With the SXFI Air Creative not only offers a lot of features on paper. It also promises to create a holographic and magical sound experience. This is to be made possible by Super X-Fi technology, which will personalize the sound to the user’s ears. But how this works and whether the audio quality can really convince with the amount of features, should be clarified in our detailed test report.
Technical Data
The Creative SXFI Air is available in two colours: Black and White. Creative also offers the SXFI Air C headset in a USB-only version. This version is only available in black. In addition, features such as touch operation and MP3 playback via a micro SD card are eliminated.
To the technical details:
| Frequency range | 20~20,000 Hz |
| Driver | 50mm Neodymium Magnet |
| Impedance |
32 Ohm
|
| Weight | 338 g (Air C: 318 g) |
| Design type | closed |
| Battery life | Up to 10 hours |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C, line-in, integrated MP3 player |
| Price | For 159,99 € at Creative (129,99 € for the Air C) |
Scope of Delivery
In addition to the headphones, a USB type A to type C charging / transmission cable, a 3.5 mm jack connection cable, a microphone cover and various inserts are included in the scope of delivery.
At first glance, all parts are cleanly processed. The supplied cables are stable and of high quality.
Design and Workmanship
The Creative SXFI Air looks like big headphones at first glance. Typically, the microphone of an over-ear headset can be positioned in front of the mouth. Creative uses a small, removable microphone that sits directly in front of the left earpiece. On this page you can find all connectors and controls. In addition to a 3.5 mm jack, there is also a USB type C port and a micro SD slot. An LED ring is also integrated on both sides. The color to be displayed can be controlled via an app.
The temple is completely in black and covered with imitation leather. Partially a padding can be felt in between. The padding of the auricles is made of foam. Inside there is an inscription on the side. Otherwise the rest of the material is plastic.
Overall, the headset looks very well processed. There are no processing errors to be recognized.
Wearing comfort
In addition to the already mentioned padding on the headband and ears, the headset also offers a simple and easy-to-use size adjustment. On both sides the headband can be adjusted in height by a few centimetres in a total of 12 steps. Another positive thing to mention is that the ear cups are movable.
The wearing comfort of the Creative SXFI Air, however, is average in practice: In our case, the cut-out for the ears was a bit too small and the padding on the headband was not sufficient for wearing the headset for several hours.
Control and Pairing
Next to a power button, the source can be selected via a source button. Apart from the Super X-Fi button, the rest of the operation is done via the back of the left auricle. Visually inconspicuous is a touch surface with which different commands can be executed: Adjusting the volume, changing titles and pausing.
The operation of the SXFI Air is in principle relatively simple and takes place easily after a short familiarization phase. However, it rarely happened that the command was not implemented by the touch surface and a new attempt was necessary.
With the pairing we had no problems with the headset from Creative. In our test we were able to connect iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth without any problems. Also a direct connection via USB to a Windows PC worked directly. What was striking in Bluetooth mode with a Huawei tablet was that after a certain time the sound playback was minimally time-shifted to a played video.
In order to get the most out of Creative’s headset, the ear must be photographed for X-Fi mode. Based on this data the SXFI should deliver the optimal sound. The setup is done by an app on the smartphone. In practice, however, photographing one’s own ear turned out to be a challenge, as the app shoots the photo automatically. A second person or a mirror is recommended for this procedure. The X-Fi mode can then be used.
Sound Quality
To judge the sound quality, several pieces from different genres were listened to on Spotify at the highest quality (320 kb/s). We also tested the headset in movies and games from different devices.
The X-Fi mode was repeatedly switched on and off during testing. Without the X-Fi mode, the SXFI Air sounds inconspicuous. Due to its closed design, the stage has a limited playback effect. The SXFI does not have the bass that is normally present for this type of construction. All in all, the sound is neutral and somewhat blurred.
In X-Fi mode, the sound changes completely. It is comparable to virtual surround sound. It sounds like the music is being played live from a stage in front of you. The listener is simulated as if the sound no longer comes from the headphones. Depending on the piece, the bass is much more present, but also quite imprecise. Depending on the playback, it’s fun to switch to X-Fi mode. And that’s probably also the headset’s biggest weakness: While the mode is a good choice in the first music genre, it doesn’t work in the next one. The holographic sound experience promised by Creative is kept, but it’s not magical.
Microphone
The sister model SXFI Air C has a ClearComms microphone, which can be fixed to the desired position by a gooseneck. In the SXFI Air tested here, Creative gives the headset the so-called NanoBoom microphone. This is positioned directly on the left earpiece.
In the test, the NanoBoom microphone worked without any problems, but the quality is average. All in all, the recording looks dull and somewhat bass-heavy.
Conclusion of the Creative SXFI Air Review
We have reached the end of the Creative SXFI Air test. Is the headset recommendable or not? The answer to this question is not easy and depends strongly on the use case of the user.
In summary, with the SXFI Air the buyer receives a very well processed product with several functions. The headset is mobile and can be used on virtually any end device, but can also be connected to a playback device via USB or jack. Alternatively, the music can be played back using a micro SD card. The wearing comfort was not optimal in our case, and the sound quality was very different. While Creative’s magic sound mode worked wonderfully in some cases, the overall sound quality was average in other situations.
In the end, the following is certain for us: If you are looking for a very detailed and precise headset with a good microphone, you are wrong here. But if you’re looking for an extremely versatile headset for home and on the go, the SXFI Air is a good choice.
Creative SXFI Air
Workmanship
Comfort
Sound Quality
Recording Quality
Features
Value for Money
A very versatile headset with great features and average audio quality.
