- Mikhail Ow
Jamming With Belkin's Latest Earbuds, Bang For Your Buck?
Updated: Dec 19, 2023
Belkin earbuds, are they really worth it? Here, we’re taking a quick look at the features, performance and user experience of Belkin’s new earbuds lineup, the SoundForm Pulse, Play and Flow. Whether you’re a music enthusiast, a podcast lover or someone that enjoys wireless freedom, there’s probably something here for you.
Belkin SoundForm Pulse
To start off, we’re looking at the Belkin SoundForm Pulse, the most expensive of the trio. Long story short, I was thoroughly impressed; these earbuds sport an elegant design in white and are lightweight and compact, allowing them to fit securely in your ears without any fatigue or discomfort. The earbuds are also available in black. However, I actually find that the square-shaped case is a little bit too bulky for my pockets compared to other generic brands and designs.
The touch controls are fairly simple, on the right and left, one press controls play and pause, a double press would skip your track forward and a triple press will do a backward skip. If someone calls you, you could double press either side to answer or hang up and holding down the left side for two seconds would allow you to activate ANC mode and doing it again would cycle you to Hear-Thru (Transparency) mode. The ANC feature is undoubtedly a valuable addition, complimenting the earbuds’ inherent passive noise isolation capabilities.
The battery life of the earbuds itself without the case is 7 hours, while with the case, it goes up to 28 hours. This is more than enough to keep you listening for a few days. The microphone quality of these earbuds can be described as satisfactory, performing sufficiently during phone calls or voice recordings, although I did find the microphone’s volume to be a tad bit soft, especially apparent when I am on calls. Moving on to sound quality, these earbuds deliver rich, balanced and immersive audio across various genres, whether I was listening to my favourite tracks or watching movies.
Compared to the next two earbuds in the lineup, this definitely comes out on top.
Belkin SoundForm Play
Next up, we're looking at the slightly cheaper Belkin SoundForm Play. Compared to the other Belkin earbuds, the design is more on the bulky side, with more of an angular look without stems compared to the other two earbuds. On the other hand, the case for this pair is slightly better designed in a pill-like shape, making it easier to fit into my pockets and carry around than the other two models.
These earbuds also come in a wider variety of colours, such as black, blue, pink and white.
Touch controls are similar to the Soundform Pulse, with the only difference being that holding down both the left and right sides for two seconds simultaneously would turn the earbuds off. But unlike the Pulse, these pair don't come with ANC, so holding down the left earbud for two-second will cycle you through its Bass Boost, Treble Boost and Flat sound profiles. The battery life for this pair goes for eight hours and another 30 hours with the case, making its battery rating the best compared to its other two siblings.
Regarding microphone quality, I was pretty impressed with it; with two microphones on each earbud and the Belkin-engineered noise-reduction algorithm, the microphone picked up my voice clearly and effectively while also doing its best to eliminate background noises. I've made several phone calls with these earbuds for a quick test and my voice came through loud and clear on the other end.
For sound quality, despite having some great features, it was slightly underwhelming. It has little depth and richness, with the bass not lacking punch at times. But if you manage your expectations, these could still be a decent option.
Belkin SoundForm Flow
Last but not least the Belkin SoundForm Flow. Out of the three earbuds, the design of this pair just so happens to be my favourite; the build quality feels solid and durable despite costing just under S$70 and they fit comfortably in my ears for long hours on end. Although, much like the Pulse, the squarish design is less portable and comfortable to carry around, in my opinion, than the Play. Similar to the Pulse, these are only available in black and white, which is pretty limited, but I do prefer a more minimalistic look, so all is good.
Touch controls are the same as the Pulse; holding down the left side for two seconds would allow you to activate the ANC mode and holding it down for another two would cycle you to Hear-Thru (transparency) mode.
The ANC on these earbuds is far behind what you get on the Pulse, but it is decent for the price, blocking out most outside noises and allowing you to focus on your audio. Sound quality is also not too shabby, with enjoyable, transparent and balanced audio. Battery life is rated at seven hours on the earbuds and 24 hours on the case, which is more than sufficient for an everyday user.
Regarding the microphone quality, it is okay. During phone calls or recordings, it performs well enough. However, like the Pulse, I also found that the volume or gain is slightly lower, especially apparent on calls. But despite this minor issue, I could still have a clear conversation without any significant problems.
Pricing & Availability
Belkin’s three new earbuds, the Soundform Pulse, SoundForm Play and SoundForm Flow, each have their individual quirks and are competitively priced in low to mid-tier markets, catering to different budget ranges.
Belkin SoundForm Pulse | S$149 |
Belkin SoundForm Play | S$99 |
Belkin SoundForm Flow | S$69 |
My pick of the three will be the SoundForm Pulse for its build and sound quality and I feel it’s still worth the price tag despite the low gain on the microphone. What do you think?