Artistic holds a legendary standing on the planet of audio and its Zen Air SXFI TWS earbuds are the primary TWS earbuds to assist the model’s Tremendous X-Fi spatial audio tech natively. They achieve this whereas additionally delivering adaptive noise canceling, twin system pairing, wi-fi charging, and a mixed battery lifetime of 39 hours.
These options are wrapped in a compact kind issue with a sub-$100 price ticket. Having used the Zen Air SXFI for every week we will affirm that they’re a worthy choose due to their wealthy characteristic set and nice sound copy. Whereas spatial audio was not our essential focus, we did take pleasure in our time watching films and TV reveals on supported platforms like Netflix with Artistic’s SFXI encompass sound tech.
Design
Zen Air SXFI characteristic an all-plastic construct with a matte end. The buds are of the in-ear selection with interchangeable silicone ideas and brief steps. The highest halves home remapable contact sensors and every earbud is outfitted with a trio of microphones.
The earbuds and their case are available at 51 grams with every earbud contributing 5.4 grams. The in-ear match is nice although we needed to swap up the default ear tricks to the smaller dimension to get a correct seal. The size of the case are available at 64 x 43.85 x 29 mm which is a bit bigger than most opponents.
You will get the Artistic Zen Air SXFI in any colour so long as it’s gray. The matte end on the case and buds helps fend off fingerprints. There’s a shiny silver end on the within of the case which reminds us of the copper hue on the Artistic Aurvana Ace 2 we reviewed earlier this 12 months.
The case includes a 4 LED battery indicator and a pairing button on the entrance and a USB-C cable on the underside for charging. The excellent news is that in addition they assist wi-fi charging and will work with any Qi-compatible pad.
The retail package deal consists of the usual array of equipment with a brief USB-C cable, spare silicone ideas, and one thing that we don’t see that usually – a material pouch that matches the carrying case and protects it from scratches.
Options and companion app
Artistic Zen Air SXFI are outfitted with 10mm Neodymium drivers. They pair over Bluetooth 5.3 with assist for multipoint pairing however are restricted to the legacy AAC and SBC codecs, so that you gained’t be streaming high-bitrate audio right here. The buds additionally assist Adaptive Lively Noise Cancellation with a devoted Ambient Mode and a four-stage guide management contained in the Artistic app. Every earbud homes triple microphones for optimum voice pickup.
The important thing promoting level is the SXFI spatial audio system which makes use of Artistic’s computational audio to create a encompass sound expertise tailor-made to your ear and head form. You need to obtain a further SXFI app in your telephone which prompts you to scan your face and ears.
After the SXFI setup, the earbuds ought to ship a extra immersive audio expertise with a wider sound stage and a multi-speaker-like expertise. Artistic has been creating this spatial audio tech for just a few years now and the Zen Air SXFI are the primary TWS earbuds to launch with hardware-ready SFXI.
The foremost breakthrough with hardware-based SXFI on this iteration of the Zen Air is that when you’ve performed the preliminary head mapping it really works with any media on the system – native or streaming.
The Artistic app brings all the primary capabilities you’d anticipate from a companion app. You get to toggle between the noise cancelation modes with ANC, Adaptive ANC, and Ambient Mode. The ANC and Ambient Modes characteristic four-level stage management so you’ll be able to fine-tune how a lot exterior noise is canceled or let in.
The app additionally means that you can customise the contact controls with single, double, and lengthy faucets. The lengthy press is used for quantity management which is at all times a welcome addition to any TWS product.
Artistic additionally delivers a myriad of EQ presets with 17 media-based ones and a further 25(!) for gaming titles together with widespread fan favorites just like the Name of Responsibility sequence, DOTA 2, and CS: GO. You too can tweak your personal EQ profile with the slider.
Rounding out the options part are the low latency mode and IPX5 ranking which is only for the buds and never the case.
The one characteristic we have been lacking right here was a put on detection sensor which pauses media once you take away the buds out of your ears and resumes it once you re-insert them.
Efficiency and Sound high quality
By default, Artistic Zen Air SXFI presents a notable bass presence and clear mids. We loved the instrument separation which is superior to most earbuds within the sub-$100 class. The general sound profile is enjoyable and presents sufficient element so far as Bluetooth audio streaming goes. Understand that you’re restricted to the AAC and SBC codecs right here.
As for the SXFI efficiency, we’d steer clear from utilizing it whereas listening to music. It tends to shift sounds to the entrance of your face, for lack of higher terminology, and leads to much less detailed sound with muffled mids, weak bass, and a flat-sounding sound stage. That’s additionally the case when watching movies and flicks the place the SXFI didn’t contribute to a extra participating expertise. The shortage of head monitoring is one other missed alternative.
As anticipated, the default equalizer leans on the bass facet however you’ve got greater than sufficient built-in EQ presets to select from. Classical stood out as the best choice in our expertise however you’re additionally free to customise your personal EQ profile.
Noise cancelation is healthier than many of the finances earbuds we’ve examined lately and delivers a noticeable discount in surrounding noises with out distorting your audio an excessive amount of. The nice in-ear match absolutely contributed to the strong ANC efficiency.
The six built-in microphones (three on every earbud) ship good name high quality in quieter environments however wrestle to select up your voice in louder areas. We didn’t expertise any connectivity issues throughout our overview interval. The contact controls labored flawlessly and registered all of our faucets with none points.
Battery life
Artistic claims you’ll be able to rise up to 39 hours of whole listening time from the buds and their case with the buds alone lasting as much as 12 hours (with ANC off). In our utilization, we acquired 7.5 hours of utilization from the buds with ANC on and quantity set to 50%. The case presents 5 full recharges and you may high up wirelessly on any Qi charger which is a pleasant bonus.
Verdict
Artistic Zen Air SXFI’s essential focus is spatial audio however we didn’t really feel a major profit when listening to music or watching films within the SXFI mode. The sound stage felt flat and the absence of head monitoring delivered a lower than very best spatial audio expertise.
It was within the regular SXFI-less mode that the buds delivered a vigorous sound stage albeit with a extra bass-heavy signature. The customized EQ choices helped fine-tune the sound output which mixed with the buds ergonomic design and potent ANC delivered an pleasurable listening expertise.
Battery life is nice and after we issue within the $80/€80 retail value (presently discounted) and all the onboard options, Artistic Zen Air SXFI will get our approval.
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