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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-02 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC — biggest strength: Bluetooth 5.2 with multipoint, so two devices stay paired at once and you can jump between them, plus hybrid Active Noise Cancellation and an IPX5 sweat/splash rating for the commute and the gym. Biggest trade-off: it is a conventional in-ear design with no built-in music storage, so it has nothing to fall back on once you leave Bluetooth range — and water is only rated for splashes, not swimming.
• swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds — biggest strength: an IPX8 sealed bone-conduction build with 32GB of onboard MP3 storage, so it plays skip-free audio underwater where Bluetooth simply gives up. Biggest trade-off: there is no noise cancelling at all, the open-ear design lets the world in by design, and Bluetooth only works on land.
• Pick Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC if your day is calls, commuting, workouts and juggling two devices.
• Pick swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds if lap swimming, open-water sessions or triathlon training is the whole point.
The SoundForm Pulse is built for the person whose audio life happens above water. Bluetooth 5.2 pairs in seconds, and multipoint is the headline here: it holds a connection to two devices at once and lets you switch between them without digging into settings. If you take a call on your phone while a podcast is queued on your laptop, that handoff is the feature you will notice every single day. Google Fast Pair makes the initial Android setup a one-tap job.
Around that, Belkin layers hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, which is designed to tamp down ambient noise while still letting a useful amount of the world through, and an IPX5 rating that covers sweat and rain. The 12mm dynamic drivers run a 20Hz–20,000Hz range, and the six-microphone array with a noise-reduction algorithm is aimed squarely at call clarity, with a Mono Mode so you can listen through one earbud and stretch the battery. Belkin rates the battery at 35 hours, the case supports Qi wireless charging, and the box includes three sizes of silicone tips plus a USB-C cable. A two-year limited warranty backs it.
Who should buy it: commuters, gym-goers and anyone who lives between a phone and a laptop. Who should skip it: swimmers, and anyone who wants a headphone that can store music on its own. It is in-ear, plastic-bodied in white, and it depends entirely on a Bluetooth link.
swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds: Who It's For
The clever part is the 2-in-1 approach. On land it is a Bluetooth 5.4 open-ear sport headset with hands-free calling, low latency and a 10-meter range — fine for running, cycling, gym work and hiking. In the water, Bluetooth is useless, so you flip to the built-in 32GB of MP3 storage and play directly from the headset. You connect the magnetic USB cable to a computer, drag and drop your files, and the audio keeps going lap after lap. swimaudios puts that capacity at 4,000-plus songs, podcasts or audiobooks.
Battery is rated 8–15 hours with a 1.5-hour charge time, and the bone-conduction driver runs the same 20Hz–20,000Hz range as the Belkin. Two things to know before buying: there is no noise cancelling of any kind, and open-ear bone conduction is deliberately designed to let outside sound in. Controls are physical buttons rather than touch. It carries a one-year warranty and ships with an adjustable strap, magnetic charging cable and manual.
Who should buy it: swimmers and multi-sport athletes who want one device for the pool and the run. Who should skip it: anyone who wants to block out a train carriage, and anyone who expects multipoint device switching.
• Best for multipoint pairing → Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC. Two devices connected at once, switching on the fly — the swimaudios set pairs to one device at a time over Bluetooth.
• Best for swimming → swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds. IPX8 and sealed for underwater use to roughly 3 meters versus IPX5 splash resistance on the Belkin.
• Best for noise cancelling → Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC. Hybrid ANC versus no noise control at all on the swimaudios.
• Best for music without a phone → swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds. 32GB of onboard MP3 storage; the Belkin has no built-in media storage.
• Best for battery life → Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC. 35 hours rated versus 8–15 hours, and the case adds Qi wireless charging the swimaudios does not have.
• Best for call quality → Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC. Six microphones with a noise-reduction algorithm and Mono Mode.
• Best for staying aware of traffic → swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds. Open-ear bone conduction leaves your ears uncovered.
• Best for wearing all day → Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC. Light in-ear fit with three tip sizes and a charging case to top it up.
My Verdict
how to pair multiple headphones
Pairing multiple headphones is normally a device-by-device job: you put each headset into pairing mode and connect it in your source device's Bluetooth menu, then choose which one is active. If you want two devices live at the same time on one headset, that is multipoint — the Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC supports it for two devices at once, while the swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds connect over Bluetooth one device at a time.
how to pair multiple headphones iphone
On iPhone you open Settings, go to Bluetooth, and select the headset you want while it is in pairing mode. The Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC pairs over standard Bluetooth 5.2, so it works the same way on iOS, and its multipoint connection lets it hold a second device alongside the iPhone. The swimaudios headset also pairs to an iPhone over Bluetooth 5.4 when you are out of the water.
how to pair multiple headphones on ipad
On iPad, the same Bluetooth menu handles it, and switching between an iPad and a phone repeatedly is where multipoint earns its keep. The Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC can stay connected to two devices at once, so moving between an iPad and a phone does not mean re-pairing. The swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds are a single-connection Bluetooth headset, though their 32GB MP3 mode means you can leave the iPad behind entirely at the pool.
how to pair multiple bluetooth headphones
You cannot run two separate headsets as one output on most phones without extra hardware, so in practice you switch between paired devices rather than play through both. What you can do is keep two devices paired to one headset: the Belkin SoundForm Pulse ANC's multipoint connection keeps a phone and a computer ready at the same time. The swimaudios Swimming Ear Buds are best thought of as one Bluetooth connection plus standalone MP3 playback.
If price is the deciding factor for you, check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit — the specs above are what separate them, not the numbers on the listing.
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