Sony - LinkBuds True Wireless Open-Ear Earbuds - White

The wireless earbud market is more competitive than ever, with all major brands focusing on improved noise cancellation, better battery life, and smaller earbuds. With the LinkBuds, Sony has taken a completely new and innovative approach with the "open ring" design allowing you to hear what's happening around you. I love the concept and I was excited to try these out so I could wear them at my office and still hear my co-workers talk to me. After a steep learning curve on how to properly insert these into my ears, === DESIGN AND COMFORT (4 Stars) === - The LinkBuds are small and very lightweight. The "open ring" portion is smaller than a dime and is the portion that goes inside your ear. The round buds protrude ever so slightly from your ears, but they are certainly smaller than larger noise cancelling earbuds. - The LinkBuds have small silicone tips which Sony says should be "pushed into your ear grooves" to ensure a secure fit. It took a lot of trial and error, but after a couple of hours I finally found the right combination of tips for my ears. Strangely, I needed the large tip in my right ear and the medium tip in my left ear. This is the first pair of earbuds where I've had to use a mirror to ensure I'm inserting them properly. I even had to watch all of Sony's support videos to see just how to make these fit. The biggest take-away is that you need to get the silicone tips to "lock" behind the groove/lip of your ear. I would highly recommend watching Sony's support videos and following the diagrams/illustrations provided in the packaging. It might take a few tries and a few different combinations of silicone tips before you figure it out. - When they are in my ears, the LinkBuds feel rather comfortable. There's no pain or pressure to speak of. After 10 minutes or so, I forget I'm wearing them. - I would highly recommend to "try before you buy." Go to your local store to see if they have a pair you can try on to ensure the fit works for your ears. === Open Ring/Ambient Sound (4.5 Stars) === - This is undoubtedly the main selling point of the LinkBuds, and those who prefer open-back headphones will likely appreciate the soundstage achieved by such small earbuds. The "transparency" effect with the LinkBuds is miles ahead of anything you'll get from a transparency mode in noise cancelling headphones or earbuds. - There are no seals around the LinkBuds to prevent ambient sounds from reaching your ear canal. As such, you can have full conversations with the LinkBuds in your ears or hear the sound of traffic as you walk on the sidewalk -- as long as the volume isn't up too high, that is. - One downside to the open ring/no seal design is that sound will likely leak out of the LinkBuds so those around you can hear what you're listening to. Not a huge issue, but something to be aware of when you're in a quiet setting. - There's no question that the LinkBuds provide the best transparency or ambient sound passthrough of any earbuds on the market. If you frequently walk around in a major city or work in a busy office where you need to hear your surroundings, these could be a game-changer. Frequent fliers or those who need noise cancellation should definitely look elsewhere. === FEATURES (4 Stars) === - The LinkBuds are too small to have touch controls built in. To get around this problem, Sony introduced a feature called Wide Area Tap. Insteal of tapping or swiping on the LinkBuds to control your music, you simply tap the area around your ears. By default, double- or triple-tapping around your left ear controls volume, while taps around your right ear control music playback (skip forward/backward). The feature works remarkably well -- almost too well, sometimes, as I have accidently skipped a couple of songs by simply scratching my face. Still, this is a very unique feature and I hope it's something that Sony can incorporate into its other earbud products. - The charging case is very compact and has a nice texture - it's not too slippery and it will not pick up fingerprints or scratches. It charges via USB-C, but does not have wireless charging. - Battery life is rated at 5.5 hours, while the charging case provides an extra 12 hours when fully charged. This is fine, but certainly not great. - The Sony Headphones app is easy to use and has a ton of customization options such as an equalizer, 360 Degree Audio, and more. === SOUND QUALITY (4 Stars) === - As long as you understand the inherent drawbacks to open designs like that of the LinkBuds, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the sound quality offered here. In relatively quiet settings, vocals and highs sound crisp and clear, if not a little muted. There is very little distortion, even at higher volumes. - The largest drawback is the lack of bass -- it's practically non-existent in the LinkBuds, so you'll want to keep another set of headphones or earbuds handy for your EDM music. - The open ring design allows for a much wider soundstage compared to traditional sealed earbuds. Music sounds like it is coming from all around you - almost like a perfectly placed set of speakers at a large concert venue. - Would I use the LinkBuds as my primary earbuds/headphones for music? Probably not, but they are a great secondary pair to have at the office or in my backpack when I need to hear what's going on around me. === OVERALL (4 Stars) === The LinkBuds are the most unique earbuds introduced in quite some time. While most manufacturers have focused on things like noise cancellation, Sony recognized there was a desire for earbuds that don't completely block out the world around you. The LinkBuds certainly deliver on that front, although the design and strange fitment will not suit everyone. It took me quite a while to learn how to achieve the best fit, and even now, I'm still a bit uneasy that they will fall out of my ears unexepctedly. I commend Sony for its innovation in this space, but I would highly recommend potential buyers try these on at a store if possible before purchasing.

PROS: + Open-Ring Design is Very Effective For Audio Transparency + Good Battery Life + Charging Case Works Great + Compact + Lightweight + IPX4 Water Resistance + Mics Sound Good For Calls + DSEE & Speak-To-Chat Work Great + Tap Control Works Great For What It Can Do CONS: + Comfort Depends on Ear Shape + Music Lacks Bass + Automatic Volume Control Not Great + Tap Control Options Are Limited Overall + Adaptive Audio Control & 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer Didn’t Work Great For Me + Audio Bleed At Larger Volumes TRANSPARENCY The Sony LinkBuds offer a very unique concept on wireless earbuds, providing the best transparency experience of any earbud or headphone I have used. This is thanks to the open-ring design, which essentially provides a hole for sounds to passthrough, meaning you can still hear your environment without needing digital audio processing or artificial passthrough to let you hear your environment while wearing your device. The result is hearing your environment naturally, almost as if you were not wearing earbuds at all, even while listening to music. It’s a novel concept, but one that actually works well in almost all scenarios, and coupled with the IPX4 water resistance, makes these a very strong product for working out or commuting. COMFORT Stacked on top of this key selling feature is a good battery life that should satisfy most listening sessions, and lightweight and compact ergonomics which should make these extremely comfortable, if you have the right ear-shape. This brings me to my first issue with the device, which is that, for me personally, these are not the most comfortable earbuds. They aren’t as uncomfortable as they might look at first glance, given they fit entirely in your ear, but even after I dialed in the fit with the included interchangeable rubber rings (I needed the largest size), which work amazingly well at keeping the earbuds from falling out, I found that after about 2 hours or so, my ears would start to get sore. This being said, your mileage may vary, with my partner finding them very comfortable for her ears. Regardless, despite seeming like they would fall out often, once you get used to how they should rest in your ear, I found them to be extremely secure, even during workouts with lots of head movement. SOFTWARE On the software side, Sony, as they are known for, provide a full suite of software enhancements via their headphone app. Among these, my favorites were the DSEE system, which tries to enhance compressed audio to original high-quality, and the Speak-to-Chat system, which automatically mutes your music once you start to speak. Both of these are optional features, but work great for the most part, so I tended to leave them engaged at all times. While the speak-to-chat can be annoying if you tend to sing along or hum to yourself while listening to music, it can be great for most situations where you want to talk to someone else without needing to manually pause your music. Paired with the high-level of transparency where you can hear others easily, it is especially great while I am at work. Less successful for me is the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer & Adaptive Volume Control. For me, while the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer might work great with other earbuds or headphones, I simply found the resulting 360 audio tracks hallow sounding, with very little 3D audio effect or spatial sound. The set-up process where you take photos of your head and ears to optimize the sound is very cool, but just didn’t seem to have much positive effect for my listening. I much preferred traditional audio tracks to the 360 audio tracks, but your mileage may vary. Likewise, the adaptive volume control tries to adjust the volume to your surrounding environment, so if you are in a quiet place, the volume will be lower, but louder environments will cause the volume to raise. However, I found that it changed volume far too often, and frequently in response to subtle ambient sound changes, which made the effect more irritating than effective. Thankfully, like all of the other software features, this can be toggled on or off depending on your preferences. Beyond this, you get various tuning capabilities in the app as well, providing a great software suite for these earbuds. CONTROLS In terms of controls, because of the in-ear nature of the buds and their compact size, you can control the buds with tap commands, which actually register by tapping the area in front of your ears, rather than the buds themselves. It Is a simple system, with two taps for one command (like pausing or starting music) and three taps for a second command (like skipping a song). It’s a bit novel, feeling like something out of a sci-fi show where you tap your head to control your tech, but it does work and quite well. In fact, the taps tended to register quite a bit better than other touch based earbuds I have used in the past, with a wide region where taps will be picked up by the buds. My biggest issue is the simplicity of the tap commands means you don’t have much control over other functions, like volume, without needing to use the source device or a voice-assistant. SOUND QUALITY In terms of sound quality, this is where I was personally the most disappointed. It doesn’t sound bad, with a fairly neutral profile, but it is lacking quite a bit when it comes to bass, even for an earbud. As a result, a lot of the music I like to listen to, like rock & metal, tend to feel a bit flat compared to other earbuds I have used. I would classify the overall sound quality of these as fine, but for the price, they do feel a bit lacking. That being said, for calls or audiobooks, vocals are well-represented and present, which makes these a better value proposition if you do a lot of listening to voice-based content. In terms of volume, they get loud enough to my ears, but even at 100%, I didn’t feel like they were overwhelmingly loud. If you are someone who works in a loud environment, or likes to crank their music loud, you may find these earbuds can’t be pushed as far as you’d like. Likewise, because of their open-ring design, and how they fit in your ear, they do bleed sound more than I’d like. Once you get past the ~70% point, it is audible that you are listening to something, and if you use these in a quiet environment, at loud enough volumes you may start to share what you are listening to with others close by. CONCLUSION Overall, these are nice little earbuds, with a lot going for them. They try several new things, with the open-ring design & some software features in particular being very impressive. If you need audio transparency, these should be top of your search list, as they really are great for that, and will be my in-office work choice for a while to come. However, if you are primarily concerned with bass heavy audio quality, or you need a lot of volume for a noisy environment, these might not be what you are looking for. In many ways, these feel like a proof of concept that can be improved upon with later iterations, but as a first pass, these are really successful in a lot of the most important ways.

I personally think that True Wireless Earbuds have been one of the best personal tech advances in the last handful of years. They provide so much functionality all while barely even noticing they are there. The new Sony LinkBuds take a risk by providing something totally different than other True Wireless Earbuds and I think they totally delivered. UNBOXING / SETUP: - The unboxing was quite easy as Sony did a minimal packaging job which I can really appreciate. - But once you opened it, I was really amazed at how small the case was and the earbuds are. And I say that in a positive way because everything about it seems very discrete which I love. - I’d also love the “white” color although I’d say its more of a speckled gray, which I think look fantastic. - I used the Sony Headphones app to help with setup and it was super easy! You don’t need the Sony Headphones app to use these, but its must have if you want to do software upgrades, voice assistants, and various settings like EQ. - Lastly, I’d add that I did need to charge mine a bit before I could use them because they were not at 100% out of the box which is the case with pretty much any battery operated headphones. PROS: - The concept behind these “hole” shaped buds are that they allow exterior sound in while still allowing you to listen to music, taking calls, etc. I personally felt that aspect was fantastic and I really enjoyed them! More often than not, I need to hear what’s going on around me rather than silence off the world around me so I thought they did a great job of allowing you to use the earbuds while still be aware of your surroundings. - That being said, the sound quality is fantastic! I was truly happy with how full the sound felt and how clear the audio was in my ears, even with the open ear design. I used the Sony Headphones app to change the EQ to add more bass and I was happy with how easy it was to change that! - The LinkBuds can get really loud too which is impressive for how small they are. So even with the open ear design, you could still drown out the background with the volume easily. - Like I said above, these things are so small and so discrete in your ears which I really love. I wore them while running errands, putting stocking caps on/off, taking sweatshirts on/off and these earbuds never fell out once. I was quite happy with how they rested in my ear and did not get caught on anything. - I also wore these while working out and on runs / walks. I had no issues with them falling out or moving around too much and was very pleased with how they worked! - Phone calls are probably where these earbuds shine the brightest. When testing these on calls, the LinkBuds do an excellent jump ignoring background noise and focusing just on your voice. My voice came across as clear and with the open ear design, I can hear how loud I am talking which is a plus since noise cancelling buds tend to make me not know how loud I am talking. COOL NEW FEATURE: - I wanted to specifically call out the coolest thing about these earbuds which are, the touch controls. - Instead of touching the earbuds to play/pause, answer calls, change songs.. you touch the area on the side of your head right next to your ear. - This feature has worked so so well for me and I could not be more impressed! I just think moves like this really push earbuds to be more creative and make tech better. - Also I like how I never have to touch the earbuds since I already want to make sure they are resting in my ears right and not move them around. - Lastly, these charge via USB-C which is great as USB-C is becoming the new standard for every device. CONS: - The biggest downside to me is no wireless charging and batter life. The earbuds only last about 5.5 hours on one charge which is fine but I really wish they should be more like 8 hours. On top of that, when I do need a quick charge I can not do it on a wireless charger. - Although these fit well in my ears, I think the fit might not be comfortable for some. There is no padding on them so it’s really just the plastic buds just sitting wedged in your ears. - Lastly, although the case is small and nice looking, it just does not have a premium feel to it. BOTTOM LINE: - The Sony LinkBuds are a unique take on the wireless earbuds. Their hole shaped design, open ear flow, and sound delivery are something you do not find in most buds! But I think that they provide great sound quality of music, are fantastic for taking calls, and will be very welcomed by people who are out running / walking or in public and want to hear their surroundings. The LinkBuds provide people with a fresh take on wireless earbuds and they deliver!

LinkBuds look cool and maybe a bit techno hipster at the same time. They are super lite and more comfortable to wear then they look, once you get the correct band fitted and properly insert them in to the outer folds of your ear. Not sure all will agree, but when used as intended. These buds really add a new level of daily enjoyment by having your own private background music. Kind of like having your playlist running on a retail store speaker system as you walk around or do activities. Just wish the battery lasted a bit longer than 5+ hours for true all day use without case top off. Of course for those about to rock, you can crank them up too much without distortion (this will also let others hear your audio) and never hear anyone else unless using the app's "speak-to-chat" feature that as soon as you talk, stops all audio. Speaking of app, this uses the same app as the high end Sony XM4 headphones. Many Sony fans will already be familiar with what features are best and how to set up the track and volume taps that now can be done by touching skin right in front of the ears! Like to see that feature on my XM4's. I applaud Sony for their choice in using recycled materials for the buds/case and giving this form factor a try. I know LinkBuds won't be perfect for some. And while bass is lacking in this open form factor. And noise reduction would defeat the reason for the design. Its a great second set to have once you already have the noise canceling headphones. These are great for riding bikes and other activities where you need to be more alert to external noise in your environment. * Note to other buyers/users. I did not see anything showing the button below the charge light was a release for the case lid. I thought it was for bluetooth connection if you had issues connecting. Just thought the case was a tad difficult to pry open. It is a very, very compact non-Qi case. This fat fingered person will help the rest who also missed this or held the box lid while pushing the tiny button and nothing happened. :D

The Sony LinkBuds Wireless Earbuds are a tough review for me. I have owned many different brands of headphones from Jabra, Apple, Sony, Bose, and Beats over the years. I am a real estate agent and wedding photographer and I use my phone all day long. I find that for my voice calls I will use the bluetooth speakers in my car or the speaker phone while I'm driving. The majority of the time that I am using headphones it is to listen to music at the gym. I go about 5-6 days a week and really enjoy listening to music while I'm working out. I prefer to listen to uptempo dance or Rap/R&B music with decent bass and a decent range of sound and I like my music loud. Enter the Sony Linkbuds. The design is super sleek, almost futuristic and the headphones themselves are very comfortable. They fit very well into your ear canal with the use of the small plastic notch that fits into the top of your ear. They come with many different sizes for different ears and I found a nice snug fit. Setup was relatively easy through their Sony Headphones App. The interesting design choice was the headphones themselves have a hole in the middle of the speaker to allow you to hear all your surroundings. I understand the intent, to be able to hear music or be on a phone call and hear the others around you easily, but unfortunately for what I use headphones for it's a bit of a mess. Walking into the gym and listening to music I immediately hear all the other sounds in the room due to the hole in the design. It was almost like the gym was amplified in my ear and made me not really able to hear the music that well at all. Unfortunately the headphones don't go loud enough or have any noise cancelling features to be able to offset the surrounding noise. To me this is a big design flaw for anyone who wants to use these in a gym or noisy setting. I think these headphones are for people who want a small sleek headset for phone calls or being able to hear the surrounding noise while still wearing headsets but for me they aren't a great fit. The music that plays through the headset sounds great and phone calls are crisp and clear and for that I give it 3 stars, but the design to me is a huge flaw that makes them almost unusable in a gym setting.

Sony's latest Linkbuds earbuds are truly unique and bring a new perspective to in-ear audio. The lightweight Linkbuds come with its charging/carrying case, charging cable (not a wall charger), and 3 pairs of small plastic bands to adjust the earbuds to your ear size and for comfort. The earbuds are IPX4 rated as well. Upon opening the small case and removing the earbuds, you immediately notice the circular hole in each earbud. Sony claims this allows for outside noise to enter your ear while playing music or listening to podcasts. After trying them out, I realized how stunning of an idea it was. The Linkbuds are easy to setup and use right away. Upon opening up the charging/storage case, my Android phone immediately notified me the earbuds were available to be paired and I didn't have to go into the Bluetooth settings. After setting them up on my other devices, I found this was only when first setting it up. To set the Linkbuds up on another device, place the earbuds back in the case, close it, re-open the case and remove both earbuds, and on the back of the case click and hold the small circular button for around 6-7 seconds. The notification light on the case will begin to blink blue signifying they are in pairing mode. Sony also recommends downloading their Headphones Connect app where you can adjust the audio (EQ) and sign up to record your listening habits for measuring how long you use your new earbuds. When I first saw the Linkbuds, I thought it was a great idea but didnt know how practical they would be. After trying them in different environments, I've grown to prefer them over my other standard in-ear earbuds. The speakers are located on the circle around the hole of each earbud and allow for you to listen to your surroundings while listening to your preferred audio. Although audio is not as rich when compared to other Sony earbuds due to its design, audio sounds clear and I could notice hints of bass in my music. I also found that the earbuds can become loud enough to tune out your surroundings, if you prefer. I wouldn't recommend using these earbuds in loud environments though. I personally have found it more beneficial to be able to listen to both my audio and my surroundings. Another great characteristic of the Linkbuds is that the call quality is exceptional. Background noise can be blocked out while the caller can hear your voice clearly. With other in ear earbuds, when speaking, I feel the vibration of my voice and cannot carry a conversation. Also, while exercising, I cannot hear if someone tries to grab my attention or if someone is nearby. I no longer have to worry about these things with the Linkbuds. The Linkbuds make it easier for people to carry on through their day while listening to their favorite speakers or music. One thing to note is the Linkbuds do not provide noise cancelation nor were they made for that purpose. Additionally, they are not totally transparent earbuds. While you can still hear your surroundings well, you would not be able to make out what someone is whispering from 10 feet away. The Linkbuds also have a very useful feature that by tapping behind or in front of your ears, they recognize the taps and perform a certain function such as skipping to the next song. I would like to see Sony extend the customization of these gestures in the future. They do have the ability to use Amazon Alexa's capabilities as well as Google Assistant while connected to your phone. While there is much to love about these earbuds, one of the downsides I found initially was some in ear discomfort due to the earbud design. It took my ears a few uses to get used to them. Also, the battery life is something that can be improved. Sony claimed they last a little over five hours on a single charge although with the volume being high, I only received closer to 4 hours. The charging case adds an additional twelve hours of audio playback to the Linkbuds bringing the theoretical total to over seventeen hours. Overall, I thoroughly enjoy using the Linkbuds. I like having the ability to listen to music and my surroundings as well. I would recommend them to anyone with the same idea in mind and wanting to try something new.

These Sony Link-Buds are so cool in my opinion. They are so light and pretty small in a good way and have a compact little charger case that you can take on the go with you and use it to charge them at some point when needed during the day or night. When you go out is what I’m trying to say. They play great sounding audio. They get loud and have some bass to them. The call clarity is great. I can access Siri very easily with them. They have this cool feature where you can tap your finger on your head right in front of the buds. There are 1 tap, 2 tap. Triple tap functions. Play/pause and volume control. I hear the Audie and can hear everything around me. It is so helpful to me because I don’t feel like I’m missing a knock on the door or a phone call. These Link-Buds are worth the price. They are new and innovative and I like how much they have going on for them for such lightweight and small buds. They also don’t stick out if you ears very much. Sleek design and the fit is sturdy and comfortable. I can shake my head side to side and up and down vigorously and they stay in place. $178 is a lot but once I got them, opened em up and started using them I hadn’t thought about the price until now. I think they are so cool. Very easy to connect also and have an app and can play 360 degree audio.

Only used at work for about 4-5 hrs a day for music. Started at about 730 am and usually lasts until 11. About a 30-45 minute charge gets through the day. Worked great. Could hear people talking and phone calls around work. Have conversations. They are buggy here and there, not registering touch or skipping, but nothing a quick reset back in the case and then out again wouldn't fix. Noticed one earbud was fitting weird one day and I pulled it out of my ear and the small speaker cover was hanging off. Dropped from pocket height maybe 2-3 times in the case.... No damage to earbuds or anything. The little black line of glue is dissolved...either form earwax or cleaning them with alcohol wipes.. either way.. warranty is void because of "physical damage".