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What we think
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Updated April 10, 2024·
If you're on a tight budget and need earbuds for casual music listening, calls, and some exercise, the Creative Labs Zen Air might suit you well, especially with their good mic quality and decent battery life. They also support wireless charging, which is convenient. However, if you're an audiophile seeking the best sound quality for music and have a higher budget, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II excels in this area despite lacking wireless capabilities and active noise cancelling. The Monarch Mk II also has a detachable cable and more sophisticated driver technology, but it's not ideal for exercise or travel due to its larger size and poor portability score. Choose Zen Air for affordability and wireless features, or Monarch Mk II for top-tier sound quality and a wired connection. 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 Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
- Best in class for music
- Very good for TV and video
- Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Key differences
Music
6.8
9.5
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is best in class for music, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is only fair.
Gaming
5.1
6.7
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair for gaming, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
5.4
7.9
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
TV and Video
5.6
8.8
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is very good for TV and video, while the Creative Labs Zen Air is poor.
Noise Reduction
7.0
6.0
The Creative Labs Zen Air is good for noise reduction, while the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair.
Battery
5.0 Hours
N/A
The Creative Labs Zen Air has 5 hours of battery life. The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II does not have a battery.
Cost
$30
$999
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The Creative Labs Zen Air has a price of $30 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II costs $999.
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Key similarities
Phone Calls
5.1
5.1
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Thieaudio Monarch Mk II are both poor for phone calls.
Build Quality
9.0
9.0
The Creative Labs Zen Air and Thieaudio Monarch Mk II both have excellent build quality.
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How the Creative Labs Zen Air and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II compare to other earbuds and headphones
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Creative Labs Zen Air | Thieaudio Monarch Mk II |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$30 | $999 | ||
Brand | |||
Brand | Creative Labs | Thieaudio | |
Release Date | |||
Release Date | December 1, 2022 | October 1, 2020 | |
Form Factor | |||
Form Factor | Earbuds | Earbuds | |
Connectivity | |||
Connectivity | Wireless | Wired | |
SOUND | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Music Score | |||
Music Score | 6.9/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Phone Calls Score | |||
Phone Calls Score | 5.1/10 | 5.1/10 | |
Gaming Score | |||
Gaming Score | 5.1/10 | 6.8/10 | |
TV and Video Score | |||
TV and Video Score | 5.7/10 | 8.9/10 | |
Exercise Score | |||
Exercise Score | 6.9/10 | 4.5/10 | |
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 | 6/10 | |
Virtual Surround | |||
Virtual Surround | Yes | N/A | |
Android App | |||
Android App | Yes | N/A | |
iOS App | |||
iOS App | Yes | N/A | |
Mic Quality | |||
Mic Quality | 7/10 | N/A | |
BUILD AND DESIGN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality | |||
Build Quality | 9/10 | 9/10 | |
Comfort score | |||
Comfort score | 7/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Size | |||
Size | Medium | Large | |
Weight (headset or single earbud) | |||
Weight (headset or single earbud) | 5 Grams | 9 Grams | |
Microphone style | |||
Microphone style | Integrated | N/A | |
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."
Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
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Dig into reviews and images
Audiophile On
Audiophile On | August 2021
"No other earphone I have listened to in the past 12 months has given me as much joy as the Thieaduio Monarch MKII. One of those IEMs will make you question where we can go from here. The sound is jaw-dropping, leaving you wanting more and more. It makes you want to run through your entire music library and reevaluate. It makes you not feel bad about paying full price for them, especially in a hobby where buyers' remorse is genuine. For me, it's top tier, rivaled by a few but not surpassed."
Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Zen Air or the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
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 Thieaudio
Thieaudio is the in-house brand of Linsoul Audio, a Chinese earbud and headphone retailer specializing in what the community lovingly calls Chi-fi, that is high fidelity brands out of China. Thieaudio was established in 2019 as the creative engineering branch of Linsoul. As of today, they market three different lines of earbuds, Voyager, Legacy and the extremely well-received Monarch.
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