Creative released the EVO ZxR headphones a few months ago targeting the music listening crowd over. This is a chance since they are mostly known for their gaming headsets. The ZxR comes with a list of features such as NFC (for easy Bluetooth pairing), active noise canceling, 7.1 virtual surround, mics built into the cups, and a “TT” (Talk-Through) button that allows you to silence your music and pass through sound so that you can speak with people without having to remove the headphones from your ears.
First off, the design of these headphones is superb, especially if you are looking for that bad arse look when you are walking around with them attached to your head. They look great, feel great and tell people that you are a hard-core gamer when you stroll by.
They sound really good and offer decent virtual surround (7.1) and although they won’t appeal to high-performance audiophiles, they will appeal to the average music listener. They have great bass and a decent range, and Creative offers an app for certain mobile devices so that you can further tweak the EQ.
The “TT” button allows you to mute the music and pass through surrounding noise so that you don’t have to remove the headphones if someone approaches talking. This is a neat feature that we haven’t really seen before outside of one or two headphones on the market.
Bluetooth and NFC support is self-explanatory and works just as it should. You can pair up to two different devices at the same time (in case you want both your phone and tablet to be connected at once).
The EVO ZxR comes with stereo mics built right into the ear cups which are nice. There are no mics dangling in front of your mouth or on a wire. Mic quality is great for Skype or Facetime.
You can also plug in via USB or normal 3.5mm so that you can use them with any device, or even use it as your PC/Mac’s sound source (functions as both the sound card and speakers when plugged in via USB).
Our Conclusion
They look and feel great, they sound great (although not amazing), and come with some neat features. The price tag however is a little high. We would expect these normally to fall within the $199 range and not $299. If the price was better, we could give it a higher score but it still comes in at 7 out of 10 stars which aren’t bad.
Product Specs:
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What’s in the Box:
- Sound Blaster Evo ZxR
- Micro USB-to-USB cable – Length: 1.8m (5.91ft)
- 4-pole analog cable – Length: 1.2m (3.94ft)
- Cable length: 1.2m (3.94ft) plus splitter adapter 0.6m (1.97ft)
- USB Power Adapter and plugs
- Airplane Adapter
- Portable carrying case
- Quick Start leaflet (Software installation with user guide will be available via online)
Are you a manufacturer or vendor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
