Belkin SoundForm Adapt headset review

In the gaming space, wireless headsets are all the rage. But they typically attract a premium that makes them a pricey pick, particularly for anyone who wants a headset more for voice and video calls over the low-latency needs of online gaming. Cue the entry of the Belkin SoundForm Adapt, which is a wireless Bluetooth headset that can comfortably double as budget headphones. Let’s see how the headset fares after testing.

The Belkin SoundForm Adapt occupies something of a hybrid space in the market. On one hand, it’s a sub-$100 pair of lightweight over-ear headphones. But the foldable microphone makes it a headset, albeit there’s not a whole lot of competition for those outside of the gaming space. It doesn’t have a 2.4GHz dongle or DAC to offer low-latency audio, so you’re reliant on Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity (or 3.5mm wired) for audio and microphone communication.

As for the Bluetooth headphones part, around the same price point you’ll find JLab Studio Pros, AIWA AWH2Hs, or the cheaper Sony WH-CH520s. In this respect, the dedicated microphone is a point of difference, but you can viably use the SoundForm Adapt more frequently as a pair of wireless over-ear headphones, with headset capability as a nice backup (or even just as a nice-to-have).

It doesn’t come with a case—which, in fairness, isn’t overly surprising at this price point—but I do appreciate the foldable design of the Belkin SoundForm Adapt headset for easier bag storage. At 216 grams, it’s a compact and lightweight over-ear headset built with mobility in mind.

For use, size adjustment is intuitive via notched left and right headband expansion, while the all-important comfort is facilitated via fabric cushioning on the headband and earcups. Neither is particularly generous on the padding front, but I didn’t have any comfort issues during my hours of testing, and they were equally comfortable with glasses on or off.

The left earcup is where you’ll find the USB-C charging port, 3.5mm audio jack and the flip-down microphone. That mic doesn’t reach past my molars, so it’s not distractingly close to being in your mouth but nor is it overly close, so I did have initial sensitivity concerns. When folded up, you can partially tuck the microphone up against the inside of the headband to make it look more like headphones, but it still looks a bit like a radio antenna.

On the right earcup are the physical buttons. The power button depresses easily and, when powered on, it also lets you play or pause music. Unfortunately, neither double tapping nor triple tapping does the usual skip forward/back controls. The volume buttons are easy to find but are perhaps a bit too greedy in their incremental jumps up and down to find the right volume. You’re better off using the device volume to find the perfect level.

Pairing is mercifully easier than the Belkin SoundForm Motion 2 earbuds, but physical buttons are usually more reliable. Pairing the first device was automated, and pairing others is as simple as holding down the power button for three seconds. Despite the low asking price, the SoundForm Adapt has Bluetooth multipoint, which is a welcome inclusion, even if it is a smidge disappointing that it uses Bluetooth 5.2 instead of one of the newer revisions.

I feel bad whenever I test cheap headphones or headsets as I typically go for premium equivalents and my playback expectations have been spoiled. My go-to headphones are the inelegantly named but ultimately awesome Sony WH-1000XM5 and my headset is the high-end SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Obviously, the Belkin SoundForm Adapt can’t compete with either of those audio-givers, but nor is it trying to.

What you get instead is a range of okay to commendable results, none of which is impressive on the bass front. Basically, anything that typically impresses with bass felt hollow on the SoundForm Adapt, including Childish Gambino’s ‘3005’, Opeth’s ‘The Funeral Portrait’ and The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’.

There was solid balance for Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance’, Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ and Steely Dan’s ‘Do It Again’. The Beatles’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ upped that balance with some decent vocal width, but the synths in Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ felt binary for the left and right channels rather than flowing between the two.

Sometimes the highs are overly emphasised, resulting in other layers getting muddled, which was the case with the overbearing high hats in Portishead’s ‘Humming’ and the rhythm guitar getting lost behind the rest of the audio in Deftones’ ‘Swerve City’. Still, I was impressed with how the SoundForm Adapt handled the cacophony of Radiohead’s ‘The National Anthem’, even if the lacklustre bass was a returning disappointment.

Because the SoundForm Adapt is branded as a headset, you should reasonably expect more from its microphone than other over-ear headphones thanks to a dedicated external mic. Look, it’s okay. In my mic tests, the SoundForm Adapt recorded my voice clearly, though it did pick up not-too-loud background noise despite claiming to have environmental noise cancellation. And, continuing with its bass-shunning theme, the mic also offered a tinnier version of my voice.

On the positive front, the SoundForm Adapt does offer up to 65 hours of playback on a full charge. And while there wasn’t a measurable claim for how fast it is, the headset also reportedly has fast charging. If you’re fully out of juice, there’s an included 3.5mm cable.

The Belkin SoundForm Adapt is a well-priced Bluetooth headset that is better at being over-ear wireless headphones. Sure, the audio quality can’t compete with more premium alternatives, but these cans offer an affordable pathway to decent playback and clear voice communications, helped along by all-day comfort and generous battery life.