At first we would like to thank Creative for offering us a sample of their Omni Portable Multi-Room Wi-Fi/BT Voice-enabled Speaker for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Creative:

 

“Creative is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative started with the vision that multimedia would revolutionize the way people interact with their PCs.

 

Famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment with cutting-edge audio solutions, premium wireless speakers, high performance earphone products and portable media devices. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services enable consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment - anytime, anywhere.

 

Since launching the phenomenally successful Sound Blaster sound cards and setting the de-facto standard for PC audio in 1989, Creative has been able to leverage on its leading-edge audio technology, a huge user base of 400 million, and strong brand name to expand into the exciting lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market.

 

Creative is now well recognized as a global leader for product innovation in the audio and PDE segments, offering consumers a complete, high quality digital entertainment experience through Creative's hardware, software applications and services. Finding the perfect balance between form and function, Creative strives for every product to be a sensory feast for the eyes and ears.

 

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

 

These products and solutions are marketed to consumers and system integrators through a worldwide distribution network that includes traditional marketing channels, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the Internet.

 

Moving forward, Creative's mission is to expand its leadership role in the lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment market, using groundbreaking technology and leading-edge designs for not just the technically-savvy consumers, but for everyone who enjoys entertainment. With strong focus on user-friendly interface, multiple features and cool industrial designs, the Creative brand is synonymous with lifestyle Personal Digital Entertainment.

 

Creative's global corporate headquarters is located in Singapore, in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. It has regional business units in the US (Milpitas, California), Europe (Dublin, Ireland) and Asia (Singapore).

 

Creative is a public listed company on the main board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) since June 1994.”

 

Product Features:

 

Multi-room Wi-Fi Connection

 

With Wi-Fi connectivity, listen to your favourite tracks anywhere in your house. You can now connect multiple devices in different rooms around the house and control them without moving a step. Whether you are streaming one song to a speaker, a stereo pair, or even a group of speakers, never ever miss a second of music.

 

Stay connected to your music within any distance in your Wi-Fi range.

 

Wi-Fi supports higher resolution, lossless audio with minimized lag.

 

Connect multiple devices under the same Wi-Fi network for enhanced audio performance.

 

Spotify Connect

 

Put a stop to notifications interrupting your fun! You can now play Spotify music directly from Spotify Connect1 via Creative Omni. The direct connection bypasses the phone and gives you uninterrupted music throughout your party. Using higher quality sample rates, the direct streaming elevates the audio performance that provides better, enhanced music listening experience. You can also access the Spotify app as a remote to control music from any mobile, tablet or computer.

 

Get Tappin' with the Smart Speaker

 

Just tap and get things done — send and receive messages or even get your chocolate cake recipe read out to you while you are baking for your loved one. You can easily activate Siri or Google Now voice assistant via Bluetooth from Creative Omni with a single press of a button!

 

Easy, Breezy Wi-Fi Setup

 

Wi-Fi setup is a breeze with Sound Blaster InterConnect app2, available for Android and iOS devices. You can also stream from your preferred online streaming services including Spotify Connect, TIDAL, iHeartRadio and more. The Sound Blaster InterConnect app lets you select your music sources easily so you can enjoy your music without fuss.

 

Unleash the Diva in You

 

Don't hold back on your shower room singing! The Creative Omni is IPX4-certified splash-proof. Hold a shower room karaoke, sing your heart out — just don't get too carried away!

 

High Performance

 

The Omni is specially designed with 4 high-performance drivers — 2 custom-tuned 1.5” Neodymium drivers and 2 passive radiators. The powerful audio and enhanced bass response ensures that you are always surrounded by loud and vibrant music.

 

Dual Orientation

 

Put Creative Omni upright for 360? sound or lay it flat for great direct stereo imaging. This dual orientation form factor gives you the flexibility to listen to your music the way you want it. Different form for different occasions!

 

Stereo Duo

 

Get pairing with Wi-Fi! Buddy up 2 Creative Omni units together wirelessly and enjoy true stereo sound. On top of that, you get stronger audio performance for the ultimate audio experience.

 

Get Music On-The-Go

 

Blast your favorite tunes on-the-go! Connect wirelessly through Bluetooth 4.2 or directly from microSD card with the integrated music player3. The Creative Omni is not only portable; you can even use it as a Bluetooth speakerphone!

 

Get Partying!

 

The Creative Omni has a durable battery life of 8 hours4, so your parties never have to stop.

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

 

Creative has come back to the previous Sound Blaster FRee design and upgraded it with additional features such as wireless connection, a bigger battery, while maintaining the same driver configuration (two 1.5’’ Neodymium drivers which are joined by two passive radiators). It does weight a total of 460g and its dimensions are 71.1 x 200.8 x 68.5 mm (H x W x D). Omni is described as a multi-room Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Voice-enabled speaker and comes packed inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure. On the top cover, we will get to see that Creative introduces ourselves the main product highlights:

 

 

A more detailed exemplification can be found on the side, in multiple languages:

 

 

The multi-room solution controllable via a single mobile application is explained on the bottom layer of the box; here we will also learn of the box contents, along with the product serial number and manufacturing date:

 

 

The inside contents are divided in two: the product bundle that contains the documentation but also the USB cable, but also the speaker itself:

 

 

Creative does also include a leaflet with instructions on how use the Spotify Premium services (Spotify Connect is built in):

 

 

The well-detailed manual does inform the user all usage modes of the Omni:

 

 

From here we will also learn that the product is splash-proof, but cannot be submersed in water:

 

 

Omni does feature a sturdy build, with a black front metallic mesh and plastic lateral frames:

 

 

In the back, we will be able to spot a black paint Creative logo:

 

 

Also nearby, we do have the visible middle passive radiator for enhancing the lower frequencies, the control buttons but also the interface area which is protected by a rubber layer:

 

 

The Omni speaker can be connected to USB for charging purposes, we can connect any other Stereo sources to it but does also support audio playback from microSDHC cards up to 32GB (we have tried a FAT32-formatted 64GB card on it and worked flawlessly as well):

 

 

The middle passive radiator is also sealed, so water will not get inside the unit:

 

 

The control buttons allow easy switching between Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/SD(Aux) sources; here we will be also able to Play/Pause or skip between tracks:

 

 

A similar Creative can be spotted on the bottom area of the unit, along with four small rubber feet:

 

 

On the right side of the speaker, we will find an embossed Creative logo; this part will also act as a large rubber foot if we do sit the unit horizontally:

 

 

The opposite side of the unit does feature a similar arrangement, only that here we will find some extra control buttons and LEDs; the On/Off button is quite obvious (a short press will display the remaining battery life with the help of the frontal LEDs) and this one is accompanied by the Volume -/+ buttons and the multi-functional button which is represented as a microphone. The latter allows access of the Siri/Google Now assistants, but we can also take or reject phone calls:

 

 

The middle LED will also change color depending on the currently used audio source:

 

 

In order to take advantage of the Wireless service, we have to connect the speaker to our local Wi-fi via a short wizard from the SB InterConnect mobile application; the detected speaker will then show up in the Dashboard area, along with its location name, currently playing music and volume level:

 

 

The Music section of the application does allow playback from the internal memory of our smartphone/tablet, but also gives access to several online streaming services:

 

 

The playback from internal memory is possible via the integrated audio player:

 

 

As online services, we do have:

 

Tidal

 

 

iHeartRadio

(accessible in USA)

 

 

TuneIn Radio

(free service available worldwide)

 

 

Napster

 

 

Spotify

 

 

Inside the Speaker Settings menu, we can set a different name for the connected speaker, access Speaker Info but also select the current audio interface:

 

 

The Speaker Information menu will reveal info such as the connected Wi-Fi SSID, strength, allocated IP, or the MAC address of the speaker. When the speaker is not connected to the local Wi-Fi, it can create a hotspot of its own:

 

 

Further down, we can access information such as the firmware version, build date, UUID, can select a different audio prompt language or restore the device to its factory settings:

 

 

The Source selector allows the user to jump between Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Aux (same thing as pressing the buttons in the back of the Omni):

 

 

This particular model impressed us regarding its ease of use on all interfaces (wireless, Bluetooth, SD Card/Aux); it is loud enough for most applications but we would have liked to have smoother volume steps from the hardware buttons in order to adjust it properly for any occasion. While with the previously tested Creative Halo we have noticed a lack of bass, this model, even if it does not have active drivers for this particular reason, it can deliver decent lows, which is impressive for a unit of its size!

 

For the initial Wi-Fi setup, we need to be assisted by the SB InterConnect software, which will detect the speaker on the same network and prompt us to enter up the SSID password; smooth sailing from there since the app allows us to playback audio files from our portable device (smartphone/tablet), from some known paid or free online services but also switch to other sources such as Bluetooth or Aux/SD. While we do have connected the speaker on Bluetooth, it can also assist by taking phone calls or we can use the Siri/Google Now assistant right on it thanks to the included microphone.

 

In our tests, while leaving the setup at medium volume, it has lasted about seven hours and twenty minutes, which is pretty close to the advertised eight-hour rating.

 

The Creative Omni speaker is available online in both black and white colors and can be ordered for about 108 Euros.

Creative Omni Portable Multi-Room Wi-Fi/BT Voice-enabled Speaker is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Creative for making this review possible!