The Creative Zen Hybrid wireless headphones is a new product from Creative that aims for everyday commuters and in general lifestyle people who like to enjoy musing listening on-the-go, and want features like ANC and wired connection at a fair price. The product is well made and the matt finish adds points to the overall image and feel. The retail package we can say is complete and includes a USB Type C to A cable and a wired 3.5inch jack for those who wish to have a wired connection, nice!

Installing the product is simple and the great battery /standby times for sure will help you survive those longs trips you need to relax with music. This product is comfortable with 271gr of overall weight and the included controls do work , you might need sometime to get them used, especially if you are a traditional wired connection user like we are.

The overall performance is a matter of personal taste so your finding may slight vary. We found the product to have a balanced sound when listening to music via Spotify/YouTube and bass/loudness does get improved from wired connection. You don’t have any app support to adjust EQ or other features, which would have been great, however it’s simply not there. The ANC does work well outside even with overall ambient noise, however as Creative claims, it gets around 90-95% depending the noise source. The five (5) included microphones do help here, however again you are left with what comes out of the box, no personalization here. Audio freaks for sure will complain for the lack of advance Bluetooth codecs like aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, the Zen Hybrid only supports SBC and AAC, which is OK for most users. Perhaps adding more codecs would further increase overall price as well. Creative advertises this device as SFXI Ready, meaning you will get the SXFI experience as they have tuned the device only by using the build in-app music player that only supports local files and not online services like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, etc... We could say that this feature does work, but it’s not a major selling point for end users.

Overall we feel the Creative Zen Hybrid is a good product with fair price that aims for everyday users who wish to buy a good quality wireless headphone at a fair price. The device can be bought online at 109.99 Euro and right now Amazon.de has an 40% off coupon until 31 of July, so its an amazing price for all users, hurry up!

- The Good

• Great build quality and finish
• Good foldable design + Nice travel pouch
• Lightweight, comfortable fit and has adjustements for headrest
• Includes five (5) Microphones for ANC / Call functions
• Can be used either in Bluetooth or wired mode
• Supports passive audio without power
  
• Well-balanced tuning sound
• Includes two ANC modes and work Ok for most users
• Excellent battery life
• SXFI READY device
• 2 years of warranty (Europe)
• Great price till 31 of July from Amazon.de

- The Neutral

• SXFI function works only for local files and not for online services
• Advanced users will miss aptX, aptX HD, LDAC

• No app support for EQ or personalization
• Some users will find Bass not powerful enough
• Black colour, while present at press releases photos, doesn't get sold right now