Creative Outlier Go

Adaptive Ear Hook Construction

A special feature of the Creative Outlier Go is their adjustable hook design in multiple ways. First, you can adapt the size across four different levels. Moreover, the flexible silicone hook can swivel, allowing the earbuds to fit snugly behind your ears without exerting pressure. While the initial positioning might require some practice, once you find the right spot, the earbuds feel both stable and comfortable. After getting used to the placement, you’ll barely notice you’re wearing these IPX4 water- and sweat-resistant earbuds.

Battery Life

At higher volume levels, these open-ear earbuds can last for about six and a half hours. Additionally, the hook-style earbuds can be fully charged in the case three times over, plus a partial charge for approximately one and a half hours, resulting in a total battery life of more than 27 hours.

It’s worth noting that the earbuds themselves have a relatively long charging time of 120 minutes, although it’s helpful that two LEDs on the case indicate the charging process. Meanwhile, the case’s battery reserve can be restored within 90 minutes using the provided USB-C to USB-A cable.

Bluetooth and Specs

Alongside Bluetooth 5.4, the Creative Outlier Go support multipoint connections with two devices at the same time — meaning you can pair them with both your smartphone and a tablet or laptop. The earbuds are compatible with SBC and AAC audio codecs. For watching movies, as well as mobile and computer games, a low-latency mode is included and doesn’t negatively affect the relatively stable wireless connection. Indoors, the signal can cover multiple rooms across two floors, while outside, dropouts begin to occur around 25 meters away.

Controls

By default, the touch controls handle starting and stopping playback, managing phone calls, skipping to the next track, summoning a voice assistant, and adjusting the volume. Although volume adjustments have a slight delay, the remote functions reliably otherwise. A well-executed feature is that the hook earbuds can be manually powered on or off via the touch-sensitive surfaces, so you don’t always need the case. You can also use one earbud alone in single-mode operation.

Creative App

To tailor the sound, the Creative Outlier Go app (for Android and iOS) offers eleven presets that cover various genres like Country, Dance, Rock, and Hip-Hop. However, there is no custom EQ for creating personal sound profiles. Users can reassign touch controls according to their preferences. While holding down the touch surface is reserved for volume control, double- and triple-tap gestures on each side can be configured separately. This lets you map a backward skip or toggle the low-latency mode, which can otherwise be activated or deactivated in the app.

It would be handy if the volume of the voice prompts could also be adjusted, as they are unfortunately quite loud—disabling them is recommended. Finally, firmware updates can be carried out through the app.

Call Clarity

The open-ear earbuds do a commendable job filtering out wind noise, which is largely suppressed. However, speech transmission can sound slightly choppy in stronger gusts, and louder background noise is reduced so that your voice remains clear and understandable. Considering their price range, the performance is impressive, even if the voice transmission isn’t as natural as with higher-end models.

For the user, the open hook design offers both advantages and disadvantages during calls. On one hand, you can hear your own voice, creating a more realistic conversation experience. On the other, noisy environments can make it harder to hear the other party due to the additional external noise that seeps in.

Sound

The Creative Outlier Go feature dynamic 14.2 mm neodymium drivers that aim to deliver balanced playback with a powerful bass foundation. To maintain consistent audio across varying environmental conditions, an AELC (Adaptive Equal Loudness Correction) algorithm automatically adjusts the sound. Initially, you might notice a slight background hiss in quieter moments, but it doesn’t impact playback significantly. Additionally, the perceived volume remains fairly consistent, and the bass reproduction offers a relatively strong impression for open hook earbuds.

However, it’s noticeable that the sound doesn’t extend as deeply as closed in-ears, and there is no true sub-bass. For club-oriented music, these open-ear buds may not be the best choice. Aside from this limitation, you won’t have to sacrifice listening enjoyment since the bass range still possesses decent substance and clarity.

The midrange benefits from the open hook design, providing a pleasantly spacious soundstage. There’s also enough energy to ensure voices and instruments stand out well during mobile use, maintaining excellent vocal clarity. This slightly warm vocal reproduction is appealingly clear, which is also great for podcasts, audiobooks, or dialogue-heavy games and videos.

The presence in the higher frequencies varies considerably with volume. At moderate volume levels, the treble can sound somewhat reserved, but it gains a lively spark when played louder. Within typical listening ranges, the top-end frequencies blend in harmoniously, though at higher volumes they might become sharp and fatiguing. Sibilant sounds remain largely rounded off without becoming overly prominent.

Conclusion

With the Outlier Go, Creative offers versatile open-ear earbuds for those on a budget, featuring a four-step adjustable hook design that adapts comfortably to your ears. This well-thought-out solution is especially beneficial for sports, providing extra stability. From a sound perspective, these hook earbuds prove to be solid all-rounders, although their open design inevitably means compromises in deep bass.