Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone: A Complete Review

Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone: A Complete Review

$99.99

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7.8/10 (Expert Score)
Product is rated as #13 in category Wired Headphones
The Creative SXFI Air headset has advantages that no other model from competitors has: the presence of Super X-Fi technology. Therefore, I recommend them for gamers and those who watch a lot of movies, surround sound really differs for the better from the normal stereo. For those looking for versatile headphones for every day, I also recommend taking a closer look at the Creative SXFI Air, and although they are not foldable, they will suit many due to the medium size. Considering the cost of about $ 160, I state that for this money from competitors you will not get the same result, especially in games and films.
Design
7.8
Sound
7.6
Price
7.5
Connectivity
7.7
Battery
7.4
PROS:
  • 4 ways to listen to music
  • Convincing surround sound for games and movies
  • Replaceable ear pads
  • Voice assistant support
  • Presence of a slot for a microSD memory card, formats are supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, and FLAC
CONS:
  • No support for AAC or aptX codecs, only SBC
  • Not folding

Over time, listening to on-ear headphones becomes tiresome. After 30 models, they all turn into a single amorphous mass in my head. However, Creative SXFI Air can be remembered for a long time thanks to RGB lighting, its own memory, 50mm drivers, and Super X-Fi technology for realistic surround sound. The only thing that upset the headphones a little was the build quality, but everything could not be perfect for a modest price.

At the beginning of the year, Creative delighted us with the Super X-Fi amplifier. Today we are reviewing the Creative SXFI Air wireless on-ear headphones with the same Super X-Fi technology on board.

Who is Creative SXFI Air made for?

  • For gamers. Super X-Fi technology creates realistic surround sound, which greatly improves the positioning of effects in the game and increases the player’s chances of winning due to the excellent understanding of the virtual world’s audio picture.
  • For those who often watch movies. For the same reason, watching movies with a multi-channel soundtrack will become more vivid and reliable. Before watching, make sure that the movie’s sound is 5.1 or 7.1 if it is recorded in stereo. The effect from Super X-Fi will be minimal or not at all.
  • For those who want universal headphones. The Creative SXFI Air gives you the ability to connect them in four different ways to your audio source, making them the most versatile I’ve listened to lately.

Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone Impressions

The Creative SXFI Air headphones left me only with positive impressions of communicating with them.

The matte plastic they are made of looks nice and expensive, more expensive than they actually cost.

On the left cup, there are buttons and additional sockets for connecting and charging the battery. There is also a slot for a microSD memory card. If you record music on it and insert it into headphones, you can listen to it without the need to connect Creative SXFI Air to any sound source. They are a source for themselves. However, I found it easier to connect them to my phone via Bluetooth and listen to Deezer.

The first thing that catches your eye when looking at the right cup is the Creative NanoBoom microphone. It is removable and, if necessary, can be easily disconnected from the headphones, and a neat lid covers the place of the jack.

The delivery set includes additional ear pads made of soft fabric, in contrast to the leatherette ear pads already worn on the headphones. As you might have guessed, they are removable.

Both cups have bright LED lighting that blinks to the beat of the music. Fortunately, it is disabled using the proprietary Creative SXFI Air Control app.

The same application is required to control Super X-Fi surround sound technology and configure some other parameters.

Unusually, a second app called Super X-Fi uses a camera to photograph the shape of the ears and creates a personal preset for the best surround sound effect.

I was surprised that Creative did not combine these two applications into one, but that is. At least they work well. They don’t glitch or disrupt the phone.

On the left side, in addition to the usual buttons, the external panel is touch-sensitive. The sensor works well; there are almost no errors in gesture recognition.

Battery life

At a volume of 75 dB, the headphones worked for 10 hours and 48 minutes, which significantly exceeds the 8 hours of operation declared by the manufacturer, which, of course, is joyful but strange.

The built-in battery has a capacity of 1300 mAh.

A full charge cycle takes 2 hours and 30 minutes using a USB-C cable.

4 methods to connect to the audio source

There are 4 ways to connect headphones to a sound source and listen to music.

If you want to use Creative SXFI Air like a regular wireless headset, Bluetooth 4.2 is at your service; however, only the simplest SBC codec is supported, but even it provides good sound quality, not as crisp and clear as aptX, but most adults, most likely, they will not be able to distinguish them, so we will not write down the support of a single codec as an unambiguous minus.

But there is also an objective drawback of SBC – the delay and desynchronization of sound and image when watching a video. It is here, so Bluetooth is only suitable for listening to music and podcasts.

For gamers, a USB-C connection is provided (PC, Mac, PS4, Nintendo Switch). USB allows the headphones to pretend to be a 7.1 channel speaker system, get multi-channel sound from the game, and then process it with Super X-FI algorithms to create immersive surround sound. The resulting sound improves the understanding of where the sound came from in the game and reacted instantly and accurately.

It is possible to connect headphones with a regular audio cable with a 3.5 mm jack, but it will not activate surround sound.

The latter is the built-in MicroSD card slot. Record music on such a card, plug it into Creative SXFI Air headphones, and enjoy music anytime without the need for a separate audio source, wired or wireless.

The headphones support playback of formats: MP3, WMA, WAV, and FLAC.

Microphone quality

The NanoBoom microphone filters the sound, isolating background noise from the voice and reducing its volume. The filter is not aggressive, and if you are in a noisy place, the NanoBoom will not be able to deal with the surrounding sound effects, but it will slightly lower its volume, and thanks for that.

Perhaps the filtering algorithms’ aggressiveness was deliberately reduced to avoid excessive voice distortion that would inevitably occur.

Usually, headset microphones have reduced sensitivity in the low-frequency range. Still, NanoBoom surprised here too – its sensitivity below 110 Hz doubles, which makes your voice deeper, velvety, and pleasant, but not natural.

Listen to the example I wrote down, and you will understand everything.

Sound quality Creative SXFI Air

The frequency response of the Creative SXFI Air headphones is a little surprising, especially with its stability at frequencies from 20 Hz to 1000 Hz, after which it begins to deviate from the unattainable flat ideal noticeably.

From my own listening experience, I note that the headphones sound pleasant and natural. There is a slight accent on the low frequencies from 60 Hz to 130 Hz, but only when you try with all your might to hear it. If you just put on your headphones and start listening to your favorite music, this emphasis will seem insignificant, and it’s good.

The mids sound rich and detailed, there is no feeling of blurring nuances, and I also did not notice the acoustic masking, thanks to the honest bass. Even when listening to music via Bluetooth with the SBC codec, everything was fine. I continued to listen to music and have fun.

Using the proprietary Creative SXFI Air Control app, you can adjust the equalizer and tune the sound to your taste or your favorite music genre, but I didn’t have to.

Creative SXFI Air is perfect for listening to any genre’s music, from classics to heavy metal. I did not notice any serious problems or distortions in the sound.

If you are a serious music lover with experience, then I recommend that you listen to the headphones before buying, because although they sound pretty good, they still fall short of the established German brands.

But for those who do not understand what I am talking about, – Creative SXFI Air will suit you, do not hesitate.

Noise isolation at a high level, all thanks to dense and thick ear cushions that fit securely to the head.

Conclusion

The Creative SXFI Air headset has advantages that no other model from competitors has: the presence of Super X-Fi technology. Therefore, I recommend them for gamers and those who watch a lot of movies, surround sound really differs for the better from the normal stereo.

For those looking for versatile headphones for every day, I also recommend taking a closer look at the Creative SXFI Air, and although they are not foldable, they will suit many due to the medium size.

Considering the cost of about $ 160, I state that for this money from competitors you will not get the same result, especially in games and films.

Pros:

  1. 4 ways to listen to music
  2. Convincing surround sound for games and movies
  3. Replaceable ear pads
  4. Voice assistant support
  5. Presence of a slot for a microSD memory card, formats are supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, and FLAC

Minuses:

  1. No support for AAC or aptX codecs, only SBC
  2. Not folding.

Tags: Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone Review, Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone Complete Review, Creative SXFI Review, Creative SXFI Complete Review, Creative SXFI Wireless Headphone Review

Specification: Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone: A Complete Review

Brand
Play Time Range
Price Range
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Product Dimensions 8.43 x 3.76 x 8.7 inches
Item Weight 1.76 ounces
Batteries 1 Lithium-ion batteries required.

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Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone: A Complete Review
Creative SXFI Air Wireless Headphone: A Complete Review
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