Belkin - SoundForm Elite Smart Speaker with Alexa, Siri - Black

I'm not sure if this is a smart speaker with a built-in phone charger, or a phone charger with a built-in smart speaker. I mean that in a good way. Normally when you think Belkin, you think connectivity and chargers, not speakers. So usually when a company decides to take something they specialize in and integrate something that they don't, the latter is usually found wanting. That's absolutely not the case here. That may be attributable to the fact that Belkin decided to partner with a company that does specialize in audio. Personally, I've never heard of Devialet before, but after looking them up, it seems they're known for producing great bass. And after hearing this speaker, I believe it. If you were to walk into a room unsuspectedly with one of these playing music, you would never guess that the low frequencies and bass were actually coming out of this small speaker. It's not going to match a huge surround sound system, but it will definitely amaze you. In fact, I had a quality soundbar with separate subwoofer I used in my office and this actually keeps right up with it and is replacing it. To say I'm impressed with the sound is an understatement, but that's not all this speaker does. Being a Belkin, it's a wireless phone charger too. I have a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, which is about as big of a phone as you can get, and while it does stick out quite a bit past the back of the speaker, more than enough of it sits on the pad to make it stable, and the wireless charging starts up immediately. My phone is encased in a thick Samsung Rugged case, and the wireless charging still worked right through it. But not just regular charging, my galaxy showed that it was 'Fast-Charging'. Finally, it's smart, meaning it has Amazon Alexa built right into it. When setting this speaker up, I had to download the Belkin Soundform app to get it connected to wi-fi. During the setup process I was able to put in my Amazon credentials. Went into the Alexa app, which I already had for an echo dot in my house, and was able to see the Belkin device right away. After yelling 'ALEXA' a bunch of times and thinking it wasn't working, I found out the microphone for some reason wasn't on by default, and after turning it on started working just as good as my echo dot. And that's what I meant earlier, this smart speaker does all these different things so well, you'd never guess that it's primarily made by a company best known for chargers and cables. All that said, there is one big negative I have. And by big I mean the size of the power block. It's huge and actually the same size as the block for my laptop. I'm guessing it had to be bigger to allow for fast charging and keeping the speaker smaller by having those parts separately in the cord, but it makes it quite unsightly if you want to place it somewhere like a kitchen counter where the outlet is on the backsplash. One last thing, bluetooth works great too. The sound I heard that I'm still amazed by was coming from Spotify on my phone while connected to the speaker via bluetooth. Of course you can just play music through Alexa too.

First and foremost this little speaker will surprise you! The sound is really good, I was most surprised by the bass though. It’s obviously not the hard hitting bass, it’s the adds to the music kinda bass. It gives you the since of depth from the music that some small speakers lack. The speaker has Bluetooth 5.0, so you should have a solid and stable connection. Setup is a simple process through the app or you can just go the standard Bluetooth route if you’re not interested in the other features. If you are and you setup through the Belkin app, you can Use Alexa, have multi room support with other speakers and update the speakers firmware. There’s no sound profiles or eq controls in the app though. Alexa works as I would expect, but I only use Alexa for simple stuff like what’s the weather, play music and sometimes news. I like that it’s a simple touch to turn Alexa off and the lights stay lit red when it’s disabled. Having wireless charging built in (up to 10 watts) sets the speaker apart from other smart speakers. My one knock would be the price, I think the speaker sounds great and I love the wireless charging, but feel it would be a better buy if it was a little less. But, if you like simplicity or want something that will take up less space, then this is it. The Belkin SoundForm Elite is a small little powerhouse of a speaker & phone charger, perfect for a desk, nightstand or heck a tiny home sound system!

Belkin knocks it out of the park with the form and function of this Smart Speaker. Excellent for home or office usage in my opinion. I've got it paired up with my Amazon Alexa and I also have it connected to my iPhone XR via Bluetooth. Both of these initial set ups took very minimal work to get up and running. I really like the dark look of the fabric around the speaker and illuminated 4 dot lights in the front of the speaker which let me know Alexa has heard my commands. My iPhone XR charges upwith QI charging while sitting on the top and stays within view so I can easily read my phone notifications while it charges. So far I have really been impressed with the deep sound quality and the bass this produces. The smart speaker can really fill the room with some nice quality sound, and plays more on the heavy bass side of things. I like how nice this looks sitting on my table in the home office and it looks upscale. Resembles the Homepod, but has it's own unique look to it. Regarding sound quality I wish it would have a way to customize some treble and get some more high notes out of it. I also wish this had some LED illumination behind the touch controls for volume and play buttons. They can be difficult to see in a low lit room or setting. PRO: High quality sound Smart features for streaming QI charging for applicable phones CON: Lack of lit up displays for volume control panel

First things first. The premium part of this device is its sound quality and that’s what I’m going to start with. Pros, Cons, Comments and Conclusion last. Sound wise: Nice tight clean low bass and pretty clear high end when at low to about 80% volume level. After that it will start to break up and distort the louder you push it. The device will also start to attenuate the low frequencies once the volume level starts to exceed a certain limit at higher volumes. This helps but it can still break up a little and the mids and high mids start sounding a bit “harsh”. It’s plenty loud enough to fill the average bedroom or kitchen operating within the limits I stated and you will get nice clean audio. Note that this device is Mono and not Stereo. Lacks an analog audio input. Comparing sound quality to other similar audio equipment I have: Bose Wave Radio IV: Overall the Bose soundly beats it in my opinion. It gets louder before it starts to break up and it just sounds better. Never harsh and the very high end sounds cleaner to me. You can add an Alexa Dot and have that feature too. It won’t charge your phone but will play a CD, AM radio and FM Stereo. Has an analog audio input the Belkin lacks. Amazon Alexa Show 8: These things Rock! No kidding. Before I bought a couple of them last year I read reviews and listened in person to one. For the price and value I think it Beats the Belkin. They will get louder before breaking up and sound “about as good”. The bass is the strongest feature of the Belkin sound wise in my opinion. Value wise the Show 8 will do much more but won’t charge your phone. How I tested. I used my Galaxy Note 10+ with an OEM Samsung dongle to run analog audio to the Bose Wave Radio. I then played music by Alan Parsons, Steel Dan, Donald Fagen, Pink Floyd, ELO, Dire Straits, Heart, Pat Benatar, AC/DC, Alabama, Patsy Cline, Kraftwerk, Jean Michele Jarre, Yello... A little of everything but Rap. I then played the same songs on the Belkin via Bluetooth and went back and forth between the two. I did the same with the Alexa Show 8. EQ setting was flat for all devices. I also played music in a similar vein from SiriusXM and Amazon Music on all the devices with similar results. Do keep in mind that streaming music online can vary in quality due to the source’s bit rate and EQ settings. Upon unboxing it has a quick start guide that will tell you to download the app. When you run the app it will tell you what to do to set the device up. It’s pretty easy and I had no problems. Amazon Alexa features work like they should. Device feels solid and well made. Power adapter is a little bulky. It charged up my Note 10+ and wife’s Note 9 pretty fast as expected. However, if you have a case on your phone you may have to remove it for the wireless charging to work. We had to. I do not consider this a negative as it’s the same thing with any other wireless chargers we have used. Pros: Nice tight bass and clean highs at reasonable volume levels. Gets loud enough to fill a bedroom or kitchen. Works well as a wireless phone charger. Alexa works well. Well made. Easy to set up with its app. RGB / Multicolor LED indicators are easy to see. WiFi and Bluetooth connect without problems. Cons: Writing on the buttons is hard to impossible to read in dim light or when light is reflected off of the controls at a certain angle. See photos. Volume control is a bit course in the number of steps. Only 4 LEDs to show volume. No EQ presets or way to set EQ manually with the app. No analog audio input. Comments: Buttons should be illuminated for the price. Bluetooth could use an “in use” indicator. Speaker has rubber pads on the bottom for stability and vibration dampening. Single tweeter fires forward. Speaker is mono and not stereo. Base of the speaker is always warm to the touch even when not playing music or charging a phone. Looks cool. Conclusion: From a value point of view the Belkin Soundform Elite falls short. $300 is too much for what you get. I really expected better. As I write this review it’s on sale for $200 and that’s more in line. But if I had to choose between it and the Alexa Show 8, which retails at $130 (now at $65), on sound quality and price alone, it’s no contest. Alexa wins. Sound quality wise Bose beats them both. Price wise, Alexa Show 8.

Well the concept is awesome. Bass and sound is extraordinary until you start pushing it over 50% and then the bass starts falling off rapidly. For the size, I thought it would weigh more but it’s relatively light weight and that makes it feel cheap in my opinion. The mesh is nice, the device looks clean and simple but $299 for this is a bit of a rip off. The Apple HomePod Mini for $99 is a way better deal. That speaker has much stronger sound for its more compact size and cheaper price. If you want something simple for your desk or nightstand, get a a HomePod Mini or two and save $100-$200. This Belkin product isn’t bad, the price just doesn’t fit. The charging pad and Alexa integration is really nice (also ha Spotify) and make the device very practical but for how quiet it has to be to perform, it is coming up short. Gen II of this will be better. This product should be under $150, I will likely return it but I’ll give it a few more days. I got this on the deal of the day for $179+ tax but that still seems like too much for the product. Low volume sounds full, rich and packs a punch but that quickly fades as the volume increases. Also not a fan of the app, it works but I just don’t like it. If you have money to blow then give this a shot. If money is an issue, HomePod Mini will be a better purchase and will have a lot of compatibility with other devices (Apple, Sonos, etc.). If you need integrated charging, this is one of the better package options but don’t expect concert level volumes to fill the room.

Excellent but not the greatest phone charger. It connects to Bluetooth. It’s clear and not very loud. I recommend it

The sound that comes out of this little speaker is unreal. To give you an idea of where I am coming from, I love music, but currently most of my music is coming from small smart speakers that are all around the house. This speaker seemed interesting because it was supposed to have richer sound, AirPlay support, and be able to wirelessly charge my iPhone. Suffice to say that it absolutely delivered on all of those items. The sound on this little speaker is rich. Bass is very pronounced, but tight. I am surprised that the bass can sound so clear, and yet not rattle the items on the table. The mids are clear, as are are the highs. You can definitely hear a wider sound stage when you compare it to my other smart speakers. I think if you are looking for something with great sound that can easily fill a room but keep the footprint small, then this would be a hard item to beat. The AirPlay and wireless charging features work very well. We have iPhone and iPads in our home, and each one can connect to the speaker very quickly over AirPlay to play music, or podcasts. The wireless charger is also easy to use. All of our devices that support it were able to use it without any issues. The only hiccup I experienced was when I attempted to charge my iPhone 12 Pro Max with a MagSafe case on it. I think maybe the magnets caused an issue. It started charging, but after a couple of minutes, it stopped. Other than that, it was able to charge without issues. This is one of those products that catches you completely off guard. I truly did not expect such high quality sound to come from such a small speaker. It would be hard to rely on my other smart speakers for music after being spoiled with this Belkin speaker. The wireless charging and AirPlay features are just the cherry on top. This would be an easy recommendation to anyone looking for a great sounding speaker, to get the most out of their music.

This is a hard review to write, because I really think this speaker sounds and works great; in many ways it's a 5 star product. But I like less about it that it really seems to require you to use a smart service--Alexa or airplay in this model--to get the most out of your speaker. *IF* you're ok with this, I think you'll be amazingly happy with this little speaker. Using it can give you consistent, clear sound with an easy connection through Bluetooth or your wireless. There are no other forms of input--no aux or USB--so do understand that you're only going to be playing music through a service on the speaker (like Alexa) or through the Bluetooth connection. It can only connect to one device at a time, so also know that. If you're more wary about having these services know everything about you, it may be a little less attractive. That said, there are ways to use this speaker without Alexa by streaming from a device via bluetooth. Stream music or podcasts, etc. that you have stored on your device or stream spotify, or anything else you're playing on that device. I accidentally started playing a youtube video off my phone on the speaker. I was confounded by the sudden emergence of loud voices from the kitchen, until I realized the speaker was still talking to my phone. These functions work very well, and as long as you have a way to play audio through this kind of connection, you could probably skip Alexa (or Airplay or whatever) altogether. This is because the speaker sounds so good out of the box. It's supposedly setup for room filling sound with no adjustment necessary. It seems to me that this is true. However, you *can* find an equalizer setting. But, you can't seem to get it in the Belkin App that you'll download to control and setup the speaker. THAT is located only via Alexa (as far as I can tell, or probably via Airplay or other assistants; I've only checked Alexa.) In fact, I added Alexa ONLY so I could check on this capability. IF you are an avid Alexa fan, this won't bother you, and you'll have plenty of ability to hook this speaker in with all other smart devices and create synced sound everywhere. On the sound... The little speaker egg puts out deep, rich tones with notable bass and good high range. I could hear very clear articulation in some film soundtracks I played through the speaker (from high quality files on my tablet--not a streaming service). The bass is strong without, I feel, being overpowering and if you hold the little speaker in your hand while it's bopping along, you can really feel it working. But, the design of the unit means it doesn't rattle or vibrate on the counter, and it provides hi-fidelity and volume. I've come nowhere near turning it all the way up; it is very powerful. On a medium volume setting, I could hear music from my office all over the house. It's a far cry from the tinny old radio I had in the kitchen. Even pumping the local radio (through one of the radio apps) into the Belkin makes for listening pleasure. Streaming music is already a bit compressed; and digital copies are probably also not as crisp as a true cd signal would be. So, it feels a little silly to say how great this sounds when the source material cannot be 100% (there are no inputs other than wifi/bluetooth--no aux or usb--or you will only be piping digital music into this gorgeous sounding box.Still, that music sounds better here than on any other device in my home right now by a mile. Now, there is a great feature on this, which is a manual button to turn off the microphone. So, if you are paranoid like me and don't want Alexa (or whoever) listening, you can deactivate the microphone when not listening to music. For all my annoyance about Alexa, I have to admit it works really pretty awesomely well if you have access to prime music or a large collection of music on your amazon account. It's pretty darn cool to just ask this speaker to play an artist, or a specific song, and--most of the time--have that song or artist just start filling the room. And yeah, there are plenty of cheaper speakers, but I do think this one probably sounds at least an order of magnitude better. One can also arrange playlists on spotify or other services and set them up to play through the speaker. I will say, the Belkin app that you need to use for this speaker is a bit annoying. It does not have full control or ability to adjust settings in the app (you need your smart assistance app to mess with the equalizers). I think that's probably fine for the regular user, to be honest, but it's a bit annoying that Belkin's app seems purposefully ham-fisted in this regard. You can set up playlists and connections to streaming services within that app, so perhaps it's not totally useless other than for setting up this machine. That brings me to: setup. This didn't go a smoothly as it might have, possibly because my wi fi was choking that day, partly because the app is so simplistic it's, frankly, not great at giving you options or letting you explore a lot. At least that's what I've discovered so far about this thing.I did have to reset and start over at one point, as the speaker had gotten hooked into the wifi and the bluetooth, but I was having trouble getting through the series of steps for setup on the app. That said, no problems since then. A lot of sound in a small package. *I did not test the wireless charging, as it only works with select phones and devices. (which would be: not any of mine.)