Creative Zen Hybrid : Comfortable and affordable ANC headphones - now cheaper for Black Friday

With decent sound and effective ANC, the Creative Zen Hybrid are a solid choice, despite their limited feature set

Comfortable fit; Smartly implemented controls; Solid battery life;

Weak bass response; Not compatible with the Creative app; SXFI only works with local files;

Creative Zen Hybrid : Comfortable and affordable ANC headphones - now cheaper than ever

With decent sound and effective ANC, the Creative Zen Hybrid are a solid choice, despite their limited feature set

Comfortable fit; Smartly implemented controls; Solid battery life;

Weak bass response; Not compatible with the Creative app; SXFI only works with local files;

Creative Zen Hybrid Review

There aren’t too many standout noise-cancelling headphones under $200, so the $98.99 price of the Creative Zen Hybrid certainly intrigued us. We're fans of their sculpted audio signature and comfortable fit, and their active noise cancellation (ANC) mode proves mostly capable of handling low-frequency rumble. But the ANC struggles against higher frequencies and adds a bit of a masking hiss to the signal, and the app experience is a letdown. For the same price, 1More's SonoFlow headphones cancel distracting noise more effectively.Comfortable Design, Poor Control Layout The circumaural Creative Zen Hybrid headphones are available in white with gold accents on the earcups and interior cloth grilles. The earpads and headband use gray and white protein leather, respectively, and feature a generous amount of memory foam padding. They feel comfortable and snug even over long listening sessions. Internally, 40mm neodymium dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 20Hz to 20KHz with a...

The affordable Creative Zen Hybrid headphones try to deliver too much, with mixed noise cancellation capabilities and a frustrating app overshadowing fairly decent sound quality.

Sculpted but balanced audio; Comfortable fit

Intrusive app; EQ works only via the companion app