Zen Air Plus Lightweight True Wireless In-Ears with Bluetooth LE Audio, Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, Ambient Mode, Up to 32 Hours Total Playtime, 6 Microphones

1st class product & service

The obvious inspiration for these earbuds is Apple’s Air Pods. I haven’t tried the Apple version so I'm unable to offer a direct comparison but it’s worth noting that these are less than half the price. The build quality is high and they are comfortable to wear. They come with three different sizes of rubber attachment to fit different sized ears, and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable to recharge the case, which in turn charges the earbuds. The case has a magnetic closure and magnets to keep the earbuds in place. One minor irritation is that the earbuds can be difficult to remove from the case because there's not really anything to grab onto; you only have the smooth, curved top edges to try to grip and the magnets are working against you. Bluetooth pairing is straightforward. The sound quality is good with nice clear bass. There are various things that you can control by tapping the side of one of the earbuds. For example, if you tap the right one twice it will pause or unpause your music. If you tap it three times it will skip to the next track. The problem is that it doesn't reliably detect every tap unless you hit the exact correct spot. This means that several times I have tapped 3 times to skip to the next track but only 2 taps have been recognised and it pauses the music instead. This can be very frustrating and is the reason I've not rated these as five stars. Everything else is more than satisfactory.

I've reviewed a number of Bluetooth earbuds from little startups and generic Chinese suppliers, so how does this offering from the well-known Singapore brand Creative stack up? First impressions are very positive - from the packaging to the charging case to the earbuds themselves everything feels well-designed, sleek and premium - and they are certified water resistant enough to use in the rain or for sweaty sports. So it's disappointing to discover that the sound is no more than average for this price point. I've tried the buds with a full range from rock through trad, orchestral, chamber and early. The sound table is good, but with anything heavy or complex I find the rendition a bit ill-defined and muddy. They are at their best with solo performances, but this is hardly what most people are looking for. And overall I find the sound lacking in body - especially out of the box before tweaking with the app. To be fair, many other reviewers seem very happy with the sound quality - but as a musician I guess I'm rather picky. The ANC works pretty effectively for white noise like fans, and is average for more demanding tasks like filtering out conversation or crying babies. Don't expect too much at this price point! You get the usual tap controls, and they are easy to use once you get used to the rather small spot you have to hit. When watching video the lag is bad enough to be distracting, and unless I'm missing something there is no game mode so you are stuck with it. I have a cheaper pair that do much better here. Finally, full marks for wearability. I have "difficult ears" and often struggle to get buds to fit. These are amongst the best I've tried - comfortable and secure. You do, of course, get the usual selection of bud sizes. So overall there's nothing that stands out about these buds. They sit rather uncomfortably between the cheap-and-cheerful brands that are almost as good, and the premium brands that are much better.

Wow i am shocked in the high quality of these, but from a well known brand i should not have been. These are a right set of wireless headphones that have had real design and quality truly thought about. These in my opinion give airpods a run for there money and at 4 times less the price. I do like my wireless headphone and have tested more than i care to admit, i use them for daily listening to music and watching films at night time connected to the tv while the wife and kids are in bed, and also for work during video teams calls connected to my ipad or laptop. These as said have really surprised me at this price point, the sound quality is in my opinion perfect, with the "Creative" app installed you can tweak the sound to how you like it, this is a set that does not distort whatsoever when you get to full volume, the bass if you choose can blow your mind, or the treble can be increased to hear the fine detail notes (Perfect) Another good to see thing for me is that when you download the app it does not force you to create an account to use these advanced functions, they just work. The noise cancelling function is on par with 4 other in ear noise canceling sets i have and this set perform better at blocking out more sound than 3 of the other sets and these all cost more. it is also nice to see that you can adjust the noise canceling level as well as the ambient passthrough level to suit your environment. selecting both options can be done from tapping the left earbud so you don't need to use the app to switch. The app: this has to be one of the cleanest apps for headphones i have seen... no bloatware just the controls you need and is very easy to navigate and select what suits you. These also can be wirelessly charged on a pad so no needing to carry around additional cables, have multiple pads at home and work. I have however not been able to locate how the broadcast audio function works it says press a button but there is not one to press so not sure if this is a typo as it may be a function of the PRO versions only. The only function in my opinion that would have been nice is Multipoint connection, being able to connect to 2 devices at once, as this function is on my daily driver set. Based on the quality of the product and the sound plus functions against price these are easily more than a 5 star product to me and would be money well spent if considering them as you will not be disappointed.

The Creative earbuds come in a compact charging case. The earbuds have a plastic blue protective cover over their terminals which must be removed before first use. At first it is a little tricky to remove the earbuds from the case – you have to push upwards rather than pull. They were supposed to go into pairing mode when the case was first opened. Nothing happened so I pressed the master reset button on the bottom of the charging case for 8 seconds and this did the trick and it quickly paired with my iPhone 14 Pro. I then downloaded the Creative app from the app store. This is difficult to find if you just search for “Creative” as this brings up many apps so you need to search for “Creative app”. The app identified the Zen Air Plus. It allows control of the active noise cancellation. The EQ presets are useful in tailoring the response to different styles of sound and music. I first tested it by listening to BBC Sounds. The volume was good and the sound was clear, using the “Vocal” preset. My main test was wearing them whilst working out at my local gym to test their ability to provide a soundtrack to my workout whilst connected to my Apple Watch. I paired the earbuds to my Apple Watch by pressing the button at the bottom of the charging case for 3 seconds, started Apple Music and began my workout, listening to a “Layla” music station. I had the Active Noise Cancellation set to maximum. It did a great job of silencing the background music in the gym and noises from the various machines, allowing me to concentrate listening to my own music. I was impressed by the soundstage generated by the Zen Air Plus earbuds, which allowed me to hear each of the instrumentalists clearly in my rock music, whilst the vocals were crystal clear. I have reviewed many earbuds and headphones for Amazon. These have amongst the best noise cancellation and sound quality of earbuds I have tested in the sub £100 category. It was a real pleasure wearing these and they didn’t fall out once.

First off, the Bluetooth LE Audio is a smooth operator. Pairing is a breeze, and the connection stability is like my marriage – reliable and unwavering. The hybrid active noise cancellation is where it gets interesting. I popped these in, and suddenly, the world's volume knob was turned down. The baby's cries? Muffled. The wife's "can you take out the trash?" Somehow less pressing. It's like having a personal mute button for life's less pleasant sounds. Now, let's talk comfort. They're called "Lightweight" for a reason, and they weren't kidding. Wearing these feels like having nothing at all in your ears, minus the existential void. They're so comfortable that I've almost hopped into the shower with them still on – a testament to their unobtrusive design, not my forgetfulness, mind you. Pros: Bluetooth LE Audio makes for a seamless, stable connection. It's like they're psychically linked to my phone. Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation is a godsend. It's like having your own bubble of tranquility amidst the chaos of daily life. Comfort Level: These in-ears are so lightweight, I've checked multiple times to make sure they didn't fall out. Spoiler: They never did. Battery Life: It's like the Energizer Bunny – it keeps going and going. Long enough to get me through a day's worth of podcasts, music, and avoiding small talk. Cons: Sound Quality: While it's certainly impressive, audiophiles might find it lacks that extra oomph compared to the higher-end alternatives. It's like enjoying a good burger when you've tasted gourmet steak – still satisfying but you know there's more out there. Controls: They're a bit like trying to solve a Rubik's cube at first. Takes a bit of practice before you stop accidentally calling your boss instead of skipping a track. To wrap this up (without saying "in conclusion"), the CREATIVE Zen Air Plus has been a delightful surprise. They've effectively dethroned the Apple AirPods in my book. Not only do they bring quality and comfort to the table, but they also do so without making my wallet weep. In the end, it's all about what works best for you, but for me? I'm happily aboard the Zen train. Choo choo!

Creative Zen earphones, that come with charging case, USB-C cable, different sized ear buds (silicone) and documentation. Equaliser and advertised functions are accessed via the Creative App, downloadable on Android and iOS. Expensive price tag, that doesn't match product performance. At first, I was very impressed with the mic function, and how it allows you to hear outside sound, even with headphones in, but after a few days, I ran into many problems. When resting, the stick poles would knock against my earrings, and fall out of my ears many times. There is so much mass bulk, with components and batteries inside, that they don't fit my ears, no matter how many times I try and squeeze, place or change bud sizes. There were times I'd try and use these, that my ears were sore. Sound-wise, these aren't as impressive as I would imagine, considering the price tag. No matter how much I toyed with the app's equaliser settings, sound is boxy and unbalanced. After many weeks, I've tried to work with these, but just can't find the sound I'm looking for. Bad sound, bad fit = deal breaker. I got frustrated with these, and went back to my JLab GO Air Pops, which despite being cheaper and not have the function of many mics, are vastly superior. They fit my ears, have excellent sound cancelling, and deliver a superior sound balance overall. Regrettably, I don't recommend these headphones.

I have mixed feeling about these earbuds. First of all, I have to say that I find the out of the box sound quality to be superb. Everything I have listened to sounds great. Comparing to my Echo Buds 2, which cost almost double the price of these I have to say that I much prefer the sound of the Zen Air. When linked with the Creative App, you can tune the sound to your hearts delight with the equaliser, but for me the default EQ sounds brilliant. I can’t fault it all. As the name implies, they are very light and remarkably comfortable to wear. Probably the most comfortable in-ear buds I have tried, and I have used many in-ear type buds over the years. The active noise cancellation is not terrible. At least as good as the Echo Buds 2, though the great seal I get off the pre-fitted tips blocks out enough ambient sound on my commute to work that I will often disable it for a longer battery life. Where it goes a little downhill for me is on the software side, and it’s these issues which make me not want to use them every day. • In the app you can customise the touches to trigger various features (transport controls, volume etc.) but for some reason there is no function available to Single Tap. To me this is a very poor design choice. I want play/pause on Single Tap. It might seem a bit picky, but if I am pausing it is for a reason and I want it to happen as quickly as possible. • By far the biggest annoyance is the voice that tells you what mode the Ambient Control is in. It’s always at a really high volume regardless of the current listening volume level. It’s terrible and there is no way to disable it. • Also, the App only gives battery levels for the buds and not the case which is a bit of an oversight. It’s not impossible that these issues could be addressed via a firmware update – but as it’s a relatively low cost product I won’t hold my breath. To conclude: fantastic sound (in my opinion) for the price point but curious design choices make them my fallback rather than daily driver.