HEADPHONES
744 APRRIL2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE386
CREATIVEKNOWSAthingortwoabout
digitalaudio,havingbeenmaking
headphones,speakersandsoundcards
forover 30 years.TheOutlierAir,however,
arethecompany’sveryfirstattemptat
truewirelessearbuds.
AswiththeAmazonEchoBudsandApple
AirPods Pro,thatmeans no neckband
tethering the two in-ear buds together,let
alone acord that trails down to your phone
or laptop.What makes them different to
these other true wireless earbuds is their
price: at £70, they’re farmore affordable
than most rivals, yet theydon’t skimpon
quality or features.
SHOWINGTEETH
Forone thing, the Outlier Air support the
high-quality aptX Bluetooth codec. This is,
frankly,alot rarer than we’d like –even the
AirPods Pro don’t support aptX, and out of
all other similar headphones we’ve tested
in the past, it’s something we’ve previously
only seen on Sennheiser’s Momentum True
Wireless earbuds. These are,like the AirPods
Pro,well over twice as expensive as the
Outlier Air.The point is, if your source
device also supports aptX (most Android
phones do), you’ll get better audio quality
than using either of the more common SBC
or AACcodecs.
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,
wiiittthhhnollliiip-synciiissues.
CREATIVE OutlierAir
★★★★★
£70•From uk.creative.com
VERDICT
Thesefullywirelessheadphonesareasuperbbb
bargain,soundingbetterthanmuchmore
expensivesets
T
sta.
When testing the RHA TrueConnect and
Mobvoi TicPods Free (Shopper375), we
eeexxxpppeeerrriiieeennnccceeedddoooccccccaaasssiiiooonnnaaallldddrrrooopppooouuutttsss,bbbuuutttttthhheeerrreee
wasnoneofthathere.Theleftandright
earbudsalsostayedperfectlysynchronised,
somethingtheSamsungGalaxyBuds
struggledwith.
Batterylifeisexcellentbywireless
standards.TheOutlierAirwilllast 10 hourson
asinglecharge,twicethatoftheEchoBuds,
while the charging case provides an additional
20 hours. That means you can enjoy30hours
of music awayfrom the mains, with
occasional charging breaks; more than any
other set of true wireless earbuds we’ve used.
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. The only downside is
that this case is alittle bigger than most of
its competitors’,particularly Samsung’s
compact design.
BIG IDEAS
The earbuds themselves are,design-wise,
most reminiscent of Sennheiser’s Momentum
True Wireless earbuds. That means they’re
not particularly attractive,and sit somewhat
conspicuously in your ears. Their size also
means they’re not great forwearing while
cycling, as they’ll channel alot of wind into
your ear canals, creating unwanted noise.
There’s aphysicalbutton embedded into
ttthhheoutttsiiidddeeeeofffeachhhearbbbuddd,whhhiiichhhyou can
use u
trig
Generally,wepreferactua u ons o ouc
controls,buttheseonesareratherstiff, which
mmmaaakkkeeesssttthhheeemmmfififiddddddlllyyyaaannnddduuunnncccooommmfffooorrrtttaaabbbllleeetttooouuussseee.
Still,theOutlierAirarepleasantenoughto
wear,with some thoughtful design touches:
they’ll automatically turn off when you pop
them in their charging case,theywon’t vanish
from your phone’s Bluetooth list, and they
can be used independently from each other.
Best of all, the Outlier Air sound
astonishingly good. With thanks in part to
the aptX codec, theyproduce awide,dynamic
sound that’s every bit as lively and absorbing
as the best earbuds on the market. Forthe
price,that’sanamazing feat.
Their soundstage and imaging are
particularly commendable.Instrument
separation is handled with ease,and songs
sound gloriously wide and deep.
Frequency response is very agreeable,too.
The sub-bass is sublime,with an ear-pounding
bass rumble in that sub-60Hz region. There’s
abit 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 pop tracks sound punchy
and alive.Bycontrast, many other wireless
earbuds push back the vocals and createa
warmer sound signature.
Finally,the high tonesextend with vigour,
providing plenty of sparkle with less sibilance
than we’re used to hearing from in-ear
headphones. The only real weakness is a
slight softening at the topend, an area the
AirPods Pro claim an advantage in.
There’s also no ANC, though this isn’t a
huge omission foracouple of reasons. One,
we’d never expect it at the price anyway,
and two,you’ll get passive noise cancellation
as long as you’ve got asnug fit and aren’t
moving fast enough to trigger the wind effect.
AAAmazonnn’s Echo Buds might be adecent
alternatttive if you must have ANC at alower
price thhhan that of the AirPods Pro,but
Creativeee’s headphones are better in almost
every other way.
GET CREATIVE
Indeed, in the fieldoftrue wireless earbuds,
the Outttlier Air are confidently going up
against competitors costing two or even three
times thhheprice.Yet theyhold their own and
often beeetterthose rivals, offering aperfectly
stablewwwireless connection, incredible battery
lifeand absolutely fantastic sound. For£70,
then, thhhey’reastonishingly good value.
They’refar moreaffordable than mostrivals, yetthey
don’t skimp on qualityorfeatures
