At first we would like to thank Creative for offering us a sample of their Zen Hybrid Wireless Headphones with Hybrid ANC for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Creative:

 

“Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative started with the vision that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs.

 

Famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services enable consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

 

Since launching the phenomenally successful Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been able to leverage on its leading-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million, and strong brand name to expand into the exciting lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market.

 

Creative is now well recognized as a global leader for product innovation in the audio and PDE segments, offering consumers a complete, high quality digital entertainment experience through Creative's hardware, software applications and services. Finding the perfect balance between form and function, Creative strives for every product to be a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

 

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

 

These products and solutions are marketed to consumers and system integrators through a worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the Internet.

 

Moving forward, Creative's mission is to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment. With strong focus on user-friendly interface, multiple features and cool industrial designs, the Creative brand is synonymous with lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment.

 

Creative's global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. It has regional business units in the US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore).

 

Creative is a public listed company on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.”

 

NOISE CONTROL

Your Personal Zen

Cancel up to 95% of the ambient noise in your surroundings! Using a total of four microphones dedicated for Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)—a mixed approach that combines feedforward and feedback ANC systems to remove a broader spectrum of noise than just one—drown out all the distracting sound and stay in your zone.

Ambient awareness: ON

Switch quickly to Ambient Mode via the same button as ANC on the right earcup! Let in outside sound to be more aware of your environment, like public announcements at train stations, or even a short chat on your coffee run—all without stopping your music!

For cyclists and commuters, this comes in particularly handy for you to stay safe while out and about, especially around heavy traffic areas.

BATTERY

Keep going

We hope your playlist is long enough. Creative Zen Hybrid has a long-lasting battery life of up to 27 hours* with ANC on. Recharging is also super straightforward via the included USB-C charging cable. If you are in a hurry, a quick 5-minute charge also provides for 5 hours of listening.

CONNECTIVITY

With both wireless and wired options, you are free to select between Bluetooth® 5.0 or 3.5-mm analog jack.

We recommend the wireless mode while you're out and about and wired for when the power is running low or when you just want a quick and simple way to relax with some tunes.

Creative Zen Hybrid also comes with AAC audio codec for better wireless streaming quality.

COMMUNICATIONS

Get heard

Sound clearer to others on the line for an improved call experience! The Creative Zen Hybrid features a noise-cancelling microphone that works to pick up your voice over the noise. Combined with ANC on, you'll be able to hear them better when your environment's noises are cancelled out.

CONTROLS

Controls are easy

No fuss, only convenience. All the necessary controls are located on the right earcup, so they are easy to access. Answer a call, make a quick command via smart assistants* like Siri or Google Assistant, or adjust your playback volumes, it's all right there.

DESIGN

Designed for on-the-go

Just fold and stow! The Creative Zen Hybrid is made to travel. There are three ways to this—flat fold, half fold, and compact fold—portable enough to store in your laptop carrying case or your hand carry on the plane.

Quality build, extreme comfort. Three words: Snug, firm, and plush.

From its plush ear cushions to padded headband, Creative Zen Hybrid is designed with durability and aesthetics in mind to complement your daily life.

AUDIO

Two hearts beating

At the heart of Creative Zen Hybrid are the drivers. Custom-tuned by our very own acoustic engineers, the dual 40 mm full-range Neodymium drivers promise high-quality sound without any fuss. From accurate bass with a warm sound signature to crisp, clean highs, hear each beat and every layer with clarity.

SXFI READY

Award-winning Super X-Fi® Headphone Holography

Super X-Fi technology recreates a professional, multi-speaker system experience in your headphones so you can hear sounds naturally like how it's meant to be heard. Creative Zen Hybrid is a certified SXFI READY* headphone that is specially-tuned for optimum performance with devices and apps in the SXFI READY ecosystem, like the SXFI App. By utilizing the SXFI App on your mobile, you can use enjoy a preview of Super X-Fi Headphone Holography on local content and enjoy cinematic audio even while on the go! Read more about raved-about technology and its numerous accolades.

*SXFI READY works on local music files downloaded onto your device; it does not support streaming content (e.g., Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix). To enjoy the full functions of Super X-Fi on all contents, check out our entire range of Super X-Fi products featuring the SXFI UltraDSP chip.

 

Wearing Style: Over-ear

Operating Temperature: 0–45°C

Product Type: Wireless Headphones, Wired Headphones

Weight: (Headphone)?273g / 9.63 oz, (3.5 mm AUX-in cable) 69.8g / 2.5 oz, (USB charging cable) 69.8g / 2.5 oz

Color: Black, White

Frequency Response: 20–20,000 Hz

Driver: 40 mm Neodymium Driver x 2

Battery Type and Life -> Based on moderate volume level. Actual battery life will vary with usage settings and environmental conditions., 1 x rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery (500 mAh), (With ANC on) Up to 27 hours, (With ANC off) Up to 37 hours

Charging Time: 2 to 3 hours

Connector Type: Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5 mm Stereo Input

Bluetooth Profiles: HFP (Hands-Free Profile), A2DP (Wireless Stereo Bluetooth), AVRCP (Bluetooth Remote Control)

Bluetooth Operating Frequency: 2402-2480 MHz

Audio Codec: AAC, SBC

Operating Range: Up to 10m / 33 ft

Ear Pads: High-quality, soft protein leather

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For Bluetooth Audio: Compatible Bluetooth devices that support the Wireless Stereo Bluetooth Profile (A2DP)

For Analog Audio: Devices with 3.5 mm headphone port in CTIA configuration

 

In this article we will look at a compact, portable set of headphones with integrated ANC, great battery life and Bluetooth 5.0/analog 3.5mm stereo connectivity options. The Creative Zen Hybrid is aimed at users which are frequently on-the-go and would like to consume lots of multimedia content, while being isolated by the outside noise via ANC function but can also enable Ambient Mode while in heavy traffic areas to enhance awareness.

 

The product is shipped inside a compact cardboard enclosure, with the usual Creative box art colors. Right on the front, we will note the main product highlights, including the fact that we are dealing with an SXFI Ready product (Super X-Fi technology can be enjoyed by using the dedicated application on our smartphone, but only via the integrated music player and not other streaming apps such as Spotify, YouTube and so on):

 

 

 

On the side of the packaging, we will note the inside contents, shown as drawings:

 

 

 

The opposite area does offer some information regarding Super X-Fi technology, what is the name of the dedicated application, but also the technical specifications:

 

 

 

On the back, we will note a photo of the product along with explanations regarding the technologies it does incorporate:

 

 

 

Let’s unseal the box and look inside!

 

 

 

The headset comes protected inside a grey drawstring pouch but we will receive a re-sealable bag with extra stuff as well:

 

 

 

Inside the mentioned bag, we will note a leaflet mentioning online resources, the Quick Start Guide, another leaflet with instructions on how to download the SXFI application but also two separate cables:

 

 

 

The orange leaflet guides us to the Creative social media accounts, but also how to reach the support areas:

 

 

 

 

The SXFI Ready leaflet does show the differences between a hardware DSP solution versus the software one:

 

 

 

Inside the manual, we will learn more about the button functionality, but also how to read the status LEDs and to perform a full reset:

 

 

 

One of the cables we will receive is the 3.5mm Stereo one, in order to connect to any analog source:

 

 

 

The second one helps with charging, and we have an USB-A on the computer/charger side and an USB-C on the other:

 

 

 

For travel purposes, the headset can be easily compacted for it to take very little space:

 

 

 

Besides the grey ear pads, the body of the Zen Hybrid is entirely white; the construction is light at about 273g and has many levels of adjustment in order to obtain an optimal comfort level:

 

 

 

The cups can be rotated more than 90 degrees and on the inside we will note the markings of the Stereo channels; the plush synthetic leatherette is soft and remains comfortable for hours even if you are wearing glasses:

 

 

 

On the exterior area of the cups, we will note the description of the included technologies, but also the hole for the included microphone:

 

 

 

For enabling both types of ANC, we will have to work with the dedicated button on the side of the ear cup, which is equipped with a dedicated LED; nearby, we do have a LED for battery status and Bluetooth pairing status:

 

 

 

Near the 3.5mm jack port, we will note the second microphone (each cup comes with two microphones):

 

 

 

The right cup does also incorporate the Power and Volume control buttons:

 

 

 

The left cup does only house the microphones, but also the USB-C charging port:

 

 

 

On the top of each cup, we will note some extra cutouts:

 

 

 

The memory foam on the headband is padded with premium synthetic leather, keeping the white color scheme of the Zen Hybrid:

 

 

 

The headband is reinforced with steel and is fully adjustable; the markings do assist with having the exact same size on both left and right sides:

 

 

 

To test out the Creative Zen Hybrid, we have paired it with our Samsung S22 smartphone:

 

 

 

 

In case of SXFI Ready devices, the holography is done inside the hardware of the smartphone, and not the headphones themselves (via hardware DSP). Since the Zen Hybrid does not feature hardware support, we can only use the local audio player function of the app; exiting the app will also eliminate the effects in the streaming apps such as YouTube, Spotify and many other:

 

 

 

The SXFI App does also have a menu on the left, from which we can configure additional options:

 

 

 

The device has been successfully detected as seen from the top right corner; we can adjust the EQ settings as needed or we can use a preset:

 

 

 

Zen Hybrid did also appear in the My Devices area:

 

 

 

The application will detect all suitable audio files on the device and will make it available for playback:

 

 

 

We went ahead and started listening to multiple songs on YouTube, movie trailers, vlogs but also some TV shows and we immediately noticed a pleasing balance between all frequencies, with clearly rendered voices and enough bass but not as pronounced as you will find with many gaming headsets. These are great for multimedia consumption while on-the-go, while training but also while walking on the street thanks to the included ANC functions. One thing we did notice though is that Zen Hybrid is not very loud at the highest volume, when comparing headsets from other manufacturers such as SteelSeries, but those are in a completely different price range.

 

In terms of microphone quality, this is decent but do not expect the level of quality which comes when using a non-integrated solution (such as removable or retractable models). We have tried it in both Skype and Discord via smartphone and laptop (Latitude E5570) and noted a better quality on our S22, thanks to better supported CODECs. Speaking of CODECs, the Zen Hybrid integrates the usual AAC and SBC, but these are lower bandwidth when compared to aptX or other variations, in order to keep the product costs down.

 

The operating range matches the specifications mentioned by Creative; while keeping the smartphone in one room, we have had a walk around the house and did not notice any interruptions whatsoever, which is great!

 

On this headset, the battery life is amazing when you can keep ANC off (rated at about 37 hours) but even with this on we are getting about 27 hours, which is still good.

 

Several discounts have been made recently, so the Zen Hybrid can be now had for just as low as 57.5 Euros!

Creative Zen Hybrid Wireless Headphones with Hybrid ANC is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Creative for making this review possible!