Creative Outlier ONE Plus

The in-ears are primarily made of plastic and are robust, well manufactured and come with earhooks, which ensure a good hold and increase wearing comfort as they relieve pressure on the auditory canal. The low weight of 16 grammes also means that these sports headphones are hardly noticeable when worn. Only the generously dimensioned neck cable can be perceived as intrusive, especially during sporting activities if it jumps along with the movement. In order to avoid this, you should use the supplied clip, which also helps to minimise contact noise from the rubberised ribbon cable. Although the cable noise is not pronounced, it can still be heard at low volumes.

On the energy side, the in-ears in Bluetooth mode offer a runtime of up to seven hours, while the MP3 player can be used for up to ten hours. With the headphones’ compact and lightweight format, the operating time is completely satisfactory. When the battery is empty, a full charge takes between two and three hours using the supplied USB cable.

Device Control

The in-ears support the Bluetooth standard 4.2 and delivered long ranges of more than ten metres in practical tests with various Android and iOS devices, which is a respectable result. This is done by holding down the central, circular remote button, which turns the system on and then puts it in pairing mode. When the radio connection is active, the plus and minus buttons can be used to control the volume by simply pressing, and they can also be used for track navigation – hold down the plus sign and jump backwards or forwards via the minus button. This works with a pleasing lack of delay and the buttons offer simplified haptic orientation. The central button is used to start and stop playback and to accept and end phone calls. While there is clarity of speech during calls, the voices sound rather dull and quiet.

MP3 Player

A fourth remote button is available for switching between Bluetooth operation and the MP3 player. The switch is seamless if there is already a radio connection and a voice message informs you which mode is active. Otherwise, the operation is identical between the two modes. Since the in-ears provide a mass memory with four gigabytes, there is plenty of room for musical variety and the function proves to be a serious outdoor alternative, so that the mobile phone can, for example, stay at home in adverse conditions. FLAC and WAV files, as well as MP3 and WMA formats and folder-bound playlists, are supported.

Sound Blaster Connect App

Optional, the free app connection for iOS and Android systems also offers a graphical user interface for the MP3 player with a switch function between operating modes, random playback, title navigation and volume control. Playlists can also be viewed and tracks can be started directly via the music management. The app is well structured and provides a practical overview, offering scope for expansion in future updates, for example, editing functions for playlists, etc.

Sound

The Outlier ONE Plus have a high output and a round, quite harmonic tuning with a clear sound that appears bright rather than dark. The dry, defined basses reach down to the low frequencies and provide a rich reproduction that performs well during sporting activities. Clear, tidy mid-range vocals easily come to the fore, while the highs show a strong presence without noticeably falling off. At high volumes, this can lead to overdrawing and a certain metallic sharpness in the sound, which, in my opinion, is the only shortcoming of these in-ears. Apart from that, the sound quality is extremely good in view of the price segment, allowing for listening fun, even when not playing sports.