BUDDING EARBUDS

BELKIN’S BUDDING earbuds

A self-confessed Belkin lover, Metropol’s gadget guru Ian Knott shoves the latest Soundform Rise Earbuds in his lugholes and discovers yet another quality, entry-level product from the brand.

The headphone and earbud market is a saturated one, with the big names like Skullcandy, Beats, Sony, Bose and Apple dominating much of the market.

But with big brands often come big prices, and that’s where the peripheral brands come into play. One of those brands is Belkin - who make a fairly wide range of electronic accessories, not one you’d probably associate with earbuds.

Known for making quality products at just above entry level prices, they have a range of earbuds, the mid-range model of which is the Belkin Soundform Rise.

At around $130, the Rise are definitely placed in the affordable bracket, but don’t look or feel cheap by any means. Available in white or black, they carry a little more weight than many, so feel quite sturdy - but that extra weight comes with some issues.

In general, the Rise fit really nicely, and it’s easy to forget you have them in. But when things got a little sweaty at the gym, I found that because the excess weight sits out further from the ear, the buds started slipping out quite regularly. I certainly wouldn’t want to wear them out on the bike for this reason.

Sound-wise, the Rise are more than adequate, with a boosted bass that can’t be turned off, but can be adjusted via your phone settings. Audiophiles may want to steer clear though.

There are the standard touch controls - volume, next/previous track and pause, and the built-in quad-microphones deliver excellent performance on calls and Zoom meetings.

The Soundform Rise boast seven hours of playing time, with an extra 24 hours from the wireless charging case - a tricky thing to test, so we’ll have to take Belkin at their word.

If you’re after an affordable earbud that delivers quality sound with all the useful features, then definitely consider Belkin as an alternative to the more obvious brands.

SURPRISE THEM WITH A GIFT THEY'LL NEVER FORGET.