Page 3 - Subjective Audio Analysis
Reviewing audio devices require extensively trained ears and lots of experience. Even for audiophiles, it may prove challenging at times to obtain an accurate evaluation of a product without a thoroughly familiar product to use as a simultaneous reference. While I am not going to even try to claim that I am the only trustworthy or best reviewer for sound, it is fact that most computer review sites have editors who are insufficiently trained in reviewing audio equipment. Give them practically anything and all you will read about goes along the line of "good bass, nice midrange, awesome treble, really clear sound, 10/10". While there are many knowledgeable audio reviewers at various respected online media outlets, they are by far the minority.
As we have mentioned in my past audio reviews, there are really no true objective measurements for speaker sound quality. As the reviewer, however, I will put it through a series of subjective tests to try to come up with the most objective rating possible. Yes, it is quite a paradox haha. Tests were conducted primarily wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.0 with a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which has support for both AAC and aptX. After over 50 hours of break-in time -- well above the typically required period -- we put the Creative Outlier Air V2 to the tests. All tracks were uncompressed or high bitrate files.
Starting with the lower frequencies, the Creative Outlier Air V2 offered strong bass. Some bass-boost in the middle to the upper bass range was noticeable when listening to bass-heavy genres. There was boomier bass than what I would expect in the lower sections. The bass drum kicks and bass guitar riffs were solid and smooth. In the end, the bass is deep and punchy, which will satisfy those who like their EDM, such as myself.
The midrange was average in quality. The vocalists had a thicker sound in note resonance. I should note that a drop does exist with the midrange where one would expect to hear vocals of the song. Wood instruments, such as pianos or acoustic guitars, had a clear sound. The midrange was quite thin overall and some of the sounds were unnatural.
When it came to treble, the Creative Outlier Air V2 was quite bright and energetic with instruments like trumpets and violins. Instruments of higher sounding frequencies started to sound drier with attenuation at the top. When looking at the full frequency spectrum, the Outlier Air V2 forms a V-shape sound signature. The bass and treble were mostly strong. Electronic sounds work well with these earphones. Older music such as jazz or classical seemed to have a missing kick to it though.
With soundstaging and imaging, the Creative Outlier Air V2 was limited due to the devices being earbuds with small drivers. The sound reproduced had a cramped feel with the noise being very narrow. The depth was lacking, making it so the sound did not feel enveloping. The overall image was undefined, despite it feeling mostly natural. This can be contributed to the small size of the drivers and the closed-back design of each earbud.
The Creative Outlier Air V2 has good layering and frequency separation, doing a good job with voice reproduction. The layers could be heard well while maintaining instrumental sounds throughout the song. The sound was clean too, with singing from the vocalists coming in clear. The noise canceling was also good with these earphones with very little noise leakage thanks to the shape and size of the ear tips, which fit snugly in my ears.
Above are two sample microphone recordings on the Creative Outlier Air V2. The first one was recorded indoors and the second one was recorded outdoors on a cold autumn night. These earphones performed well when it came to speaking, with my voice sounding very natural and clear. This can be attributed to the built-in Qualcomm cVc 8.0 technology, which is designed for picking up voices well. Very little background noise can be heard, which is another positive with the microphone quality on this earphone set. These earphones will work just fine for phone calls and casual recordings.
These earbuds proved more than sufficient when it came to battery life. It lasted 11.5 hours according to my tests, which was very close to advertised. Because the carrying case also acts as a charger, you get an additional 23 hours with two charges, making it so you will not have to worry about charging these earphones for long periods. The wireless range was also very strong. I received good audio quality for distances greater than 10m from the source without any noticeable drops. There was some slight latency when watching videos and playing games, but most users will likely not notice this.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
