Review | Creative SXFI Air and Air C headphones review: entertainment on the go with home-cinema realism
- These headphones with built-in amp technology are comfortable and push out amazing sound
- They require setting up an ‘audio map’, but the results are well worth it
Creative SXFI Amp’s latest releases deliver the listening experience of a multispeaker system through a pair of earphones or headphones. But not everyone wants to fiddle around with a headphone amp, and the Creative SXFI Air and Creative SXFI Air C headphones with built-in SXFI (Super X-fi) are the company’s answer.
Design and hardware
It does not take more than a cursory examination to notice that the Air and Air C are cut from the same cloth, from their dimensions and headband design, down to the positions of buttons.
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There are inevitable differences, of course, considering that the former is a Bluetooth headphone while the latter is a wired version designed for home use.
The Air has buttons for turning on the device and Bluetooth pairing; the wired Air C does not support this. Instead, it has buttons that let you enable or disable the LED lights or mute the microphone.
In addition, the Air has touch controls on the left ear cup for adjusting the volume and navigating tracks. The Air C has a volume rocker where the micro-SD card slot is on the Air.
Both headphone models come with detachable microphones for high-quality voice communications. The Air has a shortened microphone that protrudes by barely a centimetre; the Air C’s microphone has a longer boom. Both devices support USB and standard 3.5mm cables for audio.
The ear cups of both the Air and Air C are fully articulated for comfort, even after extended use. The ear cups are wrapped in a mesh fabric with memory foam for enhanced comfort in hot and humid conditions. The replaceable ear pads can be removed with a firm clockwise twist, so you can swap them out at home.
Software and features
As with the SXFI Amp, experiencing the SXFI technology requires the creation of a personalised “audio map” that is computed from your physical attributes. If this is your first SXFI product, you will need to create an account using the free SXFI mobile app, and have a friend to snap left, right and frontal shots of your face using the head mapping wizard.
Users who have previously uploaded their profiles into the Creative cloud can skip this step and retrieve their profiles with their SXFI account ID and password. The easiest way to do this is by installing the SXFI Control app on a PC and plugging in your Air or Air C with the bundled USB cable.
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Log into your SXFI account, select the audio map to upload and wait a few seconds for it to complete.
Setting up the SXFI Air can also be done entirely from your mobile device, through a new “Wireless Set-up” tab on the SXFI App. On the beta version of the upcoming iOS app that I was given access to, uploading the audio map was a simple matter of searching for the SXFI Air, pressing the Bluetooth button on the Air to authorise, and waiting a couple of minutes for it to be wirelessly transferred.
Your audio map only needs uploading once, after which you can pair the Air as a standard Bluetooth headphone with up to eight devices.
Creative says the iOS SXFI App will be released when the product ships in February, and that the existing Android SXFI App will also be upgraded for the Air (the Air C is already available).
Performance
Having used the SXFI Amp for some months, I was impressed by the effortless performance of the Air and Air C.
The Air came across as a very well tuned pair of headphones, delivering lifelike music playback even without SXFI enabled.
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It has a sound signature that is consistent with the company’s “reference” set-up, which consists of the SXFI Amp with its highest end EMU Teak headphones. While the bass didn’t have as deep a punch and there was a tad less sparkle, bear in mind the Air retails at a fifth of the cost of an SXFI Amp with EMU Teak. Indeed, casual listeners will probably have trouble telling them apart.
On the downside, the Air and Air C are not particularly light devices, with the Air tipping the scales at 338g. Moreover, the customisable LED lighting along the outer edges of the ear cups also came across as somewhat gimmicky, especially on your daily commute. Thankfully, this can be switched off, in the software for the Air and by tapping the “Light On/Off” button on the Air C.
Conclusion
The Air and Air C are not just headphones with SXFI technology tacked on to sell more units. They have been developed as forerunner products to deliver the best experience. Whether used for music or watching an action film on Netflix, Air headphones are ideal for enjoying entertainment with home-cinema realism while on the go.
Although the Air headphones lack features such as NFC pairing and noise cancellation capabilities, increasingly found in the latest Bluetooth headphones, I suspect these are not important considerations for Creative’s target audience.
The SXFI Air C costs US$132 and the SXFI Air costs US$161.
