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- Sensational sound quality
- Rock-solid wireless connection
- Affordable
- Buttons are fiddly
Creative knows a thing or two about digital audio: its been making sound cards and computer music accessories for more than 30 years. Its also developed a decent portfolio of headphones over the years, but the Outlier Air are its first fully wireless earbuds.
Its certainly a timely release, as wireless audio is increasingly hot property. The Outlier Air arrive in the wake of Samsungs third attempt at cracking the market and just as Apple releases its second-generation AirPods.
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Creative Outlier Air vs Outlier Air Gold
Since my original review, Creative released the Outlier Air Gold, an upgraded version over the regular Outlier Air. Other than its alluring champagne colour scheme, Creative has bettered the battery life the Outlier Air Gold last a phenomenal 39 hours, up from 30 hours of its predecessors. The buds also last 14hrs on their own, that’s a four-hour improvement over the regular Outlier Air.
Elsewhere, the buds feature the company’s Super X-Fi technology, which replicates a surround sound effect similar to the SXFI Air over-ears. That’s not to say the regular Outlier Air can’t replicate the innovative effect, as they’re Super X-Fi certified, too. The difference, however, is that in order to get Super X-Fi working on the regular buds, you would have had to own a Super X-Fi-certified product in the past to ‘unlock’ its potential.
Aside from the colour, battery life and of course, Super X-Fi technology the two earbuds have the same features, connectivity and sound quality.
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Creative Outlier Air review: What you need to know
The Outlier Air earbuds are true wireless earbuds, with no neckband tethering them together, nor a cord that trails to your smartphone. In that respect, theyre just like Apples AirPods and Samsungs Galaxy Buds. What makes them different is the price: at £75, theyre far more affordable than most rivals, yet they dont skimp on quality or features.
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Creative Outlier Air review: Price and competition
At £75, the Outlier Air are some of the cheapest fully wireless headphones weve ever seen. For comparison, my favourite true wireless headphones the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless cost a hefty £279. Im also fond of the RHA TrueConnect and Mobvoi TicPods Free, which can be had for £150 and £120 respectively.
If youre keen on wireless charging, its also worth considering the Samsung Galaxy Buds, which will set you back £139. And, of course, we cant forget Apples AirPods thatll be £159 to stay on Apples ecosystem.
For those on a tight budget, your best alternatives are the aesthetically pleasing Skullcandy Push at £101 or the KitSound District at £70, tying with the Creatives for the title of cheapest wireless headphones on the market.
Creative Outlier Air review: Comfort, connectivity and design
For the price, you wouldnt expect an abundance of features, but the Outlier Air tick a lot of boxes. For one thing, these earbuds support the aptX codec over Bluetooth something weve previously only seen on Sennheisers Momentum True Wireless earbuds, which cost four times the price. If your source supports it (and most Android phones do), this means youll get better audio quality using both the SBC and AAC codecs.
Qualcomms aptX chip also guarantees that, when watching videos, youll get perfect synchronisation between what you hear and what you see on your smartphones display, with no lip-sync issues.
The Creative Outlier Air impressed us with the stability of the wireless connection, too. When testing the RHA TrueConnect and Mobvoi TicPods Free, I experienced occasional dropouts, but there was none of that here. The left and right earbuds also stayed perfectly synchronised, something the Samsung Galaxy Buds struggled with.
Battery life is excellent by wireless standards. The Outlier Air will last ten hours on a single charge, while the charging case provides an additional 20 hours. That means you can enjoy 30 hours of music away from the mains, with occasional charging breaks more than any other set of true wireless earbuds Ive come across.
The charging case itself cant be charged wirelessly, but its USB Type-C connector allows it to be fully refuelled from empty in less than two hours. Just note that the case is a little bigger than most competitors, particularly Samsungs offering.
The earbuds themselves are, design-wise, most reminiscent of Sennheisers Momentum True Wireless earbuds. That means theyre not particularly attractive, and sit conspicuously in your ears. Their size also means theyre not great for cycling, as theyll channel a lot of wind into your ear canals, creating unwanted noise.
Theres also a physical button embedded into the outside of each earbud, which you can use to control your media, answer calls or trigger your smartphones virtual assistant. Generally, I prefer proper buttons to touch controls, but these ones are rather stiff, which makes them fiddly and uncomfortable to use.
Still, the Outlier Air are pleasant enough to wear, with some thoughtful design touches: theyll automatically turn off when you pop them in their charging case, they wont vanish from your phones Bluetooth list and they can be used independently from each other issues that hindered the Sennheiser earbuds.
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Creative Outlier Air review: Sound quality
The Outlier Air earbuds sound astonishingly good. I tested them with an Honor View 20 smartphone, which supports the Bluetooth aptX codec, and found they produced a wide, dynamic sound thats every bit as lively and absorbing as the best earbuds on the market. For the price, thats amazing.
Their soundstage and imaging are particularly impressive. Instrument separation is handled with ease, and dance tracks such as Le Youths Dance with Me sound gloriously wide and deep. By comparison, Samsungs Galaxy Buds, Mobvois TicPods Free and RHAs True Connect all failed to bring out the best of this song: only Sennheisers Momentum True Wireless matched the Creatives.
Frequency response is very agreeable, too. The sub-bass on Rae Sremmurds Powerglide is sublime, with an ear-pounding bass rumble in that sub-60Hz region. Theres a bit of wobble between the 60Hz and 250Hz region, but it doesnt ruin the effect, and theres plenty of energy in the mid-range that helps the vocals in tracks such as Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlakes Love Never Felt So Good sound punchy and alive. By contrast, many other wireless earbuds push back the vocals and create a warmer sound signature.
Finally, the high tones extend with vigour, providing plenty of sparkle throughout Chromeos latest single, Don’t Sleep and those with sensitive ears will be pleased to know that theres less sibilance than with the Mobvoi TicPods Free or the RHA True Connect. There is, however, a slight softening at the top end, where the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless maintains a fluid, untainted high-end extension.
READ NEXT: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless review the best-sounding wireless earbuds
Creative Outlier Air review: Verdict
In the world of true wireless earbuds, the Creative Outlier Air are up against competitors costing two, three or even four times the price. Yet they hold their own and, in some ways, even better those rivals, offering a perfectly stable wireless connection, incredible battery life and thanks partly to Bluetooth aptX absolutely fantastic sound.
For £75, therefore, theyre astonishingly good value for money. If you have £280 to splash out on the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless, those remain the pinnacle of cable-free audio quality. But for everyone else, Creatives Outlier Air are the wireless earbuds that Id urge you to get.
