SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless vs Creative SXFI Air Wireless Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Dec 23, 2021 06:21 PM

See SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Review

SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless Picture

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

TypeOver-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

Variants

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

SXFI Air (Black)
SXFI Air (White)

Review

See Creative SXFI Air Wireless Review

Our Verdict

SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless

Creative SXFI Air Wireless

For gaming, the SteelSeries Arctis 3 2019 Edition Wireless are a better option than the Creative SXFI Air Wireless. Their microphone sounds better, and they have a better overall control scheme for gamers. Their sound is also noticeably better. On the other hand, the Creative can be used over USB. Both headphones can be used Bluetooth as well, but the SteelSeries offer more battery life but don’t have an app like the Creative.

Check Price

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

Black

SXFI Air

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

B&H

White

SXFI Air

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

BestBuy.com

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

Walmart.com

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

6.4

No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

6.4

Neutral Sound

7.4

6.8

Commute/Travel

6.5

6.2

Sports/Fitness

6.8

6.6

Office

6.9

6.5

Wireless Gaming

5.7

5.5

Wired Gaming

7.3

6.8

Phone Calls

7.3

5.5

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.65 lbs

0.75 lbs

Clamping Force

1 lbs

1.1 lbs

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Controls

7.1

6.5

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

Good

Feedback

Good

Okay

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Mute/Unmute

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

Optimizer

Show Text

Breathability

6.3

6.2

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

6.2 °C

6.5 °C

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Portability

5.2

5.4

Portability Picture

L

7.6" (19.3 cm)

7.7"

W

7.8" (19.8 cm)

7.7"

H

4.0" (10.2 cm)

3.3"

Volume

237.00 in³ (3,883.72 cm³)

196 in³

Transmitter Required

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Case

0.0

Case Picture

Type

No case

L

N/A

W

N/A

H

N/A

Volume

N/A

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Build Quality

7.0

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.0

6.5

Stability Picture

Show Text

Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

-3.49 dB

-3.24 dB

Treble Amount

-0.9 dB

-2.09 dB

Frequency Response Consistency

5.3

6.6

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

1.88 dB

0.73 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy

7.1

7.2

Bass

Std. Err.

3.96 dB

3.54 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

63.5 Hz

76.61 Hz

Low-Bass

-6.72 dB

-6.5 dB

Mid-Bass

-2.15 dB

-1.51 dB

High-Bass

3.13 dB

2.52 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.1

7.9

Mid

Std. Err.

2.58 dB

2.84 dB

Low-Mid

3.41 dB

1.2 dB

Mid-Mid

0.32 dB

0.97 dB

High-Mid

-1.71 dB

-2.04 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.6

6.8

Treble

Std. Err.

2.19 dB

4.31 dB

Low-Treble

-0.47 dB

-2.41 dB

Mid-Treble

3.59 dB

1.3 dB

High-Treble

-4.25 dB

-7.87 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.6

6.6

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.66 dB

2.24 dB

Dips

1.04 dB

1.95 dB

Imaging

8.2

Weighted Group Delay

0.27

0.58

Weighted Phase Mismatch

6.04

3.95

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

1.07

0.98

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

2.25

1.71

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Passive Soundstage

6.0

4.8

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

3.97 dB

2.44 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

8.18 dB

1.17 dB

PRTF Distance

19.94 dB

8.09 dB

Openness

4.8

6.2

Acoustic Space Excitation

3.4

3.5

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Virtual Soundstage

2.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

On/Off

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Windows Sonic Spatial Audio

Yes

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.6

7.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.195

0.352

WHD @ 100

0.167

0.122

Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Wired

Bluetooth 4.0

Codec

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

No EQ

Default

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Boom

Integrated

Isolation

Noise Isolation

4.5

3.8

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-13.31 dB

-10.99 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

0.57 dB

-0.13 dB

Mid

-8.97 dB

-3.1 dB

Treble

-32.26 dB

-29.64 dB

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Leakage

7.0

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

39.67 dB

39.83 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Boom

Yes

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

Recording Quality

8.6

4.9

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

20 Hz

226.27 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.88 dB

11.65 dB

HFE

9,948.49 Hz

23,322.39 Hz

Weighted THD

0.17

1,785.584

Gain

26.79 dB

17.98 dB

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Noise Handling

7.7

6.0

SpNR

SpNR

38.74 dB

11.98 dB

Noise Gate

Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

8.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

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Active Features

Battery

7.6

7.1

Battery Type

Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life

42.3 hrs

11.2 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

42.3 hrs

11.2 hrs

Charge Time

3.8 hrs

2.5 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

USB-C

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App Support

0.0

8.0

App Picture

App Name

No App

Creative SXFI Air Control

iOS

Yes

Android

Yes

macOS

Yes

Windows

Yes

Equalizer

Parametric + Presets

ANC Control

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Yes

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Yes

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Connectivity

Bluetooth

6.9

6.7

Bluetooth Version

4.1

4.2

Multi-Device Pairing

NFC Pairing

Line Of Sight Range

186.00 ft (56.69 m)

187 ft

PC Latency (SBC)

130 ms

266 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

99 ms

294 ms

Android Latency

99 ms

242 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Wired

9.5

8.3

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

USB Type A

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.10 ft (1.25 m)

5.1 ft

Connection

Mini B 8-Pin

1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

62 ms

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio + Microphone

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC/PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB

Audio + Microphone

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

Base/Dock

0.0

Type

No Base/Dock

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

No Base/Dock

Show Text

Check Price

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

Black

SXFI Air

Standard

Arctis 3 Bluetooth 2019 Edition

B&H

White

SXFI Air