Verdict
A hearty span of over - ear disturbance - cancelling headphones from the Creative , the Zen Hybrid features a clear , elaborated audio performance and good noise - cancellation at an low-cost monetary value , though those who delight bassy music should steer clear .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
There ’s been a windfall in inexpensive ANC unfeigned wireless buds , and the same upward swing is beginning to apply noise - offset over - ears .
The number ofANCover - ear is n’t exactly massive , but the Creative Zen Hybrid is one of a uprise number I ’ve seen that take interference - cancelling for less than £ 100/$100 .
Noise - cancelling on - the - go at an low-priced price is becoming a realness , but how good is the Zen Hybrid at performing its task ? After all-embracing testing , here are my thought .
Design
Available in black or snowy options ( with some fetching gold lettering on the earcups ) , the construction of Zen Hybrid is more humble than bounty – they ’re predominantly made from plastic . Give the surface a water tap and you ’ll hear how hard it is .
There is a creaky feeling to the chassis character when wear off them , and the exercise of plastic , perhaps along with its reinforce steel marrow , gives them a weight of 273 g. That ’s 23 g heavier than theSony WH-1000XM5 .
That ’s a surprisal as the Zen Hybrid is a fairly compact unit , small enough that the place in - between the earcups is n’t big enough to altogether enclose my ear .
The Creative caresses my earlobes , but other than a second of pinching after 20 twenty minutes ( which eventually passes ) , I have n’t had any other comforter issues as the pliant synthetic leather earpads are well-to-do , as is the padding on the bottom of the headband .
All of the forcible buttons are located on the correct earcup , and I do n’t love their arrangement . The volume buttons ( which double up as track skipping with a time lag ) , and top executive ( doubles up as playback ) are easy enough to retrieve ; but I ’m always fumbling for the ANC button on the front .
AUSB - Cport ( for charge ) and 3.5 mm jack ( for wired listening ) are provided , and in terms of transport , the Zen Hybrid can be laid flat or collapsed to be stowed aside in the provided pouch .
Features
There isactive noise - cancellationbut no transparency mode . And while the ANC performance is not as good as you could get if you spend more , it is effective for the money .
spark off the Hybrid ANC is like progress to for the volume button – it dials down the noise of the surrounding environment though it does n’t all mute it .
The Zen Hybrid ca n’t suppress as many noises as , say , theBose QuietComfort 45 . But the carrying into action is quiet impressive , getting free of ambient sound , dampen voice , thinning out fomite railway locomotive noises and the sound of the wind flowing past on the Underground .
A little volume assist is needed with louder sounds but otherwise , I find the Zen Hybrid a substantial randomness - canceller . It combats breaking wind dissonance well – better than the more expensiveSony WH - CH720N. Despite what the Creative website read , there is no ‘ Ambient Mode ’ , there is plainly turning ANC off . If you require to hear what ’s around you , you ’ll need to do it the honest-to-goodness - fashioned way and take the headphone off .
The wireless performance has been strong , too . Whether it ’s walking around central London , or through Waterloo and Victoria train stations , I ’ve only experienced a few stutter and nothing prolonged enough to cause the connection to light apart . Bluetoothstreaming is only up to AAC , so Android and iOS user should get a similar carrying into action .
Less great is the Zen Hybrid ’s call quality , worse than similarly pricedBack Bay ClearCall 70(which does n’t hail with ANC ) . The soul on the other end of the note kvetch they could hear everything around me , peculiarly in noisy areas , and wind can interrupt the performance too . As soon as the Zen Hybrid ’s microphone tried to cancel out more stochasticity , the speech sound of my voice became low , making it even more of a battle to see what I was saying .
Creative claim 27 hour off a single charge but this is at “ moderate ” listening level . perform a barrage fire waste pipe at about 50 % volume led to a 10 % drop across two hours . That ’s about 20 hour with ANC on , which will in all probability fall as volume goes up .
The headphones brook the Creative SXFi app , but features are few . There ’s an equaliser but its event is minimal ( if not whole non - existent ) , and there ’s the SXFi holographic technology that upscales stereo into 3D sound , but as I mentioned with theSound Blaster X1 , it does n’t sound as natural as stereo . Personally , I ’d avoid the app altogether .
Sound Quality
At default listening levels the Creative Zen Hybrid is undoubtedly quiet . It needs a volume boost to hear at its best – at least to about 80 % or so – but even at that degree there ’s one area the Zen Hybrid struggles with , and that is deep .
Featuring 40 mm full - range Neodymium driver ( so the drive unit cut through gamy , mid , and low frequencies ) , the low-toned frequency are under - fed . Whether it ’s DJ Khaled ’s Wild Thoughts ( feat . Rihanna & Bryson Tiller ) , Raye ’s Escapism or Childish Gambino ’s Boogieman , there is n’t much deepness , power , or extension channelled to the low frequencies .
originative would indicate ( reasonably so ) that the phone have been tuned to communicate accuracy , but that should n’t be at the disbursal of greater bass presence . If you ’re a bass part nut and into Trance or EDM etc , there ’s mat that wo n’t endear .
Lukewarm bass away , the rest of the frequency orbit is treat to practiced point of clarity and item . The vocal part of the midrange is prioritised and clear relay , instruments are solidly defined and awarded mickle of detail in track like Ebi Soda and Yazz Ahmed ’s Chandler . The Zen Hybrid boast more of a neutral listening profile than the Sony CH720N which are more bass sullen .
The senior high school are n’t too crisp in nature , with a eloquence across the intact frequency range that puts a terminus ad quem on how much contingent the Zen Hybrid can retrieve . Treble notes can fathom shining but more often come across as relaxed , such as in Gerald Clayton ’s Rejuvenation Agenda ( Live ) .
The active range – the difference of opinion between high gear and lows – is n’t staggeringly pronounced , and its mother wit of heartiness ( the difference between loud and smooth notes ) is mostly flat too , but considered in view of its asking toll and the sound is solid .
The soundstage gets big with the mass pumped up , and the stereo image described is a fine one in term of its organization . One other note is that haphazardness - cancellation can make the earphone sound a smidge different : a little thin , a tiny morsel more definition , and somewhat bigger . It ’s not a large divergence but some may lean to having noise - cancellation always on .
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Should you buy it?
The ANC wo n’t get rid of every speech sound , but they ’ll discharge out enough to make them good value for the price .
There ’s not much depth , weight , or might fork over to the low frequencies , which rob them of some excitement .
Final Thoughts
I have n’t heard many over - ear noise - cancelling earpiece at this price but they are becoming commonplace , and of the ones I have tested , the Creative Zen Hybrid are a mostly accordant pair .
Unlike theMonoprice Sync - ANC , there is n’t a significant contrast between the ANC on and off modes . The sound is entertaining with salutary uncloudedness and particular , though basso underwhelms . There are better - sound modelling in theSony WH - CH720NandSoundcore Space One , but they are closer to the £ 100 / $ 100 chump .
The stochasticity - cancellation wo n’t get free of every noise it meet but it masks . There are a few drawback : creaky , moldable build and below average call quality but in light of its scurvy price , this will get the line done for most . Check out ourBest Headphonesguide for more options .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every bent of headphones we review thoroughly over an extended stop of time . We use diligence standard tests to compare features in good order . We ’ll always distinguish you what we ascertain . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
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FAQs
originative claims that the barrage life for the Zen Hybrid is up to 27 hours at restrained listening levels . In our tests , we find it ’s close to 20 time of day if you listen at 50 % book .
