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Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR Wireless Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1
Reviewed Apr 05, 2016 at 05:37 pm
Latest change: Test bench update Nov 21, 2019 at 11:21 am
Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR Wireless Picture
6.3
Mixed Usage
6.2
Neutral Sound
6.3
Commute/Travel
6.6
Sports/Fitness
6.4
Office
5.4
Wireless Gaming
6.8
Wired Gaming
7.2
Phone Call

The Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR Wireless are stylish and sturdy gaming headset. Unfortunately, they sound too bass heavy with music, lacking detail in instruments and vocals. Noise isolation is weak and they also leak quite a bit of sound, which makes for a poorly isolated listening experience.

Our Verdict

6.3 Mixed Usage

The Sound Blaster EVO ZxR are not good everyday headphones. They have a lot of features that make them good for gaming, but they're too cumbersome, heavy and leaky for casual use. They also don't isolate well.

Pros
  • Audio customization with Sound Blaster app.
  • Sturdy build.
Cons
  • Overwhelming bass.
  • Poor noise isolation.
  • Leaky ear cups.
6.2 Neutral Sound

Mediocre for neutral listening. They have a bass heavy sound quality and their closed back design limits their soundstage. They're also uncomfortably tight.

6.3 Commute/Travel

Average for commuting. They're wireless and have a competent if a little confusing control scheme. However, their noise-cancelling is not efficient enough for loud environments and noisy commutes.

6.6 Sports/Fitness

Not designed for sports. They're wireless and have a decent control scheme, but they're bulky and unstable.

6.4 Office

Average for office use. They leak a lot and have poor isolation. They won't block the chatter of a busy office efficiently.

6.8 Wired Gaming
  • 6.3 Mixed Usage
  • 6.2 Neutral Sound
  • 6.3 Commute/Travel
  • 6.6 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.4 Office
  • 5.4 Wireless Gaming
  • 6.8 Wired Gaming
  • 7.2 Phone Call
  1. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  2. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  3. Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  4. Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
  5. Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  6. Updated Mar 01, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
  7. Updated Apr 05, 2016: Review published.
  8. Updated Apr 03, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
  9. Updated Mar 23, 2016: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type Over-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic

The Sound Blaster EVO ZxR look stylish, if a bit bulky. The two-tone color scheme is visually appealing and the futuristic design looks good for gaming. They may not be the most sleek headphones to wear in public but their style and color scheme is above what most gaming headsets have to offer.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.72 lbs
Clamping Force
1.13 lbs

The large ear cups of the Sound Blaster EVO ZxR fully encompass most ears and the headband is decently padded. The padding on the ear cups, however, is not very pliable and does not mold well around the ear. This slight stiffness also adds a little tension around the ear and can get uncomfortable over time.

8.0
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use Mediocre
Feedback Mediocre
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control Yes
Channel Mixing
N/A
Noise Cancelling Control Yes
Talk-Through
Yes
Additional Buttons No

The Sound Blaster EVO ZxR delivers a lot of functionality: Call/music, track skipping, volume, noise cancelling and talk-through controls. Unfortunately, the awkward placement of the buttons can take some time to get used to and is not the most intuitive.

6.8
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 4.8 °C
5.9
Design
Portability
L 7.87"
W 7.28"
H 2.17"
Volume 115.94 in³
Transmitter Required N/A

The Sound Blaster EVO ZxR are below-average portable headphones. They have large ear cups, and they do not fold into a more compact format. The earcups lay flat to take a little less space, and they will fit in relatively small bags or handbags. However, they are too cumbersome to carry around on your person and will not fit into any pockets, even larger jacket pockets.

6.5
Design
Case
Type Pouch
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A

Comes with a fabric pouch that will protect the headphones from scratches and doesn't add much bulk. unfortunately the fabric will not shield your headphones from water damage or hard falls.

7.0
Design
Build Quality

Build quality is above average. These headphones feel solid thanks to the metal frame and dense plastic used for the headband. The ear cups also feel dense and able to withstand a fair bit of physical stress. However, the transparent plastic covers on the ear cups look susceptible to cracking if the headphones are dropped a few times.

6.0
Design
Stability

These headphones are not designed for sports. They are bulky and heavy, and the large ear cups sway as you tilt your head. They're able to maintain a decently stable fit during casual use but will quickly fall off your head while running or jumping. On the upside, they have a wireless design that doesn't require a cable, which can get hooked on something and pull the headphones off your head.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Creative Sound Blaster EVO ZxR Headphones
  • Audio cable
  • Carrying pouch
  • USB cable
  • (US) power adapter
  • Airline adapter
  • Mic/Audio computer adapter
  • Manual

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
0.57 dB
Treble Amount
-4.5 dB
7.2
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.56 dB
Sound
Raw Frequency Response
6.3
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.14 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
26.31 Hz
Low-Bass
-0.93 dB
Mid-Bass
4.84 dB
High-Bass
7.91 dB
5.8
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.56 dB
Low-Mid
7.26 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.84 dB
High-Mid
-4.99 dB
6.3
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.88 dB
Low-Treble
-5.52 dB
Mid-Treble
-0.15 dB
High-Treble
-5.53 dB
6.3
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.57 dB
Dips
1.68 dB
6.9
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.34
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.39
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
3.37
Weighted Phase Mismatch
18.75
4.8
Sound
Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
3.49 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
3.11 dB
PRTF Distance
5.3 dB
Openness
4.8
Acoustic Space Excitation
4.5
7.5
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.334
WHD @ 100
0.151
Isolation
5.0
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-13.29 dB
Noise Cancelling Yes
Bass
-2.33 dB
Mid
-7.01 dB
Treble
-30.7 dB

Poor overall isolation. The passive isolation provided by the ear cups is good. It is mostly effective in the treble range, reaching a maximum of -36dB of attenuation at 3KHz. The active noise cancellation, however, is quite poor, maxing at -8dB of attenuation at 100Hz.

6.4
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
42.92 dB

Average leakage. There is not a lot of high-frequency leakage here, as the majority of sound being leaked is in the mid-range, starting at around 400Hz and extending up to 3KHz.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
In-line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
N/A
Mic Yes
7.5
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
LFE
77.72 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
1.93 dB
HFE
3,466.89 Hz
Weighted THD
2.582
Gain
43.79 dB
8.2
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise
Speech + Subway Noise
SpNR
30.03 dB
Active Features
6.1
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
4.7 hrs
Additional Charges
0
Total Battery Life
4.7 hrs
Charge Time
2.3 hrs
Power Saving Feature
Yes
Audio While Charging
Yes
Passive Playback
No
Charging Port micro-USB

The Soundblaster have a worst battery life than some wireless in-ears. For full sized over-ear headphones the drain time is way below-average and won't last you throughout the day or even a prolonged gaming session. On the upside, they have an auto off timer within the provided app and can also be used while connected to a power source so if you're at home or the office this could be a way to extend the poor battery life.

7.5
Active Features
App Support
App Name Sound Blaster Central
iOS Yes
Android Yes
macOS N/A
Windows N/A
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
Mic Control N/A
Room effects
Yes
Playback Control
Yes
Button Mapping N/A
Surround Sound N/A

The Sound Blaster Central app is not the sleekest and most modern app, but it offers a great suite of features and an amazing level of control. You get a full graphic equalizer with preset options, surround sound and microphone tweaks, an in-app player, a battery status display and even an alarm. Unfortunately, there's no auto-off timer, but the sheer number of options make the sound blaster central a phenomenal app.

Sound Blaster Evo Zxr Effects

Sound Blaster Evo Zxr in-app player (IOS)

Sound Blaster Evo Zxr Equalizer (Android)

Sound Blaster Evo Zxr Equalizer (IOS)

Connectivity
8.8
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
2.1+EDR
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
NFC Pairing
Yes
Line of Sight Range
159 ft
Default Latency
154 ms
aptX Latency
129 ms
aptX(LL) Latency
N/A
0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
8.6
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
Yes
Detachable Yes
Length 0 ft
Connection 1/8" TRRS
Wired Latency
50 ms
Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC / PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
PC / PS4 Wired USB
N/A
PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
N/A
Xbox One Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
N/A
USB Input
N/A
Line In
N/A
Line Out
N/A
Optical Input
N/A
RCA Input
N/A
Dock Charging
N/A
Power Supply
N/A