Creative’s Zen Hybrid SXFI Headphones Have Spatial Holography Superpowers (If You’re Not Using a Pixel Phone)

ZDNET Key Points

• The Creative Zen Hybrid SXFI Headphones Now available on Amazon for $99
• With clean/clear sound, great comfort, and outstanding battery life, this headphone is a great choice, as long as you’re not looking for audiophile quality sound.
• Until Creative fixes the app not working on Pixel phones, we can’t say for sure that these headphones will work for everyone.

---

The last time I reviewed a pair of Creative Headphones (actually earbuds), I was blown away by the sound, feeling as though the company had created something special. The earbuds in question are Ace 2. It’s another case where I wonder if the new technology (xMEMS) is a gimmick.

Turns out that’s not the case.

So when Creative’s PR department sent me a pair of headphones that said, maybe is another gimmick, i’m excited to see what happens.

Also: The Best Headphones You Can Buy: Tested by Experts

The “trick” in question here is Spatial Holography. According to Creative, the idea is to “recreate the same depth, detail, and expansive soundstage of an immersive omnidirectional speaker system on headphones.”

Interesting.

As you might expect, I had my doubts, especially when This headset is only $99. on Amazon. Even with those doubts, I’m sure Creative will deliver to some degree.

Let’s find out how well the Zen Hybrid SXFI performs.

See on Amazon

Technical parameters

• 40mm Neodymium Drivers
• Hybrid ANC, Adaptive ANC and Ambient Mode
• Connect wirelessly (via Bluetooth 5.3) or wired (via included 3.5mm cable)
• 70 hours music playback time on full charge with ANC off and 40 hours with ANC on
• Built-in microphone
• SXFI spatial hologram
• Low Latency Mode
• Color – Black or light gray
• Customize sound through Creative apps
• Audio Codecs – AAC, SBC
• Siri/Google Assistant support

My experience

As usual, my first test was to play Rush’s “Analog Kid” on the Pixel 8 Pro. SXFI Spatial Holography was enabled by default, so when the song’s intro came on, I was pleasantly surprised. My initial thought was that it sounded like Creative had applied a bit of reverb to make the sound more immersive. It was almost like listening to music in a studio in a concert setting or using headphones with surround sound effects.

At first, I didn’t like the effect, so I turned it off. With Spatial Holography off, I could hear the headphones’ true capabilities, which were pretty good: tighter bass (which is always important when listening to Rush), a bit more mid-range, and a bit more dynamic highs.

Also: The Best Headphones for Listening to Music You Can Buy: Tested by Experts

After that initial test, I connected the headphones to the Creative app (Android And iOS), didn’t know that there is also an app to customize SXFI configuration (Android And iOS). I don’t usually like to rely on apps to improve the sound of my headphones and earbuds, but this one got me curious.

With all that in mind, I decided to upgrade the firmware on the headset, and let me tell you, it took longer than I expected. The firmware transfer was stuck at 3% for so long that I assumed something was wrong. During the process, I couldn’t use, interact with, or turn off the headset. After 15 minutes of waiting for the transfer to go past 3%, I started to get worried. However, if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that you don’t mess with firmware updates, so I let it go.

And continue.

And continue.

And continue.

It’s lunch time!

I decided to keep those wheels turning while my wife and I went out to lunch.

Unfortunately, the Creative app still doesn’t work well with Pixel phones. I’ve had the same issue with Ace 2 headphones and finally gave up trying to connect the app to the headphones. Luckily after restarting the headphones they finally connected.

Instead of updating the software, I decided to try the SXFI app. The first thing the app asks you to do (after creating an account) is map your head. You are supposed to allow the phone to take pictures of your right ear, your face, and then your left ear. Taking a picture of your ear is Are not easy. On top of that, it’s not clear whether the photo will automatically take a shot or if you have to tap the shutter button. If you’ve ever tried to tap a button on your phone screen when you can’t see the screen itself, you know how difficult that can be.

So I had to get my wife to map my head. Turns out you have to align the phone with your ears in a very specific way, which you can’t do yourself. Once that’s figured out, I assume there will be customization available.

Also: Focal has made wired headphones great for me – with impressive style and sound

No. Not with my Pixel phone. I can’t even adjust the EQ because the app doesn’t support Pixel devices. This isn’t surprising to me, as I’ve had issues reviewing Creative products in the past and trying to use my Pixel 8 Pro with Creative’s apps.

So I had to base my review on the default sound. Luckily, the Zen Hybrid SXFI headphones deliver. These aren’t audiophile quality, but for $99, they still impress. Sadly, Spatial Holography is a letdown on the Pixel devices, as you can’t really customize anything. So I turned it off and let the headphones do their thing.

While the sound is a little more mid-range than I like, I feel like these headphones want to live in the studio monitor range. The sound is neutral, without any heavy bass or treble. They don’t reach studio monitor status because you can definitely hear a lot of processing going on, which prevents them from being truly neutral. With Spatial Holography turned on, these headphones aren’t as neutral as you might expect.

ZDNET Buying Advice

I really wanted to like these headphones. They’re comfortable, have great battery life, and can be connected wirelessly or via a wire. If Creative could address the issues with their app and Pixel phones, I suspect the experience would be significantly better. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend these headphones to anyone who plans on connecting them to a Pixel device. If your phone of choice is made by a company other than Google, you’ll likely have a great experience with these headphones.

The good news is that the basic sound from Zen Hybrid SXFI on par with most headphones I’ve reviewed at this price point. So if you’re looking for a very comfortable pair of over-ear headphones with long battery life and you’re not looking for audiophile-quality sound, these babies fit the bill. Otherwise, look elsewhere.