Review: Belkin SoundForm Pulse – An upgrade to an already great set of earbuds?

As a reviewer, I approach each product in the same anticipatory manner as you may experience on a first date. First impressions count more than you know. If a date starts on a bad note, it’s unlikely to leave any pleasant memories worthy of reminiscing. I’ve reviewed Belkin earbuds before and was very pleased with how they performed. So, it’s fair to say that I had high hopes when the SoundForm Pulse earbuds made an appearance in my life.

I’m going to be honest with this review. With these earbuds, the first impressions left me feeling a bit despondent. Don’t get me wrong, they look amazing. Similar to many other earbuds, they have a small form factor with a short stalk that hangs down from each earbud a couple of centimetres. This is unlike the SoundForm Bolt earbuds I reviewed previously which are more compact and closely follow the natural silhouette of the head. While the SoundForm Bolt earbuds came with a selection of different size silicon tips to fit in the ear, the SoundForm Pulse did not.

Setting up

I always try to resist the urge to begin playing with products until I have read the accompanying literature. These earbuds came with three leaflets.

• A multi-language product safety leaflet
• A card with a QR code to download the SoundForm app to your phone and
• A “Quick” Start Guide.

I use the term “Quick” loosely as I found it a struggle to get my head around. To make head or tail of this Guide, it would be prudent to learn how to decipher hieroglyphs. I didn’t find it easy to follow at all. At first, I thought the lack of instructions was probably due to the fact it may need to work across different languages. This was not correct as there are some sections with English type.

This aside, the illustrations were difficult to follow as well. The diagram might show a blue light but is it on constantly or flashing? What does it mean when the LED is white or orange? The leaflet indicates that to Add Devices, you need to press the earbud surface for 3 seconds, then the LEDs turn blue at which point you go to the Bluetooth settings on your phone and they should pair.

The SoundForm app is supposed to guide the user to pair the earbuds with their device but having followed the instructions, the app couldn’t recognise the earbuds and I ended up going round in circles.

Eventually, through shear frustration, I “freestyled it” and tried a combination of random moves including, recharging the earbud case via USB, pressing both surfaces of the earbuds, opening and closing the case, deleting and reinstalling the app… I think I even prayed for some divine intervention!

Ironically, the box and leaflets proudly say that the earbuds are Noise Cancelling. I was finding them Music Cancelling as I struggled to get my phone to pair with them.

My prayers were finally answered when my laptop suddenly discovered them in the Bluetooth settings. Hallelujah! I exclaimed.

Was it worth the struggle?

Feeling proud of my achievement, I shoved the earbuds in my ears until they were secure and finally played some music. Hoping to be comforted with a rich, audible experience, I must admit that I wasn’t blown away with the quality of the sound. Yes, I could hear the singing and music but it felt somewhat lifeless to me. To give it an analogy that might resonate with you, I’d say It was like watching black & white TV on a CRT screen. I played a variety of tunes to ascertain if it was consistently below par and I found that it was. However, the brain does eventually adapt to the sound and you get used to it after a while.

While browsing the SoundForm app, I came across the Equaliser which I hoped would allow me to tweak the sound to my preference. This, however, proved to be yet another hurdle. To make changes to the Equaliser, I had to be streaming music. I was streaming music from the Spotify app but the SoundForm app would not recognise this nor would it confirm a connection with the earbuds. I’m sure with time, I would be able to figure out a solution. Fortunately, it is possible to seek help through the chat function in the SoundForm app.

Having said this, I found the default output volume to be on the low side for my liking. I normally set the volume to the midpoint of the volume scale on my laptop when not using earbuds or headphones and this produces a sufficiently good sound. However, with the SoundForm Pulse earbuds, I had to either turn up the volume to the max or push them further into my ears to get the same level of enjoyment. I dread to think what damage this could be doing to my ears!

Furthermore, I found the default output volume to be on the low side for my liking. I normally set the volume to the midpoint of the volume scale on my laptop when not using earbuds or headphones and this produces a sufficiently good sound. However, with the SoundForm Pulse earbuds, I had to turn up the volume to the max to get the same level of enjoyment. I dread to think what damage this could be doing to my ears.

Summing up

Belkin has built a reputation for making personal computer and tech accessory products for over 40 years. Regrettably, my humble and honest review of the SoundForm Pulse earbuds may not be adulatory but I would be doing an injustice to offer praise undeservedly. I use my SoundForm Bolts regularly. At a price point more than three times the cost, the Pulse earbuds are sadly not three times better.

***UPDATE***

Having lived with the SoundForm Pulse a while, I have grown to like them despite my first impressions. I still get confused answering calls while listening to music but like most relationships, you get used to your partner’s quirks eventually!

Where to buy and cost

At just over $89 AUD, you can buy the Belkin SoundForm Pulse earbuds on Amazon

Or to learn more about other Belkin products, head over to their website www.belkin.com