Granted, we’re all used to the quality of Belkin products, but the SoundForm Elite is out of this world. With superb sound quality and power capable of completely filling the room, this speaker is a great option for enjoying our music.
Design: high-end materials and quality finishes
Let’s start from the beginning, the design. In this area, Belkin has accustomed us to very clean devices, and the SoundForm Elite is totally in this line. This is a rounded speaker with the top part ready to control playback, interact with the device, and charge our iPhone.
The enclosure itself is made of plastic and combines different textures and finishes. The main part of the body of the device is covered with a mesh that lets air and therefore sound through. At the bottom it has pads that ensure it won’t slip from the vibration of the music or even from a pull on the cable.
The very lightly padded texture of the area where our iPhone rests while charging is particularly appreciated. Unlike the rest of the top frame, it has a softer texture and is also non-slip. It is not something that is perceived with the naked eye, which gives it a unified visual appearance, but by touch.
Installation: simple and with several additional options
The installation and setup process is very simple and we will do it with the Belkin SoundForm app which we can download from the App Store. The same app walks us through the process, just plug in the speaker and wait for the amber lights to flash, select the speaker and play Add device. At this point we are asked to give the app access to the location, the same app informs us that this data will not be saved and it is mandatory, it doesn’t seem like a big inconvenience, especially if we are using the iOS 14 non-precise location option, but I would have preferred not to have to give this information.
At this point, we choose the Wi-Fi network, enter the password and we are ready for the last step, which is optional. If we are Alexa users, we can sign in with our Amazon account and allow access, after choosing the language we want to use, we have the assistant ready to help us.
After this initial setup, we can go to app settings to add Spotify account, If we do, we can play the content from the streaming service directly to the speaker without having to use our iPhone, iPad or Mac.
From this initial configuration, each time the speaker is connected to the power supply, it emits a sound and then announces that it has connected to the Wi-Fi network. This is a really useful announcement if at some point something is not working properly with the connection, after unplugging it we can check, on the same speaker, that everything is in order.
Usage: excellent sound quality, although by AirPlay 1
Let’s start with the simplest thing: wireless charging on the top of the speaker. The truth is, being able to put a few devices together into one allows us to keep more order at home and simplify. As for the load, it does exactly what it promised thanks to the 10 watts of power it offers.
Now let’s move on to sound, the star of this product. In short, I must say that I was surprised. This speaker is really capable of increasing the volume a lot. In a medium-sized room, the maximum volume is still too high, can easily fill rooms up to 25 square meters. Beyond volume the most important thing about this speaker is the body that makes the sound, the bass is very well balanced and the treble has excellent definition. Yes, be careful, we will play the music by AirPlay or Bluetooth, of course, we do not expect ultra studio quality, but I say it again: it surprises.
As for the interaction with the speaker, everything will be done via Alexa by voice, or via the five buttons on the front. With them we can turn bluetooth mode on or off, increase and decrease the volume, pause or resume playing and mute the microphone. This last function allows us to completely disconnect the microphone from the device, when it is like that, the four front lights are displayed in red so that we have a visual confirmation that nothing we say will reach Alexa.
Belkin Hi-Fi Smart Speaker + SoundForm Elite Wireless Charger (Alexa, Bluetooth, AirPlay2, Devialet), Black
One of the weakest points of this speaker, seen from the perspective of an Apple user who is part of the ecosystem, is the use of AirPlay instead of AirPlay 2. Of course, this may change in the future through a firmware update, but for now we need to stream music from our iPhone, iPad or Mac, is that a big drawback? Not at all, just something to keep in mind.
There are more and more offers in the world of smart speakers, some are aimed at putting one in every corner of the house, others are aimed at sound quality. This is the case with Belkin, an orator who must be heard to be believed.
