The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are mediocre over-ear closed-back headphones. Their sound profile lacks low-bass and detail on vocals and lead instruments, which means they aren’t suited for a wide variety of music genres. On the upside, they have a nice head mapping feature that customizes your sound profile inside one of their two companion apps. However, they practically don’t isolate against ambient noise, though they're comfortable enough to wear for a while. They also have an easy-to-use touch-sensitive control scheme.
The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are mediocre for mixed usage. They have a decent audio reproduction for music, but they won’t be great for any other use. They practically don’t isolate at all against ambient noise, and their design isn’t for sports. They aren’t stable enough for sports and will make you sweat more than usual when working out. Due to their wireless latency, they won’t be great to use wirelessly for watching video content and gaming, but you can nullify this by using them wired with their analog cable.
The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are alright for neutral sound. Their overall sound profile is decent but lacks sub-bass and detail on vocals and lead instruments. Their treble range is also overemphasized, which will make sibilants overly sharp and piercing. However, they have a unique head mapping feature that makes you a personalized sound profile. They are also quite comfortable to wear for a while.
The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are mediocre for commuting. These headphones are Bluetooth, which is useful for traveling, but you won’t get a great isolation performance out of them. They don’t have an ANC feature and barely block any noise, especially lower-end ones like the rumble of an engine. They also don’t fold or swivel to lay flat, making them less portable. On the upside, they’ll be comfortable for long rides, and their battery life should last you long enough for most flights.
The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are okay for sports and fitness. They aren’t the most stable option, and over-ears can make you sweat more than usual when working out. They're also not very portable as they don’t fold into a more compact format and don’t even swivel to lay flat.
The Creative SXFI Air Wireless are okay for the office. They're comfortable to wear for a while, and their battery should last you a full workday but might need daily charging. While they practically don’t block any ambient chatter, you can drown out some ambient noise with your music. You can also use them while charging or wired if their battery is dead, convenient in an office setting.
The Creative SXFI Air are a mediocre pair of headphones. They don’t have the most neutral default sound profile, but they have a unique head mapping feature and a parametric EQ and presets inside their two apps. They're a mix between Bluetooth headphones and a gaming headset.
See our recommendations for the best headphones, the best gaming headsets, and the best over-ear headphones.
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018 are much better headphones than the Creative SXFI Air Wireless. They're much more lightweight and comfortable, have a much better-balanced sound profile, and one of the best ANC features we've tested to date. On the other hand, the Creative have a unique head mapping feature.
The Audeze Mobius are better headphones than the Creative SXFI Air Wireless. The Audeze are better-built, have a slightly bass-heavy sound profile that some users may enjoy, and have a noticeably better performing microphone for online games. The Audeze also have a unique head tracking feature that gives an immersive experience. Both headphones are Bluetooth compatible as well, but the Creative offer passive playback, which you can’t do with the Audeze, unfortunately.
For gaming, the SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless are a better option than the Creative SXFI Air Wireless. Their microphone sounds better, and they have a better overall control scheme for gamers. Their sound is also noticeably better. On the other hand, the Creative can be used over USB. Both headphones can be used Bluetooth as well, but the SteelSeries offer more battery life but don’t have an app like the Creative.
The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are more versatile headphones than the Creative SXFI Air Wireless. These ANC headphones block a lot of ambient noise, they have a good sound quality, and are more comfortable than the Creative. They're also noticeably better built and offer about twice the battery life. On the other hand, the Creative have a unique head mapping feature.
The Creative SXFI Air are sleek-looking headphones. They have a matte finish that looks nice, and the headband is well-padded with a leather-like fabric. The ear cup pads are thick and made from a porous fabric. They are bulky over-ears, and there’s RGB lighting around the cups. They come in an all-black design or white with black pads.
The Creative SXFI Air are quite comfortable over-ear headphones. They might feel a bit big for some, and the mesh fabric is a bit rough on the skin, which not everyone will like. However, the cups are very deep and should suit most ear shapes and sizes. Also, the headband is well-padded and distributes the weight of the headphones well.
The Creative SXFI Air's controls are decent. There’s a touch-sensitive surface on the back of the cups that acts as your control scheme. The touch commands aren't always consistent, but you can control calls, music, and your volume. While they're easy to use, the inconsistencies of the surface can be frustrating at times. On the upside, you also have a source/Bluetooth physical button to switch between your different sources. You can even insert a microSD card with pre-loaded music and use that source button to play files on it.
Like most over-ear headphones, the Creative SXFI Air aren’t the most breathable option. On the upside, the cup padding is porous and allows some airflow, but you might still sweat more than usual if you wear these headphones during sports. You shouldn’t have any issues during a casual listening session.
These headphones don’t come with a traveling case.
The Creative SXFI Air are decently built headphones. The headband is reinforced with metal, and the hinges feel solid. However, the mesh padding feels cheaply made, and the cups’ material feels shallow and plasticky. Unfortunately, these headphones don’t have a lot of range of motion, meaning that they won’t resist well to physical stress.
The frequency response consistency is just okay. Depending on your head or ear shape and size, you might experience a different frequency response with this headset. There is a noticeable difference in both the bass and treble ranges, which could result in different sound profiles.
The Creative SXFI Air's bass accuracy is decent. The overall bass lacks a bit of thump and rumble due to the elevated low-frequency extension, which can disappoint fans of bass-heavy music. There’s also a small bump in high-bass, which makes the overall bass a bit boomy.
The Creative SXFI Air have good mid accuracy. The response throughout the range is fairly well-balanced. However, it's slightly overemphasized, which results in a bit more forward-sounding vocals and lead instruments. The bump in low-mid is also the continuation of the high-bass, which results in slightly cluttered vocals.
The treble performance is also okay. There’s a small dip in the low-treble, which will affect the brightness and detail of those frequencies. However, the mid-treble is slightly overemphasized, so sibilants like S and T sounds are a bit sharp.
The Creative SXFI Air's stereo imaging is great. The group delay is under the audibility threshold, which is good. Our unit also has well-matched left and right drivers but did show a bit of phase mismatch, which can result in inaccuracies in the stereo image. However, this might not be audible for most people. Note that these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The soundstage is disappointing. There isn’t a lot of pinna interaction, which results in a small soundstage. On the upside, the minimal activation is accurate and should sound fairly natural. These headphones won’t sound as open as open-back headphones.
The noise isolation performance is bad. This may be due to the porous pads, but the headphones practically don’t block any noise in the bass range and mid-range, meaning they won’t be a great option for commuting and traveling. On the upside, the treble isolation is pretty good and can block S and T sounds and A/C system noise.
The leakage performance is decent. These headphones’ leakage isn’t too loud and is mainly concentrated around the mid and low-treble ranges. This means that the leakage sounds thin and fuller than in-ears, but it won’t be as disturbing as open-back headphones. People surrounding you shouldn’t hear what you’re listening to unless you’re playing your content at a very high volume in a very quiet environment.
The recording quality of the Creative SXFI Air’s microphone is poor. The small protruding integrated mic sounds thin and muffled. It lacks detail but should still be fairly audible and comprehensible in a quiet environment.
The Creative SXFI Air's microphone is mediocre at noise handling. It struggles to separate ambient noise and actual speech, making it difficult for the other person on the line to hear you in moderately loud environments like a busy street. It's better suited for very quiet environments.
The Creative SXFI Air's battery performance is satisfactory. They give about 11 hours of continuous playback, which is slightly disappointing, especially since they don’t have a power-saving feature, so be sure to turn them off if you’re not using them. On the upside, you can use them wired, even if the battery is dead, and while charging as well.
The Creative SXFI Air have two apps: SXFI Air Control and SXFI App. With those apps, you get access to a great amount of customization. There's a head mapping function that personalizes the sound profile to your particular head and ears. You also have a good parametric EQ with presets and can also customize the color of the RGB rings on the cups. There’s also a virtual surround sound mode called Super X-FI.
These headphones are Bluetooth-compatible, but unfortunately, they don't support multi-device pairing and NFC, meaning they can only connect to one device at a time. Thankfully, their pairing procedure is easy, simple, and works well.
Their wired compatibility is amazing. You get audio and microphone support on consoles, phones, and PCs with the 1/8" TRRS cable. It supports both audio and mic on PC and PS4 via USB, but you can't use the USB cable on the Xbox One.