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 convey myself to toss out. Though I’ve primarily used Bluetooth wi-fi earbuds for a few years now—often AirPods Professional—typically it’s good to simply plug in a cable and pay attention, with out the fiddliness of a wi-fi connection. The one factor that’s lacking? Lively noise cancellation, or ANC.

I examine in occasionally on the state of wired earbuds with ANC, and I’m often disillusioned. ANC must be powered, and you’ll’t get that from a 3.5mm headphone jack, so the options—like embedding a battery pack within the earbuds’ cable, or including the function by way of a separate USB-C-powered dongle—ditch the battery-free benefit of wired audio. Identical 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 comfy, light-weight, and so they sounded first rate, however that was primarily based on utilizing them on a loud present ground, which wasn’t sufficient to truly consider them. Fortunately, Belkin despatched me house with a pair to overview.

I’ve at all times actually appreciated AirPods Execs, from the primary era to the most recent AirPods Pro 3. However nearly 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 necessary 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 simply 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 scale 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 implies they aren’t dust-tight, however they need to face up to sweat and splashes of water—AirPods Professional 2 have been IPX4 or IP54, relying on whether or not to procure the Lightning or USB-C version. The SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds are available each black and white shade 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 made from a tender silicone that’s far 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 method, so selecting 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 quantity 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 the three included EQ presets: bass increase, balanced audio, and Belkin Signature Sound. And I’m undecided I like the best way ANC and transparency mode are activated, by long-pressing a button on the aspect of the module, regardless of not minding an extended squeeze to do the identical factor on AirPods Professional. One thing about it being a bodily button makes me need it to work in a different 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 increase one.

The most important compromise is true within the identify: they join with USB-C, moderately than a 3.5mm headphone plug. Meaning you may’t use them with older units like MP3 gamers or pre-USB-C handheld sport consoles. I did affirm 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 allows 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 every part I’d need to use wired headphones with, Belkin’s earbuds work nice 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 might be plugged and unplugged over time, the mechanism that clips them right into a USB-C port is sure to wear down ultimately. I hope Belkin did a great 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 every part, 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 way cooler, with thinner low-end. It’s not a good comparability, although (the AirPods Professional 3 are fairly broadly praised, in spite of everything). 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 if you begin to concentrate to the main points that the value tag reveals. The bass will get fuzzy and weak if 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 alternative. The earbuds even have a reasonably slender sound stage, leaving audio you hearken 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 tune, nevertheless it’s not ultimate for a bombastic observe like “Via the Fireplace and the Flames” by DragonForce. There’s additionally numerous cable noise that vibrates its method 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 usually talking, they solely deal properly with sure droney sounds. Strolling round close to a busy avenue in my neighborhood, the ANC quieted different sounds properly sufficient to hearken to music and podcasts or take a telephone 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 buddy I referred to as whereas on that stroll stated that whereas they might inform there have been vehicles round, my voice got here by loud and clear. Turning off ANC compromised the voice isolation, such that my buddy may abruptly hear far more wind and automobile noise. Both method, although, they stated I used to be clear and intelligible all through the decision. That’s not at all times the case with my AirPods Professional 2, which have a tendency to chop out so much and require me to consistently repeat myself when outdoor on a telephone name.

Price 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 in the course of the testing interval, they have been my go-to, anytime I used to be enjoying my Nintendo Change 2, and I discovered I even appreciated utilizing them whereas sitting and dealing at my laptop computer. I’d nonetheless moderately 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, properly, something in any respect is simply too distracting.

I appreciated 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 many of the units I exploit in my day by day life have a USB-C port today, and virtually all work with Belkin’s earbuds the best way I would like them to. The one exception was with my Change 2 Professional Controller, which solely outputs audio by its 3.5mm audio jack. I didn’t truly count on it to take action with the USB-C port on prime, however wouldn’t it have been neat if it did?

Should 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 worry of operating out of battery, these are a simple suggestion for lower than $30. Belkin’s SoundForm ANC Wired Earbuds (USB-C) can be out there Oct. 17 on Belkin’s web site, and shortly thereafter on Amazon.

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