Belkin’s SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds Are No Risk to AirPods

Inside a desk drawer subsequent to me lives a set of wired earbuds I can by no means deliver myself to toss out. Though I’ve primarily used Bluetooth wi-fi earbuds for a few years now—normally AirPods Professional—generally it’s good to only plug in a cable and hear, with out the fiddliness of a wi-fi connection. The one factor that’s lacking? Energetic noise cancellation, or ANC.

I examine in every now and then on the state of wired earbuds with ANC, and I’m normally upset. ANC must be powered, and you may’t get that from a 3.5mm headphone jack, so the options—like embedding a battery pack within the earbuds’ cable, or including the characteristic by way of a separate USB-C-powered dongle—ditch the battery-free benefit of wired audio. Similar goes for utilizing Bluetooth over-ear wi-fi headphones with ANC as wired headphones. Yeah, you are able to do it with most wi-fi over-ears, however they nonetheless want energy for his or her sound filtering, and a few received’t even work as regular headphones as soon as their battery is kaput.

Lastly, in early September, Belkin unveiled virtually precisely what I’d been looking for: its $29.99 SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds (USB-C). I previewed them at IFA 2025, the place I discovered them snug, light-weight, and so they sounded first rate, however that was primarily based on utilizing them on a loud present flooring, which wasn’t sufficient to truly consider them. Fortunately, Belkin despatched me house with a pair to assessment.

I’ve all the time actually favored AirPods Execs, from the primary era to the newest AirPods Pro 3. However pretty much as good as they’re, their wi-fi connection can nonetheless be flaky, particularly after years of battery and bodily put on and tear, to not point out the occasional obligatory firmware replace that makes them act bizarre. Like when mine recognized themselves as “Not Your AirPods Professional” each time I opened the case for months on finish, solely returning to regular after a firmware replace launch that coincided with the discharge of the AirPods Professional 3. It’s been good to return to only plugging in a factor and having it work—no recharging, no Bluetooth pairing, no secret, software-breaking firmware updates. Simply music or podcasts after I need them.

Belkin’s SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds are chunky—roughly the dimensions of my aforementioned AirPods Professional—however, for me, light-weight sufficient that I don’t actually discover them in my ears. They’re additionally IPX5-rated, which suggests they aren’t dust-tight, however they need to stand up to sweat and splashes of water—AirPods Professional 2 had been IPX4 or IP54, relying on whether or not you acquire the Lightning or USB-C version. The SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds are available each black and white colour choices, and so they use a flat cable that’s pliable and tangle-resistant.

See SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds (USB-C) at Amazon

Their in-ear ideas are manufactured from a comfortable silicone that’s way more resistant than Apple’s AirPods to the creeping horror that’s my earwax. (Sorry if that’s gross to learn, however I do know this occurs for loads of you, too.) They arrive with three pairs of ideas, and so they don’t connect to the earbuds in any particular, proprietary approach, so choosing up a set of common match earbud ideas is doable if the included ones don’t really feel good.

Belkin’s wired earbuds are clunky in some methods. The amount and play/pause buttons on the small, inline management module work such as you’d count on, nevertheless it’s awkward as hell to carry down each quantity up and right down to cycle by way of the three included EQ presets: bass enhance, balanced audio, and Belkin Signature Sound. And I’m unsure I like the way in which ANC and transparency mode are activated, by long-pressing a button on the aspect of the module, regardless of not minding a protracted squeeze to do the identical factor on AirPods Professional. One thing about it being a bodily button makes me need it to work in another way. However these are minor complaints, and I discovered I didn’t actually need to change the EQ preset as soon as I set the bass enhance one.

The most important compromise is true within the identify: they join with USB-C, somewhat than a 3.5mm headphone plug. Which means you possibly can’t use them with older units like MP3 gamers or pre-USB-C handheld recreation consoles. I did verify that they work with my iPhone 15 Pro, Google Pixel 6, each of my Apple silicon Macs, and my Nintendo Switch 2. Asterisk on Nintendo’s newest handheld: the Switch 2 Pro controller, which has a 3.5mm audio jack that permits you to use headsets for GameChat, doesn’t help USB-C headphones. And simply so we’re clear, neither does the first-generation Switch, together with the OLED model, a lot to my disappointment.

Nonetheless, it’s good to know that of the whole lot I’d need to use wired headphones with, Belkin’s earbuds work wonderful with most. USB-C additionally introduces one other difficulty: longevity, or the potential lack thereof. The Belkin SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds appear to have a hardy USB-C plug, however I’ve solely examined them for round a month. As typically as they could possibly be plugged and unplugged over time, the mechanism that clips them right into a USB-C port is sure to wear down finally. I hope Belkin did a very good job with these and that they’ll final for years, however solely time will inform whether or not that’s the case.

Testing, testing, 1-2-3

So how do they sound? Belkin outfitted the SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds with 12mm drivers, placing them proper between the AirPods Pro 2 and three. Driver dimension isn’t the whole lot, and Belkin solely costs $30 for these earbuds, so I didn’t count on miracles—and so they didn’t give me any! However they did outrun my expectations with punchy bass that’s not too boomy, and midrange and treble which can be clear with out being muddy or ear-piercingly tinny, respectively. In comparison with the AirPods Professional 3, their sound profile is much cooler, with thinner low-end. It’s not a good comparability, although (the AirPods Professional 3 are fairly broadly praised, in any case). General, they’re fairly first rate, placing out a lot better sound than I’d count on from equally priced wi-fi earbuds.

It’s once you begin to concentrate to the small print that the worth tag exhibits. The bass will get fuzzy and weak once you flip the SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds as much as round 80 p.c or so. And so they lack definition in songs that want it; Belkin’s earbuds didn’t do any favors for tracks like Tom Waits’ “Inexperienced Grass,” overly emphasizing its crackling audio and making it sound extra amateurish than an deliberately ragged stylistic selection. The earbuds even have a reasonably slender sound stage, leaving audio you take heed to very a lot confined to the realm between your ears. I have a tendency to truly just like the intimate really feel of that after I’m listening to one thing like that Tom Waits track, nevertheless it’s not preferrred for a bombastic observe like “By the Fireplace and the Flames” by DragonForce. There’s additionally numerous cable noise that vibrates its approach up into the earbuds. I may hear rustling each time I turned my head and the cable scraped in opposition to my facial hair, and a loud thump after I reached up and grabbed the wire or tapped it with my fingertips.

The SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds solely mildly cancel noise—they’ll block the small desktop fan I’ve in my workplace, however typically talking, they solely deal nicely with sure droney sounds. Strolling round close to a busy road in my neighborhood, the ANC quieted different sounds nicely sufficient to take heed to music and podcasts or take a cellphone name, however these can be your final resort on, say, an airplane or a metropolis bus. The earbuds even have first rate voice isolation. A good friend I referred to as whereas on that stroll stated that whereas they may inform there have been vehicles round, my voice got here by way of loud and clear. Turning off ANC compromised the voice isolation, such that my good friend may instantly hear far more wind and automobile noise. Both approach, although, they stated I used to be clear and intelligible all through the decision. That’s not all the time the case with my AirPods Professional 2, which have a tendency to chop out loads and require me to continuously repeat myself when outdoor on a cellphone name.

Value each penny

I genuinely didn’t count on to love the Belkin SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds as a lot as I do. My AirPods Professional 3 are in no hazard of being changed by them, however through the testing interval, they had been my go-to, anytime I used to be enjoying my Nintendo Swap 2, and I discovered I even favored utilizing them whereas sitting and dealing at my laptop computer. I’d nonetheless somewhat use wi-fi earbuds if I’m up and about, principally as a result of I discover all of the noise from the cable bumping or rubbing, nicely, something in any respect is simply too distracting.

I favored the expertise, which resembled a previous time after I by no means needed to mess with Bluetooth pairing and my earbuds labored with something that output sound. It’s not the very same, since I couldn’t use these with, say, my Sony PS Vita or my previous Apple iPod nano, however a lot of the units I take advantage of in my each day life have a USB-C port lately, and virtually all work with Belkin’s earbuds the way in which I need them to. The one exception was with my Swap 2 Professional Controller, which solely outputs audio by way of its 3.5mm audio jack. I didn’t really count on it to take action with the USB-C port on high, however wouldn’t it have been neat if it did?

In case you’ve been lacking wired earbuds, otherwise you need one thing that’s near a contemporary Bluetooth audio expertise however with out the tiny, easy-to-lose earbuds and no concern of working out of battery, these are a straightforward advice for lower than $30. Belkin’s SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds (USB-C) will probably be accessible Oct. 17 on Belkin’s web site, and shortly thereafter on Amazon.

See SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds (USB-C) at Amazon