Sony’s LinkBuds prioritise awareness over audio quality for an audience seeking simultaneous connection to both the real and virtual world
Sony’s diminutive LinkBuds are intended for all-day wear. They feature an all-new driver design, sound crispy clean, and introduce a brilliant new UX control system. But a lack of bass and a tendency to drop Bluetooth connection hampers their appeal.
Amazingly compact; Detailed, nuanced performance; Face prodding tap control;
Limited bass; Bluetooth prone to dropouts; Not good for commuting;
Genuinely innovative; Great option if you work alongside others;
Divisive design, hard to put in place; Talk mode needs more work;
The Sony LinkBuds are a clever idea but you can forget about hearing your music in loud environments
Exceptional ambient awareness; Comfortable and discreet; Clean, spacious sound;
Unusable in certain conditions; Leak a fair amount of sound; Controls can be triggered accidentally;
Always open design; Clear and spacious audio; Features offer lots of convenience; Wide Area Tap function is very cool;
Always open design; Not the weightiest sounding pair; Battery life may not be enough for some;
Most true wireless earphones focus on isolating you from outside noises by sealing your ear canal with silicone or foam tips or by employing microphones and active noise cancellation circuitry to block out your surroundings. Sony’s LinkBuds take the opposite approach—these $179.99 earphones enable you to hear your environment by way of ring-shaped drivers that leave a big, open space in front of your ear canal. It’s a clever idea, and the LinkBuds sound pretty good if you can get them in yours ears securely. Unfortunately, the open design leads to a very uncertain fit for some users.Not a Good Fit The LinkBuds are available in gray or white and use an unconventional design that, unlike AirPods, other companies are unlikely to try to emulate anytime soon. Each earpiece has a figure-eight shape: one half is a plump near-sphere and the other is a flatter disc with a hole in it. The disc half holds a ring-shaped driver and settles against the opening of your ear canal, while the spher...
Sony's LinkBuds earphones have unique ring-shaped drivers that allow you to hear your surroundings while you listen to music, but just how well they'll fit in your ears is a wild card.
Design enables you to easily hear your surroundings; Full, balanced sound
Open design not for everyone; Deep bass is weak and flirts with distortion; Overpriced
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