The Creative HN-900 are mediocre headphones. They look well-designed but feel a little cheap. They're also pretty comfortable but their audio reproduction is disappointing. They don't isolate from ambient noise very well and they also leak a lot so they won't be the ideal headphones for commuting or working at the office.
Our Verdict
The Creative HN-900 are sub-par for mixed usage. They don't isolate well enough for commutes or office use. They're leaky and don't have a good enough sound for recording or critical listening.
- Simple comfortable design.
- Decent build quality.
- Sub-par noise isolation performance.
- Bad audio reproduction.
The Creative HN-900 are sub-par for critical listening. They have a poorly balanced, mid-range-heavy sound, and their closed-back design limits their soundstage.
The Creative HN-900 are sub-par for commuting. Their noise cancelling is weak and struggles in loud environments.
The Creative HN-900 are mediocre for sports. They're lightweight and comfortable but too unstable for strenuous exercises.
The Creative HN-900 aren't suitable for office use. They leak and don't isolate much. You'll still be able to hear the noise of a busy office.
The Creative HN-900 are average for home theater use. They have no latency since they're wired, but unfortunately, their sound quality may be a deal-breaker. They also have a relatively short audio cable, so they won't be the best headphones to comfortably watch movies with from your couch.
Check Price
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
These headphones have a simple, modern design. The headband is thin, and the oval ear cups are not too large. The coloring is black with dark grey accents around the ear cups. They look good, but there's nothing special about their style.
These headphones are comfortable. They're lightweight and don't clamp very tightly on your head.
These headphones have a simple and clear design. There's only one button, so no chance of confusion. The in-line remote only has call/music control and no volume control.
These headphones are moderately stable. They stay in place during casual listening sessions and have a detachable audio cable that won't yank the headphones off your head if it gets hooked on something. Sadly, these are not sports headphones, as they feel too bulky and sway easily because of their relatively thin headband. They will quickly slip off your ears during high-intensity, physical exercise.
The Creative HN-900 are moderately portable headphones. They have a relatively small frame compared to some other over-ear headphones, and their ear cups lay flat to take up less space. However, they don't fold into a more compact format and are too cumbersome to carry around on your person as they don't fit into any pockets, even larger jacket pockets.
These headphones come with a thin fabric pouch that doesn't add much bulk and can help protect the headphones from scratches. However, the pouch can't really shield the headphones from hard falls or water damage.
They feel quite flimsy and cheap in all areas. However, headband adjustment produces a decent click for the most part, and the headband retains its position well.
These headphones come with one 1/8" TRS-TRRS cable with mic and call/music control but no volume up/down.
Most of the isolation is provided passively by the ear cups. The ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) only adds 10dB of reduction at around 200Hz and does even less at other frequencies, which is disappointing.
A considerable amount of sound leaks from them at a wide range, starting from around 400Hz and up to 5kHz (from low-mids to mid-treble). The leakage continues up to 20kHz, though to a lesser extent.
The Creative HN-900 can last up to 48 hours of continuous playtime at average volumes. You won't have to change the triple AAA battery throughout the day, which is great for long flights or road trips. Unfortunately, they don't have any battery-saving features like an auto-off timer but can continue playing audio even when the battery is completely drained.