Artistic holds a legendary standing on the planet of audio and its Zen Air SXFI TWS earbuds are the primary TWS earbuds to help 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 are able to affirm that they’re a worthy choose because of their wealthy function set and nice sound copy. Whereas spatial audio was not our important focus, we did get pleasure from our time watching motion pictures and TV exhibits on supported platforms like Netflix with Artistic’s SFXI encompass sound tech.
Design
Zen Air SXFI function 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 in 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 measurement to get a correct seal. The scale of the case are available in at 64 x 43.85 x 29 mm which is a bit bigger than most rivals.
You will get the Artistic Zen Air SXFI in any coloration 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 contains 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 help wi-fi charging and will work with any Qi-compatible pad.
The retail package deal contains the usual array of equipment with a brief USB-C cable, spare silicone ideas, and one thing that we don’t see that always – a cloth 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 help 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 help 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. It’s important to obtain a further SXFI app in your cellphone 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 growing this spatial audio tech for a number of years now and the Zen Air SXFI are the primary TWS earbuds to launch with hardware-ready SFXI.
The key breakthrough with hardware-based SXFI on this iteration of the Zen Air is that when you’ve accomplished the preliminary head mapping it really works with any media on the system – native or streaming.
The Artistic app brings all the primary features you’d count on 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 function four-level stage management so you possibly can fine-tune how a lot outdoors noise is canceled or let in.
The app additionally lets you 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 in style fan favorites just like the Name of Obligation sequence, DOTA 2, and CS: GO. You may as well tweak your individual EQ profile with the slider.
Rounding out the options part are the low latency mode and IPX5 score which is only for the buds and never the case.
The one function 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 affords 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 pleasant and affords sufficient element so far as Bluetooth audio streaming goes. Remember the fact that you might be 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 partaking expertise. The shortage of head monitoring is one other missed alternative.
As anticipated, the default equalizer leans on the bass facet however you will have greater than sufficient built-in EQ presets to select from. Classical stood out as the most suitable choice in our expertise however you might be additionally free to customise your individual EQ profile.
Noise cancelation is best than many of the price range earbuds we’ve examined not too long ago 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 battle 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 possibly can stand up to 39 hours of complete 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 affords 5 full recharges and you’ll high up wirelessly on any Qi charger which is a pleasant bonus.
Verdict
Artistic Zen Air SXFI’s important focus is spatial audio however we didn’t really feel a major profit when listening to music or watching motion pictures within the SXFI mode. The sound stage felt flat and the absence of head monitoring delivered a lower than ideally suited spatial audio expertise.
It was within the regular SXFI-less mode that the buds delivered a full of life 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 (at the moment discounted) and all the onboard options, Artistic Zen Air SXFI will get our approval.
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