These great, fully wireless headphones are a superb bargain, sounding better than many much more expensive sets

Pros

• Sensational sound quality
• Rock-solid wireless connection
• Affordable

Cons

• Buttons are fiddly

Creative knows a thing or two about digital audio: it’s been making sound cards and computer music accessories for more than 30 years. It’s also developed a decent portfolio of headphones over the years, but the Outlier Air are its first fully wireless earbuds.

It’s certainly a timely release, as wireless audio is increasingly hot property. The Outlier Air arrive in the wake of Samsung’s third attempt at cracking the market, and just as Apple releases its second-generation AirPods.

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, they’re just like Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. What makes them different is the price: at £70 they’re far more affordable than most rivals, yet they don’t skimp on quality or features.

Creative Outlier Air review: Price and competition

At £70, the Outlier Air are some of the cheapest fully wireless headphones we’ve ever seen. For comparison, my favourite true wireless headphones – the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless – cost a hefty £279. I’m also fond of the RHA TrueConnect and Mobvoi TicPods Free, which can be had for £150 and £120 respectively.

If you’re keen on wireless charging then it’s also worth considering the Samsung Galaxy Buds, which will set you back £139. And of course we can’t forget Apple’s AirPods – that’ll be £159 to stay on Apple’s ecosystem.

For those on a tight budget, your best alternatives are the aesthetically pleasing Skullcandy Push at £100 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 wouldn’t 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 we’ve previously only seen on Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless earbuds, which cost four times the price. If your source supports it (and most Android phones do), this means you’ll get better audio quality using both the SBC and AAC codecs.

Qualcomm’s aptX chip also guarantees that when watching videos you’ll get perfect synchronisation between what you hear and what you see on your smartphone’s 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 stayed perfectly synchronised too, 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 I’ve come across.

The charging case itself can’t 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’, and particularly than Samsung’s offering.

The earbuds themselves are, design-wise, most reminiscent of Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless earbuds. That means they’re not particularly attractive, and sit conspicuously in your ears. Their size also means they’re not great for cycling, as they’ll channel a lot of wind into your ear canals, creating unwanted noise.

There’s also a physical button embedded into the outside of each earbud, which you can use to control your media, answer calls or trigger your smartphone’s 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, overall the Outlier Air are pleasant enough to wear, with some thoughtful design touches: they’ll automatically turn off when you pop them in their charging case; they won’t vanish from your phone’s Bluetooth list; and they can be used independently from each other – issues that hindered the Sennheiser earbuds.

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 that’s every bit as lively and absorbing as the best earbuds on the market. For the price, that’s amazing.

Their soundstage and imaging are particularly impressive. Instrument separation is handled with ease, and dance tracks such as Le Youth’s “Dance with Me” sound gloriously wide and deep. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, Mobvoi’s TicPods Free and RHA’s True Connect all failed to bring out the best of this song: only Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless matched the Creatives.

Frequency response is very agreeable, too. The sub-bass on Rae Sremmurd’s “Powerglide” is sublime, with an ear-pounding bass rumble in that sub-60Hz region. There’s a bit of wobble between the 60Hz and 250Hz region, but it doesn’t ruin the effect, and there’s plenty of energy in the mid-range that helps the vocals in tracks like Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake’s “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 Chromeo’s latest single, “Don’t Sleep” – and those with sensitive ears will be pleased to know that there’s 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.

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 £70, therefore, they’re astonishingly good value for money. If you have £280 to splash out on the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless, then those remain the pinnacle of cable-free audio quality. But for everyone else, Creative’s Outlier Air are the wireless earbuds that I’d urge you to get.

Source: expertreviews.co.uk