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Sony LinkBuds S review: Small Earbuds, Big Sound
CNET,Technology,News,Tech,Review,mobile phone,unboxing,sony,linkbuds,linkbuds s,wireless earbuds,noise cancelling,David carnoy
They don’t have a unique design like the standard LinkBuds, but the LinkBuds S buds are compact and lightweight with active noise canceling, great sound and many of the features of Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 earbuds. They also support Sony’s LDAC audio codec. So are they worth $200?
Find the earbuds in this video here 👇:
Sony LinkBuds S:
Sony LinkBuds:
AirPods Pro:
Sony WF-1000XM4:
Beats fit pro:
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00:00 Intro
00:31 What the ‘S’ Stands for
00:48 Key features
01:11 Unboxing
01:34 Design
02:26 Sound quality
02:48 In-app features
03:47 Water raiting
03:59 Battery life
04:14 Adaptive sound mode
04:21 EQ
04:35 Spotify & Endel partnerships
04:52 Sound quality vs WF-1000XM4
05:15 HD audio
05:26 Voice call quality
07:07 Alternatives
08:06 Final thoughts
#Sony #LinkBuds #review #Small #Earbuds #Big #Sound
Can you wear just one earbud or are both needed to function?
I’ll agree with the cameraman on that one voice doesn’t sound that good
The, “Your actual voice quality just is not great”, comment is an UNDERSTATEMENT! He is completely unintelligible when the mic is utilizing ANC in a noisy environment. Like completely useless… if u were talking to me on the phone, I’d simply tell you to call back and hang-up with quality this bad.
WARNING TO ALL PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUY THESE!!! I bought them yesterday after my wf1000-xm4 died. It’s terrible, it’s like getting used to listening hi-res flac and then starting to listen 128kbps mp3 files!!! Sound quality is disgusting 🤢
They are low profile, easy to use, don’t fall out, sounds great, and doesn’t make you look like a tool.
I really like these may have to get them for my Birthday.😅
Great video. Thank you. I did find the music a bit distracting though.
Got them for $128
paid 128 on amazon prime days yesteday.. sounds like i got a good deal, looking forward to trying them.
It seems you have a cold
Sony Linkbuds S
Jabra elite 5
JBL Live PRO plus
What do u think? I will laughter sound with max 10mm driver and good anc. Equalizer setting too with app.
Which can you recommend? Thanks
(NOTE: LINKSBUDS S already got MultiPoint update, and XM4 not having it yet kinda sad) yep buy Linksbuds S instead, because i already buy both of them firstly i buy linksbuds s but i keep thinking xm4 and bought it too, but i instanly regret to buy xm4, everything is better for Linksbuds S, Comfortable, Sound, ANC, and more stable Connection with LDAC 990kbps even greater if u just use AAC (because more batterylife), the only downside is Batterylife shorter little bit compare xm4 but for me its just enough 6 hours constant ANC, the xm4 is just pain at the ear, and not perfectly fit in the ear (because of this the anc little bit compromise) im thinking to sell this XM4 because in my country there is no money back refund :(. (NOTE: u get higher chance get defect unit with xm4 rather than Linksbuds S) i hope u guys make the wise purchase, dont be like me…
5:52.. damn.. there’s the deal breaker for me.. the mic is terrible.. smh..
These or bose sport earbuds?
Sony is going to need to do better with these buds. They need to have a better call quality. It is very disappointing to see a product by Sony to be so not up to par.
For what it’s worth I’ve had the LinkBuds S for about 2 weeks and very happy with them so far.
Came from the WF-1000XM3s which, although they sounded great, were never that comfortable. So I wanted something smaller and lighter, which swayed me towards the LinkBuds over the XM4s. In terms of comfort they’re light years ahead – can wear them for hours on end with no pain or fatigue at all.
Having said that I wasn’t exactly blown away by the sound quality at first. I always ran the XM3s with the EQ off as they just sounded right to me like that, and I did the same with the LinkBuds at first. They definitely sounded less ‘alive’. But having played around with the EQ a bit I’ve got them to where they sound (at least to my ear) about 95% of the way there vs the XM3s, which is great. The only thing I have noticed is a weird and very pronounced cut in the high frequencies if I go above ~85% volume, but I almost never go that high, especially with ANC on, so it’s fine for me.
The ANC itself definitely isn’t quite as strong as the XM3s, but it’s good enough for commuting on a noisy bus/train/whatever. And the transparency mode I think is actually a bit better – more natural sounding.
Haven’t tried the mics yet and I suspect I won’t be that impressed when I do, but that’s not why I bought them, so no big deal for me.
So like, is the left one the one with volume controls, and the right one play/pause, skip/previous? Or is each one ACTUALLY fully independent. Companies like to say their earbuds are full independent, but you lose half the controls when you only wear one
The dealbreaker is the wind noise during call that can’t be turned off. I believe It might be deal breaker for many
They added multipoint support
7:50 As of November 22 they do have a multipoint connection to laptop and smartphone.
They are on sell now for $129..
I bought the Airpods Pro 2nd gen and i just HATE the fit. One ear just never fits right no matter what size ear tips i use. And thats insane to me. All sony earbuds i have bought in the past has NEVER given me fit problems. So i KNOW for a fact apple needs to work on there fit issues before i could recommend them. Maybe a year or two from now Airpods Pro will be good. And dont get me started on the Airpods Max. The maxs have HUGE design issues that are even worse then Airpods Pros. Let me just say, when apple makes Airpods Max with ventilation so that water droplets dont fill the speakers so that the speakers cut out and make horrible ghostly noises when the droplets fall on and down the actual internal speaker parts. Well yeah, all i will say is apple will learn and fix this issues, hopefully. But there totally not worth paying the big prices for these serious downfalls. Like i said, wait one or two more years and i think apple headphones and earbuds should be good to go.
Thank you for this review. I’ll avoid these since I need earbuds for calls in a noisy environment. Great job!
They don’t sound good at all when you turn up the volume it gets muffled and toned out.
Sony c500 way better in terms of battery sound quality pluse price
The test call was super helpful
Never fall in love with a earphones so quickly. Bought it today and ANC activated I thought i went deaf
People are more concerned with voice quality, Qi charging, transparency mode, if they’re good for workouts,etc. All except for how good they sound playing music. A lot of the companies are tuning down their bass and volume on a lot of their newer earbuds. Jabra , Sony and Beats are prime examples. Why are they doing that? Is it because the speaker they’re using can’t handle deep bass and lots of volume because they’ll begin to rattle? I’ve returned 4 earbuds because of this and I am still looking for a pair with enough bass and volume since 75t are no longer available new. The 2 sets of 75t I also returned because they were damaged even though they were sold as new. It’s a jungle in the world of earbuds.😖
Just bought some of these to replace my Galaxy Buds Pro and my initial impression is that the LinkBuds are just clearly better.
every video on CNN is just a commercial. It was recently revealed that the people in charge of cnn were forcing their content creators to be friendlier to their advertiser. Makes for some questionable content
I had a hard time deciding between the linkbuds s or wf-1000xm4, but it came down to size. I got the linkbuds s. The sound awesome and very comfortable.
I just got a pair today, $150, so far they sound great, specially when I activate my equalizer on my phone
Hi res tracks are also avaialble on Apple Music (lossless 16bit and 24bit)
They DO have multipoint Bluetooth pairing! I can switch seamlessly between iPhone and Android. 😊
They are not releasing any firmware updates. They have not fixed siren killing the ambient mode neither implemented the bump up on volume on ambient sound as they promised on twitter 😂
What 200$ and i cant use one at a time left or right ?
I’ll stick with soundcore 100$ cheaper and i can use one at time right or left ?
Taking the Sony back and getting Skullcandy 180$ cheaper but i can use one at time right or left ? Now why cant 200$ give me that ?
The mic quality was aweful! Come on Sony.
I bit the bullet on these because I have small ears/ear canals and most buds hurt or don’t fit right. With the XS tips and the fact that they are light weight, these are great for me personally. The only other wireless ones I have found that fit my ears well are the 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Earbuds.
Does anyone know if these are compatible with PS5 & dualsense controllers?
The fit is great and quality is great indoors, but as soon as I use them outdoors the audio stutters 5–6 times per min. I checked if any of the settings in the Sony app could cause this but nothing helped.
I’ve used many buds and have never experienced this issue before. Not sure if I got a lemon or if it’s a software issue 🤔
5:52 Oof, that mic-test sounded really bad.
Nice review. I’m looking for an earbud that also works as noise reduction in a woodshop. Earbuds that market towards that market report a reduction in decibel rating of some amount. typically around 20 — 30 decibels. I haven’t been able to find that for these. Do you know or know where I might be able to find that out. Thank You!
Like the sound and fit. Battery is mediocre, noise cancelling more of a noise generator. It’s a huuuge step behind the top model. The app is a complete mess.
Anyone seeing this comment: please don’t buy Sony Linkbuds S. I was thinking that they are the great earbuds, based on review, but I have to say it is a piece of crap.
Eveyone is saying that micrphone/call quality is top-notch, but it is actually the worst part of the earbuds. Immediately after starting the call, they automatically turn on Sidetone (like an ambient mode) and you can barely hear the other side due to wind/white noise + ambient sound around it. Interestigly enough, there is no SINGLE WORD about that from the reviewer. That makes them unsable in any environment except its own quiet room. It is imppossible to use them in train / open office / coffee shops / running…so please stay away from them and buy way better earbuds in the same price range: Nothing Ear 2 or Anker Libert 4 (4 NC) or similar price range Jabra models…