If you want studio-grade reference sound you can actually carry in a backpack and use with a laptop anywhere — including a tray table at 35,000 feet — choose Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio; if you need a complete recording and mixing hub with a touchscreen, mic preamps and cabling in one box, choose Mackie DLZ Creator XS. That's the short version, and I'll stand behind it. One honest caveat before we go further: if what you're really shopping for is neckband headphones for flights, neither of these is that product — and I'll explain exactly why below so you don't buy the wrong thing.
• Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio — biggest strength: a closed-back over-ear reference headphone paired with Mac/PC modeling software (VST and AAX Native) that gives you a curated set of virtual reference spaces, so you can judge a mix without a treated room.
• Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio — biggest trade-off: it's a wired 3.5 mm headphone, and the modeling only works when the headphone is plugged into a computer running the plugin. No computer, no modeling.
• Mackie DLZ Creator XS — biggest strength: one box that covers a lot of ground — a 6-channel digital mixer with 2 mic preamps, 4 assignable rotary knobs, 6 assignable pads, 3 operating modes, a 7" touchscreen, plus USB and Bluetooth, and it ships with closed-back 40 mm headphones and two 25 ft XLR cables.
• Mackie DLZ Creator XS — biggest trade-off: this is desk gear. A multi-channel mixer with 25 ft cables is not something you set up on a plane, and the included headphones are a monitoring accessory, not a travel pair.
• Pick Slate if you mix, edit or reference audio on a laptop and want one consistent, portable listening reference wherever you land.
• Pick Mackie if you're building a recording, podcasting or streaming setup and want preamps, monitoring and cables arriving together in a single purchase.
The VSX Essentials Edition is a closed-back, over-ear headphone with dynamic drivers covering 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz at 37 ohms, and the spec sheet calls out beryllium drivers for detail plus a patented APS air-pressure system aimed at tightening up the low end. What makes it more than a headphone is the software layer: it runs as a Mac/PC VST or AAX Native plugin inside your DAW, and the Essentials Edition pairs the same modeling headphone used in the full package with a well-chosen sampling of virtual reference spaces rather than the entire library. In plain terms, you're buying a neutral monitoring tool plus a way to hear your mix as if it were playing somewhere else.
That combination is genuinely useful for a specific kind of buyer: someone mixing in a room with bad acoustics, someone who moves between locations, and someone who wants their references to stay the same whether they're at a desk, in a hotel, or on a plane with a laptop and a 3.5 mm jack. The build notes matter here too — Steven Slate Audio describes the headset as rugged enough to handle sweat, humidity, drops, temperature swings and long high-volume sessions, and the no-tangle cable is a small thing that gets less small when you're packing and unpacking constantly. Passive noise cancellation from the closed-back seal is a real advantage on a noisy flight, even without any electronics involved.
How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-20 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
The DLZ Creator XS is a compact 6-channel digital mixer built around a 7" touchscreen, with 2 mic preamps, 4 assignable rotary knobs, 6 assignable pads and 3 operating modes, plus USB and Bluetooth connectivity. The bundle rounds it out with a closed-back studio headphone using 40 mm neodymium drivers, a padded headband and ear bands for long sessions, and two 16AWG 25 ft XLR cables with shielded construction for clean, low-loss runs. Read that list again and the intent is obvious: this is a starter-to-mid-level production hub, not a monitoring upgrade.
It fits people who are setting up a room from scratch. If you're podcasting with two hosts, streaming, recording a singer-songwriter with a pair of mics, or running a small live setup, the mixer plus preamps plus cables plus a monitoring headphone covers a lot of first-purchase decisions in one go. The three operating modes suggest Mackie designed it to be approachable for beginners while still giving experienced users assignable control, and the touchscreen-first workflow is appealing if you'd rather tap than hunt for menus. Bluetooth is a nice practical touch for pulling reference audio off a phone into the same setup.
Where it falls down is portability and scope. Two 25 ft XLR cables tell you this lives on a desk or a stage, and a 6-channel mixer with a touchscreen is not going in a carry-on for a flight. The included headphones are a monitoring convenience — closed-back, comfortable, 40 mm drivers — but they aren't a modeling system and they aren't a travel headphone. If you already own an audio interface and a couple of decent mics, this bundle duplicates things you have.
• Best for mixing in an untreated room → Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio. The virtual reference spaces are the entire point of the product.
• Best for recording two microphones at once → Mackie DLZ Creator XS. Two mic preamps, and the cables to plug them in are in the box.
• Best for working on a plane → Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio. One closed-back headphone, a 3.5 mm jack and a laptop is a workable setup; a 6-channel mixer with 25 ft cables is not.
• Best for a self-contained podcast or streaming starter rig → Mackie DLZ Creator XS. Mixer, monitoring and cabling in one purchase, in my opinion the more complete single-box answer.
• Best for silent, high-volume critical listening without bleed → Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio. Closed-back over-ear design with passive isolation.
• Best for pulling audio from a phone into a desk setup → Mackie DLZ Creator XS. Bluetooth plus USB gives you more ways in.
• Best for road durability → Slate Media Technology Steven Slate Audio. The design notes explicitly cover sweat, humidity, drops, temperature and long loud sessions.
• Best if you actually want rechargeable neckband headphones for flights → neither. Buy a travel pair for the flight and come back to these for the studio.
My Verdict
Yes as a plain headphone — it's a wired 3.5 mm closed-back design and will play audio from a phone or seatback adapter. The modeling software is a Mac/PC VST and AAX Native plugin, so the virtual reference spaces only work when it's connected to a computer.
They're closed-back with 40 mm drivers and a padded headband, so they're comfortable for long sessions at a desk. But they're a monitoring accessory bundled with a mixer, and the package as a whole is built for a studio or stage, not a carry-on.
It depends on what's missing from your setup. The Mackie bundle covers mixing, mic inputs, monitoring and cabling in one purchase, which is a lot of ground for a first rig. The Slate package covers one job — trustworthy mixing reference anywhere — and does it in a form you can travel with. Check the current price on Amazon for both and compare against what you already own.
No, and I'd rather be straight with you: if your goal is quiet, cable-free listening on a plane, look at a rechargeable neckband pair or dedicated travel headphones instead. The Slate headphone is a studio tool that happens to travel well; the Mackie bundle is a studio tool that doesn't travel at all.
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