Buzz
Design of Creative Outlier Pro ANC
Throughout the iterations of the Outlier earbuds, Creative has opted to stick with the same design for its charging case. The rectangular rounded shape with push/pull hinge has now become a familiar design defining the Outlier range.
The casing of the new Creative Outlier Pro continues to grow both in length and width. The case is now even bulkier than the V3 case. Portability has never been a strong suit for the Outlier from the outset. But at least increasing the size of the case is a trade-off for longer battery life that this back cover brings compared to the V3.
For the earbuds part, the Creative Outlier Pro sports a new color which to me, closely resembles a pale bronze hue. The new color also comes with a fresh design. The Creative Outlier Pro features a larger oval-shaped earbud compared to the V3. The glossy finish layer adds a touch of premium feel to the design.
Comparing Creative Outlier Pro and V3 side by side, you can clearly see that the Pro is noticeably larger than the V3. The edges on the Outlier Pro are also rounder and defined at the bottom of the earbuds.
Creative Outlier Pro is still certified with IPX5 water resistance rating so you can use them during your workout sessions. Like the Creative Outlier Air V3, Creative Outlier Pro utilizes touch controls.
Control
The touch controls on Creative Outlier Pro are also similar to V3, allowing you to control everything from play/pause, volume adjustment, skipping tracks, and handling calls. If you're not fond of these preset controls, you can easily customize them through the Creative app.
There's no option to configure a single press to control, which is a good call as single tapping on the touchpad can often lead to unintended control activations. Touch controls are typically sensitive but with the large earbud surface, you might need a bit of precision to ensure you're touching the touchpad.
Environmental Mode
Environmental Mode is basically a transparent mode that allows sound from your surrounding environment to pass through to the earbuds, so it's like you're wearing a snug pair of headphones. When the Environmental Mode is activated, the overall feeling is quite natural and there's no robotic or processed sound. They sound a bit higher pitched than real life and somewhat distant. This is perhaps why the noise of wind and fan tends to be more pronounced than other sounds around.
Creative App
Creative Outlier Pro comes with support for the Creative App to add extra functionalities. The app enables you to personalize your experience with customizable EQ, controls, fine-tuning noise control intensity, and receive firmware updates for the earbuds.
Custom EQ allows you to enhance the intensity of specific frequencies in the sound spectrum, which will alter a small amount of the overall sound characteristic. You won't be able to significantly alter the entire sound, but enough capability to create some specific frequencies that you might find lacking.
Battery Life
The battery life on Outlier Pro is perhaps the longest on any type of Outlier headphones. After a full 15-hour charge, it's more than 50% longer than what V3 offers. The larger charging case also means it holds more battery, providing an additional 45 hours, bringing the total to 60 hours. A quick 10-minute charge also gives you 2 hours of listening.
Creative Outlier Pro supports both wired charging via USB-C and wireless charging.
Snug and Comfortable Fit
While Creative Outlier Pro may be larger in size, it doesn't really affect the fit with my ears because the larger footprint lies in areas that don't make contact with your ears. However, this means the earbuds may protrude from your ears, especially if you have smaller ears. This is a noticeable difference compared to V3 which sits more in my ears.
The snug fit of Creative Outlier Pro really reminds me of V2, as the contours at the back of the earbuds are quite similar. This helps provide a slightly more snug and fitting feel than V3. For me, I can isolate sound and seal better on the Pro compared to V3. I must say, I feel the Creative Outlier Pro in my ears more than V3. This is probably because it's heavier and also has more contact points on my ears.
Pairing, Connectivity, and Latency
Creative Outlier Pro is equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.2 and pairs with my phone as a single device. During my testing time, Bluetooth connection is stable and I didn't experience any latency or audio delay when watching YouTube videos from the YouTube app on iPhone 11. If you only want to use one earbud, you can use either the left or right earbud.
Sound Quality
Following V3, Creative Outlier Pro does not support aptX codec. This won't be an issue if you're using an iPhone because the maximum iPhone supports is AAC. The drivers on Creative Outlier Pro differ from V3. Creative Outlier Pro is equipped with 10mm graphene-coated drivers compared to the 6mm Bio-cellulose drivers on Outlier Air V3.
Throughout the iterations of the Outlier Air lineup, the sonic signature largely remains similar in approach, that is V-shaped with emphasis on bass and treble. However, on Creative Outlier Pro, Creative has opted to change the tuning and opted for a different sound tuning, leaning towards a heavier bass and refined mids.
The bass is fuller, bringing more resonance, making the midrange warm but luckily doesn't compromise clarity. Treble takes a back seat in the overall sound spectrum as highs appear more subdued. Personally, I prefer the brighter sound of Outlier Air V3. But if you're someone who enjoys warmth and the presence of deep bass in songs, then you might really like this kind of signature similar to in-ear monitors like ATH-CKS50TW.
Super X-Fi
The Super X-Fi feature on Creative Outlier Pro is 'Super X-Fi Ready' meaning you can't play music on Spotify and have the SXFI effect. You can access the SXFI effect on music stored in the integrated memory played through the SXFI app.
ANC Performance
Creative Outlier Pro offers active noise cancellation (ANC) performance compared to the standard ANC that V3 has. This is because Creative Outlier Pro has both feedforward and feedback microphones whereas V3 only has a feedforward microphone. The feedback microphone placed inside the earbuds will be able to monitor what you're listening to for ANC to respond accordingly.
ANC on Creative Outlier Pro belongs to above-average performance. Low-frequency engine rumblings are greatly suppressed, while higher-frequency noises like subway rail screeches on MRT trains are still audible when volume is lowered and at a distance. Compared to V3, Creative Outlier Pro provides more consistent ANC in changing noisy environments and also removes more low-frequency noise in the environment. Despite stronger ANC, I didn't experience any sense of cabin pressure when using ANC, which is great.
You can also adjust the ANC intensity in the Creative app, which will remember your settings even after exiting the app and disconnecting the earbuds.
Microphone Quality
In addition to battery life, Creative Outlier Pro also starts to improve microphone quality with a setup of three microphones compared to the dual-microphone system on V3. Voice reception quality has some minor improvements compared to V3 - my voice sounds fuller with more warmth. In noisy environments, the microphones can eliminate enough noise to ensure my voice still comes through loud and clear. But in extremely noisy environments, like V3, some noise may leak in and linger in the background alongside my voice.
Conclusion
If you're a fan of the first three Outlier Airs, then the new Creative Outlier Pro might disappoint you in terms of sound. The treble on Outlier Pro has toned down the sparkle a notch and opted for a warmer, more comfortable treble for extended listening sessions. It must be said, the new Creative Outlier Pro continues to push the envelope with improvements in battery life, ANC, and microphone.
