At first, we would like to thank Belkin for offering a sample of their SOUNDFORM ELITE Hi-Fi Smart Speaker + Wireless Charger for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Belkin International:

“At Belkin International, we create products that help people realize the power of technology and make people’s lives better, easier and more fulfilling. This has been Belkin’s mission since our inception in 1983.

Belkin was founded by CEO, Chet Pipkin, in his parent’s garage. Even back then, Chet’s passion was driven by solving customer’s needs. He manufactured computer cable assemblies in the evenings and on weekends, and sold them to local computer manufacturers and dealers in response to the burgeoning personal computer market in the 1980’s. Since then, we’ve kept our southern California origins and are based in Playa Vista, right in the heart of the Los Angeles tech center.

Today, Belkin International has three brands – Belkin, Linksys and WeMo – to enhance the technology that connects us to the people, activities and experiences we love. Belkin products are renowned for their simplicity and ease of use, while our Linksys brand helped make wireless connectivity mainstream around the globe. Our newest brand, WeMo, is the leader in delivering customizable smart home experiences. Its product platform empowers people to monitor, measure and manage their electronics, appliances and lighting at home and on-the-go.”

 

AN EVOLUTION OF SOUND AND POWER

SOUNDFORM ELITE has been created in partnership with sound pioneers Devialet to deliver an impactful audio experience. We combined their extraordinary acoustic architecture with fast wireless charging and award-winning design to create a high-performing smart speaker for your home. SOUNDFORM ELITE allows you to play and control your music while experiencing stunning, room-filling sound throughout your home. Pair your speaker to Google Assistant and enjoy hands-free communication through your preferred smart assistant.

ACOUSTICS BY DEVIALET

Founded in 2007, Devialet is one of the world’s most critically acclaimed companies for innovation in sound technology. Devialet’s success is built upon a series of radical innovations embedded in all Devialet products, which include the Expert Pro amplifiers, connected Phantom Premier speakers, and the Phantom Reactor.

Ever since 2017, Devialet has also worked with selected Partners to bring breakthrough licensing products to life, merging some of the brand’s core audio technologies with the best-in-class solutions brought by each counterpart.

HIGH-FIDELITY SOUND

Your favorite artists work hard in the studio to get that mix just right. With the right technologies, you can appreciate the power and subtlety of every track, thanks to full-resonant bass and crystal-clear mixes. The result is high-fidelity sound that delivers an emotional experience.

SPEAKER ACTIVE MATCHING TECHNOLOGY BY DEVIALET

Feel the full resonant bass with crystal-clear detail at any volume. Devialet’s patented Speaker Active Matching (SAM®) technology makes high fidelity sound reproduction possible in any size factor.

DEVIALET’S “PUSH-PUSH” WOOFER ARCHITECTURE

Devialet’s signature "Push-Push" dual woofer configuration cancels vibrations while ensuring a deep, impactful sound experience with truly powerful bass.

FAST WIRELESS CHARGING

The thoughtfully designed charging cradle holds your smartphone securely, for fast, convenient wireless charging. Vibration-cancelling technology in the speaker ensures your device charges steadily without interruption.

MUSIC IN EVERY ROOM

Create a whole-home audio experience and play your music in multiple rooms at the same time. Designed to pair with another SOUNDFORM ELITE or any Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker, it’s easy to listen to the playlists, podcasts, and songs you love no matter what room you are in.

A SMARTER SPEAKER

We didn’t stop at stunning, room-filling sound. Use Google Assistant to play music, find answers online, manage everyday tasks, and easily control smart devices around your home – just by using your voice.

DESIGN THAT PULLS YOU IN FROM ANY ANGLE

The SOUNDFORM ELITE Hi-Fi Smart Speaker combines flawless audio playback with stunning design. It commands attention, in every way.

A WARRANTY YOU CAN TRUST

We have carefully crafted and engineered our best-in-class speaker to perform flawlessly and support it with a 2-Year Limited Warranty. Our product warranty also extends to protect your connected devices for added peace-of-mind.

 

Dimensions:

Wide – 162mm (6.4”)

Deep – 162mm (6.4”)

Tall – 168.5mm (6.63”)

Weight: 1.25Kg (2.8lbs.)

 

Technical Specifications:

Colors: Black and White

Sound Stage: Mono with SAM® by Devialet

Controls: Play/Pause, Mute, Vol +/-, BT connection

Microphone: 2 far field microphones for voice control***

SPL Max: 90 dB SPL +/- 3dB

Full Range Driver Size: 35mm

Woofer Driver Size: 2 x 70mm, vibration cancelling "Push-Push" configuration

Woofer Max Input peak Power: 2 x 60watts

Full Range Max Input peak power: 1 x 30watts

Frequency Response: 40 – 20,000Hz

Voice Assistant: Google Assistant

Bluetooth / Wifi: Bluetooth 5.0 / Wifi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz)

Wireless Charge: Up to 10-watt charge

 

Package Includes:

Hi-Fi Smart Speaker + Wireless Charger

AC Adapter

Quick Start Guide

 

In this article we will concentrate upon one of the more interesting products from Belkin and to be more exact the SoundForm Elite Hi-Fi Smart Speaker packing Devialet acoustics. It looks quite unique like half of an egg chopped in the middle at a certain angle, enabling additional interfaces but also wireless charging for devices which support this technology.

The product exists with two separate SKU’s -> one supporting Alexa and AirPlay 2, while the other coming with Google Assistant. Since we do mostly use Android devices, Belkin did ship the Google Assistant version in black color (yes, a white version is available as well):

 

 

 

On the frontal area of the box, we will get to see a photo of the speaker in operation:

 

 

 

On one of the other sides, we will spot a photo from another angle, showing the physical interfaces:

 

 

 

The main product highlights can be seen on the back:

 

 

 

After lifting the top cover of the box, we will get to see that the speaker is further protected inside a plastic cover, but also sits steady in a recycled cardboard mold:

 

 

 

We will also receive the power adapter, but also a Regulatory and Sustainability Information leaflet:

 

 

 

The Quick Start Guide shows the steps we need to take in order to start operating the speaker but also which are the product main interfaces:

 

 

 

The supplied power adapter was manufactured by DEE VAN ENTERPRISE is rated on the output 19V at 3.42A, being able to supply a maximum of 65W:

 

 

 

The jack plug has a proprietary shape:

 

 

 

Let’s look at the main product and see what Belkin has in store for us!

 

 

 

Right from the start, when you do check the external aspect of the product you realize that it really comes with a premium construction; the top area does integrate a large wireless charging pad but also the physical control interfaces:

 

 

 

The said wireless charging pad is covered by a rubberized layer and also features the “Acoustics by Devialet” logo in the middle:

 

 

 

On the control panel, we do have two microphone ports (one on the left and one on the right), a Bluetooth pair mode button, Volume -/+ a Play/Pause button but also a Microphone mute button:

 

 

 

The product is 162mm wide, 162mm deep and tall of only 168.5mm so quite compact and ideal to be used on the bedside desk/table:

 

 

 

 

 

The charging dock does have rubber material in the area where the bottom of the device will sit, in order to avoid creation of any scuffs or scratches:

 

 

 

On the bottom area of the speaker we will find the complete product name, the model code name, country of manufacture, serial number but also a small Reset button; the rubber arc layers will make sure the speaker won’t move or slip on the surface:

 

 

 

In the back, we will see the charging port:

 

 

 

In a few seconds, we can install the charging plug for completing the hardware install:

 

 

 

Upon the first initialization, the frontal status LEDs will light up and a voice will mention of Google Home to be installed in order to be able to access all device features:

 

 

 

Depending on the action we are performing, the LEDs will light up differently; if they light up orange, for example, it means that the microphones have been muted:

 

 

 

We can confirm that after placing our Galaxy S21 smartphone on the pad, it has started in wireless Fast Charging mode:

 

 

 

 

Google Home application will help integrate the Smart Speaker in our network, for more control capabilities:

 

 

 

Right after we have turned on the Belkin Smart Speaker, it was detected by the smartphone as a Chromecast device:

 

 

The next step would be to install Google Home from Google Play:

 

 

Google Home comes with a pretty lengthy wizard for accessing all configuration options:

 

 

The Belkin Smart Speaker was found right away:

 

 

A sound test will be done to confirm that the speaker is operating well:

 

 

We can share device stats with Google in order to improve the Home service:

 

 

The device can be assigned to a room in the house:

 

 

Custom room names can be assigned as well:

 

 

Google Home is also able to pick up the details from the currently connected WiFi network and inject the password to the speaker:

 

 

The next setup steps will involve Google Assistant training:

 

 

Next, we can select which music services should be used along with the Assistant:

 

 

Google Duo video chatting service is also integrated with the Assistant:

 

 

A review screen will be posted next:

 

 

The Home dashboard will then show the configured compatible devices:

 

 

In order to feed audio directly from your Bluetooth device such as the smartphone, you can link it from the respective menu as well:

 

 

Streaming music via YouTube music is a very easy task:

 

 

Via the same Google Home interface, we can adjust the speaker volume, but can do the same with the “OK Google” prompt or via the physical buttons:

 

 

EQ settings are available as well:

 

 

Many other settings can be adjusted for the speaker such as address, enable Night mode, alarms and timers, pair more Bluetooth devices, choose a Chromecast-enabled TV for video output and more!

 

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Right after connecting the speaker to our network, we have performed multiple listening tests in YouTube Music, by listening to different YouTube clips and we did also watch some TV shows. Thanks to the Devialet acoustics with Speaker Active Matching and the Push-Push woofer architecture (2x 70mm woofers), we were amazed how deep the bass can be rendered, with little to no vibrations on the desk. The highs are clear as well (rendered via the included 35mm full-range driver) and not only help with the Google Assistant voice but also with the dialogs in movies or voices in video clips.

 

The Belkin Smart Speaker fully supports Google Home integration and can be paired with other smart speakers around your home in order to enjoy a seamless experience. The speaker can be linked to online music services such as Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, YouTube music but you can also play directly to it via Bluetooth link. Bluetooth works very well since we have linked it to our TV, our media center PC which features a separate Bluetooth adapter but also our smartphone. We haven’t noticed any delays or artifacts during playback and the audio material sounded good!

 

In order to check the current status of the speaker, you can make use of the included frontal LEDs, which do turn off when not needed, in order to keep a professional appearance of the speaker.

 

The ability to fast-charge your Qi-enabled device is a very nice addition and the small white LED will light up until the charging completes successfully.

 

By checking the sale price, 229 Euros at the time of the review, we can say that it integrates along with other premium audio solutions out there. Judging by the volume it can throw out, quality of bass and small footprint, we can say that it can easily replace some sound bars as well, while connected to our TV.

Belkin SOUNDFORM ELITE Hi-Fi Smart Speaker + Wireless Charger is Recommended for:

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to Belkin for making this review possible!