Wireless earbuds aren't always made for every situation, and workouts pose a unique challenge for general buds, including the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro or Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. They're not designed to stay secure and withstand sweat or water like a dedicated pair of fitness earbuds. Fitness buffs will turn to alternatives instead, which are expensive.
Our favorite fitness earbuds are the in-ear Powerbeats Pro 2 at $250 and the open-air Shokz OpenFit 2 at $180. While both are great, their price tags might be tough to justify for people who already own one of the best wireless earbuds. The question is: do you need to spend that much to get a pair of Android earbuds that'll handle the gym, the track, and everything in between?
To find out, I tested Belkin's new SoundForm ActiveFit earbuds — an intriguing pair of fitness buds priced at just $42. That's a fraction of the cost of a Powerbeats Pro 2 set. Even as a Powerbeats enjoyer, I wasn't convinced my preferred running earbuds were more than five times better than the SoundForm ActiveFit.
After using the SoundForm ActiveFit and the Powerbeats Pro 2 side by side, Belkin's offering blew me away. There are clear shortcomings, as you'd expect, but the value proposition for the SoundForm ActiveFit is readily apparent.
How the Belkin SoundForm ActiveFit cover the basics
Normally, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend buying a pair of earbuds this cheap. You get what you pay for where audio is concerned, although the gap between budget and premium earbuds seems to be closing more by the day. It's a completely different story for workout earbuds — sound quality is lower on the list of key features.
While crisp vocals and booming bass are always appreciated, they're not necessities for fitness earbuds. Instead, traits such as water and sweat resistance, battery life, comfort and fit, and awareness loom large. The last point is crucial. Awareness is needed for safety while running, walking, or biking in public areas, and that's why people often turn to earbuds with ANC and transparency mode.
Letting the right sounds in ensures a runner or biker is tuned into their surroundings. The problem? ANC and transparency are quite hard to find on budget earbuds. That's why I was surprised to see "Hear-Thru Mode" on the SoundForm ActiveFit, which uses the onboard microphones to enable passthrough sound.
It's essential for outdoor workouts, even if it's not true ANC or transparency mode in the conventional sense.
The next thing I look for in workout earbuds is a comfortable and secure fit. Belkin checks this box with a silicone ear hook that wraps around your ear for maximum security. The Powerbeats Pro 2 have this too, but don't feel as stable in the ear — likely because they're a bit smaller and have a different insertion angle.
Durability and sweat-resistance are covered by an IP54 rating, matching the Beats' IPX4 liquid certification but adding dust resistance. You get nine hours of playback from the earbuds, plus another 27 hours from the charging case. The case itself has USB-C and a built-in lanyard loop, perfect for living in your gym bag.
How the Powerbeats Pro 2 justify their lofty price tag
The SoundForm ActiveFit are actually solid in terms of volume, even if the earbuds tend to get tinny at higher volumes. The default EQ profile is Belkin Signature Sound, and you can switch to Bass Boost and Balanced if you please.
I wouldn't recommend it, however, as the sound signature simply sounds off in the other modes. One boosts the bass at the expense of everything else, and the other cuts it out almost entirely.
This is where the Powerbeats Pro 2 comparatively shine. They're better-sounding with a balanced profile that borrows sound signature and hardware from the famed AirPods Pro 2. Additionally, their on-earbuds controls are better, with Beats providing physical buttons on each bud plus a volume rocker.
The Powerbeats Pro 2 also add active noise-canceling, transparency mode, and an Adaptive EQ setting. Battery life is slightly longer, at 10 hours from the earbuds on a single charge. They generally have more microphones and sensors, but the SoundForm ActiveFit do support a newer version of Bluetooth.
The elephant in the room here is the Powerbeats Pro 2's support for heart-rate monitoring via an in-built optical sensor. There is also an accelerometer and gyroscope for good measure; the Powerbeats Pro 2 put the fitness in fitness earbuds.
The thing is, all these upgrade areas fall firmly in the "nice-to-have" category rather than the "essential" category.
Do you need to spend a fortune on workout earbuds?
As such, I'm confident saying you probably would do just fine with the $42 earbuds instead of the $250 ones. I've run countless miles with some generation of Powerbeats in my ears, and could definitely make the switch to the Belkin SoundForm ActiveFit and not miss a beat.
They cover all the basics, and the $42 price point is a feature in itself. If one earbud falls down the storm drain or gets crushed by a dumbbell, you probably won't lose any sleep over it. A cheap pair of workout earbuds like these might make the perfect companion to a premium pair you already have for daily use.
