create a hollow kind of sound where it seems vocals are far away. It can also result in less punchy and dynamic-sounding bass. That said, weak bass response was less of a problem with these headphones – the drop-off in bass response was more pronounced in the Zen Air SXFI earbuds. The bass of the Zen Hybrid SXFI still sounded and felt suitably strong, even with SXFI enabled.
Another thing I noticed is that if you watch your favourite live streamers or TV shows with SXFI on, it might result in background sounds completely disappearing, which is very odd.
As ever, the effectiveness of SXFI can vary depending on your head and ear profile as well as the type of content you are listening to, so your personal experience with SXFI may vary. If you are new to SXFI, I would urge you to audition these earbuds first if you get the opportunity.
ANC and Ambient mode performance
The ANC button along with every other button can be found on the right earcup. Photo: HWZ
The active noise cancellation (ANC) on the Zen Hybrid SXFI is functional, but not the best. It does a decent job of reducing most ambient noises such as the whirr of a fan, the drone of a motor, or the hum of a crowd, but it’s by no means at the same level as more high-end headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Technics EAH-A800.
As for the ambient mode, it is serviceable. It allows users to stay aware of their surroundings, but it isn't that good for conversations because I found voices to sound unnatural, and at times unintelligible. Consequently, its microphone performance wasn't great either since I felt that it made me sound oddly robotic.
One thing I noticed during my listening sessions is that the headphones have poor passive noise isolation. Despite being a closed-back headphone and even with ANC activated, there is a significant amount of noise leaking into the headphones which I cannot mitigate even with the volume set to 50%. I didn’t find this an issue with other headphones such as the Sony ULT Wear or the cheaper Sony WH-CH720N.
That said, considering the price of the Zen Hybrid SXFI, I didn't find these shortcomings to be outright dealbreakers.
Summary and conclusion
It's a good entry into experiencing what spatial audio is like
For S$149, the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones are a compelling option for those seeking a feature-rich audio experience without breaking the bank. While these headphones may not match the performance of high-end headphones in any single area, the overall package is undeniably impressive for those on a tight budget.
To give its price and value proposition some context, consider that Sony's very excellent WH-1000XM5 is a whopping S$589, and even their more affordable ULT headphones are S$299. I hope you can see the bang for buck that the Zen Hybrid SXFI delivers.
Furthermore, with SXFI support, these headphones offer a taste of what spatial audio is like without having to invest too much in more expensive options. They're also a good choice for commuters or office workers who need a comfortable, long-lasting pair of headphones with basic active noise cancellation.
All in all, the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones offer an attractive blend of features and performance that punches above their weight class. They're not perfect, but they provide a decent enough listening experience and they have a feature set that's hard to match at this price point.
Note: You can find the Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI on Shopee, Lazada, and the Creative online store for S$149.
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