Consumer Electronics, Gadgets & Accessories

Creative Outlier Gold True Wireless in-ear headphones reviewed

Creative offers with the Outlier Gold True Wireless in-ear headphones which are supposed to convince with numerous features. The battery life of up to 14 hours (39 hours with charging case) is already outstanding, but the sound is also supposed to be thanks to Super-X-Fi technology. Due to the protection against sweat or water, they should also be suitable for athletes or use in the rain.

For the most part, the Creative Outlier could convince us in our practical test, but not completely. Why? You can find out in the following.

Technical specifications

Model Creative Outlier Gold
Total battery life up to 39 hours
Play time per charge up to 14 hours per charge
Software-Super X-Fi Yes
Siri / Google Assistant Yes
Color Champagne Gold
Waterproof welding resistant according to IPX5
Audio Codecs aptX, AAC, SBC
Driver 5.6 mm Graphen Driver diaphragm
Interface USB Type-C (Charging)
Bluetooth 5.0
Weight earphones: 10 g
Loading case: 54 g
Accessories USB type C to A charging cable
2 pairs (S) of earplugs
2 pairs (M) of earplugs
Price € 7.95 *

Workmanship, wearing comfort & design

At first glance, the workmanship of the charger case and headphones is successful. Even if you take a closer look, this is at least the case with the headphones. However, Creative could have done a lot better with the charger case.

The charging case is made of high-quality aluminium, but is relatively large and therefore hardly fits in your pocket. It probably doesn’t fit into small women’s trouser pockets, but it doesn’t look nice for men either. Inside, it has a plastic slide that is pulled out to the side and then wobbles a little. Not bad, but worth mentioning.

What disturbed me more was the fit of the headphones in the charging case. So despite the magnetic lock, you have to make sure that they fit correctly. Because only then they are charged and switch off automatically. Otherwise you’ll be surprised when the smartphone rings, you pick it up and the sound still runs through the in-ear headphones that are stored in the charging case. That definitely works better.

Creative Outlier Gold in the charging case

But enough complaining. Creative has also done a lot of good. So the in-ears are super light and yet robust. The housing is made of multi-part plastic, but the gap dimensions are optimal – otherwise Creative could not guarantee the IPX5 certification. This proves that the in-ears are protected against water and sweat.

The Creative Outlier Gold fits perfectly in the ear. They stay stable and are not disturbing due to their light weight. At least with me. Of course, this is different for everyone. To cover different ear shapes Creative supplies earplugs in “S” and “M”. And this in two versions, in case the first pair gets lost.

LEDs indicate the status

Both the charging case and the Ear Buds are equipped with LEDs.

There are four LEDs on the charging case. Two LEDs are responsible for indicating whether the in-ears have been inserted correctly. So they only light up when they are correctly seated and can be charged. Another LED indicates whether the charger case is currently being charged. And the last LED is responsible for showing the current status of the charger case.

Creative Outlier Gold charging connector and status LEDs

LEDs are also found on the in-ear headphones. But these are much more conspicuous than on the charging case, as they are illuminated rings. During the charging process they light up red. When the Outlier Gold is on but not paired, they flash alternately in red and blue. If they are paired with a player, they will only flash blue. But as soon as they play sounds, the LED rings are off.

Operation by button

First of all, it should be said that you can wear Ear Bud if you want. But then the control is limited because you can’t use all functions anymore.

The Outlier Gold Ear Buds are each equipped with a button that has to be pressed comparatively hard. So Creative does without a simple touch surface. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is of course that you can’t accidentally control the in-ears by touching your ear, for example. However, you have to use your thumb and middle finger to hold on to the Ear Buds while you control them with your index finger. If you do not do this, the Ear Buds will be pressed further into the ear, which can be uncomfortable.

By simply pressing the buttons you can start or stop the sound playback. If it is stopped, you can use the respective voice assistant (Siri/Google Assistant) of your smartphone by pressing it twice. If music is already playing, a double click is used to advance or advance the title. A longer press increases or decreases the volume.

To switch on, you also have to hold the button for a few seconds, but after removing it from the charging station, it also switches on automatically. And off when you put it in.

Is the sound convincing?

The 5.6 millimetre neodynium drivers with graphene driver diaphragms can produce sounds in the frequency range from 20 to 20k Hz. They thus cover the human hearing range.

Creative Outlier Gold in-ear headphones

The codes AAC, aptX and SBC are intended to ensure clean sound. The in-ears also support Creative’s Super X-Fi technology, which personalises the sound.

The Creative Outlier Gold offers very good sound quality. So the treble is convincing even at high volumes and there’s no excessive bass. Creative focuses on clear sound reproduction instead of dull bass. The sound is dynamic and balanced, I really liked it.

Since – at least for me – the domes fitted very well and the in-ears thus shielded the auditory canal well from the outside world, one hardly noticed anything of it even without sound reproduction. When music is playing, you don’t notice anything anymore. Even if the Outlier Gold does not offer ANC, you can switch off completely.

The Super X-Fi app allows you to scan your face and ears to personalize the sound. The app can be used to play music titles, and there are also presets and an equalizer. The Super X-Fi technoligy is designed to enable spatial hearing as with a multi-speaker system. Unfortunately, the original sounds are changed and most of the time this works only moderately. Therefore I can only recommend this function for games or movies, but not for music. The app is not usable in German, and you have to register.

The microphones, which are built into both earpieces, pick up a comparatively good sound, but of course not as good as when you speak directly into the smartphone microphone.

Battery life & charging

The Creative Outlier Gold has a battery capacity of 80 mAh and should last for 14 hours. Via Bluetooth 5 this is also easily accessible. If an older standard, such as Bluetooth 4, is used, the battery life drops a bit, then 12 hours are in.

With the charging case with 450 mAh the in-ears can be charged on the road. This allows an additional 25 hours of battery life, allowing up to 39 hours without a power outlet.

The subsequent charging unfortunately takes a long time despite the modern USB-C connection and small battery capacities. There is no quick charging function. The charging case is charged within 3 hours, the in-ears within two hours. Using it for 5 minutes and then listening for hours on end is not possible. And also here it should be mentioned again: make sure that the in-ears are correctly placed in the charging case, otherwise they won’t be charged at all.

Conclusion of the Creative Outlier Gold review

Even though I have mentioned a few points of criticism during my review, I really liked the Creative Outlier Gold because the sound and wearing comfort is excellent – and that’s what counts for in-ears or headphones in general. I think I have found my new Daily Driver with the In-Ears – at least almost, because when I wear them I don’t hear the parcel carrier ringing anymore.

Creative Outlier Gold Award

Creative Outlier Gold

Workmanship
Wearing comfort
Sound quality
Recording quality
Features
Value for money

92/100

Sound-persuasive in-ear headphones with improved charging case and behaviour.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button