A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Zen Air
Company ProductName Specs




Kraken
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

Chevron down
PerfectRec Logo
The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 11, 2024·

If you're on a tight budget and need wireless earbuds for casual listening and the occasional call, the Creative Labs Zen Air would be a good match, with decent sound and comfort, plus a compact design suitable for exercise and travel. However, for immersive gaming or TV watching where sound quality and a good soundstage are key, the Razer Kraken headphones are superior, although they are wired and less portable. The Kraken also boast better build and microphone quality, which is ideal for frequent online communication. Neither are particularly well-suited for high-fidelity music experiences or noise isolation in loud environments. 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
  • Very good for air travel
Advantages of the Razer Kraken
  • Good for music
  • Very good for gaming
  • Good for TV and video

Key differences

Chevron down

Gaming

5.1
Zen Air
Kraken
8.3
The Razer Kraken is very good for gaming, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

5.4
Zen Air
Kraken
4.7
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Razer Kraken are both poor for podcasts and audiobooks, though the Creative Labs Zen Air is somewhat better.

TV and Video

5.6
Zen Air
Kraken
7.4
The Razer Kraken is good for TV and video, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Battery

5.0 Hours
Zen Air
Kraken
N/A
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The Razer Kraken does not have a battery.

Cost

$30
Zen Air
Kraken
$50
Product image
Product image

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the Razer Kraken costs $50.

Build Quality

9.0
Zen Air
Kraken
8.5
The Creative Labs Zen Air has excellent build quality, while the Razer Kraken has very good build quality.
Image of Earbuds & Headphones
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Headphones
Find your new headphones

Key similarities

Chevron down

Music

6.8
Zen Air
Kraken
7.1
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Razer Kraken to be good for music, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is only fair.

Phone Calls

5.1
Zen Air
Kraken
5.5
The Razer Kraken and Creative Labs Zen Air are both poor for phone calls.

Noise Reduction

7.0
Zen Air
Kraken
6.5
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Creative Labs Zen Air to be good for noise reduction, while the Razer Kraken is only fair.

Give feedback

We’re constantly working to improve.

How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the Razer Kraken compare to other earbuds and headphones

Chevron down

Spec Comparison

Chevron down
Creative Labs Zen AirRazer Kraken
Creative Labs Zen AirRazer Kraken

GENERAL

Price
$30
$50
Brand
Creative LabsRazer
Release Date
December 1, 2022March 1, 2019
Form Factor
EarbudsHeadphones
Connectivity
WirelessWired

SOUND

Music Score
6.9/107.1/10
Phone Calls Score
5.1/105.5/10
Gaming Score
5.1/108.4/10
TV and Video Score
5.7/107.4/10
Exercise Score
6.9/104.2/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
5 HoursN/A
Wireless charging
YesN/A
Charging time
2 HoursN/A
Bluetooth version
5N/A
Case Battery Life
12N/A

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesNo
Noise Reduction Score
7/106.5/10
Virtual Surround
YesNo
Android App
YesN/A
iOS App
YesN/A
Mic Quality
7/109/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
9/108.5/10
Comfort score
7/107/10
Size
MediumN/A
Weight (headset or single earbud)
5 Grams322 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedBoom

Shopping

Chevron down

Creative Labs Zen Air

See more

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."

Razer Kraken

See more

Dig into reviews and images

PC Gamer

Rob Dwiar | March 2019
"Generally the Kraken is a very comfortable headset and there’s nothing that really identifies it as anything else. All in, the Kraken performed exactly as I’d expect a premium, designated gaming headset to perform: performing well in game audio, though not quite with the same quality of those headsets further up the price scale."

Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the Razer Kraken

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.

About Razer

Razer is an American-Singaporean hardware manufacturer aimed specifically toward the gaming market. They manufacture a very wide array of gaming laptops, tablets, phones, peripherals and, of course, headphones and earbuds both wired and wireless. Since 2016, Razer has owned the THX suite, aimed at quality assurance of audiovisual systems such as speaker sets, video game consoles and even movie theaters.

Give feedback

We're constantly perfecting our model

Earbuds or Headphones guides you might be interested in

Chevron down

FAQs

Chevron down

FAQs about earbuds and headphones

Questions about PerfectRec >

Why trust us

Chevron down
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
94,700
Recommendations made
14,205
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.

Featured in

Color LTT LogoGeekwire logo9to5 Mac logoPhone Arena LogoColor Daring Fireball logo