The Sony Link Buds S: A Review of Sound Quality and Features

Sound Quality

-----------

The sound quality of the Sony Link Buds S is quite impressive, with nicely detailed sound and good bass response. The treble response is sparkling, while the bass is well-defined and has plenty of punch. Considering their size and weight, it's hard to find a better-sounding pair of earbuds. However, for those who use Android devices or dedicated music players that support LDAC Bluetooth streaming, there is a slight improvement in sound quality.

It's worth noting that the sound quality can vary depending on the music service used. The Sony Link Buds S support 360 audio virtual surround music format, which offers an immersive listening experience. However, not all music services offer 360 audio tracks, and it's unclear how often updates will be made to support this feature.

Voice Quality

------------

One of the key features of the Sony Link Buds S is their voice quality for calls. The earbuds are equipped with special mesh-covered microphones that are designed to reduce wind noise. However, in our tests, we found that the voice quality was not as good as expected, especially in noisy environments.

When called by a friend from another room, my voice was barely audible over the background noise of dog barking and other external sounds. The earbuds were able to pick up some of my words, but it was clear that there was a significant amount of background noise bleeding into our conversation. This is not ideal for calls, especially in noisy environments.

In contrast, the Sony WF1000XM5 earbuds performed significantly better in terms of voice quality during calls. They were able to block out most of the background noise and pick up my voice more clearly. It's unclear whether future firmware updates will improve the voice quality of the Link Buds S, but it's clear that this is an area where they fell short.

Design and Features

-------------------

The design of the Sony Link Buts S is sleek and compact, making them easy to carry around. They are also relatively lightweight, weighing in at 16 grams per earbud. However, some users may find them a bit bulky compared to other earbuds on the market.

One of the standout features of the Link Buds S is their ability to automatically launch a custom Spotify playlist based on the user's activity. This feature is called "autoplay" and it's designed to create a seamless listening experience. However, it's not clear how this feature works or whether it's available in all regions.

The Link Buds S also have some new partnerships with endle and Microsoft Soundscape, which are meant to enhance the listening experience. However, these features may not be as widely available or useful as initially thought.

Comparison to Other Earbuds

---------------------------

When comparing the Sony Link Buds S to other earbuds on the market, they are difficult to beat in terms of sound quality and features. They offer a similar feature set to the Sony WF1000XM5 earbuds but at a significantly lower price point. However, they may not be as discreet-looking as some other earbuds, such as the Beats Fit Pro.

The Link Buds S are also more affordable than some other earbuds on the market, making them an attractive option for those who want high-quality sound without breaking the bank. However, whether or not they are worth the $200 price tag is a matter of personal opinion.

Conclusion

----------

In conclusion, the Sony Link Buds S offer excellent sound quality and features at an affordable price point. While they may not excel in every area, such as voice quality during calls, they are still a great option for those who want high-quality sound without the hefty price tag.

Ultimately, whether or not the Link Buds S are worth the $200 price tag depends on individual preferences and needs. If you're an Android user who can take advantage of LDAC streaming, you may find that these earbuds offer significant value. However, if you're looking for better voice quality during calls or more discreet design, you may want to consider other options.

For now, the Link Buds S are a solid option for those who want high-quality sound without breaking the bank. They may not be perfect, but they offer a lot of value and are definitely worth considering.

**Specifications:**

* Weight: 16 grams per earbud

* Dimensions: Not specified

* Sound format: 360 audio virtual surround music format

* Bluetooth standard: LDAC

* Music service compatibility: Various music services, including Spotify

* Voice quality for calls: Good but not ideal in noisy environments

**Recommendation:**

The Sony Link Buds S are a great option for those who want high-quality sound without breaking the bank. They offer excellent sound quality and features at an affordable price point. However, individual preferences and needs may vary, and some users may find them lacking in certain areas, such as voice quality during calls.

**Price:**

$200

**Availability:**

Not specified

**Warranty:**

Not specified

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey folks so not too long ago Sony released its donut shaped link buds with an open design that's certainly unique looking now it's back with these guys the link buds s a more traditional set of noise isolating and yes noise cancelling earbuds that have a pretty premium $200 price tag but sit below Sony's Flagship wf1000x markv buds they're really appealing in a lot of ways but are they the best for the money let's talk about that now some of you are probably wondering what the s in link buuz s stands for I don't think it exactly stands for one thing or at least that's what Sony rep told me it seems to stand for a bunch of sords like smartness and sound quality and silence and a seamless connection to your online and offline worlds which in Sony speak means their design to be worn all the time they're basically the Sony equivalent of the airpods pro and the first thing you notice about them is that they're really lightweight and smaller than the wf1000x markv buzz in fact Sony's calling them the smallest and lightest noise cancelling highres true wireless earbuds because they do support Sony's so-called near lossless LC audio codec for Bluetooth streaming but more on that in a minute let me go through some of the other key design highlights first like the standard link butts these are made out of recycled plastic or at least partially so and come in two color options black and white it's interesting to note that the Black Version has more of a textured finish while the white one has a completely smooth finish I don't know if that means that the Black Version has more recycled plastic in it but the two cases are exactly the same size and they're nice and compact just slightly bigger than the airpods proos case but unlike the wf1000x mark 4's case it doesn't have wireless charging just USBC charging a lot of the buzz in price do have wireless charging the earbuds fit my ears really well and they are quite comfortable they also don't stick out of your ears too far they sit fairly flush and should fit a variety of ear types even small ears and on another positive note I was able to get a Tight Seal with the included ear tips which wasn't exactly the case for me with the wf1000x Mark 4 buds as I've said many times that Tight Seal is crucial for both optimal sound quality and optimal noise cancelling these us Sony's V1 chip not its qn1 chip and they just don't have the same component it's not the same driver it's not the same microphone so you're not going to get quite the same sound quality and noise cancellation as you get with the wf1000x markv but both the sound and noise cancelling are really solid overall while the noise cancelling is a slight step behind the wf1000x mark 4S it's not a big step there's also an ambient mode with adjustable levels that allow you to tweak how much sound you want to let in from the outside world it may not be quite as good as what apple offers with its transparency mode in terms of how natural things sound but it does sound pretty natur natural so long as you don't crank it up to the highest level these have Sony's quick attention mode that allows you to tap and hold the left Bud to muffle the music you're listening to and enter ambient mode so you can hear what's going on around you and have a conversation there's also the speak to chat feature that's essentially handsfree quick attention if someone comes up to you and wants to chat you can simply start talking hey how you doing and your audio pauses and the earbuds go into ambient mode the audio then resumes after a short period of time anywhere from 5 Seconds to 30 seconds depending on your preference or you can manually resume it by tapping on either bud I thought the touch controls worked well so no problems there and I didn't have any issues with dropouts the Bluetooth 5.2 connection with my iPhone 13 Pro and a couple of Android phones was Rock Solid they have an ipx4 Splash proof rating so you can use them for sporting activities and they stay in my ears securely even though they don't have any sport fins I had no trouble running with them and used them for a few days at the gym battery life is r at 6 hours with an extra 14 hours in the charging case that may not be great but it's not bad considering the compact size of the buds and by comparison to standard link buds offer 5.5 hours of battery life and those don't have active noise cancelling Sony throws in several extra features including an Adaptive sound control mode that'll adjust the sound and noise cancelling on the Fly based on your environment and plenty of EQ settings in the app to tweak the sound of bit if you want naturally these have support for Sony's 360 audio virtual surround music format select few music services that offer 360 audio tracks and Sony's also introducing some new features like autoplay that automatically launches a custom Spotify playlist based on your activity and finally there are new Partnerships with endle and Microsoft soundscape in the services section of the app I find all that stuff a little gimmicky but you can have fun checking it all out as I said the link buds s sound quite good with nicely detailed sound the tr's got some sparkle to it and the base is well defined and has plenty of punch the they have relatively open exciting sound and are slightly more forward sounding than the wf1000x markv which offer a bit more depth and slightly richer sound quality overall however for their size and weight it'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding set of buds and if you have an Android device or dedicated music player that supports ldac Bluetooth streaming you can get a touch better sound when streaming with a music service like fuzz or title that offers high resolution tracks okay before I get into some final comparisons let's talk about voice quality for calls because that's become an important feature for a lot of people Sony says these have special mesh covered microphones that are supposed to help with reducing wind noise and you've got some new AI some software algorithms to help reduce backround noise in general all right so now I got a lot of traffic in the background dog barking uh back there so U I'm talking again just so people get a sense of how my voice sounds as there's a lot of background noise again any extra thoughts John mostly the same problem uh I I really don't hear Too much background noise at all but uh the problem is maybe it's overcompensating because of that background noise but your actual voice quality just is not great so from Mar it looks like the regular link buds are better for calls um and the Sony wh1000x Mark 5 are definitely a step up for calls so there you have it that's our test call for the link buds s thanks for listening John so I had high expectations for voice calling and while I think the link butts fell a little short in terms of how clearly you could hear my voice with a lot of background noise they do a really good job producing that background noise by contrast the standard link buds didn't do quite as good a job reducing background noise but people said they could hear my voice more clearly so it'll be interesting to see whether we get a firmware upgrade that tweaks the voice calling AI Sony typically does deliver firmware upgrades every few months like I said at the beginning the link buds s are really appealing in a lot of ways they're lightweight and compact it don't skimp on the features and performance they're kind of a cross between Sony's $100 c500 Buds and the wf1000x markv buds I think they sound Fuller and better than jobbers Elite 7 Pro uh which cost around the same price they're also pretty lightweight and compact it's it's a tougher call when you compare them to the $200 Beats fit Pro the Beats sound really good and for Apple users anyway they have some extra features like spatial audio and always on Siri and automatic pairing with all the Apple devices in your iCloud account alas like the standard link buds these link buds s do not have multi-point bluetooth pairing that would allow you to pair them to two devices simultaneously like a computer and a smartphone befit Pro aren't as discreet looking as these Sony's but they do have integrated sport fins that really lock the buzz in your ears some people like that some people don't I do think that if especially you're an Android User who can take advantage of the ldac support the link buds s have enough appealing traits to make you consider dropping $200 on them they are the Sony buds for people who don't want larger buds like the wf1000 X Marx 4 but want 80 to 85% of their features and performance for $80 less that said I do think they'll be an easier sell once they get discounted a bit because to me anyway they feel more like 15 $ earbuds than $200 earbuds yeah you can probably say the same thing about the befit pro but that's what my gut says so I got to say it but let me know what you guys think what do you think of the design and are these the Sony buds you've been waiting for sound off in the comment section if you're interested in any of the products mentioned check out the description below for links on where to find them and you can get even more details in my text review on CNET lastly if you found this video informative at all hit the like button And subscribe if you haven't already I'm David con for CET thanks for watchinghey folks so not too long ago Sony released its donut shaped link buds with an open design that's certainly unique looking now it's back with these guys the link buds s a more traditional set of noise isolating and yes noise cancelling earbuds that have a pretty premium $200 price tag but sit below Sony's Flagship wf1000x markv buds they're really appealing in a lot of ways but are they the best for the money let's talk about that now some of you are probably wondering what the s in link buuz s stands for I don't think it exactly stands for one thing or at least that's what Sony rep told me it seems to stand for a bunch of sords like smartness and sound quality and silence and a seamless connection to your online and offline worlds which in Sony speak means their design to be worn all the time they're basically the Sony equivalent of the airpods pro and the first thing you notice about them is that they're really lightweight and smaller than the wf1000x markv buzz in fact Sony's calling them the smallest and lightest noise cancelling highres true wireless earbuds because they do support Sony's so-called near lossless LC audio codec for Bluetooth streaming but more on that in a minute let me go through some of the other key design highlights first like the standard link butts these are made out of recycled plastic or at least partially so and come in two color options black and white it's interesting to note that the Black Version has more of a textured finish while the white one has a completely smooth finish I don't know if that means that the Black Version has more recycled plastic in it but the two cases are exactly the same size and they're nice and compact just slightly bigger than the airpods proos case but unlike the wf1000x mark 4's case it doesn't have wireless charging just USBC charging a lot of the buzz in price do have wireless charging the earbuds fit my ears really well and they are quite comfortable they also don't stick out of your ears too far they sit fairly flush and should fit a variety of ear types even small ears and on another positive note I was able to get a Tight Seal with the included ear tips which wasn't exactly the case for me with the wf1000x Mark 4 buds as I've said many times that Tight Seal is crucial for both optimal sound quality and optimal noise cancelling these us Sony's V1 chip not its qn1 chip and they just don't have the same component it's not the same driver it's not the same microphone so you're not going to get quite the same sound quality and noise cancellation as you get with the wf1000x markv but both the sound and noise cancelling are really solid overall while the noise cancelling is a slight step behind the wf1000x mark 4S it's not a big step there's also an ambient mode with adjustable levels that allow you to tweak how much sound you want to let in from the outside world it may not be quite as good as what apple offers with its transparency mode in terms of how natural things sound but it does sound pretty natur natural so long as you don't crank it up to the highest level these have Sony's quick attention mode that allows you to tap and hold the left Bud to muffle the music you're listening to and enter ambient mode so you can hear what's going on around you and have a conversation there's also the speak to chat feature that's essentially handsfree quick attention if someone comes up to you and wants to chat you can simply start talking hey how you doing and your audio pauses and the earbuds go into ambient mode the audio then resumes after a short period of time anywhere from 5 Seconds to 30 seconds depending on your preference or you can manually resume it by tapping on either bud I thought the touch controls worked well so no problems there and I didn't have any issues with dropouts the Bluetooth 5.2 connection with my iPhone 13 Pro and a couple of Android phones was Rock Solid they have an ipx4 Splash proof rating so you can use them for sporting activities and they stay in my ears securely even though they don't have any sport fins I had no trouble running with them and used them for a few days at the gym battery life is r at 6 hours with an extra 14 hours in the charging case that may not be great but it's not bad considering the compact size of the buds and by comparison to standard link buds offer 5.5 hours of battery life and those don't have active noise cancelling Sony throws in several extra features including an Adaptive sound control mode that'll adjust the sound and noise cancelling on the Fly based on your environment and plenty of EQ settings in the app to tweak the sound of bit if you want naturally these have support for Sony's 360 audio virtual surround music format select few music services that offer 360 audio tracks and Sony's also introducing some new features like autoplay that automatically launches a custom Spotify playlist based on your activity and finally there are new Partnerships with endle and Microsoft soundscape in the services section of the app I find all that stuff a little gimmicky but you can have fun checking it all out as I said the link buds s sound quite good with nicely detailed sound the tr's got some sparkle to it and the base is well defined and has plenty of punch the they have relatively open exciting sound and are slightly more forward sounding than the wf1000x markv which offer a bit more depth and slightly richer sound quality overall however for their size and weight it'll be hard pressed to find a better sounding set of buds and if you have an Android device or dedicated music player that supports ldac Bluetooth streaming you can get a touch better sound when streaming with a music service like fuzz or title that offers high resolution tracks okay before I get into some final comparisons let's talk about voice quality for calls because that's become an important feature for a lot of people Sony says these have special mesh covered microphones that are supposed to help with reducing wind noise and you've got some new AI some software algorithms to help reduce backround noise in general all right so now I got a lot of traffic in the background dog barking uh back there so U I'm talking again just so people get a sense of how my voice sounds as there's a lot of background noise again any extra thoughts John mostly the same problem uh I I really don't hear Too much background noise at all but uh the problem is maybe it's overcompensating because of that background noise but your actual voice quality just is not great so from Mar it looks like the regular link buds are better for calls um and the Sony wh1000x Mark 5 are definitely a step up for calls so there you have it that's our test call for the link buds s thanks for listening John so I had high expectations for voice calling and while I think the link butts fell a little short in terms of how clearly you could hear my voice with a lot of background noise they do a really good job producing that background noise by contrast the standard link buds didn't do quite as good a job reducing background noise but people said they could hear my voice more clearly so it'll be interesting to see whether we get a firmware upgrade that tweaks the voice calling AI Sony typically does deliver firmware upgrades every few months like I said at the beginning the link buds s are really appealing in a lot of ways they're lightweight and compact it don't skimp on the features and performance they're kind of a cross between Sony's $100 c500 Buds and the wf1000x markv buds I think they sound Fuller and better than jobbers Elite 7 Pro uh which cost around the same price they're also pretty lightweight and compact it's it's a tougher call when you compare them to the $200 Beats fit Pro the Beats sound really good and for Apple users anyway they have some extra features like spatial audio and always on Siri and automatic pairing with all the Apple devices in your iCloud account alas like the standard link buds these link buds s do not have multi-point bluetooth pairing that would allow you to pair them to two devices simultaneously like a computer and a smartphone befit Pro aren't as discreet looking as these Sony's but they do have integrated sport fins that really lock the buzz in your ears some people like that some people don't I do think that if especially you're an Android User who can take advantage of the ldac support the link buds s have enough appealing traits to make you consider dropping $200 on them they are the Sony buds for people who don't want larger buds like the wf1000 X Marx 4 but want 80 to 85% of their features and performance for $80 less that said I do think they'll be an easier sell once they get discounted a bit because to me anyway they feel more like 15 $ earbuds than $200 earbuds yeah you can probably say the same thing about the befit pro but that's what my gut says so I got to say it but let me know what you guys think what do you think of the design and are these the Sony buds you've been waiting for sound off in the comment section if you're interested in any of the products mentioned check out the description below for links on where to find them and you can get even more details in my text review on CNET lastly if you found this video informative at all hit the like button And subscribe if you haven't already I'm David con for CET thanks for watching\n"