Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds
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$128.00
Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds Price comparison
Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds Price History
Price History for Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with an Open-Ring Design for Ambient Sounds and...
Statistics
Current Price | $128.00 | September 8, 2024 |
Highest Price | $178.00 | July 4, 2024 |
Lowest Price | $69.76 | August 25, 2024 |
Last price changes
$128.00 | August 25, 2024 |
$69.76 | August 25, 2024 |
$128.00 | July 15, 2024 |
$178.00 | July 4, 2024 |
$128.00 | June 21, 2024 |
Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds Description
In the ever-evolving world of audio technology, Sony has once again set the bar high with the introduction of the Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones. These innovative earbuds are designed to seamlessly integrate high-quality audio with the need to stay connected to the world around you, thanks to their unique open-ring design.
Open-Ring Design: Stay Connected to Your Environment
The standout feature of the Sony LinkBuds is their open-ring design. This allows users to hear calls, listen to music, play games, and engage with other types of online content while remaining naturally aware of their surroundings. This makes the LinkBuds perfect for a variety of uses, including movies and gaming, without compromising on safety or situational awareness.
Ultra-Small and Lightweight
Weighing in at just 1.4 ounces, the Sony LinkBuds are ultra-small and lightweight, ensuring a comfortable fit for extended periods. To cater to different ear shapes, the earbuds come with five sizes of fitting supporters. The package also includes a USB-C charging cable, making these earbuds as convenient as they are versatile.
Crystal Clear Phone Calls
With Precise Voice Pickup technology, these earbuds guarantee crystal clear phone calls. Whether you are in a noisy environment or on the go, your voice will come through loud and clear, making communication effortless.
Balanced High-Quality Sound
Equipped with the Integrated V1 Processor, the Sony LinkBuds deliver balanced, high-quality sound. Whether you’re listening to your favorite tunes or engaging in an intense gaming session, the audio experience is designed to be both immersive and precise.
Long Battery Life and Quick Charging
Battery life is a crucial factor for any wireless device, and the Sony LinkBuds do not disappoint. They offer up to 20 hours of battery life, and a quick 5-minute charge can provide up to 60 minutes of playtime, ensuring that your earbuds are always ready when you are.
Durability with IPX4 Rating
These earbuds are designed to withstand the elements, boasting an IPX4 rating that protects against sweat and splashes. Whether you’re working out or caught in the rain, your LinkBuds will keep performing.
Multipoint Connection and Wide Area Tap
Another impressive feature is the multipoint connection, which allows you to connect two devices simultaneously (available via firmware update). The Wide Area Tap feature enables you to control audio by tapping in front of your ears, adding another layer of convenience.
Adaptive Volume Control
The Adaptive Volume Control optimizes sound based on your environment, ensuring you always have the best listening experience without needing to manually adjust the volume.
Technical Specifications
- Noise Control: None
- Frequency Response: 20000 Hz
- Headphones Jack: 3.5 mm Jack
- Model Name: Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbuds
- Connectivity Technology: Wireless
- Wireless Communication Technology: Bluetooth 5.2
- Special Features: Sweatproof, Precise Voice Pickup technology, Wide Area Tap, Adaptive Volume Control, Open-Ring Design, Fast Charging, Microphone Included
- Included Components: Wireless Charging Case
- Material: Plastic
- Specific Uses For Product: Movies and Gaming
- Charging Time: 20 Hours
- Recommended Uses For Product: Calling
- Theme: Video Game
- Control Type: Alexa
- Cable Feature: Without Cable
- Item Weight: 1.4 Ounces
- Water Resistance Level: Water Resistant (IPX4)
- Frequency Range: 2.4 GHz band (2.4000 GHz–2.4835 GHz)
- Unit Count: 1.0 Count
- Control Method: Voice
- Number of Items: 1
- Battery Life: 20 Hours
- Bluetooth Version: 5.2
- UPC: 027242923003
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Product Dimensions: 1.91 x 1.22 x 1.63 inches
- Item model number: WFL900/H
- Batteries: 2 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer: No
- Date First Available: February 15, 2022
- Country of Origin: Malaysia
The Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with their innovative open-ring design and host of advanced features are a testament to Sony’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of audio technology. Whether for calls, music, gaming, or any other use, these earbuds offer a versatile and high-quality solution, making them a must-have for any audio enthusiast.
Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds Specification
Specification: Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds
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Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds Reviews (7)
7 reviews for Sony LinkBuds Open-Ring Wireless Earbuds
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Carlos B. –
Estaba interesado en los linkbuds desde hace rato. Su precio me pareció excesivo y por eso no los había adquirido. Ahora que los agarré de promoción los compré sin dudarlo. Son en verdad una apuesta arriesgada para el consumidor promedio. Pero para mí son exactamente lo que buscaba. Anteriormente usaba los WF-C500 y tenía que quitarme uno para andar en bicicleta ya que no escuchaba todos los ruidos en mi alrededor. Con los linkbuds tengo un producto que es precisamente para andar en la calle.
Lo mejor de estos audífonos son las funciones integradas extra. Que se detengan cuando hablo es la segunda función más útil, pues me pasa que pido permiso para pasar en el transporte público. Gracias a su diseño puedo escuchar cuando me hablan para preguntarte algo en la calle. La tercera función que me parece fascinante es que se ajuste el volumen según el ruido ambiental. Esto me ayuda cuando cambio de espacios en la calle o una plaza comercial ya que el sonido se ajusta a la perfección.
Lo que me ha costado trabajo adaptarme ha sido el sistema de toques sin botón. Me fue bastante frustrante subir o bajar volumen, tuve que configurar mediante la aplicación y aún así me costó acostumbrarme. Después me di cuenta que puedo tocar los audífonos en si y me funciona mejor así.
Ahora lo malo de los audífonos. Lo primero es que me lastimaron casi de inmediato. La oreja me quedaba adolorida al quitármelos y me costó mucho entender como se colocan adecuadamente. Tenía la sensación que se iban a caer en cualquier momento. Incluso me causaron heridas en la parte interna de la oreja. Aún así desistí por el reembolso debido a que no hay nada parecido en el mercado. Por lo que aprendí a colocarlos de la forma adecuada. Tampoco sé porqué me molesta más en una oreja que en otra.
Lo segundo molesto es la batería. Entre más opciones activadas tengas más rápido se descarga. Y vaya que se descarga rápido si tienes EQ, hablar por chat y DSSE activado. Yo llegué a descargarlos en menos de dos horas. La recomendación es quitarle todas las opciones y dejar solamente las que vamos a necesitar. La ventaja es que su estuche los recarga muy rápido.
Lo último molesto es el tamaño. Me preocupa mucho que un día me los ponga mal y se caigan en la calle, son muy pequeños y si se van a una coladera será su fin. No hay forma de localizarlos como los de Apple.
En general, los recomiendo para la gente que necesite escuchar su exterior todo el tiempo.
Lauren –
Son muy ligeros, muy bonitos, cumplen su función de poder escuchar el exterior además de la música pero eso implica a que el audio no sea tan alto. No es facil acomodar en las orejas, y se debe probar la goma correcta para que no se salgan. Yo he usado las mas grandes y aún así se me han llegado a caer
R.Terrez –
The short version of this review is that I think this is a product that will make a very limited set of people happy that are looking for something very specific or don’t care about a lot of the trade-offs that come with making a product like this. It is tough to recommend for a general audience. For that small group, maybe it is four stars, but for everyone else, I’d say it’s two stars, so three overall. Let me get into the why…
So to start, I’m big into music and headphones, and I own a total of 12 pairs. Four of those are “consumer” headphones like AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max, Sennheiser True Wireless 3, and all of the rest are true HiFi headphones like Audeze, Focal, Fostex, Denon, etc. and all of the accompanying amplifiers and DACs. I generally enjoy lots of different genres of music – rock, alternative, R&B, hip-hop, pop, some classical. I just point this out, to point out I do a LOT of detailed sound comparisons and appreciate lots of different types of music and how different headphones may impact the experience.
So, with these, I think there are only a few specific reasons one should even consider these, as if you don’t fall into BOTH #1 AND at least one of the other reasons below, there are far better options for this price.
#1 – you really don’t like the “closed” feeling of buds and want a more “open” sound (and as such don’t care at all about noise isolation – both from outside and others hearing your listen, which is standard for any open setup)
#2 – you don’t care about sound quality much but want some wireless buds that are stable enough to do light workouts in or just want some really small/discrete buds
#3 – you primarily listen to music like jazz and classical
Now onto the logic and trade-offs.
First, with respect to the sound. The tonal balance is extremely lacking in low end. The reviews that have said that these are a “balanced sound” are simply wrong. If you search around the net, you can see some sites have actually measured the frequency response of these, and not only is the bass very rolled off, it creeps up into the lower mids as well. This results in a very hollow listen. Music has nearly no low-end impact at all. Even with every bass setting cranked all the way up, it makes almost no noticeable difference because the drivers and design simply can’t handle it (which I’ll get back to). Further evidence of this, the EQ in the app only even goes down to 400Hz, which should be a sign, as most wouldn’t even consider it true “bass” until maybe 150Hz, and humans can hear down to 20Hz – yet the EQ doesn’t even let you adjust these frequencies. To call this balanced is just wrong. Good balanced headphones simply do not OVER-emphasize bass or let it bleed into the other frequencies – these lack bass, period. This is a very big difference if you listen to basically any Top 40 type music – hip-hop, pop, R&B, EDM, even rock or alternative. There will be no bass. This CAN be ok, however, if you’re a classical music listener or jazz or music that doesn’t have a lot of low-end (including bass drums, bass guitar, etc.). These would also be OK if you’re primarily going to use them for listening to voice stuff – podcasts, audiobooks, news, etc.
The rest of the frequency response is overall just OK. You can adjust the mids and upper frequencies to your liking, and those adjustments make more of a difference than the bass adjustment, as I mentioned. So you can tone down or up the brightness to your liking, for example. They do an OK job at brining out detail, about what I would expect for buds in this price range. The semi-standout in the overall sound is the soundstage, or the way the music is presented in terms of position in space. Because of the “open” design, they are somewhat more natural sounding in terms of airiness and don’t have that “dome in your head” kind of feeling. That said, the stage itself is not hugely bigger than “regular” buds (goes ear to ear, maybe a tad outside the ear), it’s just a slightly more open stage. Because the buds are still sitting in your ear, versus when an over-ear open headphone has a driver sitting outside your ear, i would call these only semi-open sounding. The inside your head feeling is gone, but you still don’t get that great open naturalness of a true open-back headphone. The positioning is also good, meaning, individual pieces of the mix are fairly separated and identifiable, for this price range. The question is it worth the trade offs…
Open back headphones of all types (buds, over-ear, etc.), all else equal, have less bass response than closed-backs. This is because there’s less pressure build up and resonance for the bass to build (in simple terms). So the tradeoff for losing that “in your head” feeling is less bass. Bigger, over ear headphones can counter this by using bigger drivers that can pump more bass and by still creating somewhat of a seal around your ear with the pads. in this case, these buds just sit in your ear, create no seal, and the drivers are tiny, so you get basically no bass. This is the biggest trade off of these. Whether that trade off is for you or not…your call.
The other tradeoff is size. Smaller size leads to smaller drivers, which as I discussed means less bass, and it also means – way small batteries. Although the “up to” five hours of battery life may be accurate, there are some big issues with this. First, you have to turn off all of the electronic conveniences to hit this target – automatic voice detection, automatic volume adjustment, wide area tap – which are all pretty cool. Keep these on, and battery is more like two hours, which is FAR below, by more than half, what most buds get nowadays.
Call performance is decent, and fit for me is also decent, though individual ears always vary with fit. The smallest included piece is what got me the best fit, and they are stable in my ears.
What these actually remind me of are the first AirPods that were released, then upgraded to the AirPods Pro. The original AirPods also had a “sit in your ear” plastic design that was somewhat like this. While they were wireless and packed with nice new apple “magic” features, many had a view that they really still sounded like the $30 wired buds that came with iPods/iPhones at the time, but they were wireless. Then Apple released the AirPods Pro that claimed “far better sound”, and the biggest change was that they used a silicon tip to create a seal in the ear – and that added a way more appropriate low-end to the sound that was missing before, and NOW and AirPods Pro and Pro 2 are known as a mostly balanced set of buds. These are the opposite – by having no seal, combined with tiny drivers, I would say these have the sound profile of a $50 or less pair of buds, but you are paying for the true wireless stuff and fancy features. They MAY be worth it for you if you don’t mind the trade offs, but that’s not most.
R.Terrez –
As someone who has suffered his whole life with pain from wearing earbuds (most types) these are definitely a must have if you are in the same boat.
For some reason I can’t handle iems. If they go in the ear, or even AirPods. My ears have always been so sensitive that any pressure results in pain or swelling. I try to stay away from most in ear styles for this main reason.
A secondary reason is the pressure from the sound isolation has never been comfortable to me. Feeling like I’m underwater, rather than silence. It’s awful.
AirPods 3 were my go to since their release late last year, but they still caused a bit of discomfort. They would also fall out. The convenience of using iOS and AirPods plus the higher than average sound quality made me push through.
Before the AirPods 3 I used the Galaxy buds Live. They were great. Most comfortable I’ve ver used. No issues with comfort. Despite enjoying the ANC implementation whereas it focused on outside lower frequencies like hums and engines (opposed to something like the AirPods Pro which attempt to block all sound). I didn’t like how quiet they were. The sound quality was great in a decently loud room but when I was at work with heavy machinery it got hard to hear without cranking up the sound which caused a bit of distortion.
Enter the Sony Linkbuds. Out of the box these things come with the medium wing tip which to my horror began causing some burning sensations from the pressure. I swapped them out for the small on both ears and voila. Perfect fit. Perfect volume.
It feels like you have nothing in the ear. The Galaxy buds live were close to perfect but they did block sound a bit when you were wearing them. The whole in these Linkbuds make it so that’s a problem of the past.
The auto speech detect works well. Too well honestly that I feel like I’m killing my battery by having it on. Speaking of batter it’s still to be seen how long they last. The app will show one percentage one minute and then it’ll jump down like 20%. I don’t think it updates frequently but it’s jarring.
The extra features like spatial audio and Alexa are cool but I use iOS and those aren’t that well supported. Maybe in the future, but right now don’t buy the buds if you have iOS and want to make use of those features.
The spatial audio is similar to AirPods 3 and pro implementation. It works very well with the supported apps. Seems highly unlikely more will add the feature though.
I’m assuming on android it’s a system wide effect that can be toggled on or off. So if you have an android I’d look for more information elsewhere.
The last thing I want to mention that makes these a must have is the wide area tap. Every time I tap it registers the proper gesture. EVERYTIME! That’s huge. With my Galaxy Buds I would always skip songs, or be unable to accept calls because the tapping was so inaccurate. Most tap to use headphones suck ass and for me, caused me physical pain to use. Here you don’t tap the headphone. You actually tap your temple… sort of. The side of your head. It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie and it works.
Few quirks when using these with iOS but most are now standard fare if you don’t use AirPods. Stuff like sometimes the screen will come on when I use Siri so my thigh will cancel out commands. I don’t use Siri that much anyways. And when I do need an assistant it’s only to do math problems for me that I’m too slow to do on my own. But it is something to be wary about.
Alexa implementation is good and works well, but again, Alexa can’t do as much as Siri: most of the things you’d ask her are like music selections. It’s kind of a non issue for me personally.
Also the app to set these up is kind of annoying to use. Features work, but the menus are confusing to know if they are turned on or not. Certain apps seem like they are required to set up certain features but not really. I spent about five minutes in the soundscapes app wondering how to I use the spatial audio for movies only to realize the app was trying to tell me the soundscapes app is compatible with the buds and that’s the end of the integration.
To use Alexa and Spotify features make sure to go to assign menu and change the left or right settings to the proper apps. Then the rest of the features will work. It’s very confusing at first.
With time as I use these through the warm up period they might get better sounding but the fit and comfort are apparent from the start. If you have sensitive ears please try the xs wingtips. Those are the ones on all the promotional material but for some reason they come with the medium.
This is my first review on Amazon and I just had to let everyone with similar problems to me that we’ve been saved. The perfect earbud is here.
For everyone else you might feel a bit let down. They aren’t as bass heavy as IEM’s and definitely don’t block outside sound. Some people really don’t want to hear anything and these aren’t for those people. For everyone else these are it!!!
Oscar –
One year on and these buds are incredible. Everything I said before still applies. In fact I’m seriously considering buying another pair to keep in a drawer just in case I lose one or both of these.
Here’s my original review:
I was nervous about buying these. I’d tried open earbuds made by the other guys and while the sound was great, the design was awful. They hurt my ears, were impossible to wear with glasses and made every workout painful. I’d tried bone conduction headphones, but the cheap ones sounded awful and the most expensive set made my entire head vibrate if you turned the volume up even slightly. The sound was also quite muffled.
So would it be third time lucky? I read the reviews and the fact that some people complained about the lack of bass with the Sony Linkbuds made me even more nervous. But when they arrived, I literally could not believe my ears.
These buds sound absolutely amazing. There’s plenty bass for me, and the sound is clear. I don’t know how to explain this other than to say that it sounds “clean”. Every note is crystal clear. I actually want to work out more often because my music sounds so good.
Also, the wide area tap is terrific. It works instantly. With all my old wireless earphones, there’s been a slight delay when skipping to the next song. It’s never bothered me, but with the Linkbuds, you tap three times and your new song starts instantly. That’s so much better.
They also stay in my ears perfectly, even when I stand up on the bike and push hard. I’ve done a 2 hour indoor ride and they were comfortable throughout. No irritation, no itching, no pain. In fact, it’s easy to forget that you’re even wearing them, and not listening to your music out loud.
Thank you Sony! You really did get these right.
Stephen T. –
Edit at the end!
TL;DR : After 13 months (warranty of 12 months), this 250$ pairs of earbuds is basically thrash.
The right bud sounds like the driver is busted, and the left bud has always had trouble charging in the case (the clip inside the case doesn’t hold on tigh to the earbud so it sometimes doesn’t charge or register like the bud has been taken out of the case, so there are problems pairing as well).
I find it so bad that a 250$ piece of tech doesn’t have more than a year of warranty.
The sound was good due to open back design, but comfort will depend from person to person since it depends on your ear shape. For me the right one is super confy but the left hurts if i wear it for more than a couple hours.
I would not recommend this product and unless sony cha ges its warranty, I won’t be buying from them anymore. 13 months of use for a busted driver is unforgivable, especially since i always use at low volume (use in public or before going to sleep).
Edit : after 18 months or so of use, the right bud not only sounds like a busted driver, it wont hold charge properly. It will randomly loose charge and drain case battery overnight, even when plugged in. For all that is good and fair in this world, do not buy this product.
Oscar –
I love these earbuds. The sound quality is quite good, maybe not audiophile quality, but still better than many wireless earbuds I’ve used in the past. I love that they detect when I’m taking and automatically pause. A really nice feature when I’m out and about and run into someone and need to talk.