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Zen Air
Company ProductName Specs




Dime
Company ProductName Specs




What we think

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

If you prioritize comfort and a higher quality microphone for better call clarity, the Creative Labs Zen Air is your choice, also offering an app with equalizer settings to customize your listening experience and longer battery life for extended use. The Skullcandy Dime, however, is more compact for portability, and if an ultra-fast charging time and slightly better durability are important to you, it might suit your needs better. Both are sweatproof and have good overall sound quality, but neither is well-suited for gaming or TV due to poor soundstage. Neither supports lossless audio codecs, so if high-fidelity sound is crucial, you may want to look elsewhere. 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 Skullcandy Dime.
Advantages of the Skullcandy Dime
  • Good for podcasts and audiobooks

Key differences

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Music

6.8
Zen Air
Dime
5.7
The Creative Labs Zen Air is only fair for music, while the Skullcandy Dime is poor.

Phone Calls

5.1
Zen Air
Dime
6.2
The Skullcandy Dime is only fair for phone calls, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Podcasts and Audiobooks

5.4
Zen Air
Dime
7.1
The Skullcandy Dime is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.

Battery

5.0 Hours
Zen Air
Dime
3.5 Hours
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The Skullcandy Dime has 3.5 hours of battery life.

Cost

$30
Zen Air
Dime
$27
Product image
Product image

$0

$10

$20

$30

$40

$50

The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the Skullcandy Dime costs $27.

Build Quality

9.0
Zen Air
Dime
8.5
The Creative Labs Zen Air has excellent build quality, while the Skullcandy Dime has very good build quality.
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Key similarities

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Gaming

5.1
Zen Air
Dime
4.8
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Skullcandy Dime are both poor for gaming.

TV and Video

5.6
Zen Air
Dime
5.3
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Skullcandy Dime are both poor for TV and video.

Noise Reduction

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

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How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the Skullcandy Dime compare to other earbuds and headphones

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Spec Comparison

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Creative Labs Zen AirSkullcandy Dime
Creative Labs Zen AirSkullcandy Dime

GENERAL

Price
$30
$27
Brand
Creative LabsSkullcandy
Release Date
December 1, 2022March 1, 2021
Form Factor
EarbudsEarbuds
Connectivity
WirelessWireless

SOUND

Music Score
6.9/105.7/10
Phone Calls Score
5.1/106.2/10
Gaming Score
5.1/104.8/10
TV and Video Score
5.7/105.4/10
Exercise Score
6.9/106.6/10

PERFORMANCE

Battery life
5 Hours3.5 Hours
Wireless charging
YesNo
Charging time
2 Hours1 Hours
Bluetooth version
55
Case Battery Life
1212

FEATURES

Active Noise Cancelling
YesNo
Noise Reduction Score
7/106.5/10
Virtual Surround
YesNo
Android App
YesNo
iOS App
YesNo
Mic Quality
7/107/10

BUILD AND DESIGN

Build Quality
9/108.5/10
Comfort score
7/107/10
Size
MediumSmall
Weight (headset or single earbud)
5 Grams4.5 Grams
Microphone style
IntegratedIntegrated

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."

Skullcandy Dime

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Dig into reviews and images

PC Magazine

Tim Gideon | April 2021
"For $25, the Skullcandy Dime True Wireless Earbuds deliver a powerful, balanced, rich, and bright sound signature. There’s really not much else to talk about, but the audio is better than you would expect for the price."

Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the Skullcandy Dime

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 Skullcandy

Skullcandy is an American, consumer-oriented, earbuds and headphones manufacturer with 20 years of market experience. They sell a wide variety of, budget-friendly and unique, wired and wireless products that are sure to please the vast majority of users. Among their most popular offerings, the Crusher headphones, includes a pair of actual subwoofers inside the cups which makes the bass extra prominent for a unique and extra fun sound.

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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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