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Zen Air
Company ProductName Specs




JBuds Work Wireless
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

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The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 10, 2024·

The Creative Labs Zen Air earbuds would save you money and are a good fit for casual music listening, feature Active Noise Cancelling for air travel, and support wireless charging, but they may not be the best choice for clear calls or gaming due to poor microphone and sound quality in those areas. In contrast, the JLab JBuds Work Wireless headphones, while more expensive, provide excellent microphone quality, better performance in calls and gaming, and very good comfort, but they lack Active Noise Cancelling and are not as portable or suited for exercise. If budget is a primary concern and you need a wireless, portable option with noise cancellation, go with the Zen Air; however, for better call quality, gaming experience, and comfort, consider spending more for the JLab JBuds Work Wireless. Give Feedback

this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Creative Labs Zen Air
  • The Creative Labs Zen Air has no clear advantages over the JLab JBuds Work Wireless.
Advantages of the JLab JBuds Work Wireless
  • Good for phone calls
  • Very good for gaming
  • Good for TV and video
  • Good for podcasts and audiobooks

Key differences

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Gaming

5.1
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
8.8
The JLab JBuds Work Wireless is very good for gaming, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Phone Calls

5.1
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
7.3
The JLab JBuds Work Wireless is good for phone calls, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

5.4
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
7.9
The JLab JBuds Work Wireless is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

TV and Video

5.6
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
7.9
The JLab JBuds Work Wireless is good for TV and video, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Noise Reduction

7.0
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
5.3
The Creative Labs Zen Air is good for noise reduction, while the JLab JBuds Work Wireless is poor.

Battery

5.0 Hours
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
60.0 Hours
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The JLab JBuds Work Wireless has 60 hours of battery life.

Cost

$30
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
$79
Product image
Product image

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the JLab JBuds Work Wireless costs $79.
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Key similarities

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Music

6.8
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
6.8
The Creative Labs Zen Air and JLab JBuds Work Wireless are both only fair for music.

Build Quality

9.0
Zen Air
JBuds Work Wireless
9.0
The Creative Labs Zen Air and JLab JBuds Work Wireless both have excellent build quality.

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How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the JLab JBuds Work Wireless compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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Creative Labs Zen AirJLab JBuds Work Wireless
Creative Labs Zen AirJLab JBuds Work Wireless

GENERAL

Price
$30
$79
Brand
Creative LabsJLab
Release Date
December 1, 2022October 1, 2021
Form Factor
EarbudsHeadphones
Connectivity
WirelessWired + Wireless

SOUND

Music Score
6.9/106.9/10
Phone Calls Score
5.1/107.3/10
Gaming Score
5.1/108.9/10
TV and Video Score
5.7/108/10
Exercise Score
6.9/106.3/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
5 Hours60 Hours
Wireless charging
YesNo
Charging time
2 Hours3 Hours
Bluetooth version
55
Case Battery Life
12N/A

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesNo
Noise Reduction Score
7/105.3/10
Virtual Surround
YesNo
Android App
YesNo
iOS App
YesNo
Mic Quality
7/109/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
9/109/10
Comfort score
7/108.4/10
Size
MediumN/A
Weight (headset or single earbud)
5 Grams158 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedBoom

Shopping

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Creative Labs Zen Air

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Dig into reviews and images

Headphone Check

Maike Paeßens | February 2023
"The Creative Zen Air’s weak points are its low battery life and rather short Bluetooth range. On the other hand, the strengths of these weatherproof True Wireless in-Ears are the sound and the wide attenuation of the Active Noise Cancellation. Considering the price range, the speech intelligibility during calls is also exceptionally good."

JLab JBuds Work Wireless

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Dig into reviews and images

PC Magazine

Tim Gideon | February 2022
"The JLab JBuds Work is an affordable headset-headphone hybrid that you can use to listen to music in stereo and communicate on video calls thanks to a retractable boom mic, and we particularly like its convenient mono and passive wired modes. You won't find any frills here like you will with the costlier Jabra Evolve2 65 or Plantronics Voyager 4220 UC, but for less than half the price, the JBuds Work is an effective lower-cost alternative."

Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the JLab JBuds Work Wireless

About Creative Labs

Creative Labs is a Singaporean technology company specialized in the manufacture of multimedia products. They created the world-famous Soundblaster soundcard back in 1989 which was a staple of the gaming community for a long time. Nowadays, besides still marketing their discrete audio systems, they offer a wide array of headphones, gaming headsets and speakers that still preserve that same heritage.

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Why trust us

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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.

By the numbers

108
Earbuds and headphones evaluated
11,340
Earbuds and headphones stats compiled
15
Proprietary Earbuds and headphones ratings developed
123,500
Recommendations made
18,525
Consumer hours saved

About the Earbuds or Headphones team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Earbuds and Headphones Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Luis Torres

Earbuds and Headphones Expert
Luis is a Mexico-based headphones expert. He’s been making headphone recommendations for five years and has close to 100 pairs in his personal collection.

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