After finally switching over to a phone without a headphone jack late last fall, I have covered a few different in-ear wireless earbud options looking to see what has worked best for me ahead of all of the normal spring yard work which is where I spend a lot of time listening to music. It would be crazy to not check out what our friends over at Creative have to offer considering I am using Creative products for my desktop audio on my PC and my wife's PC. They have their Outlier Wireless In-Ears in the air version and their upgraded gold edition which adds more battery life and works with their Super X-Fi software. So today I’m going to check out the Outlier Gold’s to see if they will be the ideal solution to put to use here soon for yard work.

Product Name: Creative Outlier Gold Wireless In Ears

Review Sample Provided by: Creative

Written by: Wes Compton

Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE

Photos and Features

So the Outlier Gold comes in a small white box with a slide-off top. The front has a good picture showing both of the earbuds and their gold finish. Sticking with the gold finish Creative has the model name in gold as well as the Super XFi software logo. The line under the model name “True Wireless Sweatproof In-Ears also does a good job of explaining what you are getting. The 14 hour per charge that is also on the front covers the other big feature. Around on the back Creative bundles up all of the features with icons, then below that they have pictures of everything that comes in the packaging.

When you pull the lid off the box, it does have a plastic shield that sits over everything. Then under that, a plastic tray formed to fit the Outlier Gold earbuds and a carrying/charging case. There was also a small instruction book as well that explains how to download the Super X-Fi software that was sitting on top of everything with it read me first in bold.

Once you get everything out you do end up with a stack of paperwork including a warranty book, safety, and regulatory book, and a user manual. In addition to the earbuds and the case, you also get a semi-short USB charging cable and a whole bunch of replacement ear tips. You get two pairs of small and two pair of the medium. Then the lonely single pair is a large pair that goes with the set that comes installed on the earbuds.

Like any other wireless earbud, the Outlier Golds do come with a case as well. This is to make sure you don’t lose them of course and so you can charge them up as well. The Outlier Gold’s case is also decked out in the gold finish as well though I would really call it more of a rose gold. The gold portion is an oval-shaped all-aluminum tube and it has the Creative logo on top.

Both ends of the case are black plastic and the left end has a few things going on. For starters, you have the USB charging port which is Type-C which is awesome. Then above that, there are four pinhole LEDs to give you a status update on a few things. The far left and right LEDs let you know that the left and right earbuds are in place. Then the second turns on when you open the case and it powers up the earbuds. Then the third shows when you are charging. All four light up blue which is interesting, I thought the power would be red for example. On the other end, the case has the Super SX-Fi software branding, that is where you push to open up the case as well. Then when you slide everything out you have two earbud shaped holes that have pins for charging the earbuds and magnets inside to hold the earbuds down in place. The case does have a small amount of battery capacity built in to give the Outliers a boost when away from a charger.

Here is a look at the Outlier Gold’s on the outside where there is a ring LED status indicator and a large button in the middle. Beyond those two things, the rest of the outside of the earbuds have that same rose gold finish as we saw on the case and as the product name indicates.

If you are only used to wired earbuds, these will seem a little bulky and they are slightly larger than the other in-ear wireless’s that I’ve taken a look at. But they also have the highest battery capacity as well with 14 hours of charge for each earbud listed. The website pushes that you can use them one at a time for a total of 39 hours including the charge that the case has built-in. Which tells us that if you are using them together like most people will you get 14 hours on the earbuds and 5 and a half hours from the charge in the case as a backup. Most importantly though, even without using the cases charge, 14 hours is a LOT of time and more than enough to use them for a full day of work, your workout, and if you take the subway or a bus you could use them for your trip to and from work as well and still have time left over. You can see that the shape gets small where they go inside your ear and they have silicon caps like most earbuds to help fit tightly. Those are replaceable with the two other sizes included along with replacements as well that all come with the Outlier Golds. There is a pinhole microphone on each earbud as well when can be seen from this point of view.

The bottom is where they both have their magnet and dual charging pads for the included case. Left and Right is also marked here as well to prevent any confusion. They do mount in the charging case with the left on the left and the right on the right, so once you get used to it you shouldn’t need to look for these.

Audio Quality and Performance

For testing, there were four areas I was most concerned about. Audio performance, comfort, battery life, and the included software. I’ve been using the Outlier Golds on and off for weeks now anytime I am on the treadmill or looking to block out outside noise and the audio performance wasn’t too much of a shock. Creative has been on point for years now in their audio performance and this wasn’t any different. They were a noticeable improvement over the Philips wireless earbuds I took a look at not long ago and I would say that they were just a hair under the Jaybird Vistas which had a much higher price point. Bass was good and also not overpowering and mids and highs are crisp and easy to hear across all different types of music.

For comfort I found the Outlier Golds to be comfortable in initial testing. The larger size, however, does weigh a little more than I would like and extended periods of use it was noticeable and sometimes a little uncomfortable. I also don’t like that they stick out past your ear, a touch thinner would look much better and not be as noticeable, not to mention potentially helping with long term comfort. The larger size, on the other hand, allowed them to fit in large batteries and I do love the battery life. You get enough life to use both earbuds for an entire day morning to night without needing to charge them, not to mention having another 5 and a half-hour charge for each earbud stored in the case. If you only want to use one earbud, you can extend things out to a total of 39 hours which is almost a full work week!

Typically I would prefer to not have any software needed for earbuds. But in addition to the gold finish and a higher battery life, the Outlier Golds set themselves apart from the cheaper Outlier Airs with their support for Creatives Super X-Fi software so I thought I would check it out. When I first booted it up I was surprised that the setup guide wanted me to take pictures of my face and ears. They use these to figure out your soundscape. It was a little difficult at first because you can’t see the screen when taking the pictures, but it does make a sound once you get it right and you can move on and get your other ear and face.

Once you get set up, this is the full menu for the Super X-Fi software. You can select what headphones or earbuds you are running in the headphone selection or wirelessly setup for some products if that is easier.

Without a doubt, the coolest feature is how they handle the EQ. Creative lets you get full control by drawing your own EQ, not just adjusting a few bars.

All of the Super X-Fi features are exclusive to playing music on the built-in player though which was a huge bummer for me. I typically listen to music on SiriusXM or with a program like Pandora or YouTube. In order to take advantage of the soundscaping, you have to have music on your phone and play it here. Now I will say the Super X-Fi was interesting, making at least some music sound better (the punk I was testing here didn’t however) but having to load up my music ahead of time didn’t exactly have me wanting to use it. Especially when the Outlier Golds sounded good without it in my other apps.

Overall and Final Verdict

As someone who has stuck with their tried and true wired earbud options for years for listening to my music, the move to wireless earbuds was put off for as long as I could. Once I finally ended up with a phone that didn’t have a headphone jack I even considered just sticking with the type-C dongle or even getting a new set of wired earbuds that has a Type-C connection. The truth is though, is that wireless is the direction it is moving so I have been trying out different options getting a feel for the market for a while now. So getting the chance to check out Creatives option with the Outlier Golds was only natural considering how many PCs and even a TV that I have running some sort of Creative audio solution. Not surprisingly, the Outlier Golds do sound good. I didn’t have any issues with too little or too much bass, distortion, and everything was clear and defined. My wife loved the gold color, which is more of a rose gold than normal gold. I also was very happy that Creative stuck with a Type-C connection when it came to charging. Its amazing how many new products are sticking with the older micro-USB when just about all phones use Type-C. Not only is it easier to plug in, but having it match your phone makes it a lot easier to charge.

Without a doubt though, the best feature that the Outlier Golds have going is their battery life. Each earbud will last 14 hours and the case holds enough to recharge them both back up for another 5 and a half hours for a total of 39 hours of battery life or 19 and a half if you use them both together. That is enough life for keeping them in all day, last through even the longest flight, or nearly make it through a full work week if you only use one at a time.

The downside to the battery life is that the Outlier Golds are a touch large and they stick out of your ears a little bit. The size/weight also can be uncomfortable on really extended use for some people. I also felt the included charging case felt a little cheap, especially when compared to the Jaybird Vistas with their magnetic clasp keeping the case closed. But that’s a small issue in my opinion. Beyond the battery life, the Outlier Gold's other big feature over the Outlier Air’s is Creatives Super X-Fi software and while it was cool, only being able to get the sound benefits when using the MP3 player built-in really made that feature not useful for my personal use.

Which actually brings me to the big question. The Outliers do sound good and work well but in the end are the Outlier Golds a better buy than Creatives other option, the Outlier Airs? If you need the extra 4 hours of battery life that each Outlier Gold earbud gets yes. The Outlier Gold costs $99.99 while the Airs are $79.99. I think that at those prices, given the audio performance, both options are a good value. But the Outlier Air is a great buy and the option I would go with if I was buying them. Only because that extra battery life doesn’t fit what I personally use them for and the 10 hours of the Airs is still better than a lot of other options. In the end, both are a good option for a lot less than some of the big names will run you while stick sticking with a name you should know and solid performance.

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio

Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org

Editor-in-chief

You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.