Creative Omni, a WiFi speaker at an excellent price

The search for a speaker that fits your sound and portfolio preferences is not an easy task, and much worse when you want it to have a feature that is still scarce today: WiFi connectivity. It has been many years with this type of speaker technology but in the vast majority of cases it is reserved for high-end models at very high prices.

For all this Creative has hit the spot with its Omni speaker: Very good quality and WiFi connectivity at a very content price, more typical of Bluetooth speakers. Presented at the IFA 2017 this multi-room speaker is ideal to pamper yourself this Christmas or to be great with someone who deserves it.

Discreet design and two positions

Available in white and black, it is a very discreet loudspeaker, without large stridencies or bright colors. Just three LEDs on the top that almost nothing is noticed and a front completely occupying the speaker grill. You have the possibility of using it in two positions: vertical for 3D sound and horizontal for conventional stereo sound. Personally I like it more vertically for aesthetics, but I can't tell the difference in sound between one position and the other.

Despite having a “little sporty” design compared to other very similar speakers (it is inevitable to compare it with the UE Boom 2), this Creative Omni is resistant to splashes, so you can take it outside without problems, place it near the Pool or even enjoy music in the bathroom. Thanks to its WiFi connectivity, wherever you have coverage of your home network you can enjoy your music, no matter where your computer, iPad or iPhone is. Of course, it also has Bluetooth in case you want to use it more conventionally. You can also connect two speakers to enjoy a real stereo.

Integrated services and AirPlay

By having a direct internet connection this Creative Omni speaker It allows you to use it directly with services such as Spotify, iHeart Radio or Tidal. From the Creative application you have in the App Store (and Google Play) you can give access to these services. You can even control Spotify from any device with the remote control function that the Spotify app itself offers you. Of course, you must have Premium service to use it this way. If you are an Apple Music user, do not worry, because although the service is not integrated into the app you can always use AirPlay to pass the audio from your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV to the speaker.

Where Creative should improve is in the design of your application, since it is quite poor, in addition to not adapted to the iPhone X screen. The Creative Omni also allows the MultiRoom function: connect all the speakers you have at home to the network WiFi and control what is played on all of them. You can move around the house enjoying music anywhere in it. What we don't know is whether it will be compatible with AirPlay 2, the new version of the Apple protocol that is yet to come, so we will be aware of it.

Superior sound quality

As I said before this speaker is comparable by design and price to the famous UE Boom 2, although the latter only has Bluetooth connectivity. That is why when talking about sound quality I have compared them directly by having both. The sound is very similar, which is good news for the Creative Omni, and I would risk ensuring that even something superior, although the WiFi connectivity that offers a higher quality than Bluetooth may influence here. This Creative Omni has very good bass, but other sounds don't hide you, and you only hear some distortions with the volume to the maximum, which is very high so you should not worry since you will almost never reach that level.

In addition to Bluetooth and WiFi age connectivity you can connect a microSD to the back of up to 32GB, and it also has auxiliary input, so you can even listen to music without an internet connection. In that same space you will find the microUSB charging connector. On the back of the speaker you will also find playback controls and Bluetooth and WiFi connections

Editor's Opinion

By design, specifications and sound quality you will not find a speaker that doesn't even look like this Creative Omni. Creative has done a great job with this speaker, and has placed it in a price range where it will not have competition. The Creative Omni is priced at € 117 on Amazon, and although some speakers with that price may offer comparable sound quality, none have WiFi and AirPlay connectivity. Its autonomy of 8 hours and the possibility of using a microSD to use it completely independently are also very different points and that make it one of the most complete models of the market in this price range.

  • Editor rating
  • 5 star rating

€ 117


  • Creative Omni
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Pros

  • Discreet and modern design
  • WiFi connectivity AirPlay compatible
  • MultiRoom
  • Auxiliary and microSD input up to 32GB
  • Splash resistant

Cons

  • Poor design application

Pros

  • Discreet and modern design
  • WiFi connectivity AirPlay compatible
  • MultiRoom
  • Auxiliary and microSD input up to 32GB
  • Splash resistant

Cons

  • Poor design application

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