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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 earbuds are budget-friendly, wireless, and offer a balance of sound quality and portability, suitable for use during exercise with a sweatproof certification and a battery life that supports long sessions. The HifiMan Sundara headphones are more of a premium product with excellent sound quality, an open-back design for an expansive soundstage, and high comfort for home use, but they lack wireless capabilities and active noise cancelling, making them less versatile for on-the-go use. The Sundaras excel in music and TV/video experiences due to their superior sound clarity and realism but are not built for exercise or noisy environments. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Creative Labs Outlier Air V3
Good for phone calls
Very good for exercise
Very good for air travel
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the HifiMan Sundara
Excellent for music
Good for gaming
Very good for TV and video
Key differences
Music
5.7/10
9.3/10
The HifiMan Sundara is excellent for music, while the Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is poor.
Gaming
5.1/10
7.2/10
The HifiMan Sundara is good for gaming, while the Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is poor.
Phone Calls
7.6/10
4.9/10
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is good for phone calls, while the HifiMan Sundara is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.9/10
7.8/10
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the HifiMan Sundara is good.
TV and Video
5.4/10
8.8/10
The HifiMan Sundara is very good for TV and video, while the Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is poor.
Noise Reduction
6.5/10
2.5/10
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 is only fair for noise reduction, while the HifiMan Sundara is poor.
Battery
10.0 Hours
N/A
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 has 10 hours of battery life. The HifiMan Sundara does not have a battery.
Cost
$30
$279
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 has a price of $30 and the HifiMan Sundara costs $279.
Build Quality
9.0/10
8.2/10
The Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 has excellent build quality, while the HifiMan Sundara has very good build quality.
"The V3 present the best version of the Outlier Air series yet. The new features such as Active Noise Reduction and Ambient mode are integrated well; the performance of both is as good as you’ll get below £100. The design is less bulky and more comfortable thanks to being smaller and lighter, and the Outlier Air V3 eke out more clarity, detail and definition from music."
"The HiFiMan Sundara is the set of headphones to get if you want high-end audio, but don't want to shell out a king's ransom for it. These planar magnetic headphones are comfortable, straightforward, and excellent performers."
Get a great deal on the Creative Labs Outlier Air V3 or the HifiMan Sundara
About Creative Labs
Creative Labs is a Singaporean technology company specialized in the manufacture of multimedia products. They created the world-famous Soundblaster soundcard back in 1989 which was a staple of the gaming community for a long time. Nowadays, besides still marketing their discrete audio systems, they offer a wide array of headphones, gaming headsets and speakers that still preserve that same heritage.
About HifiMan
HiFiMAN is a Chinese, high-end, audio product manufacturer, with 20 years of experience, that specializes in amplifiers, digital audio players and planar magnetic headphones, some of which have become a staple in the audiophile community such as the entry-level Sundara, the midrange Edition X, and the very well-regarded, high-end, Arya.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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