Offering the experience of a premium product, the Creative Outlier Pro earbuds don't offer ANC technology as a secondary feature. Many manufacturers claim the use of hybrid ANC as a way to separate their premium products without really explaining what they actually mean by "hybrid". With Creative, we get the full open book on the implementation, and we learn that they truly mean the use of dedicated feedforward and feedback mics outside and outside in each earbud, allowing the Creative Outlier Pro to effectively suppress environmental noises. This is just the first step, because the hybrid ANC architecture is able to adjust to what the user requires when listening to music or taking a phone call.
Plus, the same hybrid system uses its six microphones to allow users to hear and be fully aware of what’s going on around them, simply by switching over to Ambient Mode and let just the right amount of sound in. In this design, the user simply double taps on the left earbud to toggle between ANC Mode and Ambient Mode, while the Creative app allows control and customization of the feature. Voice assistants are also supported and control can be configured through the app.
The design for the Creative Outlier Pro earbuds is not exactly innovative, but at least it doesn't look like another ODM'ed "me-too" product. It's actually a carefully engineered IPX5-certified water resistant product, offering the latest Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, AAC codec support, and Qi wireless charging. A combination that makes the Creative Outlier Pro earbuds stand out as having it all, packed into a portable and pocket-friendly form factor.
Inside, there's a large 10mm driver using graphene-coated diaphragms expertly tuned by Creative’s in-house audio engineers, to offer an improved acoustic performance all round. This translates to better clarity, enhanced bass, and effective ANC quality - all while improving power efficiency of the earbuds. These earbuds also come with different sets of soft silicone ear tips to allow for the perfect fit and optimal seal, which is vital to enhance the listening qualities.
Lastly, the icing on the cake is the user-friendly Creative app that allows users to activate a series of useful features such as the Low Latency Mode, for gaming and synchronized music and video content.
Plus, like all recent Creative products, the Creative Outlier Pro earbuds also feature Super X-Fi technology which allows users to capture the listening experience of a high-end multi-speaker system, recreated through headphone spatialization using computational audio to custom fit sound the experience to each individual. Normally, this requires using content from select sources, but Creative is also adding a preview of Super X-Fi Headphone Holography on locally stored content via the SXFI App, which acts as digital player. Available on the App Store and Google Play, the SXFI App is a free app that lets users personalize their Super X-Fi profile - basically a simplified HRTF profile. This personalization needs to be done only once and requires using the app to capture 3 pictures of the right ear, face, and left ear, which are then uploaded for cloud processing. The resulting personal profile will be then transferred back to the app.
Famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards, Creative is a leading source of digital entertainment products, offering cutting-edge audio solutions that include premium wireless speakers, wireless headphones, powerful digital amplifiers and next-generation home-theatre systems. The new Creative Outlier Pro earbuds are available, priced at US$79.99 at the Creative online store.
www.creative.com
