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What we think
The PerfectRec Earbuds or Headphones team Learn more
Updated April 11, 2024·
If price is a significant factor for you, the Creative Labs Zen Air earbuds are more budget-friendly. The Zen Air are wireless with a good mic quality, making them suitable for casual calls, and they support AAC codec, which could provide better audio quality for Apple device users. They are also sweatproof and offer active noise cancelling, benefits if you’re active or travel frequently. However, if sound quality, especially for music and TV, and comfort are priorities, the Sennheiser HD 400S headphones may be the better choice, but keep in mind they are wired and lack some modern features like an app equalizer and wireless connectivity. 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 Sennheiser HD 400S
- Good for music
- Very good for phone calls
- Very good for gaming
- Good for TV and video
- Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Key differences
Gaming
5.1
8.6
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for gaming, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
Phone Calls
5.1
8.2
The Sennheiser HD 400S is very good for phone calls, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
5.4
7.6
The Sennheiser HD 400S is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
TV and Video
5.6
7.6
The Sennheiser HD 400S is good for TV and video, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
Noise Reduction
7.0
5.3
The Creative Labs Zen Air is good for noise reduction, while the Sennheiser HD 400S is poor.
Battery
5.0 Hours
N/A
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The Sennheiser HD 400S does not have a battery.
Cost
$30
$50
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the Sennheiser HD 400S costs $50.
Build Quality
9.0
8.5
The Creative Labs Zen Air has excellent build quality, while the Sennheiser HD 400S has very good build quality.
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Key similarities
Music
6.8
7.1
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Sennheiser HD 400S to be good for music, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is only fair.
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How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the Sennheiser HD 400S compare to other earbuds and headphones
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Creative Labs Zen Air | Sennheiser HD 400S |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$30 | $50 | ||
Brand | |||
Brand | Creative Labs | Sennheiser | |
Release Date | |||
Release Date | December 1, 2022 | January 1, 2019 | |
Form Factor | |||
Form Factor | Earbuds | Headphones | |
Connectivity | |||
Connectivity | Wireless | Wired | |
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Music Score | |||
Music Score | 6.9/10 | 7.2/10 | |
Phone Calls Score | |||
Phone Calls Score | 5.1/10 | 8.2/10 | |
Gaming Score | |||
Gaming Score | 5.1/10 | 8.7/10 | |
TV and Video Score | |||
TV and Video Score | 5.7/10 | 7.7/10 | |
Exercise Score | |||
Exercise Score | 6.9/10 | 4.2/10 | |
PERFORMANCE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery life | |||
Battery life | 5 Hours | N/A | |
Wireless charging | |||
Wireless charging | Yes | N/A | |
Charging time | |||
Charging time | 2 Hours | N/A | |
Bluetooth version | |||
Bluetooth version | 5 | N/A | |
Case Battery Life | |||
Case Battery Life | 12 | N/A | |
FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Active Noise Cancelling | |||
Active Noise Cancelling | Yes | No | |
Noise Reduction Score | |||
Noise Reduction Score | 7/10 | 5.3/10 | |
Virtual Surround | |||
Virtual Surround | Yes | No | |
Android App | |||
Android App | Yes | N/A | |
iOS App | |||
iOS App | Yes | N/A | |
Mic Quality | |||
Mic Quality | 7/10 | 8.5/10 | |
BUILD AND DESIGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality | |||
Build Quality | 9/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Comfort score | |||
Comfort score | 7/10 | 8.4/10 | |
Size | |||
Size | Medium | N/A | |
Weight (headset or single earbud) | |||
Weight (headset or single earbud) | 5 Grams | 213 Grams | |
Microphone style | |||
Microphone style | Integrated | Integrated | |
Shopping
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."
Sennheiser HD 400S
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Dig into reviews and images
Headphone Dungeon
Jim | August 2022
"Sennheiser has done it again. The HD 400S performs well beyond its price range and is one of the better budget model headphones I’ve tried. It has very few bells and whistles and offers a simple means of listening that still delivers amazing clarity and quality. If you need a good first pair of headphones or need something that you can take out of the house, then the HD 400S is definitely for you."
Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the Sennheiser HD 400S
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 Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
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